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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

How to Heal Thyself podcast on PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe






Once you get to a certain age, and for most that seems to be the early 50’s or so, if you have lived a Standard American Diet and lifestyle as most do- you will start to fall apart!  You will have aches and pains; often in the form of migraine headaches, acid reflux, IBD, and increasingly pain in the joints and spine.

To solve this, it is definitely NOT a matter of which heavy duty drugs to take, or even of going to a good chiropractor to get your back cracked or adjusted.  And surgeries and NSAID drugs like ibuprofen, Tylenol, aspirin and the like are also NOT the answer.  All of these commonplace strategies are short term stopgaps at best, and all arrive at the place of steadily worsening health and well-being rather than healing and wellness.

First off- any drug- any drug will wreak havoc on your gut lining, and intensify your future pain and suffering.  Guaranteed!  You need a long term strategy, something you do each and every day that will definitely fine you vastly improved in every way, and with a truly healthy and happy body and mind.

Now, some chiropractors are great- they guide you into a paleo, ancestral lifestyle just as I attempt to do with good advice and counsel.  Clean up your diet, cut out the bread and sugar, exercise regularly, meditate and walk barefoot, eat real, God-made foods rather than processed hyper-palatable crap.  Then, they usually will adjust your back as well, and you will think all is well.  And it may be, for a little while…

The thing is, chiropractic care is a transitory, stop-gap type of treatment that is very temporary, and helps you feel better after having abused your body with the wrong kind of exercise (heavy weights), or no exercise (poor posture, deteriorating muscle tone), bad stress, and a lack of walking outdoors in nature.   Poor sleep is also contributory to all of this.  

Just as surgery and drugs are not a long term answer, neither are chiropractic adjustments on a regular basis.  For one, they are quite expensive, not to mention unnatural!  How many ancient humans had their backs adjusted on a regular basis?  They didn’t need them to be adjusted, because they adjusted them themselves on a daily basis, just as now you will!  You just need to adopt a few simple habits of health, and you will self-adjust yourself on a daily basis, and your gut will gradually heal, rendering your body to be as healthy as it can be.

There are two things I’d like you to add into your daily regimen.  Simple stretching, primarily on a mat on the floor, some simple exercises mixed in with the stretching, and a warm cup of salted bone broth to sip while you work.  Really- this little pleasurable addition to your morning routine can completely revamp your health, your joints, and eliminate your aches and pains permanently.

When you awaken, (making sure that you get a good 8 hours of sleep at least, in a completely dark room), after visiting the bathroom, go into your kitchen and pour a mug of bone broth.  Sprinkle in some good Redmond’s sea salt, and go into your living room, where you keep your television.  Unroll your yoga mat, and start in on some gently stretches.  Do the Asian squat to start, holding a deep squat for as long as it seems comfortable as you watch whatever you have chosen.  Breathe deeply and relax- this time is yours, and over time it will become more and more enjoyable, something to look forward to each morning!

Now, I’m not going to tell you what stretches or exercises to do here, this is not the place.  If you are in pain, anything you do that addresses your own various pains and tightness is the right thing to do, for you.  I will say that I always make sure to lie flat on my back, and stretch out as far as I can, first right leg and right arm, and then right leg and left arm.  I also cross my right knee over my body to the left and hold, and my left knee to the right and hold.  I intersperse other exercises in a way that seems to flow naturally for me, slowly stretching my whole body gently, to and fro, until I have methodically adjusted my spine and other joints to where they feel alive, the synovial fluid flowing like warm oil in a car engine.  

It’s definitely not rocket science, you just stretch intuitively, like an animal stretches when it wakes up, particularly like a cat!  In fact, sometimes one of my cats joins me in my morning stretches, and what we do is quite similar, really, accounting for our different body structures.  

And just sip away as you do, pausing to drink that bone broth as you go- there is definitely no rush!  I like to allow a good hour for my morning exercise/stretches/adjustments, but that is because I also include pushups, and rebounding, along with various resistant exercises like isometrics with a strap, virtual and self resisted exercise, as well as sit-ups and others.  Check out my ebook Perfectly Paleo Exercise for a detailed look at these; also, I plan to put together a course on exercise this new year on Udemy.com where I can demonstrate just what I’m talking about in great detail.  

