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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Carb Questions


Like everything in Paleo land, we do things differently. It seems that the conventional, standard American diet does everything exactly the opposite of what they should be doing.

They eat wheat and grain, not only do they eat them, but seem to almost bathe in grain products, day and night! Doughnuts and cereal for breakfast, sandwiches at almost every meal, pizza and crackers- the list just goes on and on. Wheat is the worst, what with all of its anti-nutrients and propensity to compromise our guts.

But then, throw in all the other carbs everyone in America consumes, things like chips, and doodles, cakes and pies and french fries…we are swimming in a sea of carbs!
Now, I’m not totally anti-carb- far from it. Depending on your activity level and body fat levels, good carbs like sweet potatoes and white potatoes are wonderful additions to your diet. Especially if you load them up with pastured butter and real sour cream, also from pastured animals. Think of carbs like this as fuel for your perfectly paleo exercise, and also as a way to feed your millions of gut bugs in your micro biome. They need carbs, just not nearly as much as most folks nowadays consume!
But here is the key, the bottom line: Cluster your carbs into the later part of the day. That’s it! Have them with lunch and/or supper, not with breakfast. Once you eat carbs, or especially anything with sugar, such as fruit, your blood sugar goes sky high, and you need to produce insulin to bring the levels back down, and there you go on the sugar/insulin roller coaster, all day long.
So, every time you make the insulin, your blood sugar goes down, and you get hungry again. And again. And again! You find yourself eating all day long, and that is never good. And the solution, again?
Don’t eat carbs early in the day. Eggs and bacon, fine. Orange juice and donuts? The worst thing you can do. Have coffee with coconut oil and cream early on- this really fills you up, and does not spike your blood sugar at all. Work out in the morning it you can- I can attest that I really thrive on that. Then, mid-day or later, have a nice baked potato with your pork chop!
And you know what? Your energy will remain nice and steady throughout the day, and you will feel great, without those feelings of “up” and “down” as your blood sugar spikes and then plummets. You’ll probably turn out like me, since nowadays I do my main workout in the morning, and feel so good that I have another shorter one in the late afternoon! Sometimes I do heavy hands around my woodland paths, or walk with ski poles (leaning into them as I go for upper body resistance). But today, I think I will go down to my basement and do some gymnastic rings work…
Because I just feel so good, eating my carbs later in the day!


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Friday, November 18, 2016

No, You are NOT Immune to Gluten! Podcast for Paleo Quick tip of the Day.


I have heard this time and again- “You know, I try to eat right- I even make your green smoothies and feel healthier for it. I exercise religiously. But I think this gluten thing doesn’t apply to me- I’m immune!”
Not true. If you have never been off of gluten, and I mean you’ve never really followed through and eliminated bread products, even in relatively small amounts, from your diet for at least a month or two, you have no idea how much better you can “look, feel, and perform”, to quote Robb Wolf.
You may think that because you are not overweight, reasonably well muscled and fit, why then why not continue eating your sandwiches, and pancakes, and occasional slice of pie or cake? Well, do you have any of these symptoms that may seem minor (at first!), that are almost certainly due to your gluten habit?
1. Joint pain
2. Either diarrhea and/or constipation
3. Depression or anxiety
4. Brain fog
5. Headaches or migraines
6. ADHD type behavior
7. Insomnia
8. Abdominal distress
9. Hemorrhoids
10. Chronic Fatigue
Any or any combination of these maladies are always improved and/or eliminated just be ditching the grains! Many folks can tolerate small amounts of corn products without problems, but by no means all. But wheat, rye, and barley? You need to eliminate them entirely! No exceptions!

If you don’t, all of these can mature into autoimmune diseases, and they don’t stop with just one either. And if you already have an autoimmune disease, you really need to stop with the gluten now. Because, sadly, the gluten will continue to compromise your gut, “punching holes” in your intestine, and accelerating the invasion of your body and even your mind by way of your opened up circulatory system.
Let’s say you have an autoimmune disease already. Continue with your current gluten consuming indulgences, and you can expect to add more, over time. The rule of thumb if you have an autoimmune disease, meaning one of the diseases that have no cure except to mask the symptoms somewhat with powerful drugs loaded with side-effects- is that every decade you will add another disease to the list!
And, if you add in pain-masking over the counter drugs like Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and even aspirin, you will have accelerated the invasion of your body by these diseases and uncomfortable maladies hugely, since they also “punch holes in your gut lining” in a huge, damaging way!
We all get sloppy with our health over time, and this is just a reminder- no one is immune. Gluten is a poison, whether you believe it or not, and it will gradually, if not kill you, make your life more and more uncomfortable, painful, and far less pleasant.

Sleep, Exercise, and Eat like a baby!



I am late with this weekly podcast of Paleo Quick Tip of the Day, which usually comes out on each and every Wednesday- but I have a good reason!  My wife and I have been caring for our 14 month old grandson and, although it was truly a joy to have him in the house and yard for four days and nights, it is also- a lot of work!

If you have a little one or more, you know what I am saying is true.  Little children take about all you can give them, and if you are doing a good job of nurturing,  just about all of your time as well.   The other demands of daily life just continue, and so to add in a baby is just lots of work and very tiring. 

