I love it RAW...foods

A quick post on some of the good quality raw food products which are sold in Australia. A recent visit to Aussie land once again, and I can't get enough of the healthy food products and whole foods available in this country. From fresh Australian oysters to raw grass fed milk to raw organic chocolates, there are huge range of local and imported food products sold in Australia. 

I was delighted to found raw grass fed milk in Prahran Market, and it definitely tasted like real milk! It's creamy, delicious and nutritious. The smell and texture of raw milk is different from commercial milk products sold in most countries including Malaysia. Virtually all milk products sold in most countries are pasteurized or homogenized, even for organic milk products as well. Always remember, drinking non organic commercial pasteurized milk products WILL make you sick. You can't get any health from a sick toxic diseased cows. Usually, I don't drink milk, but the raw milk from grass fed cows is just irresistible and delicious. It is in fact the ideal most nutritious milk safe from human consumption with tons of health benefits. Alternatively, if you seriously need or have cravings for milk, then I would only advise you to go for organic whole milk. Else, stay away from milk consumption if you have lactose intolerance or some sort of allergic reaction or digestive  dysfunctions. 

Libido food, fresh Australian oysters.

One of the few raw organic chocolate products sold in the market.

Soy free, very low in sugar, organic, raw and only one ingredient. One of the best raw organic chocolate products sold in market.

Locally produced raw honeycomb

A healthier treat, raw, organic, gluten free

Less then 5 ingredients, zero chemical and no artificial stuff.

One of the healthier raw, organic, gluten free meal replacement product, and it's suitable for vegan.

Check out the ingredients, it even contains probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Raw organic grass fed milk from local free range cows

Can unhealthy parents produce healthy babies?

Today's post is going to be about parents and babies, although nutrition, lifestyle, conception and reproductive health will be part of the discussion. Recently, quite a few people especially mum-to-be, asked me about what to eat when she is pregnant, is soymilk infant formula ideal for her and babies, would cow's milk be alright during the first couple years after the baby is born, etc. 

First of all, let's talk about the reality. What is the most common situation after a couple got married? "Let's make babies!". Yes, that's what most couples plan and want after their wedding bells and exchange of wedding rings. Every couple do want to have babies at some point of their marriage lifespan, but the question is, can unhealthy parents produce healthy babies? Out of 10 random married couples, how many ever think about this question? Let's all be honest here! 

Apart from living a modern stressful lifestyle bombarded with layers of stressors accompanied with poor nutrition and diet, and all whacked up sleep wake cycles, and exposure of environmental toxins as well as  toxic skin care products,  could both husband and wife healthy enough to make healthy baby? Let's take one step backward. We all call ourselves EDUCATED people, is that right? Now, let's use some common sense here, and think, unhealthy parents produce healthy babies? Possible? No? Yes? 

One of my relative member, who is a young doctor, a health professional, at the age of 20's, suffers oral degradation, teeth decay and had to undergo root canal. Apart from skin disorders and malnutition (skinny underweight), what does that tells you about a person with similiar conditions at such a young age? Not to mention if he or she is a health professional. Same scenario apply for a so called personal trainer who is out of shape and overweight trying to train his or her clients to get into shape and being fit? Three words, silly, pathetic and absurd  It just doesn't make any sense at all. So if any of you parents out there thinking you can produce health babies if you are sick and unhealthy, think again, it doesn't require a DEGREE of health science or medical science to figure this out. 

Let's try to recall one of the familiar moments here. Does any of you remember when you walk along the shopping malls or supermarkets and notice that there are more autistic or hyperactive(ADHD) children? No? The next time you stroll and does some window shopping, try to be a bit more observant when you spend you time during weekends in shopping malls. Even my friends and relatives kids, from range of 3-8 years old,  most of them experience some levels of attention deficit and hyperactive symptoms. Is that normal? The answer is NO. It may appear to be common symptoms but it is certainly not normal. 

Now, let's venture into the journey of 'making' a baby for both future parents. Before plunging into being pregnant or conceiving a baby, let's look at what's happening to most adult females in this 21st century. Tons of adult females are on contraceptive methods, whether it is pills or implanted 'substance' in their body. The question is, how many females know that is this going to do to their health and body? Apart from the increased risk of developing the 'C' word, you are interfering with your body's natural hormonal regulation. Those synthetic estrogen pills which you are taking month in month out, is it destroying your reproductive health and that includes your previous LIBIDO. Wonder why you feel irritable, mood swings and develop high fat storage around your butt and thigh areas? Wonder why those steamy endorphins releasing sessions are no longer explosive and pleasurable? Tons of questions but so many contradictory answers found in medias including GOOGLE and so called health magazines. 

