Theresa Albert - Ace Your Health: 52 Ways to Stack Your Deck

THE WORKHORSE OF DO ME FIRST SHUFFLES FOR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND A FOOD SYSTEM

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO KEEP IT PUMPING

THE ANTI-AGING, ANTI-CANCER STUFF YOU JUST HAVE TO INCLUDE

LIFES HIDDEN GEMS AND WAYS TO FIT IN THE TIME TO ENJOY THEM

Want to take a chance and play 52 Pick-up with your health? Didnt think so. And yet that is exactly what most of us are doing. We are stumbling from trend to trend, study to study, piecing together a system of living, eating, exercising, and being. What we need are a plan and a map to guide us through the often conflicting information on the news, in magazines, and on the shelves of the grocery store. With our fast-paced lives, it is no wonder more than 50 percent of us are overweight or obese, and that record numbers of people suffer from diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. It is time to find a better way to live.

In life we are all dealt a hand to play. Some cards will be crappy genes, like the ones that put you at risk for major diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. But these conditions can all be prevented or managed with the right guidance. We just need a little training on how to take control of the hand and when to play or discard. With just a few shuffles in food, exercise, and health, those genes can, to a large degree, be turned on or off. After all, its not whether you win or lose, its how you play the game.

But who has time to read let alone understand all the nutritional news? One week we hear coffee is good for us, the next its the worst thing we could put in our bodies! No wonder many of us have given up: who could blame us? What and whom should we believe?

Ace Your Health puts the whole game back in your hands. Its simple, practical approach walks you through your own life and shows you where you can make small changes for maximum benefit. Ace Your Health provides a once-a-week plan for you to make informed shifts in your thinking, your behaviour, your exercise, and your eating. Each week, you play a card and learn something new.

Each card is made up of three sections. First, I give you the whys and hows explained in a few hundred words, just enough to convince you but not enough to bore you. Then I pull it all together with a recipe. The recipes are as simple as they are delicious, and they use the ingredients or methods discussed in the chapter. After the recipe I give you a challenge so that you can practise your new knowledge, which helps the information stick. These challenges can be accommodated into any lifestyle. They are things you can do at the drive-through, restaurant, grocery store, or shopping mall. This fun system makes it easy to remember how to play the game for life.

How To Use This Book

My day job as a nutritionist in a preventative medicine facility gives me the opportunity to work with people who are motivated to become healthier but dont know where to start. I have structured the book with such people in mind. Designed like a deck of cards, Ace Your Health is ordered in suits. Within each suit, each card, from the Ace down to the Two represents a dietary or lifestyle change you can make. I explain that green tea is awesome but that its benefits wont save you if you are eating double bacon cheeseburgers every day. You have to start with the changes that make the most impact.

The suits are presented in a sequence Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds and within each suit the cards are played in descending order (Aces are high) to ensure that the foundation is laid before the smaller (but still important) cards are played.

SPADES : These are the workhorses of the pack. They outline the big, difficult decisions that need to be made daily, such as:

what to eat for breakfast to set your blood sugar level for sustained energy

what to eat in a restaurant or food court that will enhance your health

how to grocery shop quickly for maximum impact

four things you need from the health food store (no matter how weird it smells in there)

blockbuster healthy foods that are in your cupboard right now

HEARTS : I clarify what is truth and what is bunk when it comes to protecting your heart. At the end of this suit you will know:

the truth about exercise (including how much is enough and how much is too much)

how and why to get more and better sleep

how often you can eat red meat and how to get away with it

how to eat sauces without increasing your belt size

CLUBS : Often there is a socioeconomic divide in our approach to health. Those who have more money or education have more access to the health club. You dont have to be able to afford a country club or a fitness club; everyone can join the Ace Your Health club of those who have crucial information. Ace Your Health gives you full access to all the secrets of better health.

The Clubs section shares:

the secrets to anti-aging for your skin, body, and brain that dont cost an arm and a leg

the fine line between enough and too much sunshine

information on which foods fight cancer

why a cast iron skillet is cheaper and better than a non-stick

the differences between sugar and sweeteners

DIAMONDS : Diamonds are the gems that add sparkle to our lives; they represent the finer things we enjoy. Many of us need to focus more on the gems and less on being so darned perfect all the time. We need to slow down, but first we need to find out how:

some supplements are crucial; others are crocks

gentle stretching prevents injuries

relaxing and sweating in a sauna helps clean your liver