But for now, if you are in pain, and only want to get better- just set aside a good 1/2 hour each morning.  Get up early enough to make it happen, by going to bed early enough the night before.  Just the wonderful sleep you will be getting is very healing in and of itself!  And get in a good supply of bone broth.  Nowadays, a good quality, organic bone broth made from pastured animals is available in boxes and jars at most groceries for a reasonable price- not to mention, you can always make your own as I do, with good quality bones and a crock pot.  

But the point, just as with the gently stretching regimen, is to do it every day.  Make health a habit!  After a while, if you miss a day, it’s not big deal at all- but at first, while you are making it a lifelong habit- try not to miss!  These two small additions to your life, bone broth and stretching daily, can change your health dramatically overall!  Your joints and gut lining can definitely rebuild, and thrive again.  The time can even be quite short to do so- if you do it daily.


And then, after 30 days or so- why, you’ll feel so good, you’ll be like me- you will go out after 30 minutes to the kitchen, and get yourself a cup of coffee laced with coconut oil.  Back in the living room, you’ll push ‘play’ again on the show that your were watching as you stretched, and you’ll start in on your pushups and other exercises.  This is phase two exercise, where you not only have your health back, you want to vastly improve it via strength training. And, trust me- it is intoxicating!

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Creativity Crucial for Paleo Ancestral LIfestyle on Paleo Quick Tip of the Day podcast


Sometimes I think I get a little ‘out there’ on things, and I’m afraid this is one of those times.  I truly believe that nurturing your creative self, that part of you that does more than just work for a living, and then, when all the work is done, both at home and at your workplace, you just seek entertainment.

Now, I am not averse to entertainment itself, not at all.  I’ve played in, and even organized musical bands and choruses in my time, and love to play guitar and sing.  Where would I be without an audience?  I watch many movies, most on Netflix and Amazon prime- while I exercise, as I often recommend.  I listen to the radio, and love to listen to music as well.  I even love podcasts, which are great to listen to while driving, or heavy hand walking (or now, with the snow, ski pole walking) around the woods here in my yard.  In fact, I’ll go so far as to say I love entertainment, and love to be entertained!  Who doesn’t?

But my point is, if you only live to work and then to be entertained, where does that leave you after you are done working, or even just when you have some downtime?  Well of course, we all need to help out others in our family and neighborhoods, that is a given.  And it usually takes a lot of time as well.  But sometimes, if you are just on free time, you have better have a go-to outlet that you 1. enjoy, and 2. that you have some ability in.  (Otherwise, you won’t really enjoy it much.)

You need a creative outlet!  Not just a hobby, something like ‘paint by numbers’, because it’s not really creative, something that you create that wasn’t there before.  You need to paint (like the cave walls in France), or play music (like Homer and the other ancient bards).  You need to write like I do, (check out some of my books, by my pen names Jess Thornton and Simon Stanton, along with my real name of Jay Bowers).  Or sing, or write poetry, or build things of wood, or clay, or whatever. 

The point is: creativity is essential to our nature as humans- in fact, it is largely what made us human, setting us apart from the beasts- we think, we imagine, and then we create!  Even putting together wonderful recipes of healthy food for our families can be very creative- although for most folks now it’s not.  If you just pick up fast food, or get a ready made meal delivered- even a paleo or ketogenic meal- although it may be wonderful nutritionally, healthy as can be and nutrient dense- it’s not creative, not for you.

I’m sure it was for the person who created it, that recipe, and they are fulfilled by it.  Just as, when you watch a wonderful movie, see a great performance of music or drama or comedy or whatever- you are entertained, you enjoy it.  But you are enjoying another’s creativity, and their fulfillment.  They probably get paid, sure, if it’s that kind of a venue- but the fulfillment comes from creating whatever it is.  The paycheck comes later, and that’s great- but even if it doesn’t, that person has created something, something he fulfilled.  And that is the best reward we can get on this earth, really.  It is our own uniqueness on display!