How about the ladies who is not on contraceptive methods? How would they know if their steroidal hormones pathways are working properly? How would they know their reproductive health and immunity is normal and working the way it suppose to be? I've met quite a few ladies who only has menstruation a few times for the whole of 12 months! Most of the females I know, have irregular menstrual cycles, some experience twice a month, some bounce from short to long heavy periods, apart from painful cramps. 

Let's talk a bit about physiology and steroidal hormones pathways. Does anyone knows the raw product of all your steroidal hormones? CHOLESTEROL! Yes, that includes the manufacturing of your stress and sex hormones! Yes, the demonized villain, cholesterol. Yeah right! If cholesterol would to give us heart attacks and kill us, we wouldn't have evolved until today and I wouldn't be writing this post right this very moment! Our ancient ancestors @ caveman since 2 millions years ago until the ancient homo sapiens (around 30000-40000 years ago) were still surviving and consuming high fats, high protein and high cholesterol foods. 

Recently, I did an informal talk about steroidal hormones, stress and sex, to a group of my clients and friends on the weekend. I explained in details about 'pregnenolone steal' and how stress hormone cortisol from chronic stress could impact overall and reproductive health which include gut dsyfunction as well. Women nowadays would prefer to spend time in facebook, rather then having sex! People spend time with their Ipads, mobile phones and laptops during their lunch breaks and meal time, in restaurants, at home and even while walking on the roads and in the malls! I seen people using facebook and mobile phones while they are exercising on stationary bikes and treadmills! What on earth are they thinking?  

As pregnenolone is the great grand daddy of all steroidal hormones (please see graph below), you will notice both stress (cortisol) and sex hormones (estrogen & testosterone) in seperate pathways. Imagine, your parents gives you an allocated amount of money each day at school, let's say $10, both to you (assume you are a boy and cortisol) and your sister (sex hormones). Both sister and brother, has a budget of $10 each to spend in school on daily basis. What if, you overspent before the day is over, and you come back to your parents and ask for more money? Your parents is not going to be happy and tell you "I don't have anymore money, I need to borrow from your sister". Then what happen next, in order to fulfill the stress load experience by you, your sister (sex hormones pathways) has to sacrifice and 'borrow' it towards the stress pathways of cortisol. If this happens regularly day in day out, week in week out, and for prolonged periods of time over the years and even decades, your body will experience something called 'Pregnenolone Steal'. In other words, your adrenals are suffering, dsyfunction and failing to adapt to this type of chronic stress levels. For whoever have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, you will know what I mean. By the way, applying testosterone cream or medication WILL NOT fix anything as it will only address the symptom and not the underlying cause. 

Now, let's discuss about lifestyle, nutrition and diet. Well well. What have you been eating all along? Adult males and females, for the last 10-20 years, how well did you score in nutrition and diet? Remember the saying, "You Are What You Eat". Better still, "You absorb what you break down". Most people just think of foods as just foods and eating to make one feel full and satisfied. Most of us abuse foods and overeat from time to time, but for some, it is a habit and routine. Although all of us are being told and advised by the USDA and so called dietitians and nutritionists to eat according to the one and only FOOD PYRAMID, our health condition has become from bad to worst. In fact, we have never hit this rock bottom, in terms of health status and disease rates. We have the most advanced medicine, but why are we getting sicker and fatter and health status are declining and all diseases rates are increasing yearly? What went wrong? 

If you would to consult any registered dietitian or conventional nutritionist, you will be told to eat according to food pyramid guide, which consists of grains, legumes, low fat, less meat, more carbs. How many people realize that the USDA food pyramid guide is created by a bunch of politicians who have no solid knowledge about nutrition, health and diet? Does anyone also realize that most dietitians and conventional nutritionist courses are funded by food industries? If you liase enough time with a registered dietitian, you will realize that  you are being advise by a food products salesman/girl. Calories in, calories out right?  

Imagine, since your childhood when you are being fed on junk and high crap diet by your lack of knowledge parents, your immunity has become normal to depressed and gene expression turns from not so bad to really bad. If you did not have adequate physical movements or exercise, do expect sluggish metabolism and poor state of cardiovascular health. Let's say now that you are in mid 20's, and starting to enjoy dating and perhaps being a young married couple, prior to being pregnant, both men and women's state of health is crucially important. It's not as simple as just being "Let's have babies!". Ask yourself, do you want a healthy baby? Or a sick unhealthy baby? 

