Archive for June, 2009

It’s Good For You, Really!

Monday, June 29th, 2009

The tabloids and the nightly news seems to get quite a bit of milage out of taking things that are bad for you and finding a person that has suddenly discovered that it is good for you.  I am not sure who it is that does these studies, but the studies are always just partially quoted anyway, and the stories are always misleading.  

Coffee, chocolate, wine, smoking, etc. are continually being found just not that bad, even though everyone knows that they are.  The big surprise is always that if you partake of these traditional baddies in moderation, they don’t kill you (at least not as fast).  OK, I know that there are some benefits to chocolate and wine, but the problem is the way these studies are portrayed.  Common sense and listening to your body will tell you that a little of either of these is OK, and that a lot of either is bad.  The “news” wants to tell you that the experts have said it is OK, so now we don’t have to feel evil every time we partake. Alleluia, we are free from common sense!  

What I think that most people get out of these reports is that it is time to party, ’cause the experts said it was good for us. Binge time!  It doesn’t matter that the actual story said to use moderation or eat small amounts (Americans don’t understand “small amounts”, if a little is good, more is better).  Sensationalism sells, but it doesn’t inform.

Love as a Nutrient

Friday, June 26th, 2009

There is no doubt in my mind that family and community add nutrition to food. Now, I have no idea how this works.  I don’t have any data to back me up, but my own experience is that you can eat a greasy fatty meal by yourself and feel terrible, and you can eat the same greasy fatty meal in a group of people that you care about, and that care for you, and feel great. 

When you think about it, most ethnic food is not the healthiest.  Usually, there are elements of simple carbohydrates, greasy meat or oil, and some kind of overcooking.  For my family this is perogies, but every family and culture has a meal like this.  There is a substance to such meals eaten in a community setting, however, that can’t be seen or measured but that does a body good.

Can you measure the dietary benefit of love and acceptance–of belonging.  What about laughter–that has been shown to be good for digestion.  How about peace?  Has to be good for nutrient absorption.  I bet there have been experiments and tests measuring this.  I will have to look them up and see if I am right.

Class and Health

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

One of the main indicators that demographers have noted determines how likely people are to have “good health” is family income. Essentially, folks who are more well off are more likely to have a longer and more disease-free life than those who are scraping by.

This statistic makes sense, I guess, because those with money can buy better food, supplements, afford exercise equipment, ect., but I don’t see why this necessarily has to be so. I mean, if people are at least getting by, health is not all that expensive to obtain. Anyone can go for a walk, or choose healthy foods. Perhaps the real deal behind this number is education, or stress levels, but I don’t know.

What I do know is that health is an individual choice, and those who want it can obtain it for little money, though it always takes a great deal of effort

The Older You Get…

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

 

It is interesting that older people either get grumpy and irritable, or they get more radiant, humorous, and loving.  I used to live in a community where there were many old people, and it pretty much goes like that.  What is the difference?  You could call it attitude, but I think it is mostly a sense of humor.

 

Those people that can laugh at life, even when it is hard, seem to ease into an elderly life that is worth staying around for, no matter what their circumstances.  Those with a sense of humor seem to grow wise as they grow old, and those without seem to harden in their ignorance.  Of course, this is a broad generalization, but I think that it is generally true.

Humor and health have long been associated, and for good reason.  It increases digestion to laugh, it increases immune function etc.  More importantly, it increases friendship and maintains family bonds.

 

So whatever happens on my yet long road toward elderliness, and anything can happen, I hope that I remember to look at it in perspective, and to laugh.

Cholesterol cons

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Most people who have studied or who are familiar with the topic have discarded the idea that cholesterol causes high blood pressure, yet the idea among the general public that this is the case persists.  Packages of food still tout their low level of cholesterol.  It turns out, many health experts believe, that it is not how much cholesterol you consume, so much, as your body’s ability to use and discard cholesterol.  A body in balance will easily use the cholesterol it needs and discard the rest.  This is not to say that cholesterol won’t build up in the healthiest body if extreme amounts are consumed, but amount is definitely not the main contributing factor to arteries getting clogged.

 

The principle seems to be that it is not so much the individual lack or overabundance of a certain substance so much as it is the overall health and balance of the body in general.  We need not fear any thing in natural food, but need to concentrate on getting the body into a stronger healthier state.

Healthy Carbs

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

I am glad that the freaking out about carbohydrates is mostly over, and that this wave of the protein craze has died out.  There are still the protein die-hards, but the evidence for whole grains has definitely changed the focus.  It will come around again, I am sure, with some new “break through diet”, but for now, whole grains rule the day.

 

This is how it should be. I mean think about it, most people for most of the worlds history have eaten a diet mostly based on grains and vegetable staples like yams or potatoes etc..  The protein diet people look back at our hunter gatherer days for their clues on the perfect diet, but that was also when most of the human race went largely hungry.  Not until wide spread agriculture did we consistently have enough to eat so we could concentrate on more higher and more important things, like internet solitaire.

 

Anyway, grains, fruits and vegetables—the carb foods—have most the vitamins and minerals we need to function, isn’t that a clue?  It seems like in the never-ending American pursuit for some new health idea, that we tend to look past to obvious answers and wind up doing some pretty strange and unnatural things.

 

Cleanse away!

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

So the other day I started to do cleanse   Wow,I feel awful in such a good way!  I am doing a few things (I am not writing to promote a program or product right here) but suffice it to say that I really think this will work.  I feel like I have the flue—they tell me this is how I know that it is working.  I also feel like I can think clearly for the first time in a while.  If it weren’t for the rash I would consider the score even., but it seems that my body wants to lose toxins through the quickest exit possible, my skin.  The idea is that we pick up all sorts of environmental toxins from the processed food and contaminated water and air, and that if we want to be healthier we can take steps to get rid of all that nonsense that is stored away in our tissues and causing problems with horomones etc.

 

I am not sure if I will lose weight but I gotta think that losing this toxic garbage will help make me more efficient.  Not more caffeine and guarana for me!  They say that I should loose a few pounds, and my friends that are doing this have lost ten or fifteen.  I am not sure how this will turn out in the end, but it sure is interesting.

 

 

the secret

Friday, June 12th, 2009

I have been trying to lose wieght for so long that it has becom a hobby.  I have tried everything and anything in order to lose these extra 40 pounds, but nothing seemed to work.  At last I have found the secret, and the secret is perserverance.

Always before I have given a program a month, and then when I didn’t see any results, I would get dejected at yet another thing that didn’t work.  It turns out that over 90% of the time that people start a diet program it doesn’t work.

Well, I have a friend that was going to the gym everyday, and she invited me along, so I went for the heck of it, not expecting anything.  After the first month, no change at all.  No surprise, but I had to admit that I did feel better.  After the second month, a little bit of change, and a few pounds lost.  For some reason–probably my friend picking me up everyday–I kept at it for the third month and whammo!  Fifteen pounds lost in a month.  Now this is getting good, and the hard work is paying off.  Sure, I am doing some things with diet and supplements, but that is just support.  Preserverence is the secret.  So just keep it up!