Staying Fit While on the Go: The Diet Problem Facing Business Travelers

 Staying Fit While on the Go: The Diet Problem Facing Business Travelers

Poor eating habits have continued unabated in the 21st century, even though proper nutrition information is easily accessible to nearly anybody with a library card or Internet connection.

This national dietary deficit is not attributable to one particular piece of nutritional misinformation. Neither can it be stated that health-conscious Americans aren't trying or interested. More people in the United States are concerned about their health now than in the past. A logistical difficulty, not an idealistic, strategic, or tactical one, is the problem of bad eating habits.

Because of their hectic schedules, people of all ages in the United States view eating healthy food as an indulgence, something to do only on rare occasions or when they really don't have the time to cook. This problem of maintaining a nutritious diet is never more acute, though, than for the ordinary business traveler[i].

For the average business traveler, the airport is the first stop on the path to the second most unhealthy meal of their trip. Most of these transportation centers have fast food and snack options, which tend to be heavy in carbs, unsaturated fats, and calories.

What is the primary source of unhealthy eating if airports and stations rank second? Surely it's on board the plane.

Airline cuisine used to take a lot of heat for being bland and uninteresting. The nutritionally defective meals that most business travelers are treated to while en route has become more of a problem as people have become more conscious of the nutrition—or lack thereof—in some food sources over the past decade.

Indeed, research from the American weight-loss program Nutricise[ii] shows that the average aircraft meal has more than a thousand calories. More than half of the calories consumed by "average eaters" each day come from just one meal, which is quite a lot. Calorie counting is just one aspect of this problem. Fatty acids account for over half of the 1,000+ calories in an aeroplane meal, which is fifteen percent more than the thirty percent daily fat-from-calories recommendation made by some authorities [iii].

Vegetarian and vegan alternatives, which are usually (but not necessarily) lower in saturated fat, calories, and salt, are becoming more available on several planes as a result of this challenge. Unfortunately, just one of the ten airlines studied in 2003[iv] by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) was found to offer readily available healthful food options. Although business travelers may not always have the time to plan ahead, three out of ten airlines did provide some healthy food options. Vegetarian (i.e., low-fat, low-sodium, low-calorie) in-flight meals were severely lacking on the other six airlines polled.

Furthermore, business travelers encounter an additional obstacle when it comes to food that individuals not on the aircraft are not compelled to deal with. The majority of individuals "on the ground" have the freedom to leave restaurants or make conscious decisions about their food purchases, whereas those "in the air" are frequently compelled to accept unhealthy options. Meetings, airports, and more meetings means that most business travelers are usually rushing from one place to another. Consequently, it is frequently preferable to consume the unhealthy, too caloric, sodium-heavy, and otherwise unbalanced airline meal rather than go hungry.

Thanks to the efforts of groups like the PCRM, the topic of business traveler nutrition is starting to get some attention, but not quite fast enough. Over 200 million people travel for business purposes in the United States each year[v], which means that many people who really should be eating healthier are stuck eating fast food.

Most airlines have made a feeble attempt to update their menus in response to this enormous demand from business travelers. There have been a number of "nutritional supplement" solutions put out to address the nutritional needs of business travelers; they tend to be in the shape of fluids or bars.

Much with the revamped airline meal program, most of these supplements don't meet the nutritional needs of passengers by delivering enough protein without adding unnecessary calories or carbs. Furthermore, most of the time, important nutrients are missing from the small number of goods that have partially satisfied these calorie, protein, and carbohydrate needs.

But there are a handful of health-conscious items that are getting fantastic reviews from business travelers for their high-quality nutrition and their ability to withstand the rigors of airport baggage handlers without leaking. Plus, you won't need to dilute, mix, or take with a lot of water or other fluid these goods because they are liquids, so they're easy to swallow.

Business travelers may keep healthy without sacrificing time or energy with these smart and scientifically tested nutritional solutions. They offer a complete variety of vital vitamins and can be taken as a meal replacement or supplement.


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The History And Usefulness Of Coenzyme Q10

 The History And Usefulness Of Coenzyme Q10

I knew as a child how important it was to eat healthily and take my vitamins. However, since then, the science of dietary supplements has advanced significantly. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a shining star in this scientific evolution. It's not a medicine, CoQ10. It is a compound that resembles a vitamin that is produced in our body's tissues and can be found in trace amounts in a range of meals.