I guarantee the cave painters in the Lascaux caves in southern France didn’t do it for the money- there was no money then.  Nor did they do it for widespread fame, because the only people who could have known about those marvelous paintings would have been the few people in their own tribe, perhaps 50 or so.  It may have been, probably was religious in nature.  But the loving attention to detail and the perfect crafting of those beasts within that cave, well, that was all about creating. 

The fact that those paintings have endured all this time, over 30,000 years is amazing, and wonderful!  For us, mainly.  For those paleolithic painters, though- they got their reward as they were doing the work.  The creating- 30,000 years ago!

Check out this episode!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Becoming a Ketogenic Diesel podcast on PJSC

OK, I mentioned last podcast that I had gotten a new tractor!  For anyone with an  acreage, anyone that has a small woods, a big lawn, and lots and lots of tasks that need to be performed on a regular basis- why then, you know just how important a tractor is to you.  

My old tractor was pretty darn good, since I had finally upgraded from a gas powered lawn tractor to a compact utility tractor.  This is a huge distinction, since a gas powered tractor such as that, that the vast majority of large property owners have, is much, much less useful, strong, and overall powerful than a real, CUT- that is, a Compact Utility Tractor!  A CUT has a far bigger, heavier frame, much larger tires, a 3 point hitch for all sorts of useful implements, and most importantly of all- it has a diesel engine.  

A diesel engine has much more torque, or useful pulling and other sorts of power, than a gas engine.  My little John Deere 650, still outside with the back blade and chains on for snow, is still running strong.  But, it only has 15 hp, which is pretty powerful when in the form of a diesel!  My new Kubota (both these machines are built in Japan, despite the green paint on the John Deere), has more than twice that much hp, is quite a bit larger, frame size wise, and the tires are huge in comparison.  It’s also much newer, orange (that’ll take some getting used to!), and- it has a big loader bucket on the front!

I’ve already experimented with the bucket, knocking over dead trees with it, pulling down big tree-sized branches that my old tractor couldn’t budge, and carrying firewood.  I spend time each day, walking my land and thinking about jobs I’ll do with it come spring in my woods.  Moving brush piles with the pallet loader, hauling firewood into orderly piles, and perhaps digging a small pond.  It is a huge boon to have that much useful power at my disposal, and doing various tasks will be a pure joy!

Now, wouldn’t you like to trade in your old body, that old gas or carbohydrate burning lawn tractor body that burns oil in the form aches and pains, and just doesn’t have that much useful power anymore?  Well, you can- just trade yourself in, by remaking yourself into a diesel compact utility tractor- a CUT!  

First, you need to start fueling yourself like a diesel human.  You need to switch from running on glucose from carbs and sugars, and move into a ketogenic sort of diet.  This means low carbs, very little sugars, and plenty of protein and fats!  It will be a change, but within a few weeks your body can transform itself into a diesel machine, running on ketones rather than glucose.  You will rarely be hungry, and you will begin running on your stored body fat preferentially over the last bagel or piece of bread you just ate.  Your energy will quickly become unlimited, just like my tractor!

While you do this, I also want you to hang up your stupid running shoes, and start walking around barefoot instead.  On the grass in spring and summer and fall, or just rebounding barefoot in your living room as I did this morning.  Soon, you will be the equivalent of human 4 wheel drive, with healthy feet that are never plagued with plantar fasciitis or the many other painful foot ailments those who constantly wear shoes are plagued with.  

Lastly, I want you to begin strengthening your very frame, by getting a long fabric loading or moving strap with which you can perform isometrics.  You can literally give your entire body a complete muscle, tendon, and ligament strengthening workout in 10 minutes using isometrics with such a simple strap!  Unlike weights, which only strengthen the musculature, leaving the tendons and ligaments largely unaffected and prone to pulls, tears, and strains, isometrics strengthen all of you.  Muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones!  

I like to take the strap, (which ironically is orange, just like my Kubota!), and stand on it, grasping with one hand at shoulder height.  I press upwards in a military press for about 5 seconds for 90% of max effort or so, and then relax.  Repeat, for a little longer, maybe 6 seconds, and then a third time for 7 seconds.  Then, sliding my hands up to about half way over my head, I repeat the three steps.  Next, I almost max out my “lift”, and press again almost at arm’s length for three times.

