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The Journal of Plant Based Health & Wellness

Issue #3, September, 2019

Mission Statement This monthly newsletter is provided absolutely free as a public service to help stem the rising tide of preventable chronic diseases. We are in the midst of a worldwide epidemic of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dementia, heart disease and cancer. These dreadful illnesses can be prevented and even reversed by making a few simple diet and lifestyle changes! Our mission is to spread the word that the human body is an amazing self-healing machine! The conventional pharmaceutical paradigm of treating symptoms with drugs will soon need to give way to understanding the root causes of disease and promoting health through diet and lifestyle changes. This may seem like an uphill battle against the entrenched industrial food producers and powerful pharmaceutical companies, but we really have no other choice. Current trends will not only result in massive human suffering; they will completely bankrupt the American medical system! Thatʹs what this journal is all about. If you remove the toxins and provide your body with healthy nutrients, it will naturally start to heal itself. By living a plant-based lifestyle combined with moderate exercise and stress reduction, you will start to reverse all chronic illnesses and live an amazing pain free life. This has been demonstrated over and over again.

ʺHeal yourself, heal the planetʺ

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Message from the Editor

Welcome to The Journal of Plant Based Health & Wellness! We are so excited that you have decided to join us on this

exciting health journey! Rick McKeon

Our goal is to provide interesting and inspiring articles that average people can easily understand and put to use in their daily lives. You donʹt need to be a medical professional or a trained scientist to benefit from the articles you find in this journal. Each month we will bring you:

1. A Feature Article about the plant based lifestyle 2. A Success Story submitted by one of our readers 3. An article on foods that promote health 4. A delicious plant based recipe 5. An article about spices for flavor and health 6. An article about one of our favorite experts to follow 7. A book review, and 8. A video documentary review. 9. How exciting is that!

We would love to feature your personal story!

Send your story together with a thumbnail image of yourself to rmckeon5@gmail.com

Note: By making this submission you are granting us permission to publish

your image and your story.

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FREE OFFER!

To start receiving this monthly newsletter for free just sign up on our mailing list at

http://eepurl.com/gt1nv9

Disclaimer

I am not a medical doctor, and I am not offering medical advice.

In this journal I am just honestly sharing with you my personal experience and some of the things I have learned from those who are experts.

Before making any changes in your diet or exercise program, Consult with your healthcare professional.

My hope is that you will be inspired and motivated by Something you read here. I know thatʹs a high aspiration,

But that is what I hope for you!

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Feature Article: The Keys to Radiant Health

Introduction Note: Thousands of full-length books have been written on this topic. This article will be just a short overview to whet your appetite for more study in each of these four areas. When weʹre healthy and stress free we feel like we could fly! If we have a chronic illness and are stressed out, life is not so much fun. No matter what your situation right now, if you start applying these four principles, your health will improve.

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Part 1: Diet

Today in America we are suffering an epidemic of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer because people are eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) that is loaded with fat, salt, sugar and chemicals. Instead of eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and beans we are eating a diet of ʺfood likeʺ products that are processed and prepackaged. These products are loaded with chemicals, toxins, antibiotics and pesticides. The goal of our industrial food system is not to produce healthy food but to produce profits. Junk food is so pervasive that even in hospital waiting rooms the vending machines have candy bars and potato chips. You would think that hospitals would be places that promote health! A recent phenomenon is the rapid rise in childhood obesity and diabetes. If children contract these diseases early, they will be very sick as adults! Right now (2019) half of the American population has diabetes or are pre-diabetic, and this epidemic will only get worse without a popular revolution in the way we think about food. Our ancient ancestors lived at a time when food was scarce and hard to get. They were driven by their brain chemistry to eat as much calorically dense

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food as they could so they could survive long enough to reproduce. We are still wired that way today. Our DNA hasnʹt changed that much from theirs, but the available food supply has! Today there is an abundance of processed foods containing loads of the fat, sugar, and salt that we have been programmed to crave. The key for us today is to eat real food. Eat plants, not food that was manufactured in a plant. If you buy food that comes in a box you would be better off to throw the contents out and eat the box! OK, maybe Iʹm being a little bit melodramatic, but the idea is to eat unprocessed foods that come from nature, not from a factory. Many traditional cultures that eat a primarily plant-based diet have virtually no cancer or heart disease. Once they start eating the American diet they rapidly get as overweight and sick as we are. Their DNA didnʹt change; their diet and lifestyle are the things that changed. Thatʹs pretty good evidence that we are not completely controlled by our genetics. So, donʹt feel you are a helpless victim of your genetic makeup and there is nothing you can do about it. Even if you have a genetic predisposition toward a certain disease, if those genes are not ʺturned onʺ by an unhealthy environment in your body, you may never get the disease. Today we are starting to understand a lot more about ʺepigeneticsʺ and how genes are expressed. Genetics is like playing poker; you may have been dealt a good hand or a bad hand. You canʹt change your genome, but you can change how it is expressed. So forget about genetics and just play the hand you were dealt.

ʺAnother thing to consider is that we donʹt just pass down our genetics, we also pass down our habits to our kids.ʺ

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1.1 The Pleasure Trap Hunger and cravings are not the same thing. As an alcoholic, I have cravings to drink beer because it stimulates the pleasure centers in my brain. Iʹm not a neuroscientist so I donʹt know exactly how it happens, but the alcohol somehow interferes with the neurotransmitters in my brain. Drinking alcohol has no real benefits except for creating an amazing feeling of pleasure. It somehow triggers the release of dopamine in my brain. But for me its drawbacks far outweigh that temporary sense of well-being. The same thing can be said for eating junk food that is loaded with sugar, salt and fat. It has the same effect in our brains as alcohol or other drugs. If we still lived in a time of feast or famine, eating as much high-calorie food as we could might work to our advantage. We would store the extra calories as fat to get us through the lean times, but today for most of us, there are no lean times so we just keep storing the extra calories as fat. Plus, modern packaged foods contain chemical toxins, preservatives, dies and carcinogens. So whatʹs the difference between cravings and hunger? Real hunger is a good thing. It encourages us to consume nutrients that promote health, but cravings are a desire to eat and drink stuff so we can temporarily feel good. Then we are using food as entertainment.

ʺWe need to view eating as consuming the healthy nutrients that our bodies need, not as entertainment. We can still take pleasure in eating, but we will also have the satisfaction of knowing that what

we are eating is good for us.ʺ

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1.2 Fats Fats have gotten a bad rap, but fats are essential for health. They are part of the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve cells and allows them to send electrical signals. Our brains contain large amounts of fat. In fact, fat is an essential component in the cell membranes of all of our cells. It is also an essential part of hormones that regulate many bodily functions. The fats contained in nuts, seeds, and avocados are healthy fats. The fats contained in animal products are unhealthy fats. Also, animal products contain animal growth hormones and antibiotics. Studies conducted by Dr. Colin Campbell at Cornell University have shown that the casein in dairy products stimulates the growth of cancer cells.

ʺYouʹve probably heard about low-fat/high-carb diets And high-fat/low-carb diets. How confusing!

