Saturday, April 10, 2010

Salt: Healthy Or Unhealthy?

Here is another important article that needed to be brought out of the archives.

Salt is one of those things which is very interesting. It is vital for the human body to function. It is also considered to be a major health problem for many people. Why is that?

Perhaps we can shed a little light on this subject. When we speak of salt we generally are thinking about sodium, or more specifically, sodium chloride. There are however many salts made up of many minerals.

Table salt is generally made up of nearly all sodium chloride. High salt intake is considered unhealthy. It causes an imbalance in the blood vessels of the body, as well as in the blood it's self.

Many processed and packaged foods are very high in sodium, and so people are cautioned against using them too liberally.

While I was studying water I discovered that the high sodium diet is not a problem if one drinks enough water. This fascinated me, and also helped me to understand how very important it can be to drink lots of water every day. Given the proper resources the body is very good at balancing body systems.

I have further learned that it is very important to also get other mineral salts into the body to help in all the functions of the body. I now suggest that people use sea salt regularly to get all necessary minerals and trace minerals.

It is actually better to get your minerals and trace minerals from eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. But since so many of us don't get good organic produce, I do recommend some supplementation with sea salt.

The next thing that you need to know is not to buy sea salt from a grocery store, and even be leery of sea salts sold in health food stores. Most of them are actually just like normal table salt without hardly any trace minerals at all. Look for an actual listing of trace minerals on the label. Even though it may say that it is made from evaporated sea salt it is usually processed to the point of being just like table salt.

I suggest the use of products made by Trace Minerals Research. Seawater has a similar mineral content to the human blood stream, including all the trace minerals. Trace Minerals Research makes sea salt from the inland sea called The Great Salt Lake, in Utah. Their products contain all the trace minerals found in the sea. They are very healthful for the human body. You can't buy them directly from the company unless you are a wholesale buyer. But they can be bought through "Mineral Oasis".

Salt can cause health problems if too much is used without adequate water intake, but it is important to make sure that you are getting all the trace minerals that are available through eating good food, or at least using a good supplement.

Again, be sure that if you supplement with minerals of any kind, make sure that you are drinking plenty of water so that the body can use what it needs and flush out what it does not need.

Plenty of water means drinking at least one cup of water for every ten pounds of body weight each day.

Remember that health is all about balance in the body. Given the right resources from good food, along with rest and exercise and plenty of water, the body will keep the proper balance to keep you healthy.

Just eat a high quality natural foods diet, exercise, drink plenty of good clean water, make sure you get fiber (whole raw foods), get plenty of sleep, breathe deeply and have a gratitude attitude.

Your body will take care of you, if you take care of it.

Coach G.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

GMO Food: A Good Idea That Turned Out Bad.

I wrote this article about 2 years ago. I thought it was time to bring it out of the archives. The situation has only gotten worse. Genes from crops modified to create their own pesticides, have now been found growing (creating pesticide) in the intestines of some people. Scary stuff!


GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. The idea was to create plants that could be grown in more places and have higher yields to help feed the world. A noble goal.

The hope was that plants could be made to withstand cold and heat better, keep insects from destroying them, be made more nutritious, and bear more fruit.

Some of these things have been accomplished. The problem?

There are side-effects. Some of them very undesirable.

You see the problem is that science actually hasn't progressed as far as many people are led to believe. We don't actually have the ability to splice a specific gene into a plant or animal DNA sequence. That is the way the biotechnology companies like to express it, but that isn't actually how it happens.


What they actually do is they grow bacteria in the lab that has certain characteristics that they like. Then they introduce that bacteria into cells of the plant or animal they want to change. The problem with the method used is that instead on only one single gene being introduced, it ends up changing many of the genes. Actual test show that about 5% of the genes get altered in some way.

You may think, "Well 5% isn't very much." But in the world of genetics 5% is huge. Remember that we have billions of genes. 5% of that is a lot. What we are talking about here is DNA damage that is done to introduce new attributes to GMO products. We actually have no way of knowing what genes were changed in what ways when the process was done.

There are actual case studies that have been identified where people came down with serious and deadly symptoms after using genetically modified substances.

Why aren't more people up in arms about this?

Well, you see, this is actually all about corporate greed and power. The goal of bio-tech companies is to create products that will entirely take over the food production of the world. Why? Because engineered products are patentable. If you can patent it then you can charge exorbitant prices for it.

You can have complete control. Imagine controlling the food supply of the world. Wow! Now that would be power!

Isn't it funny (in a very sad way) that the bio-tech companies use the excuse that they want to make it easier to feed the poor people of the world.

The truth is that genetically modified foods do not actually raise crop yields much if any. Also many animals will not eat genetically modified foods if given the choice between that or conventionally grown feed. To bad humans haven't developed that sensitivity.

The other problem that no one wants to talk about is with the environment. Pollen from GMO crops can be blown by the wind for many miles into non-modified crops and introduce the corrupted DNA into those crops. This has already happened in some areas. And to make that even more frightening, courts have ruled that the new crop that comes from that cross-pollenization is bound by the patent of the GMO. In other words, a farmer who has a field near a GMO field will eventually have to pay fees to the bio-tech companies because his crop has become a GMO crop.

The bio-tech companies use all kinds of fraudulent science practices to try to show that their products are safe.

I recently read one of their studies where they were testing for safety to bee populations in and around GMO crops. It was fascinating to see the excuses they used when a significant drop in bee population occurred in connection with the GMO product. They say stuff like, "That was just during the first 4 weeks of the test, then it leveled off." They consistently dismiss any bad news for them in any test by blaming it on some other cause, even when they can't actually explain how the other thing happened.

The thing to remember is that anytime man tries to micro-manage just about anything, he fails miserably. It is easy to see that our understanding of the human body and how it works, and indeed our understanding of just about any science is so limited that we can never foresee all the results of what our meddling with things is going to be. Any time we try to micro-manage we cause imbalances.