Now you get the idea!  Do the same thing on the other arm for military presses.  Then, do curls the same way, from the bottom most position holding the strap, halfway up, and almost to the top.  Both arms, 3 hard efforts at each of three positions of the lift.

Next, do a pushup isometric- trap the strap around your back, and holding the straps right in front of your chest, push!  The same drill, bottom of pushup, halfway up, and almost all the way up.  Then, do bent rows the same drill.  

Finish up with deadlifts, standing on the strap and lifting upwards quite hard with both hands grasping the strap- first low, then mid-point- then almost to the top!  Congratulations: you have done one session of strengthening your body into a CUT, a diesel tractor with a really strong, powerful, resilient and injury resistant frame.  

Stick with your new ketogenic type of diet, which is quite similar to a paleo diet if (hopefully) you’ve been following that.  But, when just starting out, thinking of it as a KETO diet makes it somewhat simpler to understand, and it will also act quite quickly.  Weight to lose will leave quickly, and muscle and frame strengthening will also occur quickly as well, with the change of diet and addition of isometrics!  

Other exercises, including work on the gymnastic rings, sit-ups and pushups, along with rebounding and barefoot sprinting, will literally transform you, from the weak little lawn mower you used to be, rusting and bent, with tiny wheels that mostly just spin on the grass when trying to pull, to a strong, tough, almost unbreakable diesel Tractor/Human that will go through life effortlessly, free of aches and pains, and as someone who will enjoy physical tasks rather than dreading them!  

Become a Diesel!









Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Isometrics are Wonderful


Here is the thing about isometrics: almost everyone dismisses them!

There is no rhyme or reason about it.  My feeling is that no one has actually looked at the research, or ever experimented with this form of exercise- I mean, how can it be that pushing hard against an immovable resistance for a matter of seconds can:

Lower blood pressure, dramatically!
Strengthen that muscle in a huge way, even throughout the muscle, not just in that particular angle!
Be done so fast, and so relatively painlessly!

Well, isometrics CAN do that, and it is just a shame that the benefits have been shoved aside. 

I believe that this is because conventional isotonic weight training- in paleo parlance ‘lifting heavy things’- has the “advantage” of building bulky types of muscle.  Big, chubby muscles that everyone can see, and say “Hey- have you been lifting weights??” 

If you have a fragile ego, like I did when I was 14 or so, to hear this is very gratifying.  And so, people tend to double down on the weight lifting! 

Many take it to extremes.  I did, and I know so many others.  Bigger is better, right? 

I’m here to tell you that no, it’s really not!

Bruce Lee figured this out, the hard way.  He was early in his career when he saw a photo of  Arnold Schwarzenegger in a muscle magazine of the time in the late 60’s or early 70’s.  It inspired him to take up heavy weight training, ala Arnold.

The result?  He injured his back, leading him to a drug dependency to alleviate the pain that eventually took his life!  Heavy weights, particularly squats will do that…

After he was injured, he returned to isometrics, resulting in a physique that was so amazing, that today it is still not only awesome, but timeless.

Trust me, lean, fit and ripped is WAY better than big, bulky, and- eventually- sagging and fat as you age.  And it’s even better at the moment, when you are young- far better!

Isometrics not only made him ripped to the bone, they also made him much more efficient as a fighter, much ‘lighter’ yet stronger, functionally.   They even partially cured his pain from weight training, but only partially.  Heavy weights are ultimately debilitating… and so are heavy things!

So, don’t lift heavy things, at least not for exercise- only because you need to move something heavy!  (What a concept)!  When you exercise, use either-

Light weights, like your own body weight for high reps, as in pushups.

Self resisted movements, where you resist with one limb against another.

Virtual resistance- this is really the king of them all, the one exercise everyone should use daily!

And Isometrics, which are the fastest, simplest, easiest way to build lasting strength, joint health and fitness that there is!  And that almost no one uses.