Now hopefully we all know just how important a good night’s sleep is in a paleo lifestyle!  It is right up there in importance with cutting gluten and grains, eating nutrient dense foods, and avoiding processed and fast foods- right up there at the top of the list.  So, if you have a baby to care for, I recommend your double down on your rest and sleep- when they sleep, you sleep.  I know, you need to do chores as well, but try to sleep more than you normally would- sleep like a baby, if you can, with LOTS of shut-eye.

Luckily, with Perfectly Paleo types of exercise, I could do virtual resistance exercises right alongside baby, as he played with his toys on the floor. I swear, as I flexed and pushed, he was doing the same thing, crawling and pulling himself up and dancing!  Paleo Exercise is much like that naturally practiced instinctively by babies.

Pushups and sit ups also are no problem, although the little guy gave me the curious eye as I did them!  I also could do all of my stretches on the floor, and my back bridging in the mornings with a little “audience” in the living room.  I also did a lot of “baby lifts”, which he enjoyed immensely!

Nutrition?  Baby even helped with that!  For instance, for breakfast we had pasture raised liver sausage and sweet potato.  (Babies like anything, and benefit just as much (or more) than we do from such nutrient dense foods!  Lunch was chicken and broccoli, and supper was ham and carrots and rice.  Of course, I had my green smoothie each and every day, and my little “mini-me” had a sippy cup of coconut milk. 

We also had meals of steel cut oatmeal with raisins, cut up apple pieces, and melon slices.  My little grandson ate about as much as I did, which surprised me, since he is only 22 pounds!  (But, I suspect, not for long- his father is 6’ 6” tall…)

So, the moral of this story?  Rest, Exercise, and Nutrition- these are the three most important things for your health!  NOT statin drugs, depression drugs, flu shots, high blood pressure drugs, and all of the endless drugs and treatments you see advertised constantly on the television and in print!  Your own, God-given body, supplied with REN- Rest Exercise Nutrition- will outperform anything modern medicine has to offer.  BY FAR!!

If you don’t have a baby to care for?  Well- you are your OWN BABY- care for yourself as if you were a growing baby- give yourself the BEST rest, exercise, and nutrition that you can put together!  You will become the healthiest, leanest, fittest you that you could possibly be.  That is the ultimate reward.  And you know what?

You will sleep like a baby!







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Sunday, November 6, 2016

Final Installment of A Barbarian in Chicago, Part 6 audio reading

This is the final installment of A Barbarian in Chicago by Simon Stanton, read here around the paleo campfire.  

For as we all know, heroic tales are paleo indeed, and nourish our minds and souls as they did in ages past, when heroic tales like The Odyssey, Beowulf, and The Tales of King Arthur inspired us all.


Wednesday, November 2, 2016

PJSC podcast A Barbarian in Chicago Part 5

Another tale about the paleo campfire- an audio reading of Simon Stanton's blockbuster new novel!
Part 5 today, and only one installment left.  

Save Your Teeth on Paleo Quick Tip of the Day podcast


Most of us know by now how great the paleo type of diet and lifestyle is for your body- I mean, your fat stores shrink drastically as you become a “fat burner” as opposed to a “sugar burner”, and your health literally explodes as you provide your body with vital nutrients instead of harmful substances like processed foods, chemicals, and gluten.

Throw in a little exercise, good sleep, and harmonious tribal relationships with family and friends, and Mr. or Ms. Paleo is looking very healthy and happy indeed! I hope that this is you, and that you have most of your paleo routine figured out, and blended in with your everyday life.

But have you considered your dental health? Back in paleo times, the health of your mouth and teeth was pretty much a given, since the food available to you was so nutritious, and not harmful to your health, as is much of the stuff we label as food today. Even now, wild animals have excellent dental health, and I guarantee they don’t brush or floss.

Step one in modern dental health is to simply eat a paleo diet, leaving out semi-poisons like gluten containing bread, pasta, and sugar laden candy. This one step alone will improve your dental health to an amazing degree! And, of course, brushing your teeth is a wonderful idea, do it at least twice per day, especially just before bed. But, there are some things you should incorporate that you probably do not know about:
Flossing has been shown to be harmful. The floss actually has been shown to push bacteria into the bloodstream, where it can compromise the immune system. It is also rather easy to damage the gums and teeth with the floss- forget flossing!
Use an electric toothbrush, especially for that last nightly brushing. An electric brush is far more effective than manual brushing.
Don’t use conventional toothpastes. Most contain fluoride, which actually weakens tooth structure, and is toxic to boot. I mix baking soda with sea salt in a small jar, and use that. Sometimes I also mix in coconut oil, and turmeric powder- this is a very potent anti-inflammatory mixture, and very inexpensive.
And finally, do “oil pulling”. This is a timeless Aruvedic system of oral health that is probably the most important of all of my recommendations here, with the exception of eating a good paleo diet.
I keep a small jar of coconut oil in the bathroom. When I take my daily shower after my morning workout, I take a finger and dip out about a teaspoon worth of the oil and put it in my mouth. It immediately liquifies, and I begin swishing it around between my teeth and all around my mouth as I shower, and continue my morning routine.
After showering, I take another finger full of oil and, warming it between my palms, spread it over my face and body- the best moisturizer ever! I even shave using the oil. When I am done, I spit the coconut oil into the toilet (it would clog your sink pipes), and flush it away, along with the bacteria and toxins that is has leached out of my mouth.
The coconut oil actually smothers the bad bacteria like Streptococcus Mutans that causes decay and gum degeneration. So go ahead- make coconut oil a mainstay not only in your kitchen, but also in your bathroom!

Check out this episode!