The body contains substances called enzymes that are vital to many of the activities that keep us alive and our bodies operating as intended. Enzymes that are specifically required for the synthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a high-energy phosphate that is necessary for all cellular functions, are known as mitochondrial enzymes. Our bodies would shut down at the cellular level without it. The cofactor that at least three mitochondrial enzymes rely on is coenzyme Q10. Thus, CoQ10 is necessary for ATP function, according to logic. In summary, ATP is necessary for every bodily function in humans. And CoQ10 is necessary for ATP function.

Our bodily tissues produce CoQ10, as was previously mentioned. Tyrosine, an amino acid, is the starting point for its intricate, multistage production, which calls for a number of vitamins and trace minerals. When we are young, under normal circumstances, we generate what we require. However, a lack of CoQ10 can be caused by a variety of causes. These include advancing age, illness, inadequate food, statin medication use, and rising tissue demands. However, it is a good idea to review the background of CoQ10 research before discussing CoQ10 inadequacies.

Past Events

Dr. Frederick Crane isolated CoQ10 for the first time in 1957 from the mitochondria of cattle hearts. In the same year, British professor Morton found CoQ10 in the livers of rats lacking in vitamin A. The next year, scientists at Merck, Inc. discovered its chemical structure and produced it for the first time.

The CoQ compounds were initially put to use for a practical purpose by neither the British nor the Americans. A similar chemical (CoQ7) was initially utilized to treat congestive heart failure by Japanese professor Yamamura. Then came more useful applications. In the middle of the 1960s, CoQ6 was utilized as a potent antioxidant. Heart disease and CoQ10 depletion were connected in Italy in 1972. However, the technology required to synthesize CoQ10 in sufficient quantities to enable large-scale clinical studies was first mastered by the Japanese.

Following Peter Mitchell's 1978 Nobel Prize winning description of the cellular biological energy transfer for which CoQ10 is necessary, there was a significant upsurge in the number of clinical trials conducted about the potential benefits of CoQ10. This was caused in part by the availability of huge quantities of pharmaceutical-grade CoQ10 from Japan as well as the capability to quantify CoQ10 in bodily tissues and blood. Since then, CoQ10 has gained recognition for its role as a potent antioxidant, a scavenger of free radicals, and a medication for a variety of chronic conditions, most notably heart disease.

Insufficiency of Coenzyme Q10

The idea that CoQ10 is frequently severely deficient in the presence of chronic diseases, particularly heart disease, has been used to largely address the effectiveness of CoQ10 as a medicinal treatment. For instance, severe CoQ10 depletion is frequently seen in those with congestive heart failure. It is generally known that normal blood and tissue levels of CoQ10 exist. In both human and animal research, significantly low levels of CoQ10 have been associated with a wide range of illnesses.

However, if our systems are biosynthesizing CoQ10, then why do we frequently experience deficiencies? At least three factors are involved. A diet lacking in nutrients is the first. The amount of CoQ10 in the blood and tissues overall is significantly influenced by dietary consumption. The body has to make up the shortfall if we don't eat enough meals high in CoQ10. Additionally, a complex 17-step process including a variety of B vitamins, vitamin C, and pantothenic acid is involved in the manufacture of Coenzyme Q10. It is difficult to synthesize CoQ10 on a diet lacking in these substances. This is not the place to talk about how the typical diet is lacking in vitamins and how many of our food sources are weak in them. To summarise, the majority of us do not consume nearly enough CoQ10 or the other vitamins required for ideal production.

Impaired CoQ10 biosynthesis is the first cause of deficiency and is connected to the second. Apart from insufficient consumption of the constituents required to produce CoQ10, there exist additional biological explanations for insufficient CoQ10 production. These could include long-term illnesses and physiological issues that hinder production. Another issue may be the way these diseases are treated. For example, the depletion of CoQ10 levels has been linked to the usage of statins for cholesterol control. The catch-22 is that the medications we use to treat heart disease also deplete natural substances that are essential to the battle against heart disease.

Excessive use of the molecule by the body is the third reason for CoQ10 insufficiency. Once more, drugs, aging, or other factors like severe exercise, hypermetabolism, and acute shock states may be to blame for this.

Usually, a mix of these three factors is the true cause of CoQ10 insufficiency. It is likely that human average CoQ10 levels are not as high as they may be. Stated differently, the typical CoQ10 levels that are now used as a benchmark for comparisons are probably not at their best. That would imply that other less serious illnesses are linked to lower levels of insufficiency and that the abnormally low levels seen in relation to chronic diseases are merely the worst case scenarios.

It's not laboratory theory, even if it sounds that way. Individuals with long-term illnesses who also exhibit abnormally low CoQ10 levels are not suitable as laboratory subjects. These are individuals who have benefited immensely from CoQ10 supplementation in numerous instances. Given that chronic disease is merely the visible portion of the effects of CoQ10 deficiency, one is left to wonder what more may be done to eradicate diseases and other chronic problems with improved diets and CoQ10 supplements.