How about a balanced diet with the right amount of fat and carbs? Itʹs called a whole foods, plant-based diet.ʺ

1.3 Plant-based Nutrition Plant-based nutrition is ʺcleanʺ with no animal growth hormones, excessive fat, cholesterol or antibiotics. Eating a wide variety of colorful plants gives you all the nutrients you need except for vitamin D and B-12. The multi vitamin that I take has plenty of each. The FDA has proposed several different food pyramids over the years. Figure 1-1 is my proposal. Notice that there is no room for processed foods or animal products. Letʹs start eating a healthy, clean and compassionate diet!

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Figure 1-1: Rick McKeonʹs Healthy Food Pyramid 1.3.1 What About Protein? One of the most common questions people ask about a vegetarian diet is, ʺWhere do you get your protein and calcium?ʺ The meat and dairy industries have spent a lot of money trying to convince the American public that meat and dairy products are necessary in order to ensure that we have enough protein and calcium for good health. But the reality is that if you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and beans thereʹs no way you will be deficient in any of the essential nutrients. The key is to eat a VARIETY of COLORFUL fruits and vegetables. Good sources of plant protein include: lentils, black beans, lima beans, peanuts, wild rice, chickpeas, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, cashews, pumpkin seeds, potatoes, spinach, organic corn, avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spirulina, green peas, hemp seeds, zucchini, collard greens, kale, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts.

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1.3.2 What About Calcium? Good sources of dietary calcium include: Kale, mustard greens, collard greens, broccoli, black beans, chia seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, fennel, oranges, blackberries and figs. 1.3.3 What About Vitamins B-12 and D-3? Of the thirteen essential vitamins, plants donʹt provide vitamins B-12 or D-3. For those I supplement with a multivitamin. There are plenty of high quality inexpensive multivitamins available. The one shown in Figure 1-2 has 1,667% of the minimum daily requirement for B-12 and 500% of vitamin D-3. Of course, I try to spend a lot of time outdoors to boost ʺthe sunshine vitamin.ʺ

Figure 1-2: Typical Multivitamin

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1.4 Animal Based Nutrition If you are going to consume animal products, consider the following. 1.4.1 Things to Consider

1. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, classifies processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen. Processed meat includes hot dogs, ham, bacon, sausage, and some deli meats.

2. Many processed meats are pink in color because they are injected with sodium nitrite - a known carcinogen.

3. All animal products contain high levels of fat, cholesterol, and growth hormones.

4. Animal flesh has no fiber, and in many cases contains antibiotics and puss.

5. Meat, eggs, and dairy products are high in cholesterol and saturated fat.

6. Eating meat can increase your risk for cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

7. Eating meat will drive up your insulin levels. 8. Industrial feedlots are so unsanitary that the cows are fed antibiotics.

This makes a perfect breeding ground for super strains of bacteria. 9. If you ever get a glimpse inside industrial animal production you

would be appalled! 1.4.2 Cowʹs Milk Cowʹs milk is the perfect food . . . for baby cows. Even calves stop drinking cowʹs milk at a certain point and start eating grass. In the same way, human babies stop drinking motherʹs milk at a certain point, and donʹt need to switch over to cowʹs milk. They donʹt need any milk after weaning.

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Drinking cowʹs milk sets up an acidic condition in the blood. To neutralize this acidity your body draws calcium from your bones. Contrary to the marketing hype that you need to drink milk for strong bones; those populations who drink the most milk have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. Industrial animal production is not only horrific in terms of cruelty, but it produces more greenhouse gasses and pollution than the entire transportation sector.

ʺLet the good stuff push out the bad stuff.ʺ

ʺMy approach to a plant-based lifestyle was to jump in with both feet, but if you are new to the plant-based approach and are still craving junk food, just try adding in more fruits and vegetables. The more healthy food you consume, the less junk food you will

crave. Maybe for you it will be a gradual process.ʺ 1.5 Whole Foods vs. Manufactured Foods

Whole foods are foods that are ʺwhole.ʺ That may seem obvious, but think about it. Foods that are highly processed and come in a package are not whole foods. If you read the ingredients label on the package you will

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notice lots of added sugar, preservatives, and some chemicals that you canʹt even pronounce. Stay away from prepackaged, processed foods! Of course processed foods taste great. Why, because they have been engineered to taste great. That usually involves adding salt, sugar, and fat. 1.5.1 Food Should Be Grown, Not Manufactured Most manufactured foods arenʹt really ʺfoodʺ - they are ʺfood like substances.ʺ There may be pictures of food on the box, but thatʹs not whatʹs in the box. Maybe the ingredients started out as real food, but they have been processed to death and have all kinds of chemicals added.

ʺThereʹs no such thing as ʹjunk food.ʹ Thereʹs food and thereʹs junk.ʺ

Not all foods that come in a bag or a can are bad for you. What weʹre looking for is minimal processing with no added chemicals, salt, or sugar. In other words, foods that are as close to nature as possible. Figures 1-3 through 1-6 show some prepackaged foods that are healthy. Frozen foods are generally regarded as just as healthy as fresh. The nutrients are still there and no preservatives have been added. Notice that each of these has only one ingredient - the vegetable itself.

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Figure 1-3: Frozen Corn

Figure 1-4: Frozen Peas

Figure 1-5: Raw Honey

Figure 1-6: Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetable Mixture

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1.5.2 Bananas Donʹt Need an Ingredients Label If you pick up a banana or a zucchini squash in the grocery store you wonʹt see an ingredients label. It just is what it is. Try to eat foods the way they came up out of the ground. Be leery of anything that has an ingredients panel, especially if it takes up the whole side of the box or has words in it that you canʹt pronounce. Which is easier to pronounce, ʺappleʺ or ʺdisodium inosinateʺ? By the way, the Microsoft Word spell checker recognized ʺappleʺ but flagged ʺdisodium inosinateʺ as a spelling error. Below are the ingredients panels from three products. Figure 1-7 is from a jar of organic almond butter. Figure 1-8 is from a box of Old-Fashioned oats, and Figure 1-9 is from a box of veggie hot dogs. See the difference?

Figure 1-7: Organic Almond Butter (Two Ingredients)

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Figure 1-8: Old-Fashioned Oats (One Ingredient)

Figure 1-9: Veggie Hot Dogs (Vegan Junk Food)

There is such a thing as Vegan junk food! It may not contain animal products (actually these veggie dogs do), but they are processed foods with added chemicals. Do you enjoy eating blue 1 and disodium guanylate?

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ʺMany restaurant chains like Red Robin, White Castle, Del Taco, Burger King, and A&W now serve meatless burgers. These are a

step in the right direction, but they are still highly processed foods, and many contain unhealthy ingredients. The best bet is to make

your own veggie burgers at home from whole foods.ʺ

1.5.3 Donʹt Let the Picture Fool You! When I saw the label of Figure 1-10 on a jar of mayonnaise I thought, ʺThis should be healthy. It is made from avocado.ʺ But if you read the ingredients label you will discover that it has some avocado oil in it, but that is just one of many ingredients including other oils, chemical preservatives, and eggs.

