I went and spoke to a church group the other day.
With the Thanksgiving looming around the corner - and varioius Holiday meals a short distance away, the group wanted more information about how they could keep the weight off through the holdiays.
I compiled a list of strategies that they could incorporate into their daily living - I wanted to share. My bet is that if you use these tips on a regular basis - you just might surpise yourself and fit into that summer pair of jeans without laying on the bed!
Let me know what you think...
I know that adjusting your eating and exercise habits during this time of year can seem so daunting, it's no wonder that some of us never make it beyond the first day! (Sound familiar?) So what's the best way to get started?
The surest way to success is to make small changes. Think in terms of manageable baby steps, like swapping the full fat milk in your morning coffee for skimmed milk. There are lots of little changes you can make – in your diet and your daily routine – that will add up to a lot of weight loss over the long haul.
I've compiled some tips below for eating healthier, fitting exercise into your busy day and revamping your daily routine. Start by picking five changes that you're sure you can tackle and practise them this week. Then try another five next week.
Not every idea is right for everyone, so experiment and see what works for you. Lots of little changes can yield big weight loss results – and a healthier you!
Eating Tips
Good things come in small packages. Here's a trick for staying satisfied without consuming large portions: Chop high calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces. It will seem like you're getting more than you actually are.
Don't give up dips. If you love creamy dips and sauces, don't cut them out of your food plan completely. Just use low fat soft cheese and mayo instead of the full fat stuff.
Get water-wise. Make a habit of reaching for a glass of water instead of a high fat snack. It will help your overall health as well as your waistline. So drink up! Add some zest to your six to eight glasses a day with a twist of lemon or lime.
Herb it up. Stock up your spice rack, and start growing a small herb garden in your kitchen window. Spices and herbs add fantastic flavour to foods without adding fat or calories.
Slim down your soup. Make a big batch of soup and refrigerate it before you eat it. As it cools, the fat will rise to the top and can be skimmed off the surface.
Go American and doggie-bag that dinner. At restaurants that you know serve large portions, ask the waiter to put half your main course in a take away box before bringing it to your table. Putting the food away before you start your meal will help you practise portion control.
Listen to your cravings. If you're craving something sweet, eat something sweet – just opt for a healthier nosh, like fruit, instead of a high calorie one. The same goes for crunchy cravings – for example, try air-popped popcorn instead of high fat crisps. It's just smart substitution!
Ease your way into produce. If you're new to eating lots of fruits and vegetables, start slowly. Just add them to the foods you already enjoy. Pile salad veggies into your sandwiches, or add fruit to your cereal.
Look for high fat hints. Want an easy way to identify high calorie meals? Keep an eye out for these words: au gratin, parmigiana, tempura, alfredo, creamy and carbonara, and enjoy them in moderation.
Don't multi-task while you eat. If you're working, reading or watching TV while you eat, you won't be paying attention to what's going into your mouth – and you won't be enjoying every bite. Today, every time you have a meal, sit down. Chew slowly and pay attention to flavours and textures. You'll enjoy your food more and eat less.
Taste something new. Broaden your food repertoire – you may find you like more healthy foods than you knew. Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had plantain, pak choi, starfruit or papaya?).
Grandma is not going to like this advice. Leave something on your plate at every meal. One bite of bagel, half your sandwich, the bun from your burger. See if you still feel satisfied eating just a bit less.
Get to know your portion sizes. It's easy to underestimate how much you're eating. Today, don't just estimate things – make sure. Ask how much is in a serving, read the fine print on labels, measure your food. And learn portion equivalents: One serving of pasta, for instance, should be around the size of a tennis ball.
Make a healthy substitution. Learn to swap healthier foods for their less-healthy counterparts. Today, find a substitution that works for you: Use skimmed milk instead of full fat milk; try wholewheat bread instead of white.
Cook a bunch this weekend and bring lunch to work next week. Packing lunch will help you control your portion sizes. It also provides a good alternative to restaurants and takeaways, where making healthy choices every day can be challenging (not to mention expensive - you just knew I had to throw the economy in here didn't you).
Have some dessert! Yes personal trainers think you should have dessert.. You don't have to deny yourself all the time. Have a treat that brings you pleasure, but this time enjoy it guilt-free – be sure you're practising portion control, and compensate for your indulgence by exercising a little more or by skipping your afternoon snack.
Ask for what you need. Tell your mother-in-law you don't want seconds. Ask your other half to stop bringing you chocolates. Speak up for the place with great salads when your co-workers are picking a restaurant for lunch. Whatever you need to do to succeed at weight loss, ask for it – make yourself a priority and assert yourself.
Fitness Tips
Improve your treadmill technique. When walking on a treadmill, don't grip the rails. It's fine to touch them for balance, but you shouldn't have to hold on. If you do, that might be a signal you should lower the intensity level.
Simon says... get fit. Here's an easy way to fit in exercise with your (or the neighbors) kids: Buy a set of 1lb weights and play a round of Simon Says – you do it with the weights, they do it without. I do this at the Center sometimes and the preschool kids love it! (sans the weights of course) Plus it's a great way to break up the day and get your heart pumping!
Make the most of your walks. If your walking routine has become too easy, increase your effort by finding hills. Just be sure to tackle them at the beginning of your walk, when you have energy to spare.
Shop 'til you drop... pounds! Add a workout to your shopping sessions by parking your car as far from the shop as possible, to get more walking in. And try walking up the escalator – getting to your destination faster will be an added bonus.
Walk an extra 100 steps at work. Adding even a little extra exercise to your daily routine can boost your weight loss. Today, take the stairs instead of the lift, or stroll down the hall to talk to a co-worker instead of sending an email or calling.
Lifestyle Tips
Brush your teeth after every meal and snack. This will be a signal to your mouth – and your mind – that it's time to stop eating. Brushing will also give your mouth a nice fresh taste that you'll be disinclined to ruin with a random crisp. At work, keep a toothbrush with a cover and toothpaste in your desk drawer.
Clean your Closet! First, it's great exercise. Second, it's an important step in changing your attitude. Get rid of all the clothes that make you look or feel bad. Throw out anything that's too big – don't give yourself the option of ever fitting into those clothes again. Move the smaller clothes up to the front to help motivate you. Soon, you'll be fitting into those too-tight jeans you couldn't bear to part with.
Take your measurements. You might not like your stats now, (I didn't) but you'll be glad you wrote them down when you see how many inches you've lost. (I did!) It's also another way to measure your success, instead of just looking at the scale. Sometimes even when the numbers on the scale aren't going down, the measurements on your body are.
I hope this will give you a direction to stay on track over the next few months. Let me know how you do.
Til next time.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
A "work around" to your fitness road blocks
If you do a little reading, television cruising, and listening to fitness experts, it seems like fitness is a pretty simple thing. It seems that if you move like so, sweat this much, eat this amount, then before long you’ll be fit, lean, and looking great. If you listen to the fitness world, then it’s all just a mathematical system and if you follow the steps you’ll have great, linear progress.
Yeah sure....
Well, we all know that it’s not quite that free and easy. In reality the act and process of losing fat, gaining muscle, and improving your fitness (however you decide to define it) really is fairly simple. However, it’s not necessarily easy.
In everyone’s fitness journey there are what I call road blocks. These road blocks are situations and conditions that stand in the way of your goals. Just like real road blocks these fitness road blocks can stop you dead in your tracks. And just like real road blocks you have a few options. You can:
-Go around them.
-Try to drive right on through.
-Turn around and go back.
-Continue to push against them in an attempt to get through.
Today I want to share with you the three most common road blocks that I see my clients hit time and time again and a "work around" that just might help you get over the hump.
Fitness Road Block #1: Outside Stress. The human body lives with stress all of the time. Every situation you come across is full of potential stress. Is it cold outside? Stress. Did you have a couple drinks this weekend? Stress. Did your obnoxious coworker cough on you earlier today? A double helping of stress right there.
Not all stress is bad. And stress often serves as the the impetus for your body to grow, adapt, and change. When you train you are providing your body with a controlled stress (hopefully) to push it towards the body you want. Some stress is good, or at least is the means to a good end.
The problem is that too much stress, of any kind, can overwhelm the body. When it is overwhelmed then it doesn’t adapt well to any stress, including your training. Too many of us are running around living way too stressful lives. This daily grind and stress is sapping the energy we need to train efficiently and to enjoy our lives. This, and the hormonal reactions from the stress, leave us with more body fat, less muscle, and no motivation.
The "work around"?
