Category Archives: Health & Outdoors

Diet

Foods That Kill

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This is a wonderful presentation w/ Dr. Klaper comparing animal products & plant based foods. I’ve made a summary below the video playlist (if you’re reading this in Facebook, please visit my Food That Kills post on my website to see the videos). Please comment when you’ve watched the entire presentation. I would love to hear if you have heard things contrary to what he presents. If you share, please cite your source (preferably, though not necessarily, a peer-reviewed journal article).

Recap of presentation: Diets high in animal protein (milk & meat) (body only needs about 30g / day, typical American diet 100+g a day) causes build up of acids as the liver metabolizes the protein & creates urea, ammonia & other amino acid waste fragments. These acids sap calcium from the bones and the kidneys excrete it in the urine, even in the presence of more than adequate dietary calcium. Osteoporosis seems to be more of a disease of protein excess than calcium deficiency. Highest animal protein consuming countries are the ones with osteoporosis: US, Scandinavia, Europe & Australia. So, milk…DOESN’T do a body good. Not to mention hormones, antibiotics, casein, pasteurization, etc. (Milk, Does A Body Good?)

Another prob w/ US diet, refined carbohydrates (enriched wheat) causes depletion of fiber which slows down the absorption. Without the fiber our intestines get gunked up.

One cause of high blood pressure is high amounts of sodium & one of the things highest in sodium is animal products, milk & meat.

When women eat animal fats prostaglandin 2 is released which makes her uterus constrict, retain fluid, gets irritable. Dr. Klaper Women who have increased their plant based consumption and reduced their animal product consumption have seen reduction in PMS symptoms.

Final thoughts: As a doctor in general practice he noted many patients’ health dramatically increasing and the need for medications reducing as they took on a vegetarian diet. Other than his “we need to control the population” comment at the end I felt it was a very informative presentation that helped put overall health in perspective and helped to dispel some common myths around milk, meat, protein and vegetarian diets.

Diet

Milk, Does A Body Good?

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After learning about the manipulative of marketing, the power of politics and the Machiavellian tendencies induced by large mounds of money, it perhaps wasn’t as hard to believe as it may have been several years ago. The slogan “Milk, it does a body good” has remained with me for a long time and while it may not have been the prime reason that I loved to down a couple glasses a day growing up, it definitely may have been a contributing factor in keeping my family and I dismissing claims that milk wasn’t good for me.

Well, the more I dig, the more I uncover and the more I see that things are not always as they seem. I don’t consider it a conspiracy, though it may be. I don’t place blame on anyone, though there are groups that have perpetuated lies, knowingly or unknowingly. I just think it’s in my best interest to dig for truth and then feed my body what it needs to thrive.

I’ve struggled through different trials in life as many do; ADD, impulsiveness, mild depression, etc. I haven’t pieced together yet all the reasons for those struggles, but perhaps much of my mental anguish was unnecessary. Now I fully acknowledge the purpose of trials in life. The stressors can cause us to push back, which helps us to seek for answers and to grow, but imagine if there were an understanding, acceptance and living of personal health standards untainted by marketing & man’s motivation for money. What kind of businesses would we build up? What kind of food systems would we have? What kind of prosperity would we uncover and what kind of positive progress could we make as human race?

These are some problems being observed and attributed at least in part with the consumption of milk (and in a broader way, animal products):

  • High in protein that can leech calcium from bones
  • Breast cancer
  • Osteoporosis
  • Atherosclerosis: heart disease, stroke, kidney failure
  • Children coming into puberty sooner
  • ADD
  • Alergies

Considering the distraction from creative endeavors the previous list suggests, I am going to make the decision to reduce milk from my diet. Following you’ll find my Milk Video Playlist (if you are viewing this in Facebook please visit my blog post Milk, Does A Body Good? to see the videos):

So then, why is milk so popular? Well, personally I love the taste, but let’s take a little stroll down the culture of milk in America:

Santa (& Dad's) Favorite Treat
We're told it's good for bones
We're told it's good for kids
And hey! If it's good enough for Batman...
Brain & Psychology, Diet

Bisphenol A (BPA) – Synthetic Estrogen in Can Lining & Plastic Bottles

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Not because I wish you to see me as a Chicken Little do I bring up yet another topic of health concern (by the way, I plan on bringing up much more), but rather because as Howard Dayton said in the Crown Financial Ministries’ awesome “Money Map” audios, “Any enterprise is build by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.” (Proverbs 24:3-4 TLB) And also, “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” (Doc & Cov 131:6)

The Problem

So, what is it this time Ryan? Well, I got a couple videos for y’alls to watch that will explain a little bit about the situation…

But wait, it looks like the FDA has changed their tune:

The closing statement in this video kinda cracked me up. The lady whose blood BPA level skyrocketed after just eating a tuna fish sandwich calmly reassured “You can still enjoy your pizza. Everything is relative and in moderation.” It seems a bit like the captain of the titanic calmly encouraging passengers to continue dancing. “Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.” (2Ne 28:7 Look in verse 10 in the context of this video for an interesting twist in meaning.)