Figure 1-10: ʺAvocadoʺ Mayonnaise

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1.5.4 The Ingredients Quiz This is just for fun, but it makes a point about some of the stuff we consume. Most people wouldnʹt recognize many of these words. So, are we describing foods or a mixture of chemicals? Can you guess what these products are, based on their ingredients? Some will be easier than others. You will find the answers in the next subsection.

1. butylparaben, hypromellose, microcrystalline cellulose and carboxymethylcellulose sodium, potassium citrate, propylparaben, simethicone emulsion, sorbitol, aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide.

2. salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, maltodextrin, hydrolyzed corn, wheat and soy protein, turmeric, lactose, dehydrated vegetables, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, vegetable oil, yeast extract, powdered cooked chicken, reduced iron, TBHQ, potassium carbonate, sodium (mono, hexameta, and/or tripoly) phosphate, sodium carbonate.

3. textured vegetable protein, corn oil, sunflower oil, egg whites, corn starch, soy protein isolate, autolyzed yeast extract, salt, caramel color, onion powder, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, garlic powder, potato starch, maltodextrin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, succinic acid, sugar, nonfat dry milk, soybean oil, wheat fiber.

4. apple 5. enriched wheat flower, thiamine mononitrate, soybean oil, salt,

sugar, yeast, corn syrup, palm oil, cornmeal, wheat semolina, datem, wheat gluten, dextrose, guar gum, calcium pyrophosphate, hydrogenated soybean oil, wheat protein isolate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, olive oil, l-cysteine, annatto, xanthan gum.

6. water, glycerin, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium hydrolyzed potato starch, dodecenylsuccinate, Avena sativa kernel flour, citric acid, sodium benzoate, guar

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hydroxypropyltimonium chloride, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, dipropylene glycol, glycol distearate, polyquaternium-10, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, laureth-4, PEG-20 almond glycerides, sodium hydroxide, coriandrum sativum fruiy oil, Avena sativa kernel oil, commiphora myrrha oil, elettaria cardamomum seed oil, Avena sativa kernel extract.

7. banana 8. Idaho potatoes, vegetable oil, corn syrup solids, salt, maltodextrin,

nonfat dry milk, sugar, sodium caseinate, butter powder, annatto color, disodium phosphate, momo and diglycerides, calcium stearoyl lactylate, natural and artificial flavors, spice, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bisulfite, mixed tocopherols, silicon dioxide.

9. organic popcorn kernels 1.5.5 Answers to the Ingredients Quiz

1. Signature Care: Antacid Plus Gas Relief 2. Ramen Noodle Soup (Chicken Flavor) 3. Morning Star Farms Veggie Berger 4. Apple 5. Safeway Signature Select Pizza 6. Aveeno Active Naturals Body Wash, Fragrance Free, Dermatologist

Recommended 7. Banana 8. Idahoan Baby Reds Mashed Potatoes 9. Organics Popping Corn

1.6 Conventional vs. Organic: There Is a Difference! A lot of people would like you to believe there is no difference between conventional and organically grown foods. After all, they are genetically the same plant except for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

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But the difference is in how they are grown. The two major differences involve what is sprayed on them and the type of soil they are grown in. 1.6.1 Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fungicides Modern industrial farming methods and the monoculture approach make crops susceptible to pest, and chemical fertilizers make crops deficient in the nutrients that they need. So, if we are going to farm this way, how can we protect these weak, nutrient deficient plants? Of course, we change their genetic makeup and spray them with various kinds of poisons! If insects eat a ʺRoundup Readyʺ plant and die, what happens if we eat those same plants? Monsanto is currently being sued because it is believed that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) causes non-Hodgkinʹs lymphoma.

Would you eat poison? Well, you probably do. 1.6.2 Chemical Fertilizers and Depleted Soil Plants get their nutrients from the soil. If the soil doesnʹt contain those nutrients, the plant has no source for them. Healthy soil is full of organisms that turn dead matter and minerals into nutrients that the plants can use.

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Soil that has been treated with chemical fertilizers containing only nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) become depleted of the amazing variety of nutrients that plants need. This means that when we eat those plants we donʹt get the wonderful variety of nutrients that we should. 1.6.3 GMOs You may or may not believe in the theory of evolution, but we as humans over thousands of years have changed and adapted right along with our food supply. This is a very slow process. What will the effect of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be on human health? Itʹs too early to tell, but several European countries have already banned the cultivation and sale of GMOs. Do they know something we here in America donʹt? Probably. 1.6.4 The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen Organic produce typically costs more than conventionally grown plants. If you are like most of us, you donʹt have a lot of extra money to spend, but your health is important. So what can we do? My suggestion is to buy organic produce for the most important things and conventional for the rest. Many studies have been done to measure the level of pesticides and herbicides in produce. The ʺDirty Dozenʺ were found to contain the highest level of toxins and the ʺClean Fifteenʺ the lowest level. So, whenever possible spend a little extra on the dirty dozen. The list changes a little bit from year to year, but at the time of this writing (2019) hereʹs the list. The Dirty Dozen include:

1. Strawberries 2. Spinach

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3. Nectarines 4. Apples 5. Grapes 6. Peaches 7. Cherries 8. Pears 9. Tomatoes 10. Celery 11. Sweet Bell Peppers 12. Kale

In previous years this list has also included blueberries, collard greens, potatoes, and lettuce. The Clean 15 include:

1. Avocados 2. Sweet corn 3. Pineapples 4. Cabbage 5. Onions 6. Sweet peas 7. Papayas 8. Asparagus 9. Mangos 10. Eggplant 11. Honeydew Melon 12. Kiwi 13. Cantaloupe 14. Cauliflower 15. Broccoli

In previous years this list has also included watermelon, grapefruit, and sweet potatoes.

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1.6.5 Wash Your Produce Even organic farmers are allowed to use some pesticides, so itʹs always best to wash your produce. Studies have shown that most commercial ʺproduce cleanersʺ are no more effective than plain water. Hereʹs a simple method for washing produce:

1. Fill a large bowl (or your sink) with water. 2. Add a teaspoon of baking soda. 3. Add the veggies. 4. Let soak for a minute or two. 5. Scrub with a brush (except for leafy greens and berries). 6. Rinse.

1.7 Raw vs. Cooked

ʺOf all the living creatures on this planet we are the only ones that cook our food.ʺ

1.7.1 Raw Is Simple and Healthy A large percentage of my diet is raw food. Eating raw is simple; you just put it in the blender or juicer, or eat it as is. But more importantly, raw food is live food. The enzymes and nutrients are still intact. Cooking destroys virtually 100% of the enzymes and a high percentage of the vitamins and protein.

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Enzymes are kind of mysterious, at least to me. They are considered the ʺspark of lifeʺ and looked on as ʺhelpersʺ because they are catalysts for virtually every function that takes place in the human body. Most nutritionists consider 1160F as the temperature at which enzymes are destroyed. Therefore soups that are heated until they are just warm to the touch or foods that are dehydrated are still considered raw. Raw foods are naturally high in fiber, moisture, and nutrients. Therefore they are great for weight loss and preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. 1.8 Juicing, Blending, and Dehydrating

Juicer Blender

Dehydrator Making Zucchini Chips

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Preparing to Juice Yum! That Healthy Juice!

