Your Daily Dose of Health

Most people want to improve their fitness levels; whether for looks, or health, or some other personal goal.  When folks start they usually start too quickly, push too much and feel terrible.  I suggest changing your vision.

The 20-20-20 vision is the way to begin a workout program.  It is cheap (you just have to buy clothes) and very easy. 

The first 20 stands for push ups.  This is twenty in one day.  You can do them all at once, or break them up during the day.

 Next is twenty crunches.  Throw out the sit-up and use a crunch.  It is easier and will give more positive results.  A sit up will injure more than help.  The crunch targets your core muscles and allows those “helper” muscles to rest until they are truly needed.

The last 20 is for aerobic.  Whether it is running, walking or a mixture of both.  Get your feet moving for twenty minutes a day.  It is not a lot, but for a beginner or a “restarter”, it will help with exercise.  You will feel like you are having fun instead of killing yourself and swearing you will never do it again.

 And most importantly-Have Fun!

Let me tell you something about NO.  It all started with a free-form amino acid l-arginine.  Now, you know it by the name of Viagra or a popular bodybuilding supplement.  I traversed to the local library and picked out the August ’07 edition of a popular bodybuilding magazine and came up with a count of how many ads promoted NO (or nitric oxide). (And no, that’s not what a dentist gives when you need to be put out for a procedure)

I counted fifteen different ads for a NO supplement, three that had four pages.  And I didn’t get into the special ad section in the back. Obviously a big push for body builders.  But why Viagra?

NO is used to dilate blood vessels.   This sends in more blood and nutrients through the system.  This gives the reality, appearance and feeling of bigger appendages.  Muscles will become larger as the fill with blood, nutrients and other fluids flowing through the vessels.  This is so thick that you can see it.

While looks and feelings are great, l-arginine does other great things that are not so “sexy”.  That is cardiovascular support.

 When transformed to NO, arginine relaxes blood vessels, regulates blood vessel tone and their flexibility.  This will protect against aging of the cardiovascular system by allowing the proper nutrients (such as HDL cholesterol) to flow through the system. 

 The plant-based food sources for l-arginine are: chocolate, wheat germ and flour, buckwheat, granola, oatmeal, nuts (coconut, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, peanuts), seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower), chick peas, cooked soybeans. [For this list and a full list chlick here]

My wife and I are working really hard to sell our town-home and get us and our three “energetic” children into a house with a yard where they can use some of their energy for good.  I have run the mill of emotions working on the house and trying to get it ready to sell.  From putting in a new floor, to painting the whole place, we have worked hard.

Then yesterday something crazy happened-we had a showing.  I know, it blew me away too.  In fact, it took me completely off guard.  I had ten minutes to get out of the house.  My wife was out and I was left alone man-in my little garden.  The worst part is I wasn’t really alone.  I had the company of my “energetic” children and the parasites of clutter and crumbs spread through out the house. 

I had to get the house presentable in ten minutes.  A feat which really took me a half an hour (lucky they were late).  Massive amounts of emotion surfaced as I wondered very loudly why there were cookie crumbs in the master bedroom.  (They were not mine-I promise). There were many more things that were out of place and I was fixing the bathroom sink to make it even sweeter.

After I got back from the store and the showing was over, I thought about what went wrong.  I had prepared my house, but my house wasn’t prepared.  I hadn’t kept up on the job I had worked so hard on.  And what is even worse, is the weeks getting the house ready is maintained in an hour or less a day.  I didn’t leave the house that day in good standing.  It was mediocre at best. 

Some times our lives are like the house.  We work so hard to take the weight off, or to get to a spiritual plane.  What ever it is, we need to spend that extra energy to maintain the energy we have worked for.  Whether it is making a meal plan at the beginning of the week, or taking time for sun salutation in the morning, it is important to keep in mind to be watchful on the day to day upkeep.  Don’t lose what you have work so hard for.  And keep a good emotional level when the pressures come into your life.  I wish I would have done so…

When forging ahead on a plant based diet the main question I get asked is where do you get your protein from.  Well, I wanted to give a great list of protein rich foods, that are not meat based.

Soy Beans-1 cup cooked = 28 g

Pearl barley-1 cup raw = 20 g

Lentis-1 cup cooked = 18 g

Split peas-1 cup cooked = 16 g

Oat bran-1 cup raw = 16 g

Pinto, kidney or black beans-1 cup cooked = 15 g

Oatmeal (not instant)-2 cups cooked = 12 g

Black-eyed peas or lima beans-1 cup cooked = 12 g

Just days after I posted some information on seasonal eating I came across this tip from http://organicconsumers.org.  I thought that it would be appropriate to post the whole thing here and let them do the blog for today! It is important to also find food that are local.  Not only does it help the economic needs of the area we live, but it also gives us a better chance of getting the freshest foods.  Read on…

CONSUMER TIP OF THE WEEK:
DON’T JUST BUY LOCAL — BUY IN SEASONMore and more consumers are beginning to understand the incredible environmental and economic benefits of buying local. Industrial agriculture and long distance food transportation and processing now generate up to 25% of all climate destabilizing greenhouse gases. Farmers Markets across the country are reporting record attendance and sales. Massive amounts of CO2 are produced when the average, often highly processed and wastefully packaged store-bought food item travels 1500-2500 miles from farm to fork. You know you’re doing the planet and our climate a favor when purchasing items grown by farmers in your area. This week’s tip is a reminder to consumers that buying foods in season can be as important as buying locally. A bag of tomatoes grown locally may have less of an energy impact than those shipped up from Chile. But grow those tomatoes out of season in a heated greenhouse and its energy impact can exceed the imported option. Of course, the moral of the story isn’t to buy your tomatoes from Chile in the winter time, but rather to look for foods that are growing locally in season or were grown and canned / dried / preserved locally.