First, sit down and figure out the three biggest stressors in your life. They may come from work, personal relationships, living arrangements, finances, or anywhere. In order to limit your outside stress, look at any possible way to eliminate or reduce any of these stressful situations and then take action on it. Only action will solve the problem, not planning.
Fitness Road Block #2: Parties and Social Situations.
Every time of year has it’s share of holiday and social functions, and they almost all revolve around food and drink. This time of year it’s almost time for Halloween, and that means lots of Halloween candy and a growing waistline.
It can be hard to turn down the food and drink that doesn’t help you at these parties and functions. Being successful in fitness shouldn’t mean that you have to become a shut-in and shun the outside world. The two keys to holiday survival are moderation and planning.
The "work around"?
Before you go to an event where you know that lots of tempting but unhealthy food will be served I recommend that you eat a good, healthy meal. Focus on lean foods such as a lean protein and plenty of vegetables for bulk and fiber. If your stomach is full when you walk in the door it’ll be less likely to overeat and over drink. It will be a lot easier for you to just try a few tastes of the food there rather than fill up a couple of plates.
Fitness Roadblock #3:
Not Measuring Progress.
The "work around"?
I don't get crazy about measuring everything that my clients do. You shouldn't either. But I do keep track of their progress. I look at strength levels, endurance measurements and measurements related to their specific goals. Keeping a written measurement aids me in helping my clients keep perspective. If I just leave it all up to subjective feelings and didn't measure things then it’s very easy for both of us to be swayed by good days and bad days.
Easy measurements that you can keep track of on your own are the volume of work or weight you move in a workout. Is your resting heart rate progressively getting slower - or does it take more work to raise your heart rate? Do your clothes fit better? Is your waist getting smaller? Do you have less body fat, or more muscle? If you are getting these changes then you know you are headed in the right direction. It’s easier to stay on task and be encouraged when there’s a number that shows there is an improvement over the last measurement.
Don't be afraid to test yourself regularly. Just make sure you record the results and measure them against your past results. If you are improving, then you know that you are on the right path. If you’re not, then it’s time to analyze what you’re doing and figure out how to change it.
Life is full of little and big road blocks that will throw you off track if you allow them to. Rather than simply viewing these road blocks as something in your way to push against, use them as opportunities to examine where you are, where you’ve been, and how to best continue on your journey. If you look at your progress as a bunch of small, well-coordinated steps you’re far more likely to be successful than if you view it as one big, scary path.
Til next time....
Yeah sure....
Well, we all know that it’s not quite that free and easy. In reality the act and process of losing fat, gaining muscle, and improving your fitness (however you decide to define it) really is fairly simple. However, it’s not necessarily easy.
In everyone’s fitness journey there are what I call road blocks. These road blocks are situations and conditions that stand in the way of your goals. Just like real road blocks these fitness road blocks can stop you dead in your tracks. And just like real road blocks you have a few options. You can:
-Go around them.
-Try to drive right on through.
-Turn around and go back.
-Continue to push against them in an attempt to get through.
Today I want to share with you the three most common road blocks that I see my clients hit time and time again and a "work around" that just might help you get over the hump.
Fitness Road Block #1: Outside Stress. The human body lives with stress all of the time. Every situation you come across is full of potential stress. Is it cold outside? Stress. Did you have a couple drinks this weekend? Stress. Did your obnoxious coworker cough on you earlier today? A double helping of stress right there.
Not all stress is bad. And stress often serves as the the impetus for your body to grow, adapt, and change. When you train you are providing your body with a controlled stress (hopefully) to push it towards the body you want. Some stress is good, or at least is the means to a good end.
The problem is that too much stress, of any kind, can overwhelm the body. When it is overwhelmed then it doesn’t adapt well to any stress, including your training. Too many of us are running around living way too stressful lives. This daily grind and stress is sapping the energy we need to train efficiently and to enjoy our lives. This, and the hormonal reactions from the stress, leave us with more body fat, less muscle, and no motivation.
The "work around"?
First, sit down and figure out the three biggest stressors in your life. They may come from work, personal relationships, living arrangements, finances, or anywhere. In order to limit your outside stress, look at any possible way to eliminate or reduce any of these stressful situations and then take action on it. Only action will solve the problem, not planning.
Fitness Road Block #2: Parties and Social Situations.
Every time of year has it’s share of holiday and social functions, and they almost all revolve around food and drink. This time of year it’s almost time for Halloween, and that means lots of Halloween candy and a growing waistline.
It can be hard to turn down the food and drink that doesn’t help you at these parties and functions. Being successful in fitness shouldn’t mean that you have to become a shut-in and shun the outside world. The two keys to holiday survival are moderation and planning.
The "work around"?
Before you go to an event where you know that lots of tempting but unhealthy food will be served I recommend that you eat a good, healthy meal. Focus on lean foods such as a lean protein and plenty of vegetables for bulk and fiber. If your stomach is full when you walk in the door it’ll be less likely to overeat and over drink. It will be a lot easier for you to just try a few tastes of the food there rather than fill up a couple of plates.
Fitness Roadblock #3:
Not Measuring Progress.
The "work around"?
I don't get crazy about measuring everything that my clients do. You shouldn't either. But I do keep track of their progress. I look at strength levels, endurance measurements and measurements related to their specific goals. Keeping a written measurement aids me in helping my clients keep perspective. If I just leave it all up to subjective feelings and didn't measure things then it’s very easy for both of us to be swayed by good days and bad days.
Easy measurements that you can keep track of on your own are the volume of work or weight you move in a workout. Is your resting heart rate progressively getting slower - or does it take more work to raise your heart rate? Do your clothes fit better? Is your waist getting smaller? Do you have less body fat, or more muscle? If you are getting these changes then you know you are headed in the right direction. It’s easier to stay on task and be encouraged when there’s a number that shows there is an improvement over the last measurement.
Don't be afraid to test yourself regularly. Just make sure you record the results and measure them against your past results. If you are improving, then you know that you are on the right path. If you’re not, then it’s time to analyze what you’re doing and figure out how to change it.
Life is full of little and big road blocks that will throw you off track if you allow them to. Rather than simply viewing these road blocks as something in your way to push against, use them as opportunities to examine where you are, where you’ve been, and how to best continue on your journey. If you look at your progress as a bunch of small, well-coordinated steps you’re far more likely to be successful than if you view it as one big, scary path.
Til next time....
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I'm standing up for salt!
OK....So those of you who have worked with me as a trainer, and those of you who have debated with me know that often times I show how this body stuff can be "counter intutive"... The crazy thing is generally those thoughts are on the mark....it works. So here is another example of how things might work if we didn't diddle around with it.Let me explain.... In a recent eight-year study of people with high blood pressure found that people on low-salt diets had more than FOUR times as many heart attacks as those on normal salt diets.1
Huh? you say, that doesn't make any sense.... again, let me explain.
- Salt maintains the electrolyte balance inside and outside your cells and natural salt contains vital minerals your body needs.
- Here are just a few more of the many benefits of salt…
- Stimulates salivation and helps to balance and replenishes all of the body’s electrolytes
- Provides renewed energy
- Gives you a high resistance to infections and bacterial diseases
- Supplies all 82 vital trace minerals to promote optimum biological function and cellular maintenance
- Balances alkaline/acid levels in the blood
- Restores good digestion
- The natural iodine in salt protects against radiation and many other pollutants
- Aids in relieving allergies and skin diseases
- Eliminates toxins in the body to help prevent infection
You would think with all the negative press on salt, how could this be? (hint: follow the money.)
When I was in school we were taught that salt causes high blood pressure and you read about the evils of salt everywhere you turned. The reason doesn’t appear to be science but that there’s just not much money in naturally occurring salt compared to proprietary foods and drugs.
When I was in school we were taught that salt causes high blood pressure and you read about the evils of salt everywhere you turned. The reason doesn’t appear to be science but that there’s just not much money in naturally occurring salt compared to proprietary foods and drugs.
There’s a lot of money in altering your food. But here’s the catch – first they have to convince you that the natural food we’ve been eating for eons will kill you – now you have to buy their new-fangled package of modern substitute food.
Even so, when I looked at the results used to justify the "salt is bad" campaign I was confused- now more and more research is coming to the forfront suggesting why salt might not be as bad as we thought in fact it just might be the opposite of what you'd heard.