ʺOne of my keys for success is to recognize and embrace the fact that there will be some effort involved. Making a healthy vegetable juice takes some time and effort. Cleaning the juicer afterward is a pain. If you come to dread it, you wonʹt do it! So, donʹt rush it or

wish it was over; just consider it part of the process. As I am cleaning the juicer I think about how great tasting the juice is and

all of its health benefits.ʺ

1.8.1 Juicing Juicing is a convenient way to get a powerful shot of nutrients. In one glass of juice you can consume the nutrients from many more fruits and vegetables than you would ever eat at one sitting. Be careful when juicing fruits; not only are you concentrating nutrients, you are also concentrating sugars. If you were to eat an orange, you would probably eat just one, but if you were to make a large glass of orange juice you would be consuming the sugar from several oranges. If you add some fruit to vegetable juice it will make it more palatable, but add just a small amount. I especially like to add half of a lemon (skin and all) to a large batch of vegetable juice. Besides having lots of nutrients, it makes the juice taste great!

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Is cleaning the juicer a pain? Yes! The trick is to clean it immediately after juicing before the pulp has a chance to dry out and get sticky. Also, it helps with the cleanup a lot if you put a small plastic trash bag in the pulp bin. Worried about wasting the pulp? If you have a garden and do composting you can use it there. Also, you can use it to make up a nice vegetable stock to use in the rice cooker or as stock for soups. As shown in Figure 1-11, itʹs a simple process. After I bring it to a boil, I shut off the heat and let it stand for a few hours to simmer and cool before straining.

Pulp in the Pot Add Water

Add Some Chopped Onion Bring to a Boil

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Strain Final Product

Figure 1-11: Making Vegetable Stock from Juicer Pulp

ʺYou may think that buying a juicer and a blender are big expenses, but itʹs better to spend some money now on reclaiming your health than needing to spend a lot more later on prescription drugs and medical procedures. My heart attack and rehabilitation

cost about $100,000.00. Thankfully I am a veteran and the VA paid for most of it. Each year many Americans go bankrupt because of

their medical bills.ʺ 1.8.2 What to Juice? I like to include a wide variety of colors in my juices because every plant pigment is a medicine. My juices almost always include some kale, ginger and lemon. Figure 1-12 shows some of the ingredients that I typically include.

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Figure 1-12: Typical Juice Ingredients

1.8.3 Blending Blending is another easy way to ʺeatʺ more fruits and vegetables. With blending you get the whole plant including the pulp, plus you can mix in things that donʹt juice like bananas, nuts and seeds. Blending is just like eating the whole plant except the blender ʺchewsʺ it for you. In fact, it chews the food a lot better than you ever could and, by rupturing the cell walls, causes more nutrients to be released. It is recommended that we chew our food thoroughly. If weʹre lucky we may chew ten times before swallowing. When you run it through a blender itʹs like chewing it a thousand times! When I look at the stuff I put in the blender, I realize that I would never just sit down and eat all that (especially raw). So, itʹs a great way to increase the percentage of fruits and vegetables in your diet.

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1.8.4 Smoothie Ingredients As with my juices, I like to mix it up a little with my blender drinks. They usually include a banana, some mixed greens, a date, a fig, a prune, some seeds and nuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some turmeric. Figure 1-13 shows some of my typical blender ingredients.

Figure 1-13: Typical Blender Ingredients

1.8.5 Dehydrating Dehydrating vegetables is a great way to make healthy raw snacks. They are still considered raw because the temperature never gets above 1160F. 1.9 Juicing Combined with Blending 1.9.1 Some Things Donʹt Juice Well Combining juicing and blending has some advantages. Letʹs say you would like to have some ingredients in your juice that donʹt have a high enough water content to juice properly like bananas, nuts or seeds. Simple, Just put those things in your blender, pour in the juice and blend. Not rocket

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science, but something to try. Also, this is a way to add whole fruits to your juice so you donʹt loose the pulp. The same idea can be applied if you have a centrifugal juicer that doesnʹt do well with green leafy vegetables. Juice up stuff like carrots, celery and zucchini, and then use the blender to add the greens. 1.10 Storing Your Produce I use special bags to store produce. As fruits and vegetables ripen they give off ethylene gas. These bags absorb this gas and extend the life of your produce. Figure 1-14 shows the bags that I use. They are pretty inexpensive and are reusable. As shown in Figure 1-15, if I put produce in a large plastic containers I will simply lay one of these bags over them before putting on the lid.

Figure 1-14: Produce Bags

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Figure 1-15: Using Bag to Absorb Ethylene Gas

Part 2: Lifestyle 2.1 Introduction Websterʹs New World Dictionary & Thesaurus defines lifestyle as ʺthe consistent, integrated way of life of an individual as typified by his or her manner, attitudes, possessions, etc.ʺ Wikipedia defines lifestyle as ʺthe way a person lives. This includes patterns of social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. Lifestyle typically also reflects an individualʹs attitudes, values or worldview. A healthy lifestyle is generally characterized as a balanced life in which one makes wise choices.ʺ

ʺFor me, the ʹwise choicesʹ part has always been difficult.ʺ

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In general, most would agree that a healthy person doesnʹt smoke, doesnʹt drink alcohol in excess, avoids recreational drugs, maintains a healthy weight, eats a balanced healthy diet, thinks positively, feels relaxed, exercises regularly, has good relationships, has a healthy self image, and lives a balanced life. Healthy Living is about taking responsibility for your decisions and making smart health choices for today and for the future. A healthy lifestyle leaves you fit, energetic and at reduced risk for disease. For a longer and more comfortable life, put together your plan for a healthy lifestyle and live up to it. 2.2 Alcohol Use

This is a big one for me because I have abused alcohol all of my adult life, and I considered it normal. I knew there were people who didnʹt drink or drank only occasionally. I thought they were the ones who were missing out on the fun. It wasnʹt until I got into big trouble with my health that I realized excessive alcohol consumption was bad for your health. Then I gradually started to learn that you actually can have an exciting and fulfilling life without alcohol! It took me 75 years to discover that. OK, so Iʹm a slow learner.

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Let me tell you an interesting story:

As I was starting to adopt some healthy habits, I started to run (walk) in some 5K races. At one St. Patrickʹs Day race we were all lined up at the starting line and the announcer was getting the crown pumped up. He asked, ʺWhoʹs ready to run?ʺ and the crowd went wild! Then he asked, ʺWhoʹs ready for the block-party after the race?ʺ and there was dead silence. I thought that was strange, but then I realized that all these healthy people didnʹt come here to drink beer at the block-party; they came here to run. I had to realize that these people lived a completely different lifestyle from me.