I'm sure every parent wants the best for their children and siblings. But question is, where do I start? How I can ensure that during the pre, during and post natal periods are well taken care of with the right nutrition, diet, lifestyle? Firstly, for men, if you want to ensure you build a strong quality healthy sperms, you should be practicing and avoiding things as below.

Avoid: (Men)

- smoking

- regular alcohol consumption

- High crap diet (include junk, processed and fast foods)

- Sugar/High glycemic foods (you don't want your sperm to be sugar-drunken right?)

- Pesticides contaminated foods (it kills your sperms!)

- Unfermented Soybean based foods (erectile dsyfunction and libido issues)

- Poor sleep wake cycle ( sleeping at 2am and wakes up at 11am does not count as quality 9 hrs of sleep!)

- Installing/keeping mobile phones around crotch or hip areas (mobile phones radiation signals kills sperms)

- Prescription drugs such as antibiotics, as well as recreational drugs

To practice: (Men)

- Eating organic whole foods to your best ability (no money to eat organic? Sell your expensive car!)

- Increase healthy fats and clean protein consumption (not from deep fried foods or vegetable cooking oils)

- Proper exercise which stimulates metabolism and gene expression (not jogging or marathon)

- Low stress lifestyle 

- Incorporating fermented foods into diet regularly (no time to prepare? That's a lame excuse)

- Hit the bed before midnight and wakes up by 7am daily.

As for women, good practices and avoidance is quite similiar, apart from a few additions to prepare them for  getting pregnant and during development of the fetus during the 9 months and post-natal period. 

Avoid: (Women)

- smoking
- regular alcohol consumption
- High crap diet (include junk, processed and fast foods)
- Sugar/High glycemic foods (due to hyper and hypoglycemic state and imbalance of blood sugar levels)
- Pesticides contaminated foods (these are endocrine disruptors)
- Unfermented Soybean based foods (reproductive issues including low libido and malnutrition)
- Poor sleep wake cycle ( sleeping at 2am and wakes up at 11am does not count as quality 9 hrs of sleep!)
- Installing/keeping mobile phones around crotch or hip areas (mobile phones radiation signals damages reproductive organs)
- Prescription drugs such as antibiotics, as well as birth control pills and recreational drugs

To practice: (Women)
- Eating organic whole foods to your best ability (no money to eat organic? Buy less on cosmetics)
- Increase healthy fats and clean protein consumption (not from deep fried foods or vegetable cooking oils)
- Proper exercise which stimulates metabolism and gene expression (not jogging or marathon)
- Low stress lifestyle
- Incorporating fermented foods into diet regularly (good gut flora is super crucial in immunity)
- Hit the bed before midnight and wakes up by 7am daily.
- Practice all these healthy habits and avoid or eliminate as much toxins as possible, and perform pre-natal detox and cleanse, at least 9-12 months before being pregnant.

The above guidelines, are just the basic stuff, the least which one can fulfill and avoid, that is what I have been advising and telling people I met over the past years. How about during the 9 months period or labor? Bear in mind, whatever the mum-to-be is eating, all nutrients and toxins will be absorbed by the developing fetus. If you eat McDonalds or junk food filled with trans fat, sugars and MSG, then those harmful substances will be passed to your child. How about during the BIG day? C-Section or normal birth? Any birth which has to go through C-Section surgery, will bypass/avoid the vital vaginal flora (beneficial bacteria). That is why normal vaginal birth is so important in terms of future health status of that baby. 

How about breastfeeding? How important is that? Would infant milk formula replace mother's breast milk? The answer is BIG NO. An increasing numbers of mothers are having problems with breast milk production, thus, reducing the period of breastfeeding to that developing baby. The most ideal healthy foods and immunity inheritance for the newly born and growing baby, is mother's breast milk. There is no replacement for it, NONE. Whatever infant milk formula that states how much DHA and EPA and minerals and nutrients, is nothing but plain synthetic substances and processed ingredients loaded with toxins. 

Now, the common question, is soy infant milk formula safe for baby consumption? To be honest, this issue is getting to my nerves and I always need to rant whenever I talk about this topic. I won't elaborate too much about processed/unfermented soybean, please go read my earlier posts if you want to know more about this food. What I can say is, soy infant milk formula is the most dangerous foods any parent can feed their new born or developing kid, or even adults. Ask yourself, do you want to mess with your infant's reproductive health and hormonal levels? Do you want your infant's estrogen levels as high as the mum as the age of 1 or 2 years old? Imagine feeding your child soy infant formula for a day, that's the equivalent of 5-10 birth control pills ingested by the poor baby! And yes, I know what your doctor said when you bring your sick child to the hospital or clinic whenever the baby has diarrhea or digestive or elimination problems. Conventional doctors don't know SH*T about nutrition and health, not to mention soybeans. 