Nature has a wonderful balance that works for us very well if we just go with it and enjoy the benefits. GMO products and drugs are causing a dangerous imbalance that just seems to get worse and worse.

We need to stop trying to play God, and instead thank God for all his wonderful creations, and use them the way he intended for us to use them. That is what is best for mankind.

The only reason the poor of the world are underfed is greed of governments. There is plenty of good conventionally grown food in the world, governments just keep it from getting distributed well. In fact good food can be grown just about anywhere people live if they just get a little know how and freedom to do so. GMO foods will not help with that, they can only make it harder and more dangerous.

The bottom line is GMO foods have been messed up, and their balance compromised. It may take decades before we will know the full extent of how out of balance they have made us, but we already know that since they have been introduced the human race is becoming sicker and sicker. Some of that disease has already been directly connected to genetically modified substances.

Avoid GMO foods. Eat organic whenever possible. Part of the organic definition is that it must be GMO free. Beware that in the US most soy and corn are already GMO products. Avoid foods that are made from them if you can.

Remember that health in the human body is all about balancing systems. Balance is best obtained by using the good foods that nature has provided for us.

Just eat a high quality natural foods diet, exercise, drink plenty of good clean water, make sure you get fiber (whole raw foods), get plenty of sleep, breathe deeply and have a gratitude attitude.

Your body will take care of you, if you take care of it.

Coach G.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) seems to be affecting more and more people. So let's do a little digging to see what it is about.

Nobody really seems to know what Restless Leg Syndrome really is, or what it's causes may be.
It is generally an uncomfortable feeling (tingly, bumpy, or creepy feeling) while resting that goes away or subsides if you move your legs around.

Some studies connect RLS with estrogen overload. It is also connected with anti-histamine drugs. Low iron [Click for info on anemia.] is also associated with RLS, as well as kidney problems. Some even think there is a genetic component. [Click HERE for more about genetics.] Others say that it is a nerve disorder or some kind.

So, if I thought that I had RLS I would work on normalizing the body in relation to those things listed above.

First would be to get the hormones in balance. This can NOT be done with hormone therapy. We don't know enough to balance hormones. However the body knows how to balance our hormones if we give it the right resources and the opportunity to do so.

The major keys to balancing hormones are :
  1. Eliminate all corn, soy, canola, or cotton seed oils from the diet.
  2. Eliminate all omega-3 or fish oil supplements.
  3. Eliminate all added sugars from food, along with all artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors.
  4. Take 3 to 4 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil a day.
  5. Exercise daily for 30 to 60 minutes.
  6. Drink a cup of water a day for every 10 pounds of body weight.
  7. Make sure you are getting your salt with trace minerals. [Click HERE to learn more.]
The next thing would be to eat plenty of green leafy vegetables to help balance out iron processing systems of the body. These will also help to clean and strengthen the kidneys.

Of course, as many toxins as possible need to be eliminated from your lifestyle, so that the kidneys and liver are not over burdened.

Whole grains in the diet (meaning you buy whole grains, not a package that claims whole grains were used in the manufacturing process), particularly wheat, will help to balance many body systems, as well as help to heal leaky gut that is a major contributor to histamine problems.

Note that some people with RLS already have problems with wheat gluten, so they will need to use wheat grass for a while until the body is healed enough to handle the whole wheat.

An important lifestyle change to make for balancing nerve health is to eliminate all GMO foods. More and more we area being exposed to genetically modified foods, and they are causing havoc with our bodies, especially, it seems, our nervous systems.

In particular GMO foods have been connected to some of the tingly, creepy feelings similar to those experienced by many people with RLS. [Click HERE to learn more about GMO foods.]

If I had RLS, I would do all of the above listed things together, to give my body the best chance at re-balancing and normalizing.

Doing what it takes to regain your health is a personal journey. Ultimately we are each responsible for our own health. My goal is to help you all I can with what I am learning. If you have any questions or comments I would be happy to hear from you.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Omega-3 : Friend or Foe?

Omega-3s : What Are They?

It seems like everybody these days is telling you that you need to get omega-3 fats in your diet.
What are they? And is it true?

Now, I must confess that I have always been a little reluctant about recommending omega-3 supplements. It just didn't make sense to me that this stuff that is found only in very small quantities in the diets of people living long healthy lives, should be so important for us to make sure we get plenty of.

It has also bothered me that people are being encouraged to consume large amounts for omega-3 fats, because they are polyunsaturated oils, and therefore detrimental to the human body in large quantities.

So, I decided to do more research to find out just how much of these fats we really need, and what are they good for.

Well, omega-3 fats are fatty acids that have in common a final carbon–carbon double bond in the n−3 position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid.

The omega-3 fatty acids talked about for nutrition are ALA, EPA, and DHA.

ALA is the important one, because the body can use it to create the other two, if it needs them. They are basically involved in inflammatory response mechanisms in the body.

It turns out that these fats are NOT essential. The body can make them if it needs them from other sources. It also turns out that these fats are not needed very much, or in very large amounts. Also we can get plenty of them from eating normal food. Green leafy veggies are a great source.

So what about the research that is encouraging people eat lots of these?

Well, it stems from research done on Inuits in Alaska. It was discovered that these Eskimos, who ate large amounts of fat, were safer from heart disease than many other people.

The researches, knowing that saturated fats were bad for your heart, decided that it had to be the omega-3 fats that were helping them. They didn't know that the research that shows that saturated fats are bad for you was just as bad, or worse, than their own research.

Further studies have been done on omega-3 fats, and the results have been very confusing. Some show improvement, some show decline. It is now almost unanimous that large amounts of omega-3 fats should not be given to cardiac patients. But most doctors will still tell heart patients that they should take some omega-3 fats.

So, I decided that I would look a little deeper.