Here’s a summary:
A health outcomes study in Finland, reported to the American Heart Association, revealed that no health benefits could be identified and concluded “our results do not support the recommendations for entire populations to reduce dietary sodium intake to prevent coronary heart disease.”2
A ten-year follow-up study to a massive Scottish Heart Health Study found no improved health outcomes for those on low-salt diets.3
A health outcomes study in Finland, reported to the American Heart Association, revealed that no health benefits could be identified and concluded “our results do not support the recommendations for entire populations to reduce dietary sodium intake to prevent coronary heart disease.”2
A ten-year follow-up study to a massive Scottish Heart Health Study found no improved health outcomes for those on low-salt diets.3
An October 2007 analysis of a large Dutch database published in the European Journal of Epidemiology documented no benefit of low-salt diets in reducing stroke or heart attack incidence nor lowering death rates.4
But what you need is the real “Salt of the Earth”
Standard table salt is not only highly refined—it’s chemically cleansed and unfriendly to the human body. Unrefined sea salt, on the other hand, is a naturally occurring complex of sodium chloride and a complement of essential trace minerals. This is the form of salt your body is designed to digest—the kind of salt that’s been around since humans first walked the earth. Refined table salt, on the other hand, is a modern invention, artificially designed to look white and pour easily. Your body was never meant to absorb it.
Natural salt is a source of 21 essential and 30 accessory minerals that are essential to our health. That’s why I use sea salt. It’s unrefined and packed with all the trace elements the ancients prized for maintaining health and vigor.
Here are just a few of the key minerals and elements you’ll find in most sea salts:
Here are just a few of the key minerals and elements you’ll find in most sea salts:
Chloride
Chloride, along with sodium, regulates the acid/alkali balance in the body. It is also necessary for the production of gastric acid which is a component of hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Chloride, along with sodium, regulates the acid/alkali balance in the body. It is also necessary for the production of gastric acid which is a component of hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Iron
Necessary for cell function and blood utilization. It's used to make hemoglobin, which carried oxygen in the blood. Blood loss is the most common cause of iron deficiency.
Necessary for cell function and blood utilization. It's used to make hemoglobin, which carried oxygen in the blood. Blood loss is the most common cause of iron deficiency.
Sulfur
Found in all cells, especially in skin, connective tissues, and hair. Inadequate dietary sulfur has been associated with skin and nail diseases. Increased intake of dietary sulfur sometimes helps psoriasis and rheumatic conditions.
Found in all cells, especially in skin, connective tissues, and hair. Inadequate dietary sulfur has been associated with skin and nail diseases. Increased intake of dietary sulfur sometimes helps psoriasis and rheumatic conditions.
Calcium
Necessary for the formation and maintenance of bones, blood coagulation, and heart, nerve and muscle function. Calcium depletion can result in a number of symptoms, most notably osteoporosis which results in decreased bone mass and increased chances of bone breakage.
Necessary for the formation and maintenance of bones, blood coagulation, and heart, nerve and muscle function. Calcium depletion can result in a number of symptoms, most notably osteoporosis which results in decreased bone mass and increased chances of bone breakage.
Copper
Copper facilitates in the absorption of iron and supports vitamin C absorption. Copper is also involved in protein synthesis and an important factor in the production of RNA.
Copper facilitates in the absorption of iron and supports vitamin C absorption. Copper is also involved in protein synthesis and an important factor in the production of RNA.
Potassium
Stimulates nerve impulses and muscle contractions. It regulates the body’s acid-alkali balance, stimulates kidney and adrenal functioning, and assists in converting glucose to glycogen. It's also important for biosynthesis of protein.
Stimulates nerve impulses and muscle contractions. It regulates the body’s acid-alkali balance, stimulates kidney and adrenal functioning, and assists in converting glucose to glycogen. It's also important for biosynthesis of protein.
Zinc
Required for growth, immune system function, sexual development and the synthesis of insulin. Proper zinc metabolism is needed for wound healing, and carbohydrate and protein metabolism. It is considered an antibacterial factor in the prostatic fluid, and may contribute to the prevention of chronic bacterial prostatitis and urinary tract infections.
Required for growth, immune system function, sexual development and the synthesis of insulin. Proper zinc metabolism is needed for wound healing, and carbohydrate and protein metabolism. It is considered an antibacterial factor in the prostatic fluid, and may contribute to the prevention of chronic bacterial prostatitis and urinary tract infections.
Silicon
Silicon is necessary for normal growth and bone formation. With calcium, silicon is a contributing factor in good skeletal integrity. Silicon is a main component of osteoblasts, the bone forming cells. Silicon may help to maintain youthful skin, hair and nails.
Silicon is necessary for normal growth and bone formation. With calcium, silicon is a contributing factor in good skeletal integrity. Silicon is a main component of osteoblasts, the bone forming cells. Silicon may help to maintain youthful skin, hair and nails.
Sodium
Sodium regulates the pH of intracellular fluids and with potassium, regulates the acid/ alkali balance in the body. Sodium and chloride are necessary for maintaining osmosis and electrolyte balance.
Sodium regulates the pH of intracellular fluids and with potassium, regulates the acid/ alkali balance in the body. Sodium and chloride are necessary for maintaining osmosis and electrolyte balance.
Magnesium
An important mineral because it aids in the activation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main energy source for cell functioning. It also activates several enzyme systems and is important for the synthesis of RNA and DNA. Magnesium is necessary for normal muscle contraction and important for the synthesis of several amino acids.
An important mineral because it aids in the activation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main energy source for cell functioning. It also activates several enzyme systems and is important for the synthesis of RNA and DNA. Magnesium is necessary for normal muscle contraction and important for the synthesis of several amino acids.
Cobalt
Cobalt is essential to the formation of vitamin B12
Cobalt is essential to the formation of vitamin B12
Switching to sea salt is easy to do. You can find it in most supermarkets, health food stores—even on line.
Still worried about Sodium? Bring it into Balance Naturally.
More important then the amount of sodium in your diet is the ratio of sodium to potassium. Recent research suggests this ratio is critical. While many studies have focused on high sodium content in the diet, it appears that problems with hypertension may be related more to an inappropriate ratio of sodium to potassium.
Sodium has a special relationship to potassium. Sodium is the major electrolyte outside the cells, and potassium is the major electrolyte inside the cells. These two elements work together to maintain fluid balance, transmit nerve messages and control muscle contractions. The body monitors the amount of salt and potassium in the bloodstream, as the body has no mechanism for storing electrolytes. When a shortage of either exists, the body secretes hormones that drastically reduce excretion of electrolytes and fluids.
If you’re worried about your sodium levels you can bring them into balance by making sure you get enough potassium in your diet. Potassium helps neutralize the effect of sodium on your blood pressure, lowers your risk for stroke and heart attack, even prevents the bone loss that can lead to osteoporosis. (Notice that sea salt is rich in potassium.)
You can eat many potassium-rich foods but it will do you little good unless you are consuming adequate sodium as well. Your body cannot properly digest raw vegetables without salt. People used to eat a salty soup before a meal to enhance digestion.
Salt re-enriches your saliva so your body can manufacture the proper digestive juices to break down the complex carbohydrates, celluloids and chlorophyll from the vegetables which contain potassium. Without salt no digestion is possible.
Unfortunately, you probably aren’t getting enough potassium through your diet alone. On an average day, the typical man gets about 3,000 mg – women closer to 2,300 mg. For optimum health, the recommend amount is around 5,000 mg of potassium per day.
It’s easier than you think. Most people think bananas are the best source, but you might be surprised. Cantaloupes, raisins and avocados are all rich in potassium.
Here’s a table of potassium-rich foods. Try adding a few of them to your diet…
(click on the graph to make it bigger)____________________
1 Alderman et al. “Low urinary sodium associated with greater risk of myocardial infarction among treated hypertensive men.” Hypertension. 1995. 25:1144-1152. See hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/6/1144.
2 Valkonen, V-P. “Sodium and potassium excretion and the risk of acute myocardial infarction.” Presented October 15, 1998 to the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, Dallas, TX (unpublished).
3 Tunsall-Pedoe. “Comparison by prediction of 27 factors of coronary heart disease and health in men and women of the Scottish heart health study cohort study.” British Medical Journal. 1997. 315:722-729. See Table 6, age-adjusted hazard ratios. Online at bmj.com/cgi/content/full/315/7110/722.
4 Geleijnse, Johanna M., et al. “Sodium and potassium intake and risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality: the Rotterdam Study” Sept 28, 2007. Sept 25, 2008. http://www.springerlink.com/content/1032k6374735085u/fulltext.pdf
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The formula...
I was sitting in a meeting today, and someone made the mistake of looking how the Dow was doing during the middle of the day.... down -
That was the problem around the table, this lively creative conversation just got kicked in the gut, everyone just got silent. And looking at the faces of those who actually heard the comment, you could just see the fear and dissapointment in their eyes.
