Having high blood pressure can be extremely debilitating to good health.  When you breathe through the nose, use the diaphragm, and slow down the breath, all can lead to a lower and improved blood pressure.  The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle directly below the lungs and the vagus nerve is attached to the diaphragm.  When stimulated by your breath—the vagus nerve instantly begins to switch off the sympathetic nervous system (gas pedal) leading to a calm mind and a relaxed body—leading to a drop in your resting heart rate and blood pressure.  Isn’t the human body truly amazing!

For more information on improving your blood pressure listen to our podcast on blood pressure!

BP PODCAST

Learning to improve the quality of the food and beverages we consume is the essence of the On Target Living lifestyle.  To help people learn more about the three macronutrients, eating in greater balance, and improving the food and beverage quality we developed an easy-to-use guide called the Food Target.  The Food Target focuses on a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.  The foods with the lowest nutritional value are on the outside of the Food Target.  The most beneficial and most nutritious foods are closer to the center of the Food Target.  The goal is to slowly move towards the center by upgrading foods and beverages consumed the most.  Use the Food Target as a learning tool and a lifelong guide for eating.

Watch video to learn more about the Food Target!

FOOD TARGET VIDEOS

Superfoods are any foods that are packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs in a natural state. These foods will give you what you need without reaching for artificial or lab made nutrients that are hard for your body to absorb.

There are two deficiencies, when it comes to nutrients, that we all face: what you are not consuming and what your body is not absorbing. Vitamins are not typically in a naturally absorbable state.  Well- rounded diets consisting of foods from the source (including superfoods) will cover your needs. For many hard-to-get nutrients such as Omega 3’s there are naturally occurring foods like chia seeds, flax seeds, or cod liver oil. These will be easy for your body to process and absorb. 

It is always best to choose foods as close as possible in their natural state.  The more processed foods become, the more nutrition is lost.  Wheatgrass juice and liquid cod liver oil are the best balance between convenience and still getting close to the source.

Believe it or not—our cod liver has a smooth lemon flavor.  Two ingredients—Cod Liver Oil line caught in the waters of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and organic lemon flavor!

Quality!  Our cod liver oil is harvested in the waters of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.  Our cod liver is line caught, and quickly frozen right on the boat to protect the integrity of the livers of the cod.  Maintaining the naturally occurring high levels of vitamin A, D, and E.

The answer is YES!  Not all fish oil or cod liver oil is created equal.  In order to reach the recommended dosage of EPA/DHA you would need to consume approximately 5-10 gel capsules of fish oil to equal 1-2 Tablespoons of OTL cod liver oil.

The wonderful benefits and the great taste!

95% of the US population is deficient in Omega-3 Fatty Acids

DHA for Brain and Eye Health

EPA for Healthy Cardiac and Circulatory Systems

Natural Anti-Inflammatory

Hormonal SupportCellular Repair

Naturally occurring vitamins A, D, and E

Quality Tested—tested for over 450 environmental toxins!

Ketogenic diet is a high fat, extremely low carbohydrate diet, with the goal of using fat as fuel.  Is the Keto Diet Healthy—The Answer is NO!

To get the real skinny on the Keto Diet—check out our blog on the Keto Diet

Ketosis BLOG

Does it matter how often and when you eat?  Fasting is one of the easiest ways to keep the mind and body functioning at it’s best and one of the easiest ways to fast is an overnight 12-14 hour fast.  If your last meal was at 7:30pm then ideally you would eat again at 7:30am, 8:30am, or 9:30am—giving the body ample time to digest and clean itself—this is called autophagy!.  A 12-14 hour overnight fast is simple, time to feed is spread out over the day allowing time to consume necessary nutrients.  Once you end the fast try to eat every 3-4 hours.  Developing consistent Meal Patterns is essential for optimal health, energy, digestion, and feeling your best!

Anti-inflammatories should only be used for acute inflammation and pain, like a bee sting or a tooth ache. Taking a daily aspirin may cause your natural good bacteria in the gut to become out of balance leading to compromised gut and overall health!  This is one reason we recommend cod liver oil or other forms of Omega 3 fats as your anti-inflammatory!

You never want to cut out carbohydrates or any other macronutrient out of the diet.  As we say—if you cut a macronutrient out of your diet you may develop a macro problem!  Focus on high quality carbohydrates closer to the SOURCE such as fruits, vegetables, ancient grains, starchy carbohydrates, and legumes.  These high-quality carbohydrates are essential for gut and brain health, are high in fiber, antioxidants, and one of your main sources of energy.  Remember—high quality carbohydrates are essential of greater health and feeling your best--Don’t be afraid of the “Big Bad Wolf”!

As you create a more alkaline body, digestion improves, minerals are preserved, and inflammation goes down.  Stay properly hydrated, eat more whole foods, eat less processed foods, alcohol, soda pop, and energy drinks.  Eat less in the “Red Area” of the Food Target and consume more foods and beverages in the “Green Area” of the Food Target.  Finally—change how you breathe—through the nose, use your belly and slow down your breath!  

As for buying alkaline water—our first recommendation is to add a lemon or lime to your water to make it more alkaline.  We also recommend a water ionizer for more alkaline water in your home.

Water is essential for life and keeping the body healthy.  If you are purchasing water, we recommend buying spring, artesian or mineral water.  For your home, purchase some type of water filtration system—our number one recommendation a water ionizer—a water ionizer filters the water along with creating high levels of alkalinity.

If you squirt a lemon or lime in your eye it burns, but through the digestion lemons and limes are extremely alkalizing for the body.  An easy way to improve your gut health is to add a lemon or lime to your water!

The benefits of consuming high quality (SOURCE) carbohydrates include greater gut health, pH balance, greater energy, regular elimination, better sleep, lower blood pressure, decreased inflammation, lower oxidation, heart health, improved mood, and overall greater health.  High quality carbohydrates are essential for greater health and feeling and being your best!

Ask most people how to lose weight and they will often say eat less and move more.  One belief we find hard for many people to change is their belief that a calorie equals a calorie.  Here are a few questions for you.

Do you believe 100 calories of a processed bag of chips or cookies equals 100 calories of broccoli, an apple, or a tablespoon of cod liver oil?Do you think your cells would be affected by these foods in the same manner?Do you believe the impact to your pH would be the same?Does the amount of sleep and stress make a difference in how many calories you consume each day?

Calories are important—but step one is to improve the quality of your calories because all calories are NOT created equal!

Let’s first step back and ask a few more questions.  How much talk was centered around gluten 30-40 years ago?  The answer would be zero!  But today we have an epidemic problem of digestive health issues leading to an array of health problems such as Acid Reflux, IBS, Crohn’s, Gout, Kidney Stones, Allergies, Asthma, High Blood Pressure, Poor Sleep, along with many other health related problems.  The answer begins with getting the gut healthy!

For more detail listen to our podcast on Gut Brain Connection

GUT HEALTH PODCAST

It depends, what is the goal, who is the person. We like to encourage people to move your body every day for at least 10 minutes.  Daily movement plays an important role in maintaining a healthy mind and body.  Developing a Movement Mindset is a critical first step for creating a lifetime of movement!