It turns out that the studies that I could find that say that omega-3 fats are good for the body, in any way, are studies that did not use omega-3 fats exclusively. For instance they would combine a diet with omega-3 fats with vitamin and mineral supplements, and then give any or all credit of positive outcomes to the omega fats. Yet the studies were not designed to actually measure the goodness or badness of omega-3 fats.

Any study I could find that actually used omega-3 fats in a way that could detect the effects of their use, was either a negative outcome or a confusing outcome.

Next, I went to a biochemist that I trust to get his take on omega-3 fats. He insisted that nobody should take extra supplements of omega-3 fats. He went on to say that studies show omega-3 fats are particularly detrimental to mitochondria in the body. Here is a link to his research.

Mitochondria are the things that allow cells to be energized. It turns out that omega-3 fats are particularly detrimental to the lungs and the eyes.

Anyone with lung or eye problems should be extra careful to make sure that there are no omega-3s or any other polyunsaturated oils in there diets.

In fact I would recommend that everyone cut out any omega-3 supplements from their lifestyle. As far as I can see, they can only cause harm.

Fish oils are an important first thing to eliminate. Fish oils are usually already rancid before you take them, and if they are not, they go rancid as soon as they get into the body. They are so easily oxidized, that is just the way they are.

People encouraging the use of fish oils have been led down the wrong path by researchers who either didn't take the bother to think through their research projects, or were paid to achieve a particular outcome.

I recommend stopping all fish oil supplements of any kind.

This does not mean however that you need to cut out green leafy veggies from your diet. This is because in the green leafy form these fats are balanced out with many other nutrients that help the body to be balanced. Plus eating green leafy stuff makes sure that your body does have small amounts of these substances when it does need them for certain special purposes.

Remember that health in the human body, is all about balance. And the best way to find that balance is to eat a variety of fresh whole foods nature can use to keep the balance that only nature's God understands fully.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Cancer And Sugar : A New Paradigm

Here is a new paradigm on cancer and sugar.

As many of you may know, cancer gobbles up sugar. The cancer uses the sugar to create more energy to do more replicating.

One of the problems that this knowledge has caused is that many cancer patients try to cut down on sugar to help rid themselves of cancer. The thing is that sugar is necessary of every cell of the body to make energy with, so they can carry out the functions they have. If you starve the body of sugar to fight cancer cells, you also starve all the other cells of the body.

However our recent study of sugars, and particularly fructose, has given us a little more ammunition to fight with. It turns out that cancer cells develop an ability to directly uptake fructose. Most normal cells in the body do not have this ability.

So, instead of cutting out sugar, in all it's forms, to help fight cancer, it may be well to cut out all fructose for a while. By going on a glucose-as-the-only-form-of-sugar-in-your-diet diet you can cause the cancer cells some problem while still feeding the good cells.

It can be difficult to go on this kind of a diet because most fruits and vegetables contain fructose.
Also most packaged foods at the store contain sucrose (which is half fructose) or fructose in some form. Even honey is about 40% fructose. Also keep in mind that the artificial sweeteners are even worse for the body.

You can eat swiss chard, celery, mustard greens, oatmeal, whole wheat, rice, nuts, raw milk, and eggs.

Just to be clear, it is always advisable to avoid processed and artificial sugars as much as possible. If you must ad sweetener, I prefer raw (not heated, not filtered) honey. Of course if you are eliminating fructose for a few weeks or months to help your body heal, you would need to skip the honey and use something like stevia.

Stevia is a good sweetner with out any known negative consequences. All though some studies have identified problems with extracts of stevia, there is no known problems with the stevia leaf that is normally used for sweetener. Of course you shouldn't over due any one substance.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Phytates : Good or Bad?

The other day I mentioned phytates (or phytic acid) in a positive light and it may have confused some of you. There are many people who will tell you that phytates are bad for you and should be avoided. Lets look at that argument.

Phytates have an interesting property that allows them to bond to iron, zinc, and calcium. So if you eat them with those minerals, your body won't be able to absorb as much of those minerals as it might other wise.

Phytates also have a high phosphate content, but it is also bound up and unavailable for digestion for the most part.

So looking at those facts, one could say that phytates are a negative and should be avoided. But lets take another look.

Phytates, by binding up minerals, may actually be preventing the formation of free radicals, that do so much damage in the body, by keeping minerals at a safe level.

More and more researchers are recognizing problems caused by an overload of iron in the body. Phytates will act as antioxidants, and just a small amount of phytates can drastically cut down the amount of iron in the body.

Phytates have also been shown to help prevent cancer and even to activate the natural killer cells that attack and destroy cancer.

Phytates also are accompanied by plenty of fiber, so that helps with healthy digestive and elimination systems. As well as helping to regulate the use of glucose from starches.

Phtates are broken down by certain enzymes and food processing. For instance yeast fermentation in making bread dough breaks down phytates. Also sprouting grains, and seeds breaks down the phytates. Even soaking beans and cooking them can help to break down phytates.

The best sources of phytates are grains, nuts, and legumes.

So, as it turns out, the best thing to do is look for balance in your lifestyle. Don't go looking for tons of phytates, and don't worry about trying to avoid them. Eat a good balanced diet of whole foods and you will get what you need.

The human body is an amazing machine that has the ability to use what it needs and dump what it doesn't need. So the key is really in giving the body the resources that it needs to do what it needs to do.

HERE is a quick outline of the basics.

And HERE is a little more info about those basics.

HERE is a list of the rules along with a list of the things to eliminate from your lifestyle.

HERE is an article to help you understand balance.

Have a great day!
Coach G.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Fructose Discoveries

I know that many people are familiar with fructose. We generally think of it as the natural sugar found in fruit. Well, recently some fascinating things have been discovered about fructose that I want to share with you.

Excess fructose has been found to cause an increase in uric acid. This in turn leads to high blood pressure, bad triglycerides, fatty liver, insulin resistance, kidney disease, and obesity.