And it is so simple: one way is to simply flex; do a “most muscular” pose, holding for several seconds.  Pretend you are Arnold, in front of a huge crowd at a bodybuilding competition- FLEX for all you are worth!  Relax briefly, then repeat- hold for 5 seconds, next for 6, and the last for 7.    Watch the second hand of a clock, because those seconds will go by really slowly, since you are really exerting yourself!!

I have a nylon strap, meant for moving things.  Unbreakable, can hold hundreds of pounds.  I use it when I do isometrics, and you should too!  Very inexpensive, and incredibly effective.

Do any standard weightlifting move- try a curl!  Stand on the strap, and grasp it so your arm is below parallel- curl upwards as hard as you can.  Do one rep of 5 seconds, another of 6, and then a third of 7.  Then, step off of the strap, and let it extend to just parellel- do the same thing.  Next, do the same thing, but with your arm up above shoulder height.  Do this same thing with both arms- your biceps should be totally stimulated to build muscle, along with your tendons and ligaments, which conventional weight training ignores!

Do the same thing, using your strap: military presses, bent over rows, squats and deadlifts; even pushups (holding the strap behind your back).  It really doesn’t take all that long, and addresses all the major muscle groups of your body!  You can also add in tricep extensions and side extensions for the shoulders… 

Congratulations- you have strengthened and improved all of the muscle groups of your body, along with your joint connections of tendons and ligaments, in a short, relatively painless workout that would make Bruce Lee proud! 

And you are building, and maintaining, a body that anyone would appreciate- not only when they are young, but as they age- a taut, muscular body that is not only resistant to joint problems, and problems of muscular weakness (sarcopenia)- you are creating a body that will be vital, strong, and free from pain…

For the rest of your life!




Check out this episode!

Friday, December 1, 2017

How to Work Out Each and Every Day- Happily!



One thing that I guarantee will change your life for the better is this: build movement, or exercise, into your day.  Each and every day!

The thing is that you if you get out of the habit, if you start saying to yourself: “Oh, I don’t want to just spend time ‘exercising’, just spinning my wheels- I want to accomplish things!”; why then, you are setting yourself up for an increasingly unhealthy life.  For the truth is, movement is life! 

It really is.  Nothing living ever thrives, or even enjoys life, by just lying dormant.  When we move, when the blood rushes through our bodies, we feel alive and well- because we are!  Sitting is not only the new smoking- it is a kind of death, in a way, if done to excess.  Sleeping is wonderful for us, and sitting is also great, when done in moderation.  Sitting is a good posture for active reflection: for reading, contemplation, meditation, eating at the table with our ‘tribe’- all very good postures and activities.

Sitting in front of a screen, however- whether tv, computer, smart phone or ipad- this can become a type of bad hynosis, wasting our very lives.  Here is how to use a screen productively:  Exercise in front of the television!

I know, I’ve brought this up before, because it really works.  When I awake in the morning, I don’t think ‘what should I do first this morning’, and wander downstairs, make breakfast, and run off to work with maybe a little perfunctory stretching.  No, I awaken, after a good 8-9 hour night’s sleep, because that’s what I always plan for.  I go into the bathroom, and do some mobility exercises, getting the synovial fluid going in my elbow, knees, ankles, shoulder and spine to ready my body for its daily movement.  This mobility and stretching routine takes about 2-3 minutes, tops.

Then, downstairs I go, feeling wide awake and looking forward to: my program!Whether movie, tv show, Netflix or Amazon Prime- NOW is the only time I allow myself to watch!  I am literally champing at the bit to watch a great program that I have queued up and have ready.  Lately, I’ve been watching the last season of Longmire, just so you know.

This system works beautifully!  I almost never miss my morning workout, and my stretching, pushups, situps, and virtual resistance exercises done on my rebounder actually make my television viewing more intense than if I was just sitting like a lump.  I’m barefoot, alone, and it’s just me and the show- it’s wonderful really.

And this is every day.  Think of the shape you will be in, how much your bodily health would benefit if you exercised religiously and thoroughly- every single day!  Trust me: your health and wellness will go off the charts, straight upwards- mine did, even though before adopting this regimen I used to work out 3-4 times per week.  Daily workouts are so much more beneficial, they revamp your whole body and mindset!  AND, they actually become in many ways the high point of your entire day.  Hard to believe, but very true for all that- exercise, the thing most people dread more than anything- becomes your favorite thing!