I found it profound. And started thinking about how I could best survive in these troubled economic times, when everywhere you look there's a rumbling of great uncertainty. I think we are at a time where we should all take a pause (and a deep breath) to think about our lives.
Later, on my ride home, I turned off the radio, (the host was getting me depressed lamenting about the economy) and I started to reflect... I started to make a judgement about if I was moving in the direction that I wanted to go financially? I think that it is human nature that when things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, we feel unsettled. And even though we think we are the masters of our own success, watching the news these days can chip away at our self confidence.
Even in tough economic times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes--both good and bad.
While I don't claim to be an economist, I do know one important fact. The economy is the same for everyone, it's how you respond to it that determines how you feel about it.
It's yet another example of a formula I was taught by a coach years ago.
E + R = O (Events + Responses = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it's success or failure, wealth or poverty, wellness or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you have responded to an earlier event (or events) in your life.
Which means that if you don't like the outcomes you are currently experiencing, there are two basic choices you can make:
Choice #1: You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O).
In other words, you can blame the economy, the weather, the lack of money, lack of education, racism, gender bias, the current administration in Washington, your wife or husband, your boss's attitude, the lack of support, and so on.
There is no doubt all these factors exist, but if they were the deciding factor, nobody would ever succeed. For every reason that something is not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and have succeeded.
What I am trying to say, is that is is rarely the external conditions and circumstances that stop us -- it's us!
We are the ones who think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our self-destructive habits (such as drinking and smoking) with indefensible logic.
We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on the trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip - (this is a big one at work of late), eat unhealthy food, fail to exercise, spend more than we make, fail to tell the truth, don't ask for what we want, and then wonder why our lives aren't working.
Choice #2: You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) until you get the outcomes (O) you want. I know it sounds too simple, but let me explain.
You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head (your images and perception of the world) and you can change your behavior (the things you do.) Truth is that's all you really have any control over anyway. :-)
Unfortunately, most of us are so ingrained in our habits that we never change our behavior.
We get stuck in our conditioned responses-to our spouses and children, to our colleagues at work, to our customers and our clients, to our students, and to the world at large. The only choice that we have is to gain control of our thoughts, our images, our dreams and even our daydreams, and eventually our behavior.
Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, values, and your goals.
Bottom line...If you don't like your outcomes, change your responses! I know sounds too easy so let me give you an example that I was fortunate to witness after hurricane Ike.
I was watching the coverage on MSNBC a few days after the hurricane struck the Galveston coast. A reporter was interviewing people commuting to work just outside of Houston. The earthquake had damaged several of the main roads leading into the city. Traffic was at a standstill, and what was normally a 1-hour drive had become a 2-3 hour drive.
The reporter knocked on the window of one of the cars stuck in traffic and asked the driver how he was doing. He responded, angrily, "I hate the government! First there were floods, and now we have no gas or electricity! No matter what I'm never going to get where I need to go!"
Then the Reporter knocked on the window of the car behind him and asked the female driver the same question. This driver was all smiles.
She replied "It's no problem. I left my house at five am - my boss can ask for more than that. I have lots of music and Spanish-language tapes with me. I've got my cell phone. Coffee in a thermos, my lunch-I even have a book to read. I'm fine."
Now, if the hurricane or the traffic were really the deciding variables, then everyone should have been angry. But everyone wasn't.
What struck me was their individual response to the traffic and the crisis that laid ahead of them. What gave them their particular outcome. Was it thinking negative thoughts or positive thoughts, leaving the house prepared or leaving the house unprepared that made the difference.
I really think that it was all a matter of attitude and behavior that created their completely different experiences.
If we all experience the same EVENT, then it stands to reason that the OUTCOME you get will be totally dependent upon your RESPONSE to the situation.
If you want to take control of how you respond to life, you'll start noticing that your outcomes will be more along the lines of what you have always hoped.
So does it mean we control our own destiny? Maybe but just in case we do - perhaps should should try to make it a fantastic one!
Just a thought... Til next time!
That was the problem around the table, this lively creative conversation just got kicked in the gut, everyone just got silent. And looking at the faces of those who actually heard the comment, you could just see the fear and dissapointment in their eyes.
I found it profound. And started thinking about how I could best survive in these troubled economic times, when everywhere you look there's a rumbling of great uncertainty. I think we are at a time where we should all take a pause (and a deep breath) to think about our lives.
Later, on my ride home, I turned off the radio, (the host was getting me depressed lamenting about the economy) and I started to reflect... I started to make a judgement about if I was moving in the direction that I wanted to go financially? I think that it is human nature that when things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, we feel unsettled. And even though we think we are the masters of our own success, watching the news these days can chip away at our self confidence.
Even in tough economic times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes--both good and bad.
While I don't claim to be an economist, I do know one important fact. The economy is the same for everyone, it's how you respond to it that determines how you feel about it.
It's yet another example of a formula I was taught by a coach years ago.
E + R = O (Events + Responses = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it's success or failure, wealth or poverty, wellness or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you have responded to an earlier event (or events) in your life.
Which means that if you don't like the outcomes you are currently experiencing, there are two basic choices you can make:
Choice #1: You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O).
In other words, you can blame the economy, the weather, the lack of money, lack of education, racism, gender bias, the current administration in Washington, your wife or husband, your boss's attitude, the lack of support, and so on.
There is no doubt all these factors exist, but if they were the deciding factor, nobody would ever succeed. For every reason that something is not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and have succeeded.
What I am trying to say, is that is is rarely the external conditions and circumstances that stop us -- it's us!
We are the ones who think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our self-destructive habits (such as drinking and smoking) with indefensible logic.
We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on the trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip - (this is a big one at work of late), eat unhealthy food, fail to exercise, spend more than we make, fail to tell the truth, don't ask for what we want, and then wonder why our lives aren't working.
Choice #2: You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) until you get the outcomes (O) you want. I know it sounds too simple, but let me explain.
You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head (your images and perception of the world) and you can change your behavior (the things you do.) Truth is that's all you really have any control over anyway. :-)
Unfortunately, most of us are so ingrained in our habits that we never change our behavior.
We get stuck in our conditioned responses-to our spouses and children, to our colleagues at work, to our customers and our clients, to our students, and to the world at large. The only choice that we have is to gain control of our thoughts, our images, our dreams and even our daydreams, and eventually our behavior.
Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, values, and your goals.
Bottom line...If you don't like your outcomes, change your responses! I know sounds too easy so let me give you an example that I was fortunate to witness after hurricane Ike.
I was watching the coverage on MSNBC a few days after the hurricane struck the Galveston coast. A reporter was interviewing people commuting to work just outside of Houston. The earthquake had damaged several of the main roads leading into the city. Traffic was at a standstill, and what was normally a 1-hour drive had become a 2-3 hour drive.
The reporter knocked on the window of one of the cars stuck in traffic and asked the driver how he was doing. He responded, angrily, "I hate the government! First there were floods, and now we have no gas or electricity! No matter what I'm never going to get where I need to go!"
Then the Reporter knocked on the window of the car behind him and asked the female driver the same question. This driver was all smiles.
She replied "It's no problem. I left my house at five am - my boss can ask for more than that. I have lots of music and Spanish-language tapes with me. I've got my cell phone. Coffee in a thermos, my lunch-I even have a book to read. I'm fine."
Now, if the hurricane or the traffic were really the deciding variables, then everyone should have been angry. But everyone wasn't.
What struck me was their individual response to the traffic and the crisis that laid ahead of them. What gave them their particular outcome. Was it thinking negative thoughts or positive thoughts, leaving the house prepared or leaving the house unprepared that made the difference.
I really think that it was all a matter of attitude and behavior that created their completely different experiences.
If we all experience the same EVENT, then it stands to reason that the OUTCOME you get will be totally dependent upon your RESPONSE to the situation.
If you want to take control of how you respond to life, you'll start noticing that your outcomes will be more along the lines of what you have always hoped.
So does it mean we control our own destiny? Maybe but just in case we do - perhaps should should try to make it a fantastic one!
Just a thought... Til next time!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
TMI?
Raw food is all the rage, according to Psychology Today.
(Note the use of the word 'rage' in that statement. Its significance will shortly become apparent.)
I know that this diet has the advantage of having been around for a long time. Since before humans discovered fire, if I'm not mistaken. And it does have the advantage of being the fastest fast food possible. Grab and chew is as good as it gets. But why is it such a big deal now?