Researchers have found in their testing that glucose does not cause these problems by it's self. But if it is combined with fructose, it actually causes the body to have a higher up take of fructose than it would normally have. Thus if glucose and fructose are taken together, the problem is worse than if fructose is taken alone.

Sucrose (table sugar) is half fructose and half glucose.

However, researches also discovered that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is even worse than the sucrose.

When your body goes through this process of being overloaded with fructose, which consequently overloads you with uric acid, your body then starts to crave the fructose, and a negative spiral ensues.

Interestingly the researchers also discovered that this uric acid problem is also caused by a common item consumed by many people. Beer. Evidently this is why people get beer belly.

So, if you have these kinds of problems what can you do?

The researchers tell us that the first thing to do is stop supplementing with fructose. Of course soft drinks are probably the biggest offender. Then eliminate any food that lists HFCS on the label.

Once you have eliminated fructose from your diet for 2 or 3 weeks, then you can go back to normal fructose intake. Normal means as part of a healthy diet, not what your normal consumption was before.

You see,researchers found that fructose that is eaten as part of a whole food, doesn't seem to cause these problems. The vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phyto-nutrients, and anti-oxidants found in whole foods keeps the fructose from causing the high uric acid problem.

The other thing to know is that if you do have a high uric acid problem in your body, there are several things that the researchers pointed out will help to normalize the situation, thus helping to heal the body.

Exercise helps to balance out uric acid. Vitamin C seems to cancel out the uric acid effects. Foods naturally high in phytates (phytic acid) help to balance out uric acid levels. These include nuts, whole grains, and many legumes. Processing these foods can drastically lower the phytate levels.

For instance leavened bread has a much lower phytate level than unleavened bread. Even sprouts have a much lower level of phytates than the raw whole grain.

Of course sprouts have other benefits. Again it comes down to balance in all things. Eat sprouts sometimes for all of their goodness, but other times just boil up some whole grains for a good dose of phytates. Cooking (at normal temperatures) doesn't destroy phytates.

Well, I hope you found this interesting and informative. Let me know.

Have a great day!
Coach G.

Researchers report can be found HERE if you want to read the whole thing.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Agave Nectar : Uh Oh!

I have been asked from time to time what my thoughts are about agave nectar. I have usually responded that it is probably all right, and seems to be a natural product. I have used it and like it ok, but I prefer raw honey for a sweetener.

The problem is that I never really looked into agave nectar. I should have known better than to trust labels on products in health food stores. That is a notoriously bad place to get nutritional advice. I just had never really been that interested in agave to really research it.

Well, it turns out that I should have thought about it a little more.

A comprehensive article about it (found HERE) states that, 'Agave nectar is advertised as a “diabetic friendly,” raw, and “100% natural sweetener.” Yet it is none of these.'

Agave nectar should actually be called agave syrup. It is a manufactured, highly processed sweetener that has much in common with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).

While it is true that the natives of Mexico made sweetener from the agave plant as well as using the plant for medicinal uses, the product that we find in our stores called 'agave nectar' is not the same thing.

What the natives did was to use the sap of the plant, by boiling it down for a couple of hours.

The agave nectar found in our stores is processed from the starches from the agave root bulb. It is broken down with enzymes and chemicals, and ends up having a higher concentration of fructose than high fructose corn syrup.

When made correctly it is clear, or very light colored. When it is heated for too long it gets burned and turns a darker brown. This is deceiving in another way, because many of us have been taught that sweeteners with a darker richer color are more nutritious.

The truth is that the basic principles don't change. Basically, the more something is processed and removed from it's natural state, the worse it is for our health. The real problem with high fructose corn syrup and with agave nectar is that they are concentrated extracts that overpower and cause imbalance in the systems of the body while supplying little or no nutrition. For more info on balance CLICK HERE.

I still recommend using raw honey as a sweetener for those times that you need a little added sweetener, but remember that most raw natural foods have their own sweetness that can be enjoyed. Also, not everything should taste sweet.

So, to sum it all up, while agave nectar may look promising on the shelf, that may be the best place to leave it.

Have a great and healthy day!

Coach G.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Telomeres : The Answer To Aging?

You may have seen recent articles, and or videos about telomeres.

Here is a video of Sierra Sciences CEO Bill Andrews, PhD, making a presentation about telomeres at the 2009 Longevity Summit.

He explains that telomeres are the very end of the DNA string in the chromosomes. DNA is a hundred million bases long. Telomeres are about 15,000 bases long when we are first conceived. As cells divide the telomeres get shorter. When we are born we have about 10,000 bases in our telomeres. When telomeres are around 5,000 bases we die of old age. (This is the theory.)

He starts off by saying that we can't do anything to stop telomeres from getting shorter as our cells divide. So there is a maximum limit of about 125 years to human life.

He also tells us that bad lifestyle choices, such as smoking, will make telomeres get shorter even faster. So this of course encourages us to live healthy lifestyles. So far so good.

However he assures us that there is no lifestyle changes that can keep telomeres long and healthy.

As he proceeds we find out that the telomeres in some cells do not get shorter. At first he says just reproductive cells have this property. But as the presentation goes on we find out that other cells also have this ability to live longer.

His job is to find drugs that will help cells keep long telomeres. He invisions finding drugs that will allow us to live much longer.

We next find out that no one really knows yet if keeping telomeres long will keep us from aging. Indeed there seems to be much more involved in aging than telomeres. In fact only humans, dogs, cats, and horses seem to have this telomere problem. No other animals age in this way.

Interestingly, cancer cells have this ability to keep long telomeres. If we take a drug to cause cells to be like cancer cells, is that a good thing?

It turns out that Bill Andrew's presentation is simply a plea for money to do more research, to make drugs to patent and sell.