Well, sorry for my personal rant and honest advise and point of view on this topic. I hope parents-to-be, mums and dads, married couples and even young adults, do seriously consider about pre, during and post natal periods, when comes to producing a healthy strong baby, not only during birth, but also throughout his or her adulthood and perhaps the next generation. 

Are these really nutrition/slimming products?

I recently came back from a trip in Indonesia, and I decided to share something with you guys. I kept saying to myself, I had to upload this post and let more people know about 'these' food/beverage products. The truth needs to be revealed and I believed more people needs to realize what's in the package foods or beverages that they purchase and consume. Tons of people are unaware of so called 'healthy' food products which are sold widely in supermarkets, convenience stores, etc.

Well, let's make this post short. As I was strolling in one of the supermarkets in Indonesia, both these products caught my attention. One of the so called Whey protein labeled packaging with a well built guy on the front cover of the product. The ingredients are just mind blowing! Besides, the whey protein in the food product is not even undenatured and organic, and most likely highly processed too. In my recent years of meeting tons of so called 'bodybuilders wanna be' and fitness enthusiasts, most of them were pounding down these protein supplements like there is no tomorrow, and they don't even know what's inside ingredients and how it is been processed. Apart from a toxic gut and congested detoxification pathways, most of these dudes experience multiple symptoms which is usually ignored by them, as they think it is 'NORMAL'. I call these people, fit and sick dudes.

Anyhow, it is best to stay away from packaged/processed food products as much as possible. If best, ensure the consumption to the least if not total elimination. Always remember, eat from the food source as close to nature as possible.

Whey Protein and nutrition for men? 

A cocktail of nasty artificial substances which include vanilla flavor @ beaver's discharge, sucralose and acesulfame-K!

 Aspartame, a dangerous excitotoxin added with artificial sweetener sorbitol.

Kidney Stones : What to do about it? (Part 2)

Kidney failures is not something new to most of us, we have heard of it, and at some point in our lives, we get to know friends, colleagues, relatives and even family members who experienced kidney stones surgery or undergo dialysis for failing kidneys. Is this becoming a health trend in a negative way? How come the incidences of kidney stones and failures increases and is conventional medical treatment really effective? Does it even treat the root cause? 

The big question here, 'Why Do I need to do kidney cleanse?". How about "Why my doctor do not recommend kidney cleansing?". Answer is simple. Conventional doctors, are not taught on detox and cleansing, nor nutrition. It is not within their medical practice, thus, they barely know anything about it, and are not allowed to recommend or advise any patients. Most of the conventional doctors are afraid of getting their medical license revoked and banned from practicing medicine, thus, bad reputation and ruined career being jobless. 

Millions or people in industrialized nations suffer from kidney problems. These problems include urinary tract infections, kidney stones, kidney cancer and polycystic kidney disease. The kidneys make a tremendous effort in their attempt to keep the blood clear of toxic substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury and other heavy metals. The kidney also maintain fluid and electrolyte balance and regulate the pressure that the heart creates to force the blood through their filtering system. Kidney stones greatly undermine these vital functions, which may further increase the chance of accumulating heavy metals in the body and raise its general level of toxicity. This may lead to infections, high blood pressure, brain disorders, cancer and many other imbalances.

Now, you may notice some signs which indicates the presence of crystals and stones in the kidneys or bladder. The following are some of the signs which you might be interested and find out if you have them.

- A dark of whitish color under the eyes
- Puffy or swollen eyes, particularly in the morning
- Deep wrinkles around and under the eyes.
- Overlapping of the upper eyelid
- Chronic pain in the lower back
- Swelling of feet and legs
- Constant fear or anxiety.



Please take note that you may also need to cleanse the kidneys, if the presence of gallstones in the liver, or other causes, have led to the development of stones in the kidneys or the urinary bladder. The kidneys are very delicate, blood-filtering organs that easily get congested as a result of poor digestion, stress and poor lifestyle. The main causes of congestion in the kidneys are kidney stones. Most kidney stones or crystals, however, are too small to be recognized through modern diagnostic instruments, such as x-rays.

The following herbs, when taken daily for a period of 20-30 days, can help dissolve and eliminate all the various types of kidney stones, including uric acid stones, oxalic acid, phosphate stones and amino acid stones. If you have history of kidney stones and want to completely clean out your kidneys, you may need to repeat this cleanse several times, at intervals of 6-8 weeks. Bear in mind, special preparation and and mixture of these herbs are essential and crucial, to having a successful kidney stones cleanse. The downside is, in Malaysia, it is very difficult to find most of these herbs and you need to buy them from overseas.

