Breakthrough, the Essence of Luck

By: Andrew Blitman

Contributing Writer

Life is an ordeal, with many sudden twists and even more inevitable turns. A myriad of factors, some rapid and others gradual, pressure individuals to adapt or die. What allows some of us to survive—or even thrive—while others suffer? We create our fates through our choices – a phenomenon known as free will.

According to the Law of Natural Selection, which now incorporates genetic principles, our genes control the characteristics that determine our survival in unforgiving environments. Yet, if this were the case, would our lives not be set in stone before we create them?

I reject that “predestination” because I hear stories of triumph over adversity all the time. Think of the individuals who overcome medical afflictions or societal ones like poverty to become evolutionary and financial successes. It parallels the rebound of survivors following mass extinction events—occurrences defined by major losses of biodiversity in short periods of time.

What allows one person to fare better than another? It’s like asking what enabled birds to survive their dinosaur brethren into the present. My answer is simple and twofold: they got lucky when circumstances tilted in their favor.

Luck is nothing more than fortune working in someone’s favor. If we’re unlucky, it’s called “bad luck”. If we can’t explain it, we call it “dumb luck”. But luck, whatever it is—can determine everything in the game of life.

Every choice made is a wager for some sort of future reward. It is a risk, not a guarantee. Even when the odds are stacked in your favor, the slightest of mistakes can eliminate your hopes for success. However, the best way to optimize your wager is to make prudent decisions and calculated risks.

Good fortune is the only thing that separates the fortunate from the unfortunate. However, it takes hard work and favorable conditions to make someone lucky. That’s why the philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. You don’t need to be perfect to be successful. You just need to be patient and play your cards right.

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Healthy New Habits for the New Year

By: Brittney Ginsburg

Contributing Writer

Every year we resolve to make changes, and many times these changes are centered on health. One of the most common resolutions is to lose weight and become healthy. Therefore, it is not surprising that gym memberships tend to spike in January. However, I find that when I make grandiose resolutions, I set myself up for failure because I don’t take the practical implementation into account. Here are my five favorite healthy habits that can be implemented in your daily life that are beneficial to your health. Attempting one or all of these will get your year off to a good start, and can be carried out through a lifetime.

1. Walking– walking instead of other means of transportation is an easy habit to implement that is beneficial to health. Many people don’t realize that walking can have significant positive effects on health that a more intense regimen of exercise may have, but without the risk for injury. One study has found that those who participated in a walking intervention had a 50% reduction in advancing from glucose intolerance to diabetes. Another cited the cognitive benefits in that those who met the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and CDC recommendation for walking had a 34% reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment. The ACSM recommends engaging in two and a half hours of moderate exercise a week, which is just a little over 20 minutes a day.

2. Choosing fruit for dessert– throughout the holiday season, decadent treats are readily available and it is hard not to indulge. As we try to cut back after the holidays, eliminating all of those sweets can leave us with intense cravings. To ease back into healthy habits, try choosing a piece of fruit instead of a sweet at least once a day. Most fruits contain natural sugars that can satisfy that sweet tooth. In addition, many fruits contain fiber, an essential nutrient in digestive health. Even fruits that we think to be high in sugar contain substantial amounts of fiber. For example, a banana contains about 12% of recommended daily fiber intake.

3. Adding 3 cups of green leafy vegetables per week– if these powerful foods aren’t already in your diet, aim for 3 cups of spinach, kale, arugala (just a few of my favorites) or other dark green leafy vegetables per week. They contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that help prevent diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Adding greens to your favorite meal such as a hamburger is a great way to increase the nutrient quality of the meal.

4. Adding 1 handful of nuts– consuming nuts has been shown to decrease the risk of mortality due to coronary heart disease by as much as 37% according to a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Contrary to popular belief, nut intake is not associated with weight gain despite their high calorie and fat content. A study cited in the review showed that those who consumed nuts more than 2 times per week had 40% reduced risk of weight gain. In addition, consuming nuts has actually been associated with reduced cholesterol levels.

5. Swapping whole for enriched– there are many benefits in switching to whole grains when possible. For the sake of clarity, let’s compare a slice of whole grain bread to a white flour slice. It is important to understand that all carbohydrates, including both breads, will be broken down to sugar. However, there are fundamental differences in the way in which the body breaks down whole wheat versus white bread. Whole grain bread has a low glycemic index, meaning it breaks down slowly and releases glucose into the body in a controlled manner. On the other hand, white bread has a high glycemic index causing it to break down to glucose quicker creating spikes and drops in blood sugar. Whole grain bread also contains more fiber than an average white slice, which as mentioned before, is important for digestive health as well as being protective against chronic diseases.

Overall, these simple yet effective tips are just a few of many ways to start the New Year on the right foot. By taking these incremental steps, we can work towards making our eating habits healthier and more beneficial, especially for the long term.

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Help Reverse Insulin Resistance in Your Spare Time

By: Brittney Ginsburg

Contributing Writer

When we consume calories that are not used for energy, the excess is often stored as fat. It is important to remember that all fat is not created equal. While women may resent the fat that appears on their hips and legs, that is not the danger fat. Abdominal fat is the fat of concern when considering risk for disease, including diabetes. We all know the idea behind becoming resistant to a certain stimuli: the more exposure to stimuli, the less responsive we are towards it. In the case of diabetes, we are referring to insulin and the body’s resistance to it. Insulin is responsible for clearing the sugar in our body and allocating it toward working muscles. When our bodies don’t respond the way they should to insulin, it causes the sugar to remain in our blood stream. This causes a spike in blood glucose levels, causing diabetics to constantly check their sugars. These are the consequences of insulin working improperly. In essence, excessive fat in the abdominal region can contribute to insulin resistance.

What can we do about this besides accepting it and starting a rigorous medication regimen? The answer: exercise. The benefits of exercise in health is not a new development. However, the idea that a single exercise session can help reverse the effects that excess fat has on insulin resistance is somewhat of an unknown concept. Researchers Simon Schenk and Jeffrey Horowitz of the University of Michigan have provided exciting findings on exercise and insulin sensitivity.

“In our study, the single session of exercise did not just prevent the reduction in insulin sensitivity when subjects were exposed to an approximate 4-fold elevation in fatty acid availability, but insulin sensitivity was increased 25% above basal levels.”

The conclusions drawn from this study are as follows: Being exposed to excess fatty acids could harm our body. A single session of exercise proves not only to be protective against insulin resistance, but improves insulin sensitivity. Thus, even if you do not have an hour a day, every day, to devote to exercise, benefits can still be seen. When you have an extra hour or two on a weekend or holiday, make use of it. Go to your favorite work out class, play a game of tag with your kids, or even to take a long walk with your favorite music. We need to shift our focus from numbers on the scale, to much more important numbers that we can change. In essence, take advantage of the small free time that you may have, and do something good for your body.

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Welcome!

Welcome everyone to Bronze Lifestyle! This blog was influenced by the protagonist Charles Bronze of S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures. There are multiple goals that the team of Bronze Lifestyle would like to accomplish (listed in order of priority):

• Discuss important current topics in health and nutrition
• Serve as a medium to promote S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures
• Provide reviews in the arts which include but are not limited to: books, films, and music

We are eager to hear your feedback! If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to fill out the form in the “Contact Us” link on the left side. Thank you all for your readership!

Bronze Lifestyle Team