A little more research on our part, and we find out that telomeres also stay healthy if we eat balanced amino acids from whole foods. This is a direct disagreement with Bill Andrew's statements. Even though, in his presentation he does make mention of groups of people who are known to live longer and have longer telomeres than those who don't live as long.

If you study these groups of people who live to be over 100 years old and still have very healthy active lifestyles, you find out that they don't take drugs, or even supplements, for the most part.

They do however eat lots of fresh veggies, fruits, and whole grains. They also get regular exercise (often strenuous), and have good social lives.

These kinds of presentations are good examples of how important it is to listen to what is being said, as well as what is not being said.

He said that eating well and exercising won't help, but all his years of research hasn't been about anything but drugs. He hasn't researched nutrition, or lifestyle.

This is a common mistake made by many many people. They assume that because people who eat processed foods and take drugs can't achieve optimum health, then it must be impossible to achieve optimum health unless we come up with some super drug that will solve all our problems.

He also encourages everyone to spend hundreds of dollars to have there telomere lengths analyzed. The only purpose I can see in that, since they don't really yet know what the real truth about telomeres and aging is, is to get you anxious to buy his drug that he will be making in the future, so you will put up money now to move the research along.

Unfortunately most of the articles out there, that talk about telomeres, are presentations designed to sell some supplement or drug like substance, or to give you false hopes to look forward to the miracle pill, that they will soon be making, to give you long life.

But a little common sense and level-headedness, along with an understanding of nature and natural foods made by our creator, helps us to know that by eating wholesome foods with complete proteins we are already way ahead of the game.

Specifically recommended foods that help with this include eggs, raw milk, and whole wheat.

So if you choose a healthy lifestyle and keep your telomeres long, can you live forever? Probably not. Remember that there is much more to aging than just telomeres.

But choosing a healthy lifestyle will help you to enjoy life much longer with fewer health concerns along the way.

Enjoy your day!
Coach G.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Diet Solution Program Review

People have been asking me about a book or a program they can follow that will incorporate many of the healthy lifestyle elements that I teach here on this blog. Well, believe it or not, I finally found one that is pretty darn good. It is sold primarily as a weight loss program, but includes the sound principles needed to live a healthy lifestyle.

So, here is a review of The Diet Solution Program: The Program that Promises Fat Loss along with an incredible amount of Health and Vitality.

The Diet Solution Program promises a complete and comprehensive weight loss program that will not only help you lose body fat, but guarantees you increased energy, health and vitality all at the same time.

With so many weight loss programs out on the market and on the internet today, what makes this program any different than all the rest?

Before we get to the program, let's take a look at the expert behind this program. Isabel De Los Rios is a nutrition and exercise specialist with 10 years of experience helping clients reach their ideal weight and tackle conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol. Isabel has a very extensive educational background in nutrition and exercise physiology. Her personal experience with her own weight struggles and her mother’s severe diabetes led her search for the BEST nutrition information available today. The Diet Solution Program is a result of her 15 year study and research.

Unlike other so-called “health experts”, who are just following main stream nutrition programs, Isabel provides her readers with the truth: the facts most people have never taken the time to research, read and decipher.

Plus, Isabel has been a nutrition and exercise specialist for the past 10 years and has personally worked with hundreds of clients in her own private facility, overseeing successful weight loss programs. This hands on experience with real people solidified the facts and principles she had learned in books, journals and from other health professionals. The proof was really in the results of real people.

In fact, Isabel's articles are pretty radical, when it comes to her nutrition principles, which is why her approach works when main-stream nutrition fails. So if you are looking for the same old nutrition theories taught in every other book and program on the market today, this is not the program for you. Amazingly she agrees almost 100 percent with me.

Now one of the biggest questions about the program is simply, "What is The Diet Solution Program?" Well according to Isabel, it is the most comprehensive and detailed nutrition manual available on the market today. Not only does it teach you exactly what principles you need to follow to finally reach your ideal weight, it gives you the meal plans, shopping lists and recipes to do so. It does not push some extreme, unreasonable way to lose weight. It actually teaches you how you can make this healthy way of eating into a lifestyle. And if you have ever attempted to lose weight in the past, you know that the only way to maintain it is to make it a way of life. The best part about Isabel’s program is that this new way of life is not some torturous eating regimen. She really shows you that you can eat delicious food, combined the right way, to lose weight and maintain it.

One of the best side effects of the whole program is the increased health and vitality that every participant experiences. Decreases in blood sugar levels, lowered cholesterol, increased energy, elimination of digestive discomfort and cleared skin conditions are just some of the few benefits other people have already experienced.

Now realize that some effort from you will be required, but Isabel has really done all the hard work for you. Included in her program is:
  • Step by step action steps telling you exactly how to put the principles in place
  • Detailed daily meal plans that make everyday eating easy
  • Shopping Lists to make food shopping a snap
  • Delicious Recipes to make everyday meals tasty


The manual is comprehensive. Jam packed with incredible and valuable information. But you don’t need to wait to get through the whole thing before you can start. You can use Isabel’s Quick Start Guide to start the program ASAP. Some people have even just used the quick start guide and lost 10-15lbs in a little as 6 weeks.

The Diet Solution Program is not just another weight loss scheme or extreme diet. It is truly the only way to lose weight and enjoy a lifetime of health. The Diet Solution Program is perfect for people who have struggled with their weight their whole life and are sick and tired of programs that just don’t work long term. The DSP is also perfect for people who want to take control of their health and reverse health conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.

If you're in the slightest bit curious, I recommend you look closely at Isabel's program. I was very impressed with all of The Diet Solution Program meal plans, the bonuses, the guarantee, and Isabel's expertise. And it isn't a lot of money. Plus it is so much better than diet pills! And remember...

Isabel De Los Rios’s The Diet Solution Program is backed by a 90 day money back guarantee. And this is a real guarantee... if you are not completely satisfied, you will receive your money back, no "ifs," "ands," or "buts." So you really have nothing to lose.