The Unhealthiness of Our Healthcare System

The Unhealthiness of Our Healthcare System

Is the lack of health insurance or even the expense of health insurance the only problem? Everyone knows that about 45 million Americans do not have healthcare right now. Does our healthcare system have deeper, more systemic problems? U.S. health statistics and peer-reviewed journals show that allopathic medicine frequently does more harm than good, contrary to the country's claims of having the most advanced medical in the world.

While the public has traditionally had faith in medical professionals, a July 2000 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that iatrogenic deaths—also called deaths from physician error or medical treatment—were responsible for at least 250,000 deaths annually in the United States and were on the rise. Many view these figures as conservative because they merely account for fatalities that occur within hospitals and do not take into account injuries or disabilities sustained outside of hospitals, as well as external iatrogenic deaths that occur as a result of treatments received in private facilities, such as nursing homes, or the negative consequences of medications. Iatrogenic causes account for an estimated 800,000 annual fatalities and cost $282 billion, according to a recent study. This would make medical-related deaths in the United States the top cause of death in the country.

At least half of all Americans take some kind of medication, and a whopping 32 million take three or more meds every day. Ads for pharmaceutical drugs seem to be everywhere these days. Despite an aging population, more and more young people are being prescribed expensive medications for conditions such as ADHD, asthma, bipolar disorder, and diabetes. This includes many children who would never have been prescribed medicine in the past. Despite a proliferation of pharmaceuticals and other therapies, the health care system in this country is obviously failing to meet expectations. There will likely be a 47% spike in prescriptions from 2003 to 2010. Many medications that the FDA had previously approved as safe have been recalled due to hazardous effects; it is worth noting that these drugs' initial approvals were actually paid for by the pharmaceutical corporations involved.

In spite of the fact that Americans are living longer on average as a result of medical advancements in the United States, the media portrays this trend as one in which people are sicker, have a worse quality of life, and are heavily reliant on a variety of synthetic medications that do little to treat the underlying causes of their illnesses but rather mask their symptoms—all while costing the drug industry billions of dollars in lost productivity. Compared to other third world countries, the United States has the highest rates of obesity and disease, with the exception of the AIDS crisis. This stands in stark contrast to our reputation as having the best health care system and the most cutting-edge technology in the world.

Going to the hospital can be worse for your health than staying home unless you're dealing with a serious emergency that needs ER treatment. According to a 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by epidemiologists, the number of hospital-acquired infections has been rising over the past several decades. Specifically, the rate of sepsis, an infection affecting blood and tissues, nearly tripled between 1979 and 2000. An alarming 90,000 individuals in the United States succumb to infections while hospitalized every year; this number has risen substantially from 13,300 in 1992. Almost two million patients are affected by these infections annually. Nearly 56 percent of people have experienced medical professionals treating them in an unnecessary or harmful way, according to statistics.

Also, our immune systems have gotten much weaker due to the environmental and medical abuse of pharmaceutical medications and antibiotics, which has led to the proliferation of germs that are resistant to these therapies and has made us more vulnerable to future illnesses. It should come as no surprise that the CDC reports epidemic levels of disease occurrences. The treatment of diseases including tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and pediatric ear infections, which were once considered conquerable, is now significantly more challenging than it was in the past. Remedy is not a panacea. While they do away with the symptoms, they do little to address the underlying cause. Despite their somewhat natural origins, synthetic and chemical medications have their side effects twisted to make them patentable and profitable. These drugs are neither healthy nor natural, and they often do more harm than good.

Regarding "physician errors," it's possible that doctors aren't fully to blame because they have to follow all the rules of their profession or face license revocation. However, doctors have turned into drug company pawns and spokespeople, and patients' best interests have taken a back seat. Hospitals put enormous pressure on doctors to treat patients as fast as possible, like an assembly line, for financial reasons, which increases the possibility of mistakes.

Last but not least, healthcare cost increases are mostly attributable to a profit-driven industry that promotes practices that result in harmful and unnecessary procedures, infections, costly legitimate lawsuits, mistakes made by hospitals and physicians, antibiotic resistance caused by overprescribing, and hundreds of thousands of needless deaths and injuries. There are healthier natural alternatives that many people are unaware of, and being exposed to anything artificial or intrusive can have negative effects both immediately and over time.

Visit the NatureGem website at http://www.naturegem.com for additional information on medicine side effects, natural ways to help your body heal itself, and dangerous chemicals in food and the environment and how to prevent them.

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