Ingredients:

- Marjoram
- Cat's Claw
- Comfrey Root
- Uva Ursi
- Hydrangea Root
- Golden Rod Root
- Fennel Seed

Kidney Stones : What to do about it? (Part 1)

Let's talk about kidneys. I'm sure everyone know and heard about kidneys and each of us has a pair of it and it is important. But, the question is, how well you know your own kidneys and what role do they play in the body, and do you have kidney stones? If yes, why? What are you going to do about it? 

Kidney damage or failure, is becoming more and more prevalent. Question is, why? More and more people developed kidney stones. The kidneys truly are the body's 'master chemists'. They not only remove waste products and excess fluids from the body via the urine. but they also maintain a critical balance of salt, potassium and acid. I have to say, not a small feat for such relatively small organs. the kidneys, produce a hormone called EPO, which stimulates the production of red blood cells. Other kidney hormones help regulate blood pressure and calcium metabolism. The kidneys, even synthesize the hormones that control tissue growth. When the kidneys become damaged, other organs suffer as well.

The main responsibility of the kidneys, is to keep the blood pure and healthy and to maintain proper fluid balance in the body. To accomplish this enormously complex feat, the kidneys need to be constantly monitor normal blood volume and filter out the right quantity of urine. There are many interfering factors that could disrupt this mechanism and can congestion in the kidneys. These factors include overstimulation, dehydration, fatigue, overeating, consuming highly processed foods, gallstones, blood pressure disturbances, digestive disorders and prescription of narcotic drugs. 

Now, when the kidneys are not able to seperate the necessary amount of urine from the blood, part of the urine keeps circulating around the body, thereby depositing urinary waste products in the blood vessels, joints, tissues and organs. This implies that fluids and waste products are trapped in the body and begin to accumulate. The ultimate result is potentially extreme swelling, symptoms of uremia and kidney failure. Many skin diseases, strong body odor, sweating of the palms and feet, water retention, lymph congestion, abdominal swelling, rapid weight gain ,weakness, high blood pressure and other disorders, are all signs of toxic blood caused, to a large degree. by the presence of obstructive urinary deposits such as sand crystals and stones in the kidneys.

Stones in the kidneys start off as tiny crystals, and can eventually become as large as an egg. And no, I'm not kidding and for whoever developed or had kidney stones surgery before, you will agree with me. Tiny crystals are not able to be detected by x-rays, and since they do not cause pain, they are rarely noticed. Yet, they are big enough to block the flow of liquid through the tiny kidney tubules. Crystals or stones are formed in the kidneys, when the urinary constituents, which are normally in solution, precipitated.

Precipitation results when these particles occur in excessive amounts or when urine becomes too concentrated. The crystalline particles or stones usually have very sharp edges or angles. One released by the kidneys along with the urine, they may cut and wear away the inner surface of the urinary canal during the passage to the urinary bladder. This can cause severe pain in the loins and/or lower back. There may even be blood in the urine, pain running down the legs, numbness in the thigh and difficulty in passing urine.

Most crystals or stones originated in the kidneys, although some may also be formed in the bladder. If a large stone enters one of the two ureters, urinary discharge becomes obstructed. This can lead to serious complications such as kidney infection or failure. Regardless of where in the kidneys the blockage occurs, it restricts their ability to remove and regulate water and chemicals, causing this delicate organs to suffer injury.

Now, let's talk about different types of stones and their effects to the body.  The most common solutes involved in the formation of crystals or stones are oxalates, phosphates, urates, uric acid and amino acid cysteine. Different varieties or crystals and stones can be formed from any of these solutes, for various reasons.

Foods and beverages that contain large amount of oxalic acid causes oxalate stones. A cup of regular tea, contains about 20mg of oxalic acid, which is far too much for the kidneys to excrete. Initially, the body uses calcium to neutralize the acid. By doing so, the oxalic acid turns the calcium to calcium oxalic. If tea drinking becomes a drinking habit, any excessive amount of calcium oxalic will be deposited in the kidneys in the form of tiny crystals. 

Uric acid crystals also make up another form of kidney stone. Uric acid is also another waste product that is form from purines and fructose in foods. Some of the foods which is high in purines content are teas, shellfishes, yeast, etc. As for fructose, it is found primarily in fruits, soft drinks, sweetened beverages, processed foods as well as ice creams and sweets. 

If the kidneys are unable to remove all the uric acid, its concentration in the blood rises. As a result, the extra uric acid is deposited first in those areas of the body that have the poorest circulation and oxygen supply, that is the toes of the feet or fingers of the hand. These deposits of uric acid and other harmful substances in the toes and fingers can make the joints rigid, stiff and unbending.