Click here to check it all out.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Vitamin E : How To Get The Benefits

Did you know that over 50 years ago it was shown that vitamin E could help prevent heart disease?

It also can help with fertility in both men and women. It helps to mitigate the downsides of estrogen. That means that it can also help to prevent cancer, as well as keep cholesterol levels normal.

It has been found that Vitamin E is also good for the treatment of blood clots, phlebitis, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.

Vitamin E will even increase the availability of oxygen to the embryo in pregnant women.

It helps to decrease inflammation. It helps to heal leaky capillaries.

Excess clotting is known to be caused by too much estrogen, and also by a vitamin E deficiency.

Evidence indicates that Vitamin E prevents and cures fibrotic diseases, and it's a natural COX inhibitor.

In case you were wondering, fibrotic diseases include :
Cirrhosis (liver)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (lungs)
CITA (Cronic Inflamation of Tunica Albugenia) *old peyronie's disorder
Endomyocardial fibrosis (heart)
Mediastinal fibrosis (soft tissue of the mediastinum)
Myelofibrosis (bone marrow)
Retroperitoneal fibrosis (soft tissue of the retroperitoneum)
Progressive massive fibrosis (lungs); a complication of coal workers' pneumoconiosis
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (skin)
Crohn's Disease (intestine)
Keloid (skin)
Old myocardial infarction (heart)
Scleroderma/systemic sclerosis (skin, lungs)

Vitamin E even helps to get rid of excess intracellular calcium. Remember talking about that the other day? (See HERE if you don't.)

So, if that's all true, why don't doctors push for people to use Vitamin E anymore? They used to.

Well, one reason is that it was cutting into drug profits.

So, we began to hear stories about the bad things that could happen if you supplement with Vitamin E.

They said it could cause congenital heart defects, and hemorrhagic stroke.

Fairly quickly doctors started to ignore vitamin E, and now and then there would be an article published about the "toxicity" of vitamin E.

Wow! That doesn't sound good! So what is really true?

Well, if you do a little more research you find out that indeed there are negative health consequences for using vitamin E supplements that are made synthetically. In fact it turns out that studies that have been done on vitamin E within the last couple of decades, mostly use synthetic vitamin E. It isn't even the same chemical composition as natural vitamin E. Unfortunately, most vitamin E supplements are made that way.

The key to getting the health benefits of vitamin E is not to take vitamin E supplements. Simply eat good wholesome natural foods that are naturally high in vitamin E.

When you eat whole foods, you not only get the vitamin E in the correct form, you also get all the co-factors that make it do it's job best in your body.

When I looked up to see what foods were naturally high in vitamin E, I wasn't particularly surprised to see that it included most of the foods that I generally encourage people to eat.

Here is the list of foods high in vitamin E:
Asparagus
Avocado
Eggs
Raw milk
Nuts
Seeds
Spinach
Whole grains (particularly wheat)

Vitamin E, when consumed in these forms, even helps to mitigate the damage caused by eating polyunsaturated oils.

Of course, I still suggest that you stop all consumption of corn, soy, cotton seed, and canola oils. Then the vitamin E you ingest won't have to be used to fight that junk, it can go toward making your body healthy.

If you would like to learn more about vitamin E, I suggest reading THIS.

To review the problems with polyunsaturated oils, go HERE.

To review the basics of health, go HERE.

For the overview of my health rules, go HERE.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Bone Health : Naturally

We have previously talked a little about osteoporosis, but I recently received a request for more information on bones and bone spurs. I do have more information about that.

You can read my previous article about osteoporosis HERE.

Let's talk a little about what causes "old bones" and/or bone spurs (calcium deposits).

The causes of these calcium deposits are actually two fold; too much calcium, and not enough calcium. In the first case the body has more calcium than it can handle, and it doesn't have the resources it needs to get rid of it, so it stores it. In the second case the body recognizes a shortage and so it grabs on to any calcium it can find to store it in case of emergency calcium need.

Now that would make you think that you have to very carefully balance your calcium intake. But let's get a little deeper.

Every cell of your body actually uses calcium. The cell can take calcium in when it needs it, and when it is finished with it, it pumps it back out. This is sometimes called a "calcium pump". The calcium pump is actually a special protein, also know as an enzyme.

As the body "ages" (gets out of balance) these pumps can stop working, or at least lose some of their capacity to pump. So calcium will start to build up in the tissue. This can cause all kinds of stiffness and pain.

The body prefers to store calcium in the bones. That would be a good thing. But when it doesn't have the resources it needs to build bone, or it can't get the calcium out of the cells where it doesn't belong, it can't build the bone. And it will take what calcium is left in the bones to balance critical processes that need calcium.

If the body is healthy and has all the resources it needs, it will put calcium into the bones until they are very strong and healthy and will then dump any extra calcium out of the body.

So, the question is, if you are having one of these problems, how do you get the body to correct this and start pulling the excess calcium out of the soft tissue and putting it into the bones?

Remember that everything in the body requires balance. Balance comes from whole foods. Also remember that the body cannot move anything around and through the body without water. And, of course, to move the water and other stuff around, you have to have movement of the muscles and skeleton. Exercise is imperative. In fact the joints that are the stiffest probably need the exercise the most.

Now let's go back and think about those calcium pumps for a minute. If your pumps are not working as well as the should be, then you probably aren't getting the enzymes you need.

Remember that enzymes are special proteins. Proteins are made from amino acids. We must take in amino acids (in a balanced way) to allow our bodies to make the proteins (and enzymes) that it needs.

If you are having this type of problem, I highly suggest that you try to get good proteins with each meal every day. Eggs are probably the best source of these balanced amino acids. Eat plenty of eggs. You could even have some with each meal if you wanted to. Some people will warn you against eating too many eggs, but they have simply read the wrong reports. That is very old outdated information that somehow keeps getting passed around.