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2.3 Exercise

For radiant health we need to move our bodies. In the modern Western world we are too sedentary. Our typical day consists of:

1. We sit at breakfast 2. We sit on the way to work 3. We sit at work 4. We sit at lunch 5. We sit on the way home 6. We sit at dinner 7. We sit while watching TV or working on the computer 8. We go to bed

ʺSitting is the new smoking.ʺ

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Exercise is wonderful for improving your physical and emotional health. It stimulates your cardiovascular system, your muscles, your joints and ligaments. It massages your feet and increases blood flow. Just taking a walk does all these things! You canʹt exercise off a bad diet, so donʹt even think about exercise as a weight loss tool. Donʹt think about how many miles you have to run to burn off a specific number of calories. That approach is a loosing battle. You would have to do an extreme amount of exercise to burn off any significant amount of calories. Just forget about that and let your diet and metabolism bring your weight in line. Your body will naturally bring your weight down to the ideal level.

ʺThink about exercise as a wonderful healthy activity in its own right. Do it because it is good for you!ʺ

When I was at my highest weight I didnʹt exercise at all because it was painful just to walk. I would struggle just to get from the bedroom to the living room! I would grab hold of everything along the way for support and just to keep my balance. After loosing only ten pounds I was able to walk much better. Everybody is different regarding the type of exercise they prefer. Choose something you enjoy. If you donʹt enjoy it, you wonʹt keep it up very long. You might like walking, bike riding, yoga, working in the garden - the possibilities are endless! I like hiking. I enjoy the peace and quiet of the beautiful hiking trails in the Bradshaw Mountains of Prescott, Arizona. So, hiking is my exercise of choice. It is low-impact, enjoyable, and meditative.

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Going to the gym for a workout during the evening is good, but itʹs important to move your body all throughout the day. Here are some simple ways to do that:

1. At the grocery store donʹt drive around the parking lot looking for the closest parking spot. Take the first one you come across or, even better, take the furthest one away from the entrance so you can get in a little walking. Parking at the back of the lot also helps protect your car from dings caused by other people opening their door.

2. At work or at the mall donʹt take the escalator. Instead, climb the stairs.

3. If you are working at the computer, just get up once in a while and walk down the hallway and back. This will exercise your body and give you a little break to clear your mind. There are even stand up desks available that will allow you to work some of the time sitting and some of the time standing.

Exercise improves your immune system and your mood. In many cases exercise can work as well or better than antidepressant drugs and it has no harmful side effects.

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2.4 Get Plenty of Sleep 2.4.1 The Importance of Sleep Time spent sleeping is not wasted time. Sleep is essential for strong immune function, weight control, concentration and productivity, heart health, diabetes prevention, enhanced mood, reduced inflammation, and social interaction. Consider the following:

1. Short sleep duration is one of the strongest factors for obesity. It is believed this is related to hormones and the lack of motivation to exercise. Also, good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories.

2. Restricted sleep affects blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. 3. Mental heath issues, such as depression, are strongly linked to

sleeping disorders. 4. Poor sleep has been strongly linked to long-term inflammation of the

digestive tract such as IBS and Crohnʹs disease. 2.4.2 Sleep Stages and Brain Waves

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During a 90-minute sleep cycle we typically go through four different stages of sleep. There are three stages of non-REM (NREM = non Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and then there is REM sleep. For complete sleep it is important for us to experience all four of these sleep stages.

1. NREM1 = non-REM Stage 1 2. NREM2 = non-REM Stage 2 3. NREM3 = non-REM Stage 3 4. REM = REM sleep

Hereʹs a brief description of each stage: NREM1 is the stage between wakefulness and sleep. This is when your brain starts producing theta waves. During this stage you may see or hear things that arenʹt there (hypnagogic hallucinations) such as a flash of light or hearing the doorbell ring. You may have a feeling of falling that can lead to hypnic jerks. NREM2 is a slightly deeper stage of sleep. People in this stage are a little harder to wake than in NREM1. During this stage the brain continues to produce theta waves but also starts to produce sleep spindles and K-complex events. Sleep spindles are bursts of rapid brain activity. K-complexes are similar to sleep spindles and thought to suppress cortical arousal (waking up) and are thought to help with consolidation of short-term memories into long-term memories. NREM3 is also called ʺslow wave sleepʺ because the brain starts to produce slower delta waves (.5 - 4 Hz). They are slow, but have high amplitude. This is deep sleep and the person is hard to wake up. This is the stage where people may sleep walk or talk in their sleep. REM During REM sleep your eyes move rapidly under your eyelids and most of your other muscles are paralyzed. REM sleep is where most

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dreaming occurs. Having the muscles paralyzed during REM sleep is a good thing because that prevents you from acting out your dreams and possibly getting injured. In a normal night of uninterrupted sleep you will go through four or five 90-minute sleep cycles for a total of six to seven and a half hours of sleep. Typically the order of sleep stages does not simply go from NREM1 to NREM2 to NREM3 and then REN sleep. Usually they go NREM1 to NREM2 to NREM3 and then back to NREM2 before entering REM sleep. After REM sleep you typically return to NREM1 as shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1 Typical sleep Cycle

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The following is a summary of the characteristics of the various types of brain waves. Gamma Waves are the most intense waves that the brain generates. A person who is in extreme concentration produces them. They are associated with learning, memory, and information processing. Gamma waves have a frequency range from 40 - 100 Hz. Too much gamma waves is associated with anxiety and stress. Too little gamma waves is associated with ADHD, depression and learning disabilities. Bata Waves are high frequency, low amplitude waves (12 - 40 Hz) typically observed while we are awake. They are involved in conscious thought and logical thinking. Think of these as being the brain waves that most people experience throughout the day in order to complete conscious tasks. Associated with too high of a level of beta waves is elevated adrenalin level, anxiety, high arousal and stress. Too little beta waves is associated with ADHD, daydreaming, depression and poor cognition. Alpha Waves are produced when you are relaxed or in a meditative state. At 8 - 12 Hz they occupy the frequency range between beta and theta. If we become stressed, a phenomenon called ʺalpha blockingʺ occurs. Theta Waves (4 - 8 Hz) are generated as you become very relaxed and start to daydream or start to fall asleep. Theta waves are associated with improved intuition and creativity. Too much theta activity may make a person prone to depression. Delta Waves are the slowest recorded brain waves in human beings (.5 - 4 Hz). They are found most often in infants and young children. As we age, we tend to produce less delta activity during deep sleep. Delta waves are involved in unconscious bodily functions such as heartbeat and digestion.

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Adequate production of delta waves helps us feel rested when we wake up after a good nightʹs sleep. Table 2-1 summarizes the various types of brain waves.

Wave Type Frequency Experienced During Delta .5 - 4 Hz NREM3 Theta 4 - 8 Hz NREM1 Alpha 8 - 12 Hz Relaxed state Beta 12 - 40 Hz Waking state Gamma 40 - 100 Hz Intense concentration

Table 2-1: Brain Wave Types 2.4.3 Simple Strategies to Improve Sleep Here are some simple things that may improve your sleep. These may seem like common sense, but it is amazing how many people donʹt do these things.

1. Use a sound machine that produces white noise or nature sounds. Pictured below is my ʺSound Spa.ʺ Itʹs an inexpensive machine that can produce six different types of sounds. I leave it on all night.

2. If you donʹt have a sound machine, you might want have a fan going. 3. Make sure your bedroom is totally dark. Donʹt use nightlights, and

donʹt sleep with the TV on. Light can interfere with the production of melatonin. Besides helping you sleep, melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that helps your immune system fight off cancer cells.