Naturally, whenever waste products are stored inside or outside the body, specialized bacteria will also be present to help break them down. Any deposits of uric acid in the body attract certain aerobic bacteria to decompose this waste product into ammonia. If the bacteria feeding on the uric acid crystals invade these waste-saturated tissues in sufficient numbers, inflammation and pain result. Gout and arthritic conditions are the most common symptoms of this involuntary 'cleansing response'. The uric acid crystals in the toes are made from the same material as the uric acid stones in the kidneys. 

Bear in mind, a similar situation may occur in the heels. Heel spurs are due to deposits of uric acid and various phosphates. The uric acid attracts bacteria, leading to pain, and the phosphates are responsible for causing rigid and hard structures. Swelling or edema around the foot or ankle, caused by poor kidney and adrenal functions, may accompany this condition.

As I've mentioned, the kidneys and adrenal glands regulate water and salt levels throughout the body. If their functions are subdued due to stones in the kidneys, your body may thus be holding water on the feet legs, abdomen, face, arms and organs.

Many kidneys stones are formed as a result of insufficient water intake and the consumption of foods of beverages that have dehydrating effects, including artificial sweeteners, sugar, alcohol, tea, coffee, and soft drinks including sodas. Also, watching too much of TVs and smoking cigarettes has a dehydrating effect on the body and causes the urine to become overly concentrated.

Eating lots of acid-forming foods such as meats, baked goods, candy, sugar and other similar foods, forces the body to release many of its valuable minerals, thereby altering the pH levels of the urine. This not only causes minerals deficiencies in the body, especially in the bones and teeth, but also turns the normally acidic urine filtrate alkaline. In alkaline urine, other substances maybe precipitated, including phosphates.

Phosphate stones are formed, in particular, from eating too many foods that are high in phosphates and low in calcium, such as processed cereals, breads, pasta, as well as soft drinks. To neutralize the highly acidic phosphates, which could easily burn the delicate kidneys, the body leeches extra amount of calcium from bones and teeth and uses whatever magnesium it can obtain from such foods as green vegetables. Bear in mind, it takes over 2 gallons of water to neutralize the acidity of one can of drinking soda or soft drink. So, be kind to your kidneys and substitute clean water rather then soft drinks.

The presence of phosphates generates an acidic environment in the body, which literally dissolves bones, leading to osteoporosis, and shrinkage of the body frame. It also causes tooth destruction, digestive disorders, cancer and other diseases that related to calcium deficiency.  A person who eliminates more then 150mg of calcium with his or her urine in 24 hour period, an emergency measure taken by the body to combat excessive acidity, is in the process of dissolving the bones. Some of the calcium combined with the phosphates, forming various calcium phosphates crystals, which can lead to hardening of the arteries and common arthritis.

Please be also aware that excessive sodium chloride(table salt) in the diet, predispose a person to kidney stones. In addition, for every gram of table salt that your body cannot get rid of, your body uses up to 23 times the amount of water to neutralize the salt, which can lead to fluid retention, cellulite, arthritis, gout, and gallstones. This is primarily for whoever regularly dine outside in restaurants or prepared foods such as fast foods which are loaded with table salt. Instead, consume a more nutritious salt such as rock or high quality sea salt for cooking or mixed with water consumption. Till then, stay tuned.

Top foods and toxins to avoid this year - 2013

Did you know that average adult consume more then 10 pounds of toxins each year? Yes, more then 10 damn pounds of toxins each year! I've just read the recent study done by Physicians for Social Responsibility which revealed that average American ingested 14 pounds of toxins each year! That's just shocking! Imagine, every single day, you and your family are unknowingly exposed to a variety of pesticides and chemicals in your food, your drinking water, your home, your place of work, and where your kids go to school and the list goes on and on. We are constantly bombarded with tons of different toxins from environment to foods and drinks to skin care products and utensils we used daily. No wonder why we are getting sicker and fatter! 

Today, I will share with you some of the harmful and damaging foods and hidden toxins with a lot of us are not aware of. This will not be a long post, but I hope whoever read this, will take note seriously and apply it to your daily lifestyle and diet. And although their effects do not appear overnight, they WILL appear in time.

Firstly, let's start with top toxins to avoid this year. Make it your one of your new year's resolution and goal! 

Mercury

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can lead to permanent brain damage if young children or fetuses are exposed. Its main source continues to be contaminated larger fish, vaccines and dental amalgams. Whoever still has amalgams in your mouth, you might want to remove it SAFELY for health reasons.