Of course, moderation in all things is also prudent. You can run into problems if you eat more than 20 eggs a day. Your food intake needs to also include lots of green leafy vegetables. These will help very much in getting the good resources (minerals, enzymes, etc.) that you need to balance all of the body processes.

Other excellent sources of protein are raw milk, grass fed lean beef, and whole wheat. Please note the adjectives in that last senctence. Milk that isn't raw, isn't good. Beef that isn't grass fed, is generally full of lots of junk that isn't good for the human body. Processed wheat products (even if labeled "whole wheat") are not good for the human body. When I say whole wheat, I mean you bought wheat in grain form, and then ground and/or soaked it yourself.

Here is an interesting tidbit. Drinking apple cider vinegar can change the pH of the body because it helps to pump out the extra calcium out of it's hiding places. So if you feel that you are having a problem with calcium getting stored in the wrong places, a drink of warm water with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar may help. When I do that, I add a spoon of raw honey to the drink as well. This makes it more palatable as well as adding more good enzymes.

If you are in need, you can safely have a drink like that three or four times a day.

Of course you want the whole body balanced, so eat plenty of all good wholesome foods. In fact if you are exercising and drinking plenty of liquids, you can eat as much as you can of all good wholesome foods (be sure and get a variety) and you won't gain any weight (unless you need to gain weight).

So that's about it for today. Let me know if there are further questions.

Have a great day, with a healthy lifestyle!

Coach G.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Yeast Infections Can Be Solved

Many women have major problems with yeast infections. They can be very annoying and uncomfortable as well as very hard to get rid of.

Let me share some of what my research has revealed about how to eliminate this problem once and for all.

A yeast overgrowth is generally a result of imbalance in the intestinal flora in your gut. Antibiotics and or processed foods cause the good bacteria to die and the bad bacteria to thrive. (Over the counter pain killers will do this too.) With bad digestion, much of your bodies chemistry gets all out of whack. So of course you need to ultimately fix the digestive problem to solve the root of the problem. Garlic is a good antibacterial that won't hurt the good guys in the gut. Also kefir or yougurt (without any artificial junk, if you can find it) help to put the good guys back in.

You should avoid all processed sugars, or artificial sugars. Avoid dairy that is pasteurized and/or homogenized. But raw dairy will help. Also avoid all vegetable oils (particularly corn, soy, and canola). Eat plenty of green leafy vegetables (spinach is one of the best), and whole wheat, to rebuild intestinal balance. Also be sure that you are consuming plenty of mineralized water daily.

Check out my article I wrote a while back about "Leaky Gut Syndrome". Click HERE.

The article on water will help you to understand mineralized water. Click HERE.


And here is the article all about balancing the body. Click HERE.

If you want something more direct, here are two methods that seem to work to relieve symptoms fairly quickly:

1. Inserting one Boric acid powder capsule into your vagina morning and evening for three to seven days for an acute infection, and 14 to 30 days for a chronic infection. I have not seen Boric acid capsules widely available in health stores or pharmacies but women can make their own by buying a bottle of Boric acid powder and gelatin capsules (a capsule-making machine makes the process go faster).

Studies show the effectiveness of Boric acid is very high especially in women with chronic resistant yeast infections -- one study with 100 women showed a 98 percent success rate with this condition. If you find that the Boric acid irritates your external genitalia you can protect the tissue with vitamin E oil (preferred).

2. Insert a garlic clove into your vagina in the morning and an acidophilus capsule in the evening for three to seven days.

But, even if one of these two methods works for you, you need to take care of the underlying cause for long term relief.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Lectin : Friend or Foe?

The anti-grain zealots have come up with a new bad guy to attack and blame on grain consumption. They even claim that this is a factor in many diseases. However, if you read their article carefully, you will see that all of this is guessing in the dark, and taking things out of context.

Note that they admit that wheat is a very complex plant, capable of 23,000 unique proteins. And yet, they have decided to isolate one of them and see what kind of damage it could do all by itself.

They have singled out lectin as the bad guy.

Note also that every detrimental effect on the human body that they claim is caused by lectin, has only been observed in people who eat processed grains, not whole grains.

But they still insist that whole grains are worse than processed grains, because they contain more lectin.

It is kind of like saying that eating a whole apple would be much worse than just eating the seeds of the apple, because you will get more arsenic. While it is true, it has nothing to do with the health effects of eating an apple. (No, I don't suggest eating only the seeds of an apple. Nor does anyone else that I know of.)

Look up lectin in wikipedia and you will find that it has many important biological functions.

Here is why they say lectin is the bad guy:
  1. May be pro-inflammatory.
  2. May directly bind to and activate white blood cells.
  3. May pass through the blood brain barrier pulling bound substances with it.
  4. Capable of inducing either cell cycle arrest or programmed cell death.
  5. May cause cells to divide or inhibit cell division.
  6. May cause platelet activation and aggregation.
  7. May bind to the surface of villi in the gastrointestinal tract (causing growth).
  8. May decrease levels of heat shock proteins in gut epithelial cells.
  9. May enter cells in the same way that viruses can.
Well, lets take another look at that list. But instead of assuming the worst, let's think about balance in the human body. We all know that balance in the body is the key to health. We must have balancing influences for all functions.
  1. Inflammation is an important bodily function.
  2. White blood cell activation and transport are very important to our immune function.
  3. It is important to get many substances across the blood brain barrier.
  4. Cell cycle arrest and cell death are particularly important in fighting any cancer.
  5. Cell division is also very important, and yet stopping the division is just as important.
  6. Platelet activation and aggregation is what keeps us from bleeding to death.
  7. Villi are very important to digestion, it is imperative to keep their functions optimal.
  8. I would hate to get an over abundance of heat shock proteins in my gut.
  9. It actually competes with viruses for access to cells, helping to keeping us healthy.
So you see that, again, it all comes down to balance. Trying to micromanage the nutrients put into the human body is never a good idea. It can only cause imbalance.