4. Keep the temperature in your bedroom nice and cool. Most people tend to sleep best if the temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Donʹt exercise just before bed. 6. Stop eating a few hours before bedtime. 7. Donʹt watch action movies just before going to bed. If you watch TV

in the evening, choose something relaxing and uplifting.

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8. Caffeine, tobacco and alcohol interfere with melatonin production. So, you know what to do.

9. Most prescription drugs also interfere with melatonin production, so consult with your doctor to see if you can decrease your prescriptions. Also, most drugs have dreadful side effects, so getting off the drugs should be one of your major goals. Donʹt just stop taking your prescriptions. Consult with your doctor. The best path to reduced drug use is a plant-based diet combined with mild exercise.

My Sound Spa

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2.4.4 Sleep Apnea If you snore and are overweight, you probably have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition where you stop breathing for ten seconds or more during the night. This leads to interrupted sleep, and can cause elevated hemoglobin levels, thickening of the blood, heart attack, and a host of other serious conditions. Mild sleep apnea will cause you to stop breathing a few times per hour, but severe sleep apnea might cause you to stop breathing 40 - 50 times per hour! When you stop breathing, the oxygen level in your blood drops and your body thinks it need to produce more red blood cells, leading to thicker blood. If you think you may have sleep apnea it is best to have a sleep study done. Sleeping with a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is an effective therapy.

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2.5 Avoiding Unhealthy Activities It should go without saying that avoiding dangerous activities will help promote health. You are not healthy if you have a broken leg or die from a drug overdose. When we are young we like fast cars, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and cliff diving. As we get older we need to start enjoying more healthy activities. 2.6 Community and Loving Support Emotional wellness is important for radiant health. Even if you are an introvert and donʹt socialize much, hopefully you have a few friends. Even online social groups can provide support and accountability. I have always been a loner. I am single, live alone, and donʹt answer to anybody. I donʹt like the idea of joining support groups and all that kind of stuff (including AA). But I have learned that it is important to have some kind of ʺsupport groupʺ or ʺcommunityʺ even if it is just one friend who you keep in touch with via email. This way you will have someone who you can share ideas with and you can encourage each other. Being accountable to someone is a great help as you work towards your health goals. I have a friend who lives in a different city. We never see each other, but we exchange emails a couple of times each week. This has proven to be a great help to me (and hopefully to him) for staying motivated, and staying on track. So, if you are alone, donʹt give up hope. Iʹm sure you have at least one friend with whom you can share things. Your support group might even be an online community or forum. Some of my favorites include iThrive, FMTV, Reboot with Joe, and Deb Millerʹs Healthy Living Club. A quick search of the Internet for ʺhealth and wellness forumsʺ will yield several excellent forums. Also, there are lots of health and wellness groups on Facebook. The members of these groups are going through the same things that you are, and they are very encouraging.

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Not only are they supportive, they can be a wealth of helpful experience-based information. Part 3: Stress Management Stress is a major contributor to disease. If you donʹt identify and eliminate the stress in your life it will outweigh anything else you try to do! For radiant health diet, exercise, and detoxification are essential, but managing your unhealthy emotions is also essential. You might be wondering, ʺIf stress is just an emotion how can it effect my physical health?ʺ Well, stress is not just an emotion. When we undergo stress we release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenalin into the blood stream. Adrenalin can give you the strength to fight off an attacker or the speed to run away from a dangerous situation, and cortisol gives you energy. Cortisol tells your liver to convert glycogen into glucose (sugar) to fuel your muscle cells. But when you are in this mode, other things are diminished. This is not the time to be digesting food or repairing your body. This is the time to save your sorry butt from danger! Stress hormones even diminish your immune system. A diminished immune system leaves you vulnerable to a host of chronic diseases. Also, in stressful situations your primitive brain becomes dominant and higher-level brain functions are reduced. You may become impulsive, irrational and may make bad decisions. All this is not a problem as long as the situation is only temporary. But . . . Our ancestors experienced fight or flight stress when they were threatened by wild animals. The release of stress hormones gave them the strength and speed to survive, and these events were typically over pretty quickly (acute stress). After that their blood chemistry could return to a normal state of balance (homeostasis).

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Our chemistry is still the same, but if we let it, our modern lifestyle can keep us in an unhealthy state of chronic stress (day in, day out without end). Things like driving in city traffic, a stressful job or worrying about paying the bills become our modern day saber-tooth tiger, and this tiger doesnʹt go away. Things like fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, negativity, unforgiveness, worry, shame, regret, guilt, anxiety, and jealousy all produce stress in our lives. Stress hormones can be destructive if they are elevated for long periods of time. Cortisol promotes weight gain, which leads to obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes. Cortisol and adrenalin both promote inflammation in the body, which is a pro-cancerous state. Stress can inhibit digestive functions and lead to gastrointestinal problems like acid reflux, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crones disease, and colitis. People living with chronic stress typically get sick a lot because their immune systems are weak. As illustrated in Figure 3-1, there is a vicious cycle where chronic stress causes lack of sleep, and lack of sleep raises your stress hormone levels even more.

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Figure 3-1 The Vicious Stress Cycle

Negative emotions in our minds produce chemical responses in your bodies. To be healthy we need ways of dealing with these stresses and return our body chemistry back to normal. So, what can be done? We can either eliminate the causes of stress or learn to deal with them. You may not be able to simply quit a stressful job or move to the peaceful countryside, so you may need to manage the stresses that you canʹt simply eliminate. Letʹs take them one at a time. 3.1 Negativity Today we are bombarded with negative, fear producing information. Just turn on your TV and you will be inundated with negative information dealing with politics, racial tensions, the economy, terrorism, and wars taking place all over the world. Frankly, we donʹt need to know about every problem in the world. Can you go a day or two without hearing about hate crimes and mass shootings? Absolutely! You are not being complicit if you take a break from the bad news; you are just giving your nervous system a rest.

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You donʹt need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time. So what can you do? Turn off the TV news, unfollow negative people on Facebook, and donʹt watch violent movies. Take a break from the diet of negativity we are fed from so many sources. And you donʹt need unhappy people in your life. Instead, watch uplifting movies, health videos, and comedies. Think positive thoughts and laugh a lot. Avoid arguments. You are not in charge of correcting everyone who makes a wrong statement. Let it slide. An argument probably wonʹt set them straight anyway. Just let it go. Do you think your job is killing you? If so, it probably is. Can you get a transfer or a new job that will be more fulfilling and less stressful? It might be worth it to make less money and not die of a heart attack or get cancer. Is there something that brings you joy? Do more of that. It will contribute to an inspiring life that will promote healing. 3.2 Problems and Tasks that Need to Be Completed We all have problems. The important thing is to address your problems right away and donʹt procrastinate. The problem isnʹt going to just go away. The longer you avoid resolving it, the longer you will have stress

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from that problem. Just take care of it right away and have done with it. The best way to get things done is to make a ʺto doʺ list. Write down all the things you need to do and prioritize them. You can categorize them into:

1. Things that are important and urgent 2. Things that are important but not urgent 3. Things that are not important but urgent 4. Things that are not important and not urgent

Usually you can cross the last two categories off your list. This will free up time and reduce stress. Remember, there is a difference between efficiency and effectiveness.