Bispenol A

BPA, which is found in many plastics, in the lining of cans, and even coating many sales receipts, was found in more than 90% of these products. The health concerns about BPA are many and kept growing. Buy and use glass bottles instead of plastic bottles, which also includes your cookwares in the kitchen at home.

PFOA

PFOA and other perfluorinated chemicals are used to create heat-resistant and non-stick coatings on cookware, as well as grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant clothing. Studies have linked these chemicals to a range of health problems, including infertility in women, and to developmental and reproductive problems in lab animals.

Fluoride

Fluoride is found in many sources such as water supply, bottled mineral water, most bottled beverages which includes soft drinks and so called' fruit juices' and other sweetened drinks. Even drinking at restaurants and food stalls usually use tap water or non RO or distilled water. Most household uses non filtered water heater or shower system. That would be the main source of fluoride absorption into your body while you shower with warm/hot water. Fluoride is a potent neurotoxin, and it can cause tons of damages to your body overtime. Read my fluoride earlier posts.

Pesticides

Pesticides act like neurotoxins inside your body, which means that they have an affinity for residing in and disrupting your brain and nerve tissue. They won’t necessarily do damage overnight but they become real 

dangerous with years of exposure. Just think about how many non-organic foods (and therefore pesticides) you’ve consumed since you were born. Pesticides are endocrine disruptors, and it will disregulate or disrupt your hormonal pathways, making you fat, out of shape, sick, and time bomb for various diseases. The real problem is that these pesticides accumulate inside your body since they resist breaking down in water and tend to accumulate and store in fat tissue (which includes your nervous system), where they can remain for long periods of time. Eat cheap and expects good health? Sorry, that's not going to happen. You are what you eat, remember?

Next, top foods to avoid for this year.

Whole grains/Wheat based foods

I know I know. You must be cursing and freak out by reading this. What? No grains and breads? How about my cereals and pizza? We've been told to eat whole grains because they are good for us. They are great source of fiber and other vitamins. If you want to crack your fixed mindset  which has been brainwashed by the grains industry, I highly encourage you to read the books below. I can't provide you the list of medical and nutrition journals here (way too long!).

 

     

Low fat / low sugar foods

Steer clear of processed or packaged foods which say "Low fat or low sugar". Aren't low fat will help on weight loss? Wouldn't low sugar is good and help on blood sugar regulation or even diabetes? The answer is NO. Remember this, when a packaged food has had all or some of its original contents removed, these will need be replaced by another additives, usually much more damaging or nastier. For instance, if a packaged food product has lower fat or zero fat, it will usually replace it with sugars or higher refined carbs. Reason? Taste. Yes, food industry know that to sell their products, they need to win our taste buds. If you love their foods, you will come back again with stronger addiction! As for low sugar products, usually they are replaced with dangerous artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, etc. Like I always say, read the INGREDIENTS! 

Unfermented Soybean foods

Almost everyone I spoke, had a shock of their life when I told them to stay away from processed soybean foods. You should see their faces when I revealed the facts to them about unfermented processed soybean foods. We have been mislead and brainwashed by soybean industry that consuming processed soy is healthy for us (which include me when I was young). Soymilk, tofu, soybean cooking oil, etc. I will not write more about this, feel free to read my earlier posts on soybean or go research yourself diligently. I have posted on a long list of all medical and nutrition journals last year about unfermented soybean. If you want to know in depth about adverse effects on soybean, read "The Whole Soy Story" by Dr. Kaayla T. Daniels. 

New Year, New Resolutions, New Goals

How did you celebrate New Year eve? Did you get drunk partying all night loaded with booze and nicotine? How was your last meal on the last day of 2012? Yes, many people are telling me, who cares? It's New Year's eve! We should be partying and countdown the night partying like crazy. Well, in some cases, I could agree with those people. It's only one night right? What's the worst that could happen?

As for me, I did not go partying nor drunk on the eve of the new year. I had a decent normal meal, no alcohol, nor nicotine nor fast foods. It was an almost usual evening, relaxing the night but managed to watch an awesome documentary about parasites "Monsters Inside Me". I could have chosen to go crazy with pizza and booze and more booze during the last few hours of the year, but I decided not to. 

Now, for most of you, after partying all night celebrating New Year and breaking into 2013, do you guys think of any new resolution or goal for this year? Or did any of you ever set new year's resolution or goal before? If yes, how many of you ever reached your resolution or goal? Well, statistically, not many people reached their new year's goals. it doesn't matter financial, career, family, relationship, health, fitness, etc. The question is, why did most new year's resolutions or goals failed? Have any of you ever thought of that before?