I was curious, so I thought I would look into it. I've been following the standard PGD, or Pretty Good Diet. You know the sort of thing -- making sure I've eating 5 daily servings of fruit and veggies -- well, 3 or 4 servings is still pretty good, and hey I'll eat more fruit on the weekends to make up.
It's kind of like the Pretty Good exercise plan. Doesn't really hurt you, though it's not going to help you lose weight or get into good shape. The trouble I've found with this diet is that it's too easy for it to degrade into the PAD, or Pretty Awful Diet. You find yourself rationalizing all kinds of bad food decisions "just this once." (And no, carrot cake does not count as a daily veg serving - damn.) So I figured I'd give this raw deal a try.
I went cold carrot: eating whole-grain stuff and green leafy things and some fruit thrown in for dessert. The main problem at work was all the eyebrow-raising that went on. "You're going to eat all that?" was a typical comment. But if you've ever tried it you'll agree that even after eating a whole cup o' green leafy things, you can still be hungry.
Very hungry.
Every day, I dutifully chomped my way through several cups of salad, bell peppers, oatmeal-with-fruit-and-flaxseed, the works. And invariably, by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was so hungry I was ready to chew plastic. Felt like a junkie needing a fix. (Um... I'm assuming this is how a junkie would feel. Not talking from experience.)
I was irritable enough to kick innocent little kittens! I was angry.
Really angry!
The 'fix' for this problem was a quick piece of chicken. Within 20 minutes I had resumed my placid, agreeable demeanor. Or as close as I get, anyway.
How the heck am I supposed to be good when eating right makes me want to tell the world to go screw itself?
It's been a long time since my ancestors lived in caves and had names like Ungh. My ancestors have been in the Americas long enough for the intestinal flora to adapt to a diet of hamburgers and fries. After pretty faithfully following this raw diet for a few weeks (i.e. 90% of my diet = raw vegetables), my innards let me know how they felt about it.- I felt much lighter.
Apart from some ground up flax seed, I ate almost no fats. (90% of my diet was fat free.) As a result, I never felt weighed down.- Since I was eating food that my innards weren't prepared for, I was also generating enough gas to make me a subject of interest to Exxon Mobil. (TMI? yeah I know...)
In the evening, I inevitably had a dinner with some lean beef, chicken or fish. Not a lot, percentage-wise, but a couple ounces. I couldn't go all day and night without 'food.' (Somehow vegetables do not equal food, at least not to my subconscious.) - I'd never heard that raw vegetables were like Chinese food, but it's true. Even though I ate veggies almost every hour on the hour, I was always hungry 30 minutes later. (I totaled up the number of calories I was consuming on a daily basis, and by late afternoon I usually ended up consuming about 900 calories.)
I don't care what they say about roughage and fiber, you have to eat a lot to equal the amount of calorie-satiation found in one hamburger or one Krispy Kreme. The trouble is that now I can't go back: just the thought of a fast-food burger makes me feel greasy and queezy.
I would have thought my body would have become accustomed to this diet after several weeks, but noooo. I'm screwed either way: good food makes me ravenous and bad food makes me sick. Has anyone out there, a fellow confirmed carnivore, ever tried going cold carrot? If so, how long did it take? Enquiring minds (and innards) want to know!
Til next time...
(Note the use of the word 'rage' in that statement. Its significance will shortly become apparent.)
I know that this diet has the advantage of having been around for a long time. Since before humans discovered fire, if I'm not mistaken. And it does have the advantage of being the fastest fast food possible. Grab and chew is as good as it gets. But why is it such a big deal now?
I was curious, so I thought I would look into it. I've been following the standard PGD, or Pretty Good Diet. You know the sort of thing -- making sure I've eating 5 daily servings of fruit and veggies -- well, 3 or 4 servings is still pretty good, and hey I'll eat more fruit on the weekends to make up.
It's kind of like the Pretty Good exercise plan. Doesn't really hurt you, though it's not going to help you lose weight or get into good shape. The trouble I've found with this diet is that it's too easy for it to degrade into the PAD, or Pretty Awful Diet. You find yourself rationalizing all kinds of bad food decisions "just this once." (And no, carrot cake does not count as a daily veg serving - damn.) So I figured I'd give this raw deal a try.
I went cold carrot: eating whole-grain stuff and green leafy things and some fruit thrown in for dessert. The main problem at work was all the eyebrow-raising that went on. "You're going to eat all that?" was a typical comment. But if you've ever tried it you'll agree that even after eating a whole cup o' green leafy things, you can still be hungry.
Very hungry.
Every day, I dutifully chomped my way through several cups of salad, bell peppers, oatmeal-with-fruit-and-flaxseed, the works. And invariably, by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was so hungry I was ready to chew plastic. Felt like a junkie needing a fix. (Um... I'm assuming this is how a junkie would feel. Not talking from experience.)
I was irritable enough to kick innocent little kittens! I was angry.
Really angry!
The 'fix' for this problem was a quick piece of chicken. Within 20 minutes I had resumed my placid, agreeable demeanor. Or as close as I get, anyway.
How the heck am I supposed to be good when eating right makes me want to tell the world to go screw itself?
It's been a long time since my ancestors lived in caves and had names like Ungh. My ancestors have been in the Americas long enough for the intestinal flora to adapt to a diet of hamburgers and fries. After pretty faithfully following this raw diet for a few weeks (i.e. 90% of my diet = raw vegetables), my innards let me know how they felt about it.- I felt much lighter.
Apart from some ground up flax seed, I ate almost no fats. (90% of my diet was fat free.) As a result, I never felt weighed down.- Since I was eating food that my innards weren't prepared for, I was also generating enough gas to make me a subject of interest to Exxon Mobil. (TMI? yeah I know...)
In the evening, I inevitably had a dinner with some lean beef, chicken or fish. Not a lot, percentage-wise, but a couple ounces. I couldn't go all day and night without 'food.' (Somehow vegetables do not equal food, at least not to my subconscious.) - I'd never heard that raw vegetables were like Chinese food, but it's true. Even though I ate veggies almost every hour on the hour, I was always hungry 30 minutes later. (I totaled up the number of calories I was consuming on a daily basis, and by late afternoon I usually ended up consuming about 900 calories.)
I don't care what they say about roughage and fiber, you have to eat a lot to equal the amount of calorie-satiation found in one hamburger or one Krispy Kreme. The trouble is that now I can't go back: just the thought of a fast-food burger makes me feel greasy and queezy.
I would have thought my body would have become accustomed to this diet after several weeks, but noooo. I'm screwed either way: good food makes me ravenous and bad food makes me sick. Has anyone out there, a fellow confirmed carnivore, ever tried going cold carrot? If so, how long did it take? Enquiring minds (and innards) want to know!
Til next time...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Insomina
Yup, I’ve got it and I’ve had it most of my life.
My mother said it was because I was a) dropped on my head at birth b) born a night owl, whatever the hell that means or c) just kinda goofy - I really can't disagree with any of the above.
:-)
I guess it apparently it’s genetic or something I am blessed or cursed- in some cases that I really don't "need" that much sleep. 4 or 5 hours and I'm pretty functional... But unlike the fact of being ‘trained’ out of being left handed as child (lest I grow up to be a maniacal killer or something) there wasn’t any Dr. Spock on this.
When I was kid, I used to just daydream at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I’d imagine myself in all kinds of mystical and magical places. From William Tell’s dinner table to the Taj Mahal. I led a rather exciting life in my imagination as you can probably guess. And just as I began to hear the chirpy little birds begin to wake is when I would finally drop off. Only to be shocked awake by Ma yelling for me to wake up. Breakfast was waiting, school was waiting, life was waiting. Me, I was yawning.
I also used to try reading under the blanket with a flashlight. Or shining the flashlight across the alley way into Tommy Burton's window. That didn’t work out too well because I could never really get the right angle on the flashlight and we had those weird blankets that had that kind of open weave so the light was just broad casted in a kind of prism pattern on the wall and could easily be seen at the bottom of my door. Then Dad would be grumbling about how kids ought to be asleep.
Other times I’d sit in my window and watch the moon, as though it would do something like a little Fred Astaire number or perhaps a song. Ever wake up with you face on a cold window sill on a winter morning? Nope, not a pretty sight.
As a last ditch effort I would sneak out to the living room jack up the thermometer and sleep on the floor next to the heater vent. Something about intense heat could always make me nod off. Still does today. As a teen I slept my way all the way through American History and Civics - who knew I’d grow up to be a rabble rouser and a political junkie???