Efficiency is doing things right.

Effectiveness is doing the right things.

In other words, you may do something very efficiently, but if it doesnʹt need to be done, you are still wasting your time. 3.3 Food Addictions Fast food and junk foods are loaded with salt, sugar and fat that cause you to become addicted. If you are addicted to junk food and highly processed foods, it is likely that you will gain weight and become dissatisfied with your appearance. This creates stress in your life. Besides the weight gain, these foods are very unhealthy. Want to reduce stress, loose weight, and bring your blood pressure down? You guessed it - switch over to a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. If you canʹt do it all at once, do it a little at a time and let the good stuff push the bad stuff out.

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3.4 Taking on Too Much Itʹs easy to get over committed and find yourself in over your head with not enough time or energy to fulfill your commitments. We need to learn to safeguard our time and learn to say no. Itʹs better to simply say no to a project than to say yes and fail to deliver. Simplifying your life is a great way to remove stress and free up time for the things you enjoy. This will also contribute to improved health. Thereʹs an old saying, ʺYou can do anything you want, but you canʹt do everything you want.ʺ There is only so much time and energy in each day, so we have to make choices. 3.5 Toxic People There may be a person in your life who is creating lots of stress for you. If this is the case you can:

1. Resolve the issues, set boundaries, and come to some understandings.

2. Respectfully end the relationship. You should never burn your bridges, but there may be a way to sever the relationship or gradually grow apart.

This may seem harsh, but we are talking about reducing stress and improving your health. Toxic people are not helping you; they are hurting you. 3.6 Clutter Most or us unconsciously accumulate more stuff than we need or will ever use. This is usually brought home when you make a move. I know people who are renting storage space for stuff they will probably never use again. Not only are they wasting money, they are complicating their life and

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creating stress. You can get to the point where you donʹt own that stuff; it owns you! Whatʹs the solution? Get rid of it. Give it away or sell it. You will be simplifying your life and reducing stress. 3.7 Resentment and Unforgiveness Has someone hurt you? Have you said, ʺIʹll never forgive that personʺ? Maybe you havenʹt said it in those words, but maybe you are still holding a grudge. Your resentment isnʹt hurting him; itʹs hurting you. Chris Wark is fond of saying, ʺHarboring bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping it kills someone else.ʺ Your resentment is creating stress in your life, not his. When you forgive someone, who benefits? You do! Another person you may need to forgive is yourself. That may be harder than forgiving others, but you need to do it. Self-loathing is very destructive. Forgive yourself, acknowledge that you have value and deserve to be loved, and then get on with life. Treat yourself with love and respect. Now, those are a few of the negative things that you need to eliminate from your life. What are some of the positive things you need to emphasize that will reduce stress? 3.8 Gratitude Gratitude is the secret to happiness. There will always be people who have more than you, but like the saying goes ʺCount your blessings.ʺ Take an inventory of all the things you are grateful for and feel joy over those things. Donʹt compare yourself to others who have more than you; it will only create envy and resentment. What do

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envy and resentment produce? Stress. If you want to compare yourself with someone else, compare yourself with those who are less fortunate than you and who are dealing with situations much more dreadful than yours. Then appreciate how blessed you are. Many years ago I served with the Peace Corps in Uganda, East Africa. Now I donʹt take my blessings for granted. Each morning before I get out of bed I just lay there for a few minutes thinking how thankful I am for my improving health and how amazing it is to live another day. I think about what I hope to accomplish that day and am grateful for the opportunity to try and accomplish those things. If you are a religious person, this is a good time for a short prayer. Practicing gratitude will reduce stress and improve your health. 3.9 A Positive Attitude In any given situation you can choose to look for the good and positive things or you can choose to look for (and find) the negative. Two different people in the very same situation can react completely differently. For stress reduction and improved health choose to look for the positive. I once heard an interesting story that goes like this: A man was walking along the beach one day and met a stranger who was just moving to his town. The stranger asked, ʺHow are the people in this town? Where I come from the people are friendly and welcoming.ʺ The man replied, ʺThey are the same here.ʺ Then another stranger came along and asked, ʺHow are the people in this town? Where I come from they are mostly negative and fault finding.ʺ The man replied, ʺThey are the same here.ʺ

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3.10 Meditation and Visualization Meditation and visualization can be used to reduce stress and move you toward your goals. Which of the following images portrays your current situation?

Stressed Relaxed Relaxation, meditation, visualization, and prayer may seem like mysterious subjects, but like everything else I do, I try to keep it pretty simple. I just sit in my comfortable recliner, relax, and picture myself as I want to be. Visualization is a way to program your subconscious mind. I have an old photograph of myself when I was young and in great shape. So I visualize looking like that. You might ask, ʺYou think you can get back into the shape you were when you were young?ʺ Well, why not? I can certainly look and feel a lot more like that that than I do today! I have a technique for relaxation that you might like. Once I am settled into my recliner I do the following:

1. I consciously relax each part of my body my saying, ʺRelax your face; now relax your neck and shoulders; relax your arms and hands . . .ʺ until I have relaxed every part of my body.

2. Then I say, ʺNow you are completely relaxed. You are gently drifting down like a leaf in the forest. Just drifting down . . .ʺ

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3. At that point I am very relaxed and ready to picture myself as thin and strong. I also visualize all of my organs functioning at peak performance and my blood pressure monitor showing a nice low reading in the normal range.

The whole process doesnʹt take more than 10 - 15 minutes. Donʹt rush it. Just enjoy the experience of feeding these images to your subconscious. When you are finished, you will feel refreshed and ready to get on with your life. Athletes use visualization all the time to increase their performance. You may not be planning on going to the Olympics, but you can use visualization to achieve your goals.

ʺWhat you think about you bring about.ʺ

We are learning more every day about the mind/body connection. Emotions are more than just electrical activity in the brain. Various emotions cause the release of chemicals into the blood stream. Some of these chemicals are damaging to healthy cells, and some are beneficial. Positive emotions suppress the release of stress hormones and promote health. This is a huge topic that we are just starting to understand, but the bottom line is that there is a very real, chemical connection between emotions and the body. Medical professionals in many hospitals are starting to encourage their patients to use visualization to promote healing.

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ʺPessimists may be right more often, but optimist live longer.ʺ

3.11 Exercise We have already talked about the importance of exercise for the physical body, but exercise is also one of the greatest stress reduction activities. Part 4: Detoxification

We are continually exposed to toxins in the air, the water, and in our food. We donʹt even think about it, but our immune system is constantly waging war against toxins and other ʺinvadersʺ that donʹt belong in our bodies. Think about the army of workers that is protecting you from bacteria, viruses, parasites, cancer cells, and harmful chemical compounds. They work all the time, 24 hours a day to keep you safe. Wow! You have someone on your side! Doesnʹt it make sense to give them all the tools they need and to not overload them with work they donʹt need to do?

