Day 13

The number 13, unlucky for some! Not you, you’re charging through this. Its about continuing the good work and the massive effort you’ve put in. Congratulate yourself for getting here. Reap the benefits!

“The grass is greener where you water it”

Diet – Top of Spectrum

Today your challenge is to acquire a food ranked at the top of the spectrum in each food category as follows: Local, pasture-raised/grass-fed meat or fowl. Failing that, find some certified organic meat.

Local, pasture-raised eggs. Failing that, find some certified organic eggs. Wild-caught fresh fish or oily, cold water canned fish. Locally grown produce. Failing that, find some certified organic produce grown domestically.

Macadamia nuts – raw or dry-roasted. Domestically grown extra-virgin, first cold-press olive oil. Raw, fermented, unpasteurised, grass-fed dairy products (cheese, butter, cream cheese, ghee, kefir, whole milk, yogurt). Indulgences: If you are compelled to indulge, find some high-quality red wine and/or dark chocolate at 75 percent cocoa content or higher.

Exercise – Moderate Duration Aerobic Workout

Conduct a moderate duration aerobic workout at a your aerobic heart rate training zone (180 – age). Explore a new exercise today, or repeat an activity you enjoyed from your adventure day, back on Day 6!

Lifestyle – Get Adequate Sunlight

This challenge is ideal for the summer months with relatively strong sunlight. If this is impossible to tackle today, review the material and try the challenge when the weather allows. Vitamin D plays a critical role in regulating healthy cellular function, yet widespread deficiency occurs in the developed world due to sedentary lifestyles and irrational fears of skin cancer. Failure to obtain the bare minimum of sun exposure and vitamin D production actually increases your risk for a variety of cancers, including melanoma! While this is a complex subject warranting deeper discussion, becoming familiar with the basics of safe, adequate sun exposure is a valuable component of your 21-Day challenge.

While individual circumstances vary wildly (pigment, latitude, Ume of day/year, weather, ozone, altitude, surface reflectiveness), maintaining a slight tan year-round indicates that your vitamin D blood levels are adequate. When tanning is a challenge (e.g., winter), taking vitamin D supplements can help boost your levels into the target range. Contrary to Conventional Wisdom, getting adequate vitamin D from dietary sources alone is virtually impossible. Vitamin D experts recommend you obtain around 4,000 International Units (I.U.) per day, but the SAD provides only around 300 I.U. per day, and the vaunted glass of milk provides only around 100 I.U. per day. By contrast, 20-40 minutes of direct sunlight can produce around 10,000 I.U. of vitamin D, which can easily be stored in your cells for future use.

For maximum vitamin D production, expose large surface areas of your skin (arms, legs, torso) to direct sun for about half of the amount of time it takes to get slightly burned. Your personal “time to burning” on a particular day is an estimate dependent upon the aforementioned variables, but trying to hit the halfway mark is a pretty low-risk endeavour. Today, try to expose as much skin as possible to the sun for a reasonable length of time, avoiding burning of course. To mitigate skin cancer concerns, cover frequently exposed, sensitive skin areas (face, neck, hands) with clothing or sunscreen.