Over the years I’ve more or less come to grips with the fact that I just don’t sleep all that much or all that well. Which has for the most part worked. Still I could never give up the ghost of finding some solution to it. I started running in order to help my sleep dysfunction - it did help and was really great for my Buda belly and big ass - but then a car accident messed that up.
Don’t you love it when a octogenarian on crack doesn’t see you and forces you and your old minivan through an intersection via the front end of her car? Mighty exciting. Well then, talk about not being able to sleep - yeah that took couple years (10) to get back to sleep after that but I must say the x-rays and MRI's of my reverse curve in my cervical vertebrae are quite pretty.
Eventually I kind of found a system of getting some sleep. A certain combination of vitamins, cutting back on caffeine, drinking more water, exercise and watching really boring television and reading seemed to work pretty well. Some nights I could manage to get as much as seven hours.
Then there were those good years when all of sudden I could actually sleep for no reason at all.
Those were fine but when they started and when they ended I couldn’t tell you. This year hasn’t been good for sleep. Too much excitement. Too many changes and this and that. But especially these last few weeks. It’s a good excitement and I’m happy about it but is it right that happiness should keep you up nights? That just seems unfair if you ask me.
Anyway, feel free to leave any tips, tricks or remedies you may know of - I’m not desperate yet but the fall just started and I know how winters can go. Meanwhile, I’ll be crawling on to my big cumfy couch and see if I can nod off... sometimes a change of scenery works....
Til next time...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Humm... maybe they were smarter than we thought?
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” — Thomas Jefferson 1802
(Funny how some things just don’t change, isn’t it? Something to think about.)
Did you know what Canola stands for? Canadian Oil Low Acid...
One of the problems we all face (when I have a day off) is that I start looking through the pile of journals stacked in my bedroom. Leaned ALOT more about it as well... somethings just shouldn't be engineered, but I'll explain.
Millions of people use it every day to prepare their family’s meal. Are you? What’s worse is that the food product is promoted as a healthy alternative to other cooking oils. Here are a few of the risks researchers turned up on one of the commercial food industry’s favorite ingredients:
Heart attack
Stroke
Heart lesions
High blood pressure
Vitamin deficiencies
Hemorrhaging
Free radical damage
Retarded growth
This is something that’s been marketed for years as a “good” alternative to butter, lard, and other edible fats...but a group of chemists practically made it up from scratch. It isn’t found anywhere in Nature. Chances are you’ve eaten a lot of it without knowing it. You’ll find it in restaurants and kitchens all over the country...and looking at it a little more closely seems to be that I could be a potential killer. This eating stuff can be hazardous to your health!
If you think about it: olive oil comes from olives. Peanut oil comes from peanuts. So where does “canola oil” come from?
Here’s a hint: the kind of “plant” it comes from doesn’t need sunlight, soil, or rain to thrive.
The word “canola” is an industry invention. And once you know where it really comes from, you’ll understand why the industry had to come up with a new name for it.
Canola is an artificial, processed oil made from rapeseed, a flowering plant of the brassica family, which includes cabbage, rutabagas, broccoli and turnips. “Rapeseed” comes from the Latin word for turnip, “rapum.” Not an especially appealing name.
It also turns out that for most of human history people didn’t think of it as an especially appealing food, either.
Asians used rapeseed oil to light their lamps for centuries. Then during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, machinists found that it worked well as an engine lubricant. It even played a crucial role in combat operations for the US Naval fleet during World War II.
Today it’s used in all kinds of industries. It happens to be a great insect repellent. You’ll also find it in synthetic rubbers, ink, even soap... Can you believe it...your salad dressing could be toxic to insects!
So are you wondering how rapeseed oil turned into “canola” oil—and how it came to be considered a food in the first place?
It all started with the mainstream medical establishment and food industry’s obsession with so-called “bad” fats. Back in the late 70s, they were looking for something to replace corn and soybean oil.
They’d promoted these oils for years as more healthy than traditional fats like butter, lard, or palm oil. But new science was emerging indicating that the oils they were peddling to the public were actually unhealthy.
There were other healthy options available, like olive oil. But olive oil was too expensive to use because it wasn’t a major crop. Plus it didn't blend well into most mass-produced, processed foods. So the industry went looking for something inexpensive, “healthy,” plentiful that would be easy to store, transport, and include in commercial food production.
That’s how rapeseed oil made it onto the industry’s radar screen. It had been widely used in Asian countries. It was cheap, easy to grow, and there was a readily available source nearby, in Canada, where it was farmed in abundance.
Scientists found that it was rich in what they considered healthy vegetable fats, including omega-3. But there was a big problem: two thirds of the fat in rapeseed oil is “erucic acid.” This is a dangerous toxin that can cause deadly heart lesions.
Then in 1978 a few Canadian agricultural specialists figured out how to breed a strain of rapeseed that was low in erucic acid. Suddenly, the industry had its new “healthy” alternative. And that’s how it eventually got its name: “canola” stands for “Canadian oil, low acid.”
The problem is that canola doesn’t really resemble the rapeseed oil found in Asia. In places like India and China, they traditionally pre-cooked the seeds before they extracted the oil, and they used stone presses to make it. They sold it soon after they made it, so it was fresh and pure. The process was entirely natural.
Now compare that with the industrial processes used to make canola here: high temperature pressing in metal vats; blasting with chemical solvents to remove the oil; bleaching; soaking in acid; and “deodorizing,” since some of the omega-3 in the oil goes rancid and creates a foul odor.
Traces of these chemicals remain in the oil, particularly hexane. Hexane’s a component of gasoline. It’s used to make shoes, leather products—even roofing! Its toxic effects on the body are well known. It causes nerve damage, and the gas emissions from industrial hexane can cause cancer. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on commercial hexane use in 2001 because of the serious cancer risks.
Now what you ask?
Well, one of the problems with all the industry’s health claims about canola is that there are virtually no studies of canola’s effects on humans. But the research done in animal studies paints give a pretty grim picture.
Canola has been shown to retard growth and cause heart lesions in rats. Newborn piglets fed a formula with canola oil developed a vitamin E deficiency in one study. Vitamin E’s a key ally in overall heart health, protects eyesight, and acts as a powerful antioxidant. They also suffered from sustained bleeding, because a diet high in canola lowered their platelet count (platelets are what help your blood to clot and stop hemorrhaging). Another recent study found that canola worsens high blood pressure, and stroke in rats genetically prone to these health conditions.
Yet we’re still hearing about how good canola is for you. Millions of Americans are pouring this stuff on their salads or eating foods fried in it, thinking it’s great for their health. I would hat to think that research down the road might suggest that they may as well have been eating their shoes.
I'm not one to get up on a soap box too often but maybe we should try eating less engineered things. Maybe we should try using an oil from nature, not industry.
For some reason, the word still hasn’t gotten out on this, but there’s a natural plant-based alternative to canola that’s plentiful, and safe for all kinds of cooking. It’s easily digested, free of toxins... and actually comes with a host of major health benefits..... It’s coconut oil.
I still scratch my head over why this isn’t the best-selling edible oil in the world. The fact is that conclusive clinical evidence of its health-promoting power has been around for over 30 years.
Coconut oil has the power to:
Power overall heart health
Boost your metabolism
Raise your antioxidant levels
Promote weight loss
Strengthen your immune system
Stimulate healthy thyroid function
Maintain healthy cholesterol balance
You can even use it as a skin care product. It even helps to moisturize and keeps your skin elastic, radiant, and youthful. At least that's what the studies suggest.
Unlike canola, coconut oil actually protects the heart by keeping fat and cholesterol in your blood stream in proper balance. One study looked at native island tribes in the South Pacific whose diets were heavy in coconut oil. They had perfect serum lipid and cholesterol profiles at the start of the study. But once they migrated to New Zealand and stopped using coconut oil, their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol increased, and their HDL cholesterol (the good kind) decreased.
It’s also been shown to ramp up your body’s ability to convert fat into energy, increasing your metabolism and actually helping you to lose weight.
But the most impressive and recent research on coconut oil suggests that the natural health-promoting compounds in coconut oil can actually prevent free radical damage. I knew that's why I liked pina coladas! :-)
Finally, coconut oil contains lauric acid, one of the key building blocks of your immune system and a powerful anti-viral/anti-microbial.
In other words, you could make a pretty strong argument that coconut oil should be one of the staples in your kitchen. Unlike olive oil, coconut oil’s stable at very high temperatures, so you can put it on salad or fry with it. It won’t start to smoke and burn your food like olive oil
You may want to try finding an organic, extra virgin brand at your local health food store or on line. This oil might just give you all the health benefits your looking for and are free of any industrial contaminants.