Just make sure it is Perfectly Paleo Exercise, which is outlined in my ebook, and at  www.paleojay.com.  Virtual resistance and self resisted exercise, along with high rep calisthenics and rebounding, with stretching built into your routine as well.  Natural Exercise, if you will…

You will be healthy and happy, trust me.  In fact, I enjoy exercise so much now, that I also go out in the afternoons most days to ‘heavyhand’ walk, and at least twice per week I do my heavy basement workouts on my gymnastic rings and utilizing my power rack for isometrics- but, on those basement workouts and on my power walks: I listen to podcasts.  

In a way, I ‘bribe’ myself into exercise, because it works!  Go thou and do likewise.









Sunday, November 26, 2017

Solitude


Much is made in paleo circles of the importance of engaging in a “tribe”, whether it be family, neighborhood, church family, or even a stone-age tribe, should you happen to have one.  (And I don’t mean old Flintstone episodes)!  In fact, I am one of those espousing the essential nature of having a tribe.  It really is a necessary thing, for both physical and mental health.

BUT, the yin to the yang of that idea is that each of us, whether we realize it or not, needs solitude.  And I don’t mean just being alone to go on Facebook, or to shop on Ebay- I mean being completely alone, with not telephone, cell phone browsing, computer surfing, or television watching- I mean just YOU.  I want to say “no electronics”, but that’s not right either- electric lights and such are fine; after all, how can you read otherwise in the dark, unless you are like Abe Lincoln by the fireplace light?

Constantly interacting with others is NOT OK- it is a sign of dependence, and is not healthy if done to excess.  Humans need to have time alone; time to reflect, to get back in touch with their very natures.  In the modern, electronically connected world, this is increasingly hard to accomplish- but it is even more necessary for all that!

I isolated myself today in one of the best ways I know how: I went out to my Fortress of Solitude- my PUB! 

“A pub, you say?  How can that be isolating, how can that be regenerative?”  Well, let me tell you.  This pub is right on my property, set well back from my rural house, right back in the woods.  It is nothing more that an 8’ X 14’ Amish built shed that I had hauled there years ago, and my wife and I decorated as an Irish pub.  We outfitted it with a bar, a long couch, chairs and stools.  I also added, since we live in the wilds of Wisconsin, a propane heater that keeps it as toasty as I’d like!   I also run lamps and clocks within it, with a LONG extension cord from the garage and batteries.  It really is like a tiny Irish pub, in the middle of nowhere.

Today, in preparation for a stressful upcoming rest of the week, I went down there to ‘rest up’, which more accurately refers to getting in touch with my inner, paleolithic self.  “Hi, PaleoJay, how are you doing?  Let’s spend some time together.”  That’s what I asked myself, and that’s what I did.  Me, myself and I- we might as well have been in the howling wilderness of the far, far north- I could hear the wind howling outside, as I sat with my book on the couch.  The wind, and nothing else.  The light from an old lamp illuminated my pages, and I was utterly immersed for hours.

I had brought down a cigar, and eventually smoked it, along with some dark chocolate and a few beers… BAD PaleoJay!   Not really, but I imagine some of you are chanting that.  It was SO relaxing, I hardly noticed that several hours had gone by! 

My wife had started a pot roast with a Highland beef roast this morning, and I was dying to try that, so eventually I made my way up back to the house.  I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but I hadn’t even noticed hunger, until I got inside- wow, did that smell good!  And it tasted even better.

As I ate, I thought of how good I felt, mentally- I had worked out hard this morning, going particularly hard on isometrics, more of which I will expand upon later.  But this had made me so relaxed, that I was content to sit motionless for hours on end, rebuilding.  I also thought of solitude, and how important it is for us to be by ourselves on a regular basis. 