We see time and time again that those who eat whole grains (particularly wheat), which cause balance in the human body, are always healthier than those who eat processed grains.

You may also note that those who eliminate grains from their diets, generally continue to have worsening health problems. In their mind this requires more and more supplements of one kind or another, but if they would just get back to eating whole foods, and particularly grains, most of their health problems would fade away.

Any time you take any one constituent of a whole food and isolate it, it is a detrimental thing. But eating the whole food, with all it's parts intact, you get balance and benefit.

Using the same logic, why don't these anti-grain fanatics also blacklist :
  1. Mustard, you can create toxic gas from parts of it.
  2. Peaches, their pits contain poison.
  3. Car brakes, they don't allow the car to go anywhere.
  4. Chiropractors, they can put your body out of alignment.
  5. Dentists, they drill holes in your teeth.
  6. MDs, they are always seen around sick and dying people.
  7. Water, it can suffocate you.
  8. etc.
  9. etc.
  10. etc.
Such nonsense!

If you haven't already, please read my recent post on whole grains (click here).

And of course you should also read about the number one must make resolution (click here).

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Oxalates : A Good Example

I've been reading recently about people who are going on low-oxalate diets. So I decided to do a little research to see what it was all about.

Oxalates are formed from oxalic acid which is found in many natural foods. Oxalic acid binds to metals and forms crystals which don't dissolve easily. An estimated 80% of kidney stones are formed from calcium oxalate.

This knowledge led to the idea that perhaps eliminating oxalic acid from the diet could help avoid kidney problems, as well as other pains associated with these types of crystalline build ups.

The problem is that if you eliminate all the foods that contain oxalic acid you will have a very hard time finding enough good healthy foods to eat.

This is a good example of the problems caused by trying to micromanage the systems of the body.

You see, if you eliminate oxalic acid to avoid some negative aspect associated with it, you also eliminate its positive aspects. Not to mention all the wonderful nutrients missed out on by not eating those healthy foods.

Why do so many foods that are very healthy for you contain oxalic acid? Remember that oxalic acid combines with metals in forms that won't dissolve easily. In other words it grabs onto metals and holds onto them. If your body has the necessary resources, these metals can be flushed out of your system, thus getting rid of one of the major causes of free-radical damage in the human body.

In other words, oxalic acid helps to cleanse the body from the heavy metals that can cause so many problems.

So instead of trying to eliminate oxalic acids, make sure that you are getting plenty of them by eating plenty of green leafy veggies and whole grains. Then make sure that your body has all the resources necessary to flush out all the heavy metals and other bad stuff. That means plenty of water with trace minerals, and adequate exercise and rest.

You see, the oxalate damage that is seen in the body is caused by things being out of balance. Not enough trace minerals, too much junk food, too much soda pop, processed and artificial sugars, drugs, etc.

Oxalic acid is not the bad guy, it is the good guy. Allow it to do its thing in optimum ways. Eat optimally. Live an optimum lifestyle.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Second Must-Make New Year Resolution

The second must-make New Year's resolution you need is "Whole grains will be my 'staff of life', especially wheat."

14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 89:14 - 17)

Whole grains are the staff of life. They cause life and balance.

Remember that health is all about balance. Whole grains, particularly wheat, cause balance in the human body.

Wheat is a widely used, and yet little understood, secret of health. Wheat was created for the health of man. When used in its whole form, it balances pH, it balances hormones, it balances, proteins, it balances fats, it balances cholesterol, it balances minerals, it balances digestion.

Those who think they are allergic to wheat, generally are not. They are out of balance. They lose their balance by eating processed wheat products that do not contain the goodness of the whole grain.

Even gluten-intolerant folks can generally eat whole grain wheat, especially when it is combined with whole raw milk. For those who cannot eat any gluten at all in any form, they need to start with consuming wheat grass. The wheat grass contains no gluten and will, over time, restore health to the point where whole grains will be able to be consumed.

Make this new year resolution and by the end of this year, you will likely be healthier than you even imagined you could be.

Whole grains along with regular exercise, adequate water intake, other whole foods, and adequate rest and relaxation will create a better you.

For more detail, read my other articles. Just put a search term into the search box in the upper left corner of this page. If you don't see the answer to your question, please leave a comment here asking your question.

Friday, January 01, 2010

The One New Year Resolution You Must Make

If you want to gain health, lose weight, build muscle, and/or improve stamina, then there is one new year's resolution you absolutely must make.

Write it down and say it out loud. "I will exercise for 30 to 60 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week."
Repeat this phrase to yourself often until it becomes a part of you.

Exercise really is the key to gaining maximum health. Exercise makes everything else work. Without exercise, nothing works.

The basics: exercise makes you breath more deeply, exercise gets you to drink more water, exercise makes you want to eat better food, exercise tones and strengthens muscles, exercise helps your body eliminate toxins, exercise helps blood to circulate more effectively and efficiently, exercise improves metabolism allowing you attain the correct body weight, exercise helps the immune system fight off disease.

Now that you know you are going to exercise every day, put it into a plan. Decide what you will do each day, and at what time. Be sure to vary the exercises from day to day, so that you work all the different muscle groups in full range of motion. If you do the same thing everyday, it can wear the body down. But doing different things helps to build the body up.

For instance, if you are into running, go short and fast one day, then long and slow the next. Integrate yoga into your routine one day and aerobic dance the next. There are many other things to choose from as well. Bicycling, swimming, dancing, ball playing, ultimate Frisbee, skiing, hiking, climbing, body weight exercises, etc.

One very important thing to remember is to take a rest day each week. The Lord gave us the Sabbath for a very good reason. It allows the necessary rest for the body (and spirit) to recover and grow stronger.

Happy New Year with your new life of exercise and health!