Til next time...
One of the problems we all face (when I have a day off) is that I start looking through the pile of journals stacked in my bedroom. Leaned ALOT more about it as well... somethings just shouldn't be engineered, but I'll explain.
Millions of people use it every day to prepare their family’s meal. Are you? What’s worse is that the food product is promoted as a healthy alternative to other cooking oils. Here are a few of the risks researchers turned up on one of the commercial food industry’s favorite ingredients:
Heart attack
Stroke
Heart lesions
High blood pressure
Vitamin deficiencies
Hemorrhaging
Free radical damage
Retarded growth
This is something that’s been marketed for years as a “good” alternative to butter, lard, and other edible fats...but a group of chemists practically made it up from scratch. It isn’t found anywhere in Nature. Chances are you’ve eaten a lot of it without knowing it. You’ll find it in restaurants and kitchens all over the country...and looking at it a little more closely seems to be that I could be a potential killer. This eating stuff can be hazardous to your health!
If you think about it: olive oil comes from olives. Peanut oil comes from peanuts. So where does “canola oil” come from?
Here’s a hint: the kind of “plant” it comes from doesn’t need sunlight, soil, or rain to thrive.
The word “canola” is an industry invention. And once you know where it really comes from, you’ll understand why the industry had to come up with a new name for it.
Canola is an artificial, processed oil made from rapeseed, a flowering plant of the brassica family, which includes cabbage, rutabagas, broccoli and turnips. “Rapeseed” comes from the Latin word for turnip, “rapum.” Not an especially appealing name.
It also turns out that for most of human history people didn’t think of it as an especially appealing food, either.
Asians used rapeseed oil to light their lamps for centuries. Then during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, machinists found that it worked well as an engine lubricant. It even played a crucial role in combat operations for the US Naval fleet during World War II.
Today it’s used in all kinds of industries. It happens to be a great insect repellent. You’ll also find it in synthetic rubbers, ink, even soap... Can you believe it...your salad dressing could be toxic to insects!
So are you wondering how rapeseed oil turned into “canola” oil—and how it came to be considered a food in the first place?
It all started with the mainstream medical establishment and food industry’s obsession with so-called “bad” fats. Back in the late 70s, they were looking for something to replace corn and soybean oil.
They’d promoted these oils for years as more healthy than traditional fats like butter, lard, or palm oil. But new science was emerging indicating that the oils they were peddling to the public were actually unhealthy.
There were other healthy options available, like olive oil. But olive oil was too expensive to use because it wasn’t a major crop. Plus it didn't blend well into most mass-produced, processed foods. So the industry went looking for something inexpensive, “healthy,” plentiful that would be easy to store, transport, and include in commercial food production.
That’s how rapeseed oil made it onto the industry’s radar screen. It had been widely used in Asian countries. It was cheap, easy to grow, and there was a readily available source nearby, in Canada, where it was farmed in abundance.
Scientists found that it was rich in what they considered healthy vegetable fats, including omega-3. But there was a big problem: two thirds of the fat in rapeseed oil is “erucic acid.” This is a dangerous toxin that can cause deadly heart lesions.
Then in 1978 a few Canadian agricultural specialists figured out how to breed a strain of rapeseed that was low in erucic acid. Suddenly, the industry had its new “healthy” alternative. And that’s how it eventually got its name: “canola” stands for “Canadian oil, low acid.”
The problem is that canola doesn’t really resemble the rapeseed oil found in Asia. In places like India and China, they traditionally pre-cooked the seeds before they extracted the oil, and they used stone presses to make it. They sold it soon after they made it, so it was fresh and pure. The process was entirely natural.
Now compare that with the industrial processes used to make canola here: high temperature pressing in metal vats; blasting with chemical solvents to remove the oil; bleaching; soaking in acid; and “deodorizing,” since some of the omega-3 in the oil goes rancid and creates a foul odor.
Traces of these chemicals remain in the oil, particularly hexane. Hexane’s a component of gasoline. It’s used to make shoes, leather products—even roofing! Its toxic effects on the body are well known. It causes nerve damage, and the gas emissions from industrial hexane can cause cancer. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on commercial hexane use in 2001 because of the serious cancer risks.
Now what you ask?
Well, one of the problems with all the industry’s health claims about canola is that there are virtually no studies of canola’s effects on humans. But the research done in animal studies paints give a pretty grim picture.
Canola has been shown to retard growth and cause heart lesions in rats. Newborn piglets fed a formula with canola oil developed a vitamin E deficiency in one study. Vitamin E’s a key ally in overall heart health, protects eyesight, and acts as a powerful antioxidant. They also suffered from sustained bleeding, because a diet high in canola lowered their platelet count (platelets are what help your blood to clot and stop hemorrhaging). Another recent study found that canola worsens high blood pressure, and stroke in rats genetically prone to these health conditions.
Yet we’re still hearing about how good canola is for you. Millions of Americans are pouring this stuff on their salads or eating foods fried in it, thinking it’s great for their health. I would hat to think that research down the road might suggest that they may as well have been eating their shoes.
I'm not one to get up on a soap box too often but maybe we should try eating less engineered things. Maybe we should try using an oil from nature, not industry.
For some reason, the word still hasn’t gotten out on this, but there’s a natural plant-based alternative to canola that’s plentiful, and safe for all kinds of cooking. It’s easily digested, free of toxins... and actually comes with a host of major health benefits..... It’s coconut oil.
I still scratch my head over why this isn’t the best-selling edible oil in the world. The fact is that conclusive clinical evidence of its health-promoting power has been around for over 30 years.
Coconut oil has the power to:
Power overall heart health
Boost your metabolism
Raise your antioxidant levels
Promote weight loss
Strengthen your immune system
Stimulate healthy thyroid function
Maintain healthy cholesterol balance
You can even use it as a skin care product. It even helps to moisturize and keeps your skin elastic, radiant, and youthful. At least that's what the studies suggest.
Unlike canola, coconut oil actually protects the heart by keeping fat and cholesterol in your blood stream in proper balance. One study looked at native island tribes in the South Pacific whose diets were heavy in coconut oil. They had perfect serum lipid and cholesterol profiles at the start of the study. But once they migrated to New Zealand and stopped using coconut oil, their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol increased, and their HDL cholesterol (the good kind) decreased.
It’s also been shown to ramp up your body’s ability to convert fat into energy, increasing your metabolism and actually helping you to lose weight.
But the most impressive and recent research on coconut oil suggests that the natural health-promoting compounds in coconut oil can actually prevent free radical damage. I knew that's why I liked pina coladas! :-)
Finally, coconut oil contains lauric acid, one of the key building blocks of your immune system and a powerful anti-viral/anti-microbial.
In other words, you could make a pretty strong argument that coconut oil should be one of the staples in your kitchen. Unlike olive oil, coconut oil’s stable at very high temperatures, so you can put it on salad or fry with it. It won’t start to smoke and burn your food like olive oil
You may want to try finding an organic, extra virgin brand at your local health food store or on line. This oil might just give you all the health benefits your looking for and are free of any industrial contaminants.
Til next time...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Time to start paying attention again!
Arghhhhh....
I had a frustrating conversation with one of our sports team parents today. I know everyone is afraid of their child having poor nutrition and bad eating habits - we've become a society that is deftly afraid of all fats and all sugars. Hey they are the enemy. But let's examine this notion a little more closely.
See the story starts with two mothers at a backyard picnic. The first mom pours an artificial drink into plastic cups for their kids playing outside. The second mom expresses concern about giving their children anything sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. (HFCS)
"I guess you don't care what your kids eat," the concerned mother says, "That contains high fructose corn syrup. You know what they say about it..."
The other mother replies with a condescending smirk, "What? That it's made from corn, contains no artificial ingredients, and like sugar, it's fine in moderation?"
The worried mom looks embarrassed and changes the subject.
This is one of the new commercials from the manufacturers of HFCS.
Their new campaign tries to wipe out any concern you may have about their dangerous product. The basic message is...you heard wrong. HFCS is natural and wholesome. Don't listen to the naysayers...this stuff is good for you.
These folks are worried. Their artificial sweetener makes Big Buckaluckas. It's already in thousands of different products. But people are catching on...HFCS is bad news, and it's anything but natural.
You see HFCS is a food processors dream sweetener, It's cheap to produce, easy to transport and store, and blends readily into nearly every kind of food or beverage, from ketchup to beer. It's everywhere. Check the ingredient labels in your kitchen, and I'll bet you find it in a majority of foods.