So important do I think solitude to be, that I have TWO Fortresses of Solitude!  (Even Superman only had ONE!)  I have my backyard Irish Pub, and my family also has a cabin just over an hour away, back in the woods.  When I go to either place, I KNOW there will be no phone calls, no TV, and only solitude.  At the cabin, I can start a fire in the fireplace, and then just meditate as the logs crackle and the flames dance across the log walls.  I can read, and I can write, both of which are cathartic, creative acts; unlike television, which is uncreative consuming, something to be minimized at all costs.

But creative endeavors are to be cultivated- and that is why both my backyard PUB and my log cabin are also- juke joints.  Sometimes I perform for others, but when I am at either of these places, I generally play for myself and myself alone.  I can go for long periods, and it is wonderful fun, as fun as writing is- for, we mostly have forgotten, but creating things, stories or art or music or theater or woodcarving or- anything- is the greatest form of fulfillment and entertainment that we, as humans, can find!

I went back a month ago, and this is what I found I had recorded I did at the cabin- it’s not meant to be performance, or impressive- but it sure was a lot of fun!  Imagine, it was just me, all alone in a small cabin, with a small amp, a guitar, and the drum machine on my phone.  As the wind sighed through the pines outside while the fireplace blazed, there was your PaleoJay, hacking away on his guitar and just generally having a blast!

In solitude.







Check out this episode!

Friday, November 10, 2017

Eat More SALT! on Paleo quick tip of the day podcast








Once again, as we should be getting used to in modern medicine: they have gotten it all wrong! We have been told for decades and decades, at least since the early 1970’s, that high salt consumption is the worst thing ever, and it will kill us, giving us high blood pressure, and also heart disease after that.  Salt is bad bad bad, and we should do our best to consume as little salt as possible!

Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Just as we were told that eating fat will not only make us fat, but it will clog our arteries and kill us sooner rather than later!  The solution?  Just as with salt- eat as little fat as possible, and what you do eat, should be vegetable oils, since they aren’t saturated. 

Again, wrong, wrong, wrong!  Just as good, God-made fats are essential to human health and life, so to is salt.  And perhaps salt is even more important, since we evolved in the ocean originally- all creatures on this earth did, and our very blood is laden with salt, just as is the ocean.  If we don’t take in salt on a daily basis, especially if we are involved in athletic pursuits and sweat it out, our body goes into crisis mode!  Our heart rate goes up, (very bad for the health of the heart, by the way), and insulin resistance is increased, all in a desperate attempt to save our precious salt stores, which we need for our very survival.

And we have been told to severely limit our salt intake??

I have known about the importance of salt, particularly in the natural, mineral laden form of sea salt for a very long time.  And once again, it put me in the situation of espousing something that almost no one would believe- after all, their doctor told them the opposite, as did every U.S. dietician- who would believe little old PaleoJay? 

Well, at last someone has put the nail in the lying, mistaken coffin of salt limitation, and that person is Dr. James DiNicolantonio, in his book The Salt Fix- Why the Experts got it wrong, and how eating more might save your life!

For now, you only need to know that your own body is almost magical in its ability to tell you how much salt you need!  Simply remember that, if you crave salt- eat it! 
It really is (like most things health related) that simple.  For instance, if you crave food- just eat real food, not processed junk.  Good honest fats like butter and cream.  Grass fed meats and wild caught seafood- diet really is that simple!

And so is our need for salt.  If you are getting ready for a really strenuous workout, like I did today in my dungeon of a basement, doing high rep hindu squats and gymnastic ring pushups for several hundred reps, along with a number of other exercises like Aerobic Isometrics- take in a good amount of salt before doing so!  Just make sure that your salt, like your real food, is 100% real and natural- a good sea salt, matey!

The best I’ve found is Redmond’s sea salt, from Utah.  This is mined salt from the bed of a long-gone, ancient sea.  A primeval sea, one uncontaminated with plastics and other petrochemicals as have our modern seas become.  Also, to my mind, it tastes the best!  All the natural minerals, none of the contaminates- a win win for me.  (I have no affiliation with Redmond’s, by the way).

So eat real food!  Eat real salt, too!  If you don’t, uh, well, you’re not worth your…sugar!

Check out this episode!

