Tag: Health

At Least, three longtime friends passed this month. One in his 70’s, one in his 80’s, and one in his 90’s. Richard W., Dave P., and Coach O. were all Elders in my life. (while writing this, I got news of 2 more friends passing).

In the ancient tradition, each showed me their Elderhood wisdom, born of experience and battling through life’s challenges. They were guides to all who searched out their wisdom. Such guides are always needed. We, as legacy creations, must be the Elders for those to come. It is an ancient tradition and must be followed if we are to survive. As we have grown from their guidance, the task falls to us. We are all connected, like the mycelium of the forest. We know our ancestors are fully present in every cell of our body. Let us invite them to our life experiences.

Food Emersion and Survival

Previously, I said that the only reason for not eating meat is a moral or ethical conviction, a reverence for life. It is a strong reason if you believe that these are sentient beings. More science now supports no meat. In my current eating program, the why may be as important as the what. It started as a 10 days Vegan Emersion Program from Food Revolution. My inspiration was a friend who wanted to be vegan for the health benefits. She has a heart valve replacement pending and wants to be in best health she can be for that procedure. It has been over a month with no meat or dairy. She claims more energy and I had my first-morning run (jog) in more than 20 years on Saturday. We have morphed a little from the strict definition of a vegan menu to a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) plan. The difference is minimal.

Whether science is chasing trends or trend is following science; every day there is more information coming out about the benefits of the WFPB diet. Google it and see. If you give this diet a try for a meal or a day, you will be better for not partaking in the Standard American Diet (SAD). I hoped to instantly lose weight on the 10-day emersion plan. I did not lose weight because I made some mistakes. I did not monitor my consumption which for me always means overconsumption. If one is good; ten is better. Also, I did not run nutrient information. As we tried new recipes, lack of planning, led to a protein shortage in my diet. This produced some intense sugar cravings which I accommodated. There is a science to back these actions and feelings of mine. The situation is correctable. Processes are happening in the body that produces these effects. EVERYDAY HEALTH AND GOOGLE describe protein traveling through the small intestine encouraging the production of the hormone CCK and others that are responsible for decreases in appetite for carbohydrates and sugar. The lack of protein will lower the production of these hormones and produce the cravings. My solution is to add a Plant-based protein powder to my diet, at least until I get my consumption act together.

The Rich Roll Podcast interview with Dr. Zach Bush (#5) is really good. The title is The Future Human and Planetary Health; go here 👉🏾http://bit.ly/richroll751 then go to site. These well-educated and brilliant men talk about everything we see, feel, and hope for.

As another school comes to an end, I want to be pointed in the right direction. The website https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/ helps me with this. In late May, I am making my first flight to the UK. My middle daughter has lived there my years and I am going to see what is the attraction. Until next time, Good day.

In the spirit, be healthy,

Coach Brown

IN February, here in Las Vegas, it is high desert winter. It is characterized by cold nights and cool windy days. Night time temperatures are in the 30’s with day time highs generally in the 50’s. I had two outdoor Saturday adventures. That is, first a climb of Lone Mountain and second a drive/hike that included Rodgers Hot Springs and the Valley of Fire State Park.

Lone Mountain

Lone Mountain is in the sea of suburban roof tops near the north west corner of Vegas. It has a two mile circular trail around the edges of the mountain. The kicker is a near vertical trail to the summit. Up 600 to 3000 feet. At the summit you get a 360 degree view of everything everywhere.

The view from the Summit

The second adventure was a road trip. First stop was Rogers Hot Springs

Rodgers Hot Springs is inside Lake Mead Recreation area. It is a drive-up spot. It has rest rooms and covered picnic areas. The water temperature is 86 degrees year round. It makes a great break spot. I took a friend on this day trip so we had a break here. We had an hour canyon exploring walk. It made the trip into Valley of Fire State park even better.

Lake Mead as seen from Rodgers Hot Springs hike.

The Valley of Fire does not seemed to be named for the dessert heat but rather for its special red rock formations which are way more expansive than the popular Red Rock Canyon miles the the south west. It is a spectacular drive with hiking areas everywhere requiring a return trip. We completely enjoyed this trip. Here just couple of the photos:

Next: FEET, FORKS, AND FINGERS

This is how Dr. David Katz relates to the sky rocketing health issues in America and around the world. He is referencing what is well known to all of us. Feet refers to all people needing regular exercise or activity. Forks is about the importance of what we eat to run our bodies. Fingers is the importance of not smoking. He recognizes and is aware that most people know this, but the issues still exist. He says that the gap between what people know and what people do is the cause of 80% of disease and is preventable. This 80% of disease is what are called lifestyle related diseases. They are the biggies, most heart disease, most cancers, type II diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease (the most common type of dementia). Dr. Katz says that our zip code not our genetic code is the more important factor in determining our longevity and health span. That is why they are described as lifestyle diseases. In an early career talk he highlighted 6 factors of health for longevity: 1. diet 2. exercise/activity 3. not smoking 4.sleep 5. stress 6. social factors/love.

These 6 things sound a great deal like the Blue Zone formula. I believe this road less traveled must be traveled for us the be healthy. To get motivation watch the 2017 Documentary What the Health again or maybe for the first time. It is on Netflix and other media too.

I received a gift book from my son; The Blue Zone American Kitchen. It is a coffee table style book with lots of good pictures. Besides good recipes, it is a historical account of early American ethic group diet before their eating was corrupted or lost. If you’d like to learn some cool longevity facts listen or watch Rich Rolls interview with Blue Zones Dan Buettner just below.

Finally, This month, a real world problem. I continue my concern with pollution and toxins in our environment. We all heard or read about the mess in New Palestine, Ohio. Of course in our country, it is now a political issue. It should be a right to life issue. Some people will get sick and die. What a mess. With that said, this week (2/23) in The Guardian, a liberal news paper in the UK, there was an article about “forever toxins”. It has map showing the areas in Europe and the UK that are polluted with PFAS. PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, it’s an umbrella term for a family of about 12,000 chemicals that are prized for their indestructible and non-stick properties. They are toxic. The mapped areas are massive. The “forever toxins” are detected in the air, water, soils, sediments, and rain. Yes, this life is terminal, but must we speed up the process and our own demies.

In the spirit, be healthy, Coach Brown