Imagine, before the new year kicks in, maybe a few days in the current year, and you sat down and mentally prepared for what's coming towards you. You set some new resolutions and goals, what do you want to achieve and improve on certain things in your life. What could it be? Before we discuss further on this topic, I will list down some of the common health and fitness goals which many people came to me all these years for advice.

- I want to have 6 pack abs in 3 months!

- I want to have a ripped muscular body.

- I want to lose 20kg in 3 months.

- I want to cure my diabetes.

- I want to improve my fitness levels in order to perform better at my own favorite sport.

- I want to participate in marathon events this year.

- I want to have a healthy lifestyle and eat right.

- I want to reduce my bloating and digestion problems.

Well, to be honest, how many of the above list is achievable and realistic? An overweight potbelly male wanting a 6 pack abs in few months period? Does it seem realistic? Imagine if that person has above 25% total body fat with a huge potbelly wrapped around his tummy area? Most of us do not know that we have 8 pack abs. And in order to have these abs muscles to be seen visible, what should we do? Yes, you are right. Lower down your total body fat, especially your visceral abdominal fat. Thus, once your visceral fat is burned off around your belly area gradually, thus, your abdominal muscles will be more visible. Does that make more sense to you? There are tons of people (men and women), who do chronic sit ups and thinking it will burn off the belly fat by performing that exercise itself. This is absurd and dumb. You will not have 6 pack abs nor visible abdominal muscles if you still have thick chunk of belly fat covering it! So guys, forget about 6 pack abs if you don't lower down your total body fat, especially your abdominal belly fat to an ideal percentage (7-12%). No matter how much you train your so called 'abs' or core, it's not going to happen.  I've tried it, experienced it, failed and learned from it. 

Another factor is your overall lifestyle and diet. If you keep eating junk, foods laden with sugars, refined carbs and trans fat, you can forget about losing weight or so called 'getting ripped or toned body'. How about reversing or so called 'curing' illness or disease such as diabetes or maybe obesity? First of all, taking prescription drugs WILL NOT help or solve anything, apart from masking the symptoms. Secondly, it will only make the body state of health worsen overtime with tons of serious side effects, preventing your body from healing itself and weakened immune system. There are a long list of most common new year resolutions and goals for many of us. But, why do we tend to fail and not reached our goals? The answer is UNREALISTIC. Yes, we tend to set unrealistic goals most of the time. Instead of setting goals such as "I want to be millionaire this year" or "I want to lose 25kg in 3 months" or "I want a six pack abs in 3 months", why not set a much realistic goals as described below. As we set unrealistic goals, we tend to fail and end up being demotivated and setting up a pessimistic mindset and perspective on our next goals and resolutions. 

Examples of realistic health and fitness resolution/goals:

- Reduce total body fat of 5-7% by mid of this year. (e.g from 20% reduced to 13-15%)

- No alcohol/nicotine for full 30 days!

- Read more books this year then last year

- Reduce eating fast foods to once a month.

- Eliminate or reduce bloating and digestion problems and to be able to have a regular proper bowel movement.

- To increase energy levels naturally without depending on stimulants such as caffeine, sugars, alcohol, nicotine.

- To be able to sleep without the need of sleeping pills, and to achieve deep quality sleep regularly.

- Go gluten free for 30 full days!

A lot of times, most of the resolutions and goals we set, are long term and can't be achieved overnight. I would recommend you to watch Will Smith's interview (video) on his wisdom. I remember in his interview, he mentioned, "If you are making someone else life better, you are wasting your time". I like what he think and what he said. The lesson here, is to to learn how to do it and be realistic. It's not about simply just doing it, it is about how you do it. Those little things you do daily, will end up being enormous by end of the year. Example, let's say you start reading 10 pages of a single book daily, you will have read 3650 pages by the end of the year! Thats easily more then 12 books per year and a ton of knowledge. Or, let's say if you exercise only 10 minutes a day 5 times a week, you would have accumulated more then 43 hours of physical activity @ exercise in a year's time. 

Bottom line is, whatever success that you desire or dream of, it doesn't matter if it's financial, health, fitness, relationship or anything at all, 90% of the time, it's the mindset. Attitude and perspective. Same goes with the saying, "A healthy mind, comes a healthy body". A positive mindset can makes you live longer, and a negative mindset can actually kill you! Before I sign off, I invite all of you to listen to the audio interview by Dr. John F. Demartini from the link (below). 

Will Smith's Mindset wisdom (video)






Dr. John F. Demartini (audio interview) 56 mins
http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=1313832