What's more, it's a cash cow for the taxpayer-subsidized US corn grower's market.
But the "worried" mom's fears were more than justified. There are clinical studies proving HFCS's toxic effects.
One animal study found that a diet high in HFCS resulted in elevated levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, (which can cause hardening of the arteries and heart attack), lower levels of superoxide dismutase...your bodies number one antioxidant powerhouse, and deficiencies of iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc.
This means that HFCS can wreak havoc on your immune system, diminish bone and muscle strength, make you impotent, and increase certain kinds of cancer, including prostate and colon cancer.
Nature's source for fructose is fruit, (that's why it's called fructose). It's not as easy for your body to process as glucose, the sugar that comes from starches. Only the liver can metabolize it. But because it's contained in the fiber of the fruit, fructose normally absorbs into your bloodstream relatively slowly, giving your liver time to digest it. In fact, fructose breakdown is 40 per cent slower than glucose breakdown, in part because every cell in your body can convert glucose into energy on it's own, without help from the liver.
HFCS literally floods into your bloodstream, overwhelming your liver's processing capacity. This can lead to liver damage not unlike the kind that affects alcoholics. Animals given a diet high in HFCS suffer severe cirrhosis of the liver...scarring, dead tissue, and poor liver function.
As a matter of fact their livers look a lot like those of hardcore alcoholics.
As if that weren't bad enough, HFCS also robs your body of critical nutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants. We've known about this for years. Because it keeps your liver from functioning properly, HFCS causes a number of serious mineral deficiencies that can have a cascading effect on your health.
This commercial's just another example of agribusiness trying to make profits at the expense of your health. The word's getting out about the true dangers of this product, so they're getting nervous...and trying to fool the public.
Anything sweetened with cane sugar is better than HFCS, (Check the label). You might also consider adding STEVIA to your favorite sweet foods and drinks, since it's a natural sweetener that's completely safe and easily metabolized.
But if you're looking for better thirst quencher, drink water. It's not as exciting as a pre-packaged, sickly sweet fruit juice, but your body needs it! A lot of people are dehydrated and don't even know it.
By the way, HFCS is not a "natural" product. Several of the enzymes needed to make HFCS are genetically modified. You would never find this kind of sugar in a natural setting.
It's been a long time since I have written about HFCS, and trans fats, two things that make people fat, and are in almost every packaged food product. No wonder that people who don't eat any processed food lose weight.
Eat fresh food, fruits, vegetables, and protein, and you needn't worry about becoming a buffet molester.
Til next time....
I had a frustrating conversation with one of our sports team parents today. I know everyone is afraid of their child having poor nutrition and bad eating habits - we've become a society that is deftly afraid of all fats and all sugars. Hey they are the enemy. But let's examine this notion a little more closely.
See the story starts with two mothers at a backyard picnic. The first mom pours an artificial drink into plastic cups for their kids playing outside. The second mom expresses concern about giving their children anything sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. (HFCS)
"I guess you don't care what your kids eat," the concerned mother says, "That contains high fructose corn syrup. You know what they say about it..."
The other mother replies with a condescending smirk, "What? That it's made from corn, contains no artificial ingredients, and like sugar, it's fine in moderation?"
The worried mom looks embarrassed and changes the subject.
This is one of the new commercials from the manufacturers of HFCS.
Their new campaign tries to wipe out any concern you may have about their dangerous product. The basic message is...you heard wrong. HFCS is natural and wholesome. Don't listen to the naysayers...this stuff is good for you.
These folks are worried. Their artificial sweetener makes Big Buckaluckas. It's already in thousands of different products. But people are catching on...HFCS is bad news, and it's anything but natural.
You see HFCS is a food processors dream sweetener, It's cheap to produce, easy to transport and store, and blends readily into nearly every kind of food or beverage, from ketchup to beer. It's everywhere. Check the ingredient labels in your kitchen, and I'll bet you find it in a majority of foods.
What's more, it's a cash cow for the taxpayer-subsidized US corn grower's market.
But the "worried" mom's fears were more than justified. There are clinical studies proving HFCS's toxic effects.
One animal study found that a diet high in HFCS resulted in elevated levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, (which can cause hardening of the arteries and heart attack), lower levels of superoxide dismutase...your bodies number one antioxidant powerhouse, and deficiencies of iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc.
This means that HFCS can wreak havoc on your immune system, diminish bone and muscle strength, make you impotent, and increase certain kinds of cancer, including prostate and colon cancer.
Nature's source for fructose is fruit, (that's why it's called fructose). It's not as easy for your body to process as glucose, the sugar that comes from starches. Only the liver can metabolize it. But because it's contained in the fiber of the fruit, fructose normally absorbs into your bloodstream relatively slowly, giving your liver time to digest it. In fact, fructose breakdown is 40 per cent slower than glucose breakdown, in part because every cell in your body can convert glucose into energy on it's own, without help from the liver.
HFCS literally floods into your bloodstream, overwhelming your liver's processing capacity. This can lead to liver damage not unlike the kind that affects alcoholics. Animals given a diet high in HFCS suffer severe cirrhosis of the liver...scarring, dead tissue, and poor liver function.
As a matter of fact their livers look a lot like those of hardcore alcoholics.
As if that weren't bad enough, HFCS also robs your body of critical nutrients, enzymes, and antioxidants. We've known about this for years. Because it keeps your liver from functioning properly, HFCS causes a number of serious mineral deficiencies that can have a cascading effect on your health.
This commercial's just another example of agribusiness trying to make profits at the expense of your health. The word's getting out about the true dangers of this product, so they're getting nervous...and trying to fool the public.
Anything sweetened with cane sugar is better than HFCS, (Check the label). You might also consider adding STEVIA to your favorite sweet foods and drinks, since it's a natural sweetener that's completely safe and easily metabolized.
But if you're looking for better thirst quencher, drink water. It's not as exciting as a pre-packaged, sickly sweet fruit juice, but your body needs it! A lot of people are dehydrated and don't even know it.
By the way, HFCS is not a "natural" product. Several of the enzymes needed to make HFCS are genetically modified. You would never find this kind of sugar in a natural setting.
It's been a long time since I have written about HFCS, and trans fats, two things that make people fat, and are in almost every packaged food product. No wonder that people who don't eat any processed food lose weight.
Eat fresh food, fruits, vegetables, and protein, and you needn't worry about becoming a buffet molester.
Til next time....
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Formula....
Like the rest of you over the last few weeks I have sat in front of the TV watching the talking head's analysis of the economic crisis and presidential race... For me it was a good distraction from the Cubs performance - until the Daley Show made fun of us Cub fans....
Anyway, during these gab and opionin fests I found myself often times covering my eyes looking at the TV through my spread fingers hoping that the above nightmares would end. Well....at least the Cubs did! In almost in a voyeuristic trance I sat hoping that Congress would do what is best for the country, that the candidates would provide leadership and the Cubs would hit.... Disappointed on all counts.
So I did the next best productive thing... turned on my DVR, tuned out and read. Actually reread something from a few years ago. I thought I would share, it's longish, but I really think there might be a very good lesson especially with challenges each of us are facing today.
I've paraphrased a chapter by Jim Rohn I think you find that his wisdom is timeless. Especially in today's unstable times, his words are a good reminder that it is our individual responsibility to make choices that serve us well today and that in turn build a solid future for us. -- Let me know what you think.
The Formula for Failure and Success
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.
Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety.
In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by discipliningourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence – not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
Til next time....
Anyway, during these gab and opionin fests I found myself often times covering my eyes looking at the TV through my spread fingers hoping that the above nightmares would end. Well....at least the Cubs did! In almost in a voyeuristic trance I sat hoping that Congress would do what is best for the country, that the candidates would provide leadership and the Cubs would hit.... Disappointed on all counts.
So I did the next best productive thing... turned on my DVR, tuned out and read. Actually reread something from a few years ago. I thought I would share, it's longish, but I really think there might be a very good lesson especially with challenges each of us are facing today.
I've paraphrased a chapter by Jim Rohn I think you find that his wisdom is timeless. Especially in today's unstable times, his words are a good reminder that it is our individual responsibility to make choices that serve us well today and that in turn build a solid future for us. -- Let me know what you think.
The Formula for Failure and Success
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.
Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.
On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.
If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!
Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.
Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety.
In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.
But we must become better educated than that!
If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.
Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.
Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.
Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.
But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by discipliningourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.
One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.
The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence – not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!
Til next time....
Friday, October 3, 2008
Bar Stool Economics
A friend sent me this.... thought I would share.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.
Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.!
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.
Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.!
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
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