I’ll admit that my first exposure to the dangers of BPA and all the places we get exposed to it (without even knowing it) was from Alex Jones, but just to satisfy all you who don’t want to go that far out there to get your information (even though he documents his claims for you to look up yourself) I made a little trip to the The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, ya know, the government. Well even their National Toxicology Program has begun to look into BPA as a potential human health hazard. They did so not only because of public concern, but because animal studies have shown altered behavior and development in the offspring of animals given this synthetic estrogen and because our current exposure level are relatively similar to that given lab animals.

They have a scale they use to rate their concern of harm. For infants, the concern is elevated.

The Solution

This exposure to a yet another health risk brings us to the conclusion that I’ve been reaching again and again over the last couple months, and quite honestly the one that finally led me to action in the area of what I consume. It was summed up brilliantly by a doctor friend of mine who was explaining how simple nutrition is, “try to eat whole, raw foods. The less processing the better. The end.” So there ya have it folks, eat food the way God made it.

If you insist on walking near the edge, the NIEHS has a tad more information on how to steel clear of BPA. You can also check the “all-knowing” Google or Wikipedia for more about BPA where you’ll see that Canada just declared it a toxin. You can also get “the other side” from those who have an interest in not seeing it banned here (And just in case you thought it, yeah, I am a little biased after reflecting on the data). Below are some additional places to look more information about what’s being done about BPA.

Interact

I’d love to hear your thoughts or concerns about this in the comments below. I’d especially like to hear thoughts on how to make avoidance of plastics and canned goods practical.

Attention & Focus, Gratitude, Runner's High, Words

The Runners High

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briskly and swift travels the aging man

ascending the mount to see God’s beacon shine

focused on words that illuminate his soul

grateful for the quickening of mercies divine

Tonight I ran for the second time this week and the second time in perhaps 6 months or more. After the St. George in 2005 I haven’t trained much. I did run the Wasatch Back Relay, but I pretty much ran that straight up without forethought…and my legs sure thanked me for it!

Today I had been having a brain cloud, as I’ve come to recognize as a fairly common part of Ryan’s existence. I almost didn’t run today because I’ve been feeling “almost sick” lately. Ya know that feeling of fatigue, muscle soreness, hot/cold “make up your mind” stuff? Well, I’ve been having that but guess what? Here’s what I experienced upon returning from a 15 minute run, 5 minute walk, then repeat session:

  • My mind felt clear and focused
  • I had more energy
  • I noticed patience came easier
  • Gratitude filled my being
  • (From the textbook) Overall sense of well being

I enjoy noticing the effects of my actions more these days. I haven’t always done that and it’s quite interesting and refreshing.

Dreams, ioV, Reports, Runner's High, State of the Art

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

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Over the past week I’ve felt a renewal of my dream to study the brain. This new energy came as I watched Daniel G Amen on a KUED special talk about his clinics and all the SPECT scans they’ve done and how they’ve started to use it as a diagnostic tool, something it sounds like many have avoided. Here’s a playlist to the special I watched.

Ever since my physiological psych class with Dr. Yells several years ago I’ve had a strong interest in the brain, its hard wiring and its relationship to behavior, memory and learning.

Along the way I’ve also had a desire to be involved in the technology that would eventually revolutionize again the way we diagnose patients and help them in their journey towards happy existences.

A couple months ago I pulled out the drawings and drafts I had been making over the past several years about my ideas on what I’ve since come to classify as personal medical sensors and monitoring. The simple thought came to me, “I wonder if anyone’s ever thought about these things before.” So I jumped online and started the search. It didn’t take long to find solutions that others had come up with. BRILLIANT!

As I’ve started to learn about the brain again I’ve felt alive again, like I have purpose I guess.

This is not the only thing that’s contributed to the feelings I’ve been having, but learning IS a powerful motivator for me. In fact, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life actually talks about the need for life-long learning to keep your brain healthy. I’m feeling it.

In other news, last week I started doing sales for our company, ioVentures. Invigorating. I realized that I absolutely love meeting new people, sharing what I know about a topic and learning what they’re involved with.

Tonight we had our ioV company party. I was the only one not married, but no worries. I took Shimpie. We had a great time bowling. I got a personal best (156) along with Jason and Larissa. Fun stuff.

Today I found out that I was picked in the lotto to run in the Moab Half Marathon in March… :o) Running, it’s become foreign to me. Let’s get back on that horse!