Cordyceps are great chinese medicine used for althletic purposes.  The benefits are:
• Is traditional used to help the body build strength, endurance and stamina.
• Offers energizing support.
• Supports the upper respiratory tract and promotes optimal lung function.
• Supports male potency and female vitality.
• Supports the kidneys.
• Helps the body maintain proper blood viscocity.
• Has properties similar to those of ginseng.

Here is the whole story on the ying and yang of the fungus.

Planet Earth Parasitic Cordyceps Fungi Attack
2 min 2 sec – Dec 28, 2006

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2375791044096176343&hl=en

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Description: Cordyceps [Circulatory, Immune, Respiratory, Glandular] is perhaps best known as the supplement that members of the Chinese women’s track and field team used in training before they broke several records in 1993 and 1994. Team members tested negative for using illegal substances, and their coach revealed that the athletes’ diets were supplemented with a Chinese “caterpillar fungus.”
 
Fungi supplements—like reishi and shiitake mushrooms—are growing in popularity in the U.S. Another important species, Cordyceps sinensis, is also gaining recognition.
 
Cordyceps has properties similar to those of ginseng and is traditionally used to help the body build strength and endurance.
 
In traditional Chinese medicine, cordyceps has been used to benefit the glandular system in both women and men. In addition, cordyceps supports the kidneys, aids the upper respiratory tract and helps the body maintain proper blood viscosity.CAUTION: Cordyceps is safe for adults, but people using immune-suppressing drugs, anticoagulant drugs or bronchodilators should consult their health care practitioners before using this product.
 
Pregnant or lactating women should avoid using this product.

Now that everyone has gone gaga over “The Secret” and the “Law of Attraction”, lets realize that there are other laws that govern the universe.  Lets focus on “The Law of Purpose”.

What is the purpose you awake at 5:00 in the morning to go for a run, or drink a slimy greens drink?  Why do people do things they do?

When committing oneself to a venture there must be a purpose.  The purpose must be worthwhile and good for the person.  If my goal is to run a marathon, the chances are I will likely succeed better then when compared my reason of just liking to run. That is important too, but without the higher purpose it become easy to get sidetracked.  A purpose must be established and understood in order find fulfillment in the goal.

Besides not having a goal, a poorly directed purpose also becomes a problem.  Just like the purpose of a business is not to gain profits, in strength training it is not to get huge.  Am I crazy? A business is not meant to make profits?  No I am not, its meant to make and retain customers.  That is where your profits will come from.  In strength training it is to rip and rebuild muscle fibers.  The result will be to increase mass.  This is done by planning workouts and keeping track of daily progress.  Then monthly progress. 

You should not measure your arm everyday to see if it grew! You should make sure that you are on track by lifting on your proper days.  Once you do the exercise, your purpose will come.

Once while riding the train into school I picked up a local publication which had a interview with John Doulillard.  He is considered a Ayurvedic expert and I found his advice in this interview great.  It felt like a breath of clean air.  Something that made sense to me, but I could never put my finger on it before.  In the article he says:

 ”Another thing that’s important to realize is that we’re connected to cycles of nature, and we can’t swim against the tide forever. [...] But we insulate ourselves from those cycles.  We can get back in rhythm by eating with the season’s cycles, eating more protein in the winter and more greens and berries in the spring and summer to detoxify after a long winter of eating meats and grains and soups and stews and heavy, warm winter food.  Detoxifying food is what nature gives us then; greens are alkaline to open the lymph system, berries and cherries are high in antioxidants and proanthocyanidins.  Then, after you clean house in the spring, you get energy for the long days in the summer with your high-carbohydrate foods.”

While I am not perfect in this practice, I have been striving to follow what the cycles of the earth have taught us.  It has been over a month and a half since I have had any meat.  The first response I get from people is “where do you get your protein from?” People are really surprised when I explain to them that vegetables contain protein.  The experts also remind us that we only need about 50 grams of the nutrient a day. 

Now, my body was not ready for this change.  I come from a meat and potatoes family.  My dad would be out in snow storms on occasions just to grill something.  And in the summer we enjoyed a grilled dinner more than 3/4 a month.  So the change was hard for me.  But once I made it a part of me by committing my mind to the idea it became easier. 

Will I eat meat again.  Yes I will.  But during the summer I am on a plant based diet.  I will not eat another summer sausage, but a hearty stew will do good.  The best advice I have ever heard to to eat meat sparingly.

Who likes water? I know some who don’t like water because of the “lack of taste”.  Big corporations, like Pepsico, love water! They can make so much money off of water.  I have even heard that their water may just be tap water.  Wouldn’t that be just a big kick in the pants? But the reality of it is that we need water.  In fact, we need half our body weight in ounces each day.  Really.  Say I weight 180 lbs, I would need to drink 90 ounces of water per day.  Sounds like a lot? At first it is.  After a while your body gets use to it.  What I found helps me is to exercise.  I always make it through my total ounces when I do.  I drink so much while working out that it becomes easy.   At first, my time spent in the bathroom increased, but it leveled out.  The real shock came when I got into an automobile accident and stopped working out due to injuries.  Soon I have a massive kidney stone that had to be surgically removed.  By body was not being flushed any longer and the minerals were granted access to build up in my kidney.   

I guess I can say that I like water.