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Many toxins we canʹt avoid, but some we can. We can determine what foods we eat and what type of household products we use. We have complete control over what we purchase with our hard-earned dollars. And, by the way, itʹs you and me who govern the market by the way we spend our money.

4.1 Toxins In Your Water

What about the water we drink? Our bodies are about two thirds water, so this is an important topic. We can exclude lots of things from our diet, but we canʹt live very long without water. Our local governments are looking out for our health by putting fluorine and chlorine in our drinking water. The concept of killing off pathogens in our drinking water is a good one, but once this treated water reaches our homes we need to filter out these harmful chemicals. The ʺlast mileʺ is up to us as individuals.

For many years I have used a simple carbon filter to make tap water taste better, but Figure 4-1 shows the Home Master F2 countertop filter that I just purchased. Besides dirt and microbes, it will remove chemicals such as fluoride and chlorine. It wasnʹt expensive, but produces clean, health promoting water.

So, we get the best of both worlds. Let the city clean up the water and then we filter out the harmful chemicals with our own filtration system.

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Figure 4-1 Home Master F2 Water Filter

4.2 Microwave Popcorn

A recent FDA report indicates that the chemical coating used in microwave popcorn bags breaks down into a substance called perfluorooctanoic (PFOA) when heated. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified PFOA as a likely carcinogen. This is another good reason to use an air popper or pop with some healthy oil on the stovetop.

4.3 Cosmetics and Cleaning Supplies

Itʹs obvious that what you eat and drink is going to end up in your body, but much of what you put on your skin will end up in your body too. Your skin is not an impenetrable barrier. So, think about your shampoo, body wash, household cleaning supplies, etc. If you have to wear rubber gloves to use a cleaning product, you know it canʹt be good for you! Most toxins wonʹt kill you right away, but they can build up in your system (bioaccumulation) and can impair your immune function.

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ʺYour immune system is your friend. Treat him well.ʺ

I always buy laundry detergent, body wash, and hand lotion that say ʺFragrance Free - Hypoallergenic.ʺ That may not be enough, but itʹs a start. Legally manufacturers donʹt have to tell us whatʹs in their fragrances, and many times these fragrances have lots of chemicals - many of them toxic. Ladies put cosmetics directly on their lips and faces. Men (sometimes) use deodorants on their underarms. Years ago as a young engineer I did a network installation at one of the Dial Corp. facilities. The guy I was working with casually mentioned that there is a difference between a deodorant and an antiperspirant. An antiperspirant is considered to be a drug because it reacts with the body. So it falls under different rules. I thought that was amazing. I had never considered it before. What is the main ingredient in most antiperspirants, and many antacids? Aluminum. When we think about heavy metal poising we usually think about lead, but aluminum in your system is heavy metal poisoning! So, think about your deodorant. Is that nitpicking? Heavy metal poising creates brain damage. 4.4 Even Your Toothpaste Can Be Toxic Figure 4-2 is a picture of the backside of my (used to be) favorite toothpaste. Check out the warning.

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If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help

or contact a POISON CONTROL CENTER right away.

OK, this warning is meant primarily for children, but if it is poison for children, can it be good for adults?

Figure 4-2 My (used to be) Favorite Toothpaste

4.5 Genetically Modified Organisms Today there is a big debate regarding GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Europe is much more strict than America in prohibiting the use of GMOs. The question about the health effects of GMOs is not yet settled, and probably wonʹt be for several years to come. If you take a gene from one species and splice it into a different species can you guarantee the long-term health effect on people who eat that food? Can you guarantee what future generations of that GMO species are going to look like?

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This is scary stuff, and thatʹs why I put the whole topic of GMOs in this toxins section. For right now I consider GMOs as toxic substances. I know that eliminates lots of currently available products, but Iʹd rather just eliminate them than take chances with my health. There are plenty of non-GMO options still available today (that could change as large agribusiness takes over the entire food system).

Success Story: ** Your success story goes here. **

Foods That Boost Your Immune System The immune system protects us from harmful invaders like bacteria, viruses, microbes, free radicals, and parasites. Different types of invaders trigger the immune system to produce antibodies. Now, hereʹs an amazing thing; over time your body builds a memory of which antibodies to use for each kind of invader. Is that amazing or what! Diet and lifestyle choices have a huge effect on how well your immune system functions. Free radicals are molecules from the environment that lack an electron. Once in your body they will steal the missing electron from the atoms of healthy cells. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating an electron of their own. Even after giving up an electron, the antioxidants remain stable. Processed foods and alcohol contain lots of free radicals. Also try to avoid toxins from the environment like cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes, and paint fumes. The more free radicals we take in, the harder the immune system needs to work.

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Foods high in phytochemicals help boost immune function. Some of these foods include onions, garlic, kiwi, ginger, carrots, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, berries, citrus fruits, mushrooms, apples, sunflower seeds, almonds, oats, and red grapes.

Recipe: Mushroom Gravy on Whole Wheat Pasta

Mushroom Gravy on Whole Wheat Pasta This is a simple and tasty dinner. Stir fry the mushrooms and chopped onion, then add

some water and sprinkle with whole-wheat flower to make a nice thick gravy. I like to

season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and then serve it over whole wheat pasta.

Yum!

Herbs and Spices for Health and Flavor: Turmeric

Turmeric Turmeric is often used in Asian food, and is the main

spice in curry powder. It goes great on roasted veggies and rice. I also add some in my green

smoothies. Turmeric contains curcumin, a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. As such, it is

used to treat arthritis, joint and stomach pain, Crohnʹs disease and ulcerative colitis. Curcumin

helps to prevent cardiovascular disease by improving endothelial function. The endothelium is

the lining of our blood vessels. Also, studies have shown that turmeric may help prevent certain types

of cancer.

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Experts to Follow: Neal Barnard, M.D.

Neal D. Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C., is an author, clinical researcher, and

founding president of the Physicians Committee for

Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Dr. Barnard serves as an Adjunct

Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University

School of Medicine. He founded the Barnard Medical Center in 2015 as part of PCRM, and it opened in 2016 with him as president. The

center provides primary care and emphasizes diet and preventative

medicine. For more about Dr. Barnard visit

https://www.pcrm.org/about-us/staff/neal-barnard-md-facc

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Book Review: Eat to Live: Quick & Easy Cookbook

Joel Furman, M.D., HarperOne, 2017, ISBN 978-0-06-268495-0.

This is a beautifully illustrated, full-color cookbook. As the title suggests, Dr. Furman has chosen these recipes

because they are quick and easy. Perfect for a guy like me who, at 75 years old, is just learning to cook!

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Video Review: Food Matters

Food Matters (2008) Food Matters is an informative

documentary that examines how food can help or hurt your health. In this

video, there are several experts (nutritionists, doctors, and journalists) who weigh in on this topic. For more

information visit:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1528734/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4

DOQ6Xhqss

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The Plant Based Health & Wellness Book

If you have enjoyed this newsletter please consider purchasing a copy of the book Plant Based Health &

Wellness.

For more information and a preview visit the book page at

https://www.rickmckeon.com/plantbasedbook.html

Acknowledgements 1. Atlas image by Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande (Wikimedia Commons)