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Aerobic Isometrics podcast on Paleo Quick tip of the Day


One of the most productive and efficient ways to work out is using something called aerobic isometrics.  It actually sounds contradictory, for after all isn’t isometric exercise working against an immovable object for time?  And isn’t aerobics moving the body at a steady state for a longer period of time?

Yes and yes.  But they actually come together very well, and when done this way they are an incredibly good, and safe way to really get fit!  And a real fitness, that combines the cardio system and the strength building of the muscles together very effectively! 

Let’s try it first in the classic pull-up or chin-up.  Either use a low hanging bar or tree branch- (hey- you’re paleo, aren’t you caveman?)- or else place a stool that lets you extend your arms fully, while standing on your stool (or stump).  Anyway, the idea is that you support your weight on your legs, but then you put more and more weight on your hands and arms.  Slowly squat down, giving just enough help from your legs to go up and down in a chin-up.  Go very slowly- it helps to have a clock in front of you with a sweep second hand.  I like to go slowly up and down for a full minute- perhaps I wind up doing about 5 chins, maybe more.  Sometimes, I go so slowly that I only do 1. or two chins or pull-ups over the course of a minute, or sometimes a minute and a half.

If you think these are easy, because your legs are “helping”, they definitely are not!  You should only be helping with your legs enough to actually move slowly- no more.  Often, on the negative motion I will lift my knees off of the support, and do a slow negative chin.  It is quite taxing to do the exercise this way, and it really taxes and builds the entire back and biceps, along with the cardiovascular system!  You will only need to do 1 rep, trust me.

You can do the same thing with dips, helping with your legs on a dip rack.  Excellent exercise, in fact if you do these two exercises, dips and chins, you are getting your whole upper body worked very effectively indeed!  And it is very, very safe- if the exercise gets too hard, just put your feet down and help.  And so time efficient, it only takes a few minutes.

You can also do a pushup as an aerobic isometric: Get in the forward pushup plank position, and slowly lower yourself downwards.  You won’t be able to go upwards slowly enough, so just get to the top position after you hit bottom, and do another slow, slow negative.  Depending on how slow you make yourself go, you will only be able to do a few reps, but those reps will equal dozens done in standard fashion, both for muscle building and aerobically.

If you have a power rack, or “cage” as I do, left over from my misguided heavy weight lifting days, why then you are golden indeed my friend!  I have a whole routine that I do weekly using my rack, pushing against the steel pins of the rack, and letting my legs help me “just enough” to go up and down.  One is the military press for a minute, (very grueling).  I use a wooden dowel, that I press against the pin above my head, and slowly dip my legs down as I press really hard upwards against that down.  This one is great for both legs and shoulders!

One tip on that last- counter to how most do military or upright presses, you should not put your arms out to shoulder width and press directly upwards- no one naturally lifts this way, and it is hard on your precious shoulder joints.  Instead, grasp the dowel about 12-15 inches apart, above your head, as if you were lifting a baby overhead.  This is how we lift real loads above our heads in the natural world- the paleo world!

So try it out.  If you do have a access to a power rack, or perhaps a playground set of some sort, you can experiment with reverse curls into the pins, working legs and arms together.  And grip work using the immovable dowel is amazing as well- when is the last time working your grip made you breathless as well as muscularly tired?

I also like hack squats, leaning far back with both hands grasping the sides of the rack, and one-legged squats using the rack for support.  There’s lots you can do!  But to really get the Perfectly Paleo Workout, finish up with leg raises for your abs, raising your legs straight out in front to eye height, and then go to your gymnastic rings.  Pound out a few hundred pushups, in sets of 20, 15, and 10, interspersed with ring flies.  Trust me, it will feel great- you are oxygenating your whole body with blood, which is the last thing you might need after your Aerobic Isometrics to have a truly great workout! 

Check out this episode!

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Bone Broth and Kidney Stones- podcast


Chanca Piedra


And so is chanca piedra, which I promised I would mention after my previous podcast about my kidney stone!

Now, these two items- bone broth and kidney stones are related, so stay tuned and I will explain.  I got my kidney stone from, I believe now, actually overdosing on spinach for years and years!  Contrary to popular belief, spinach has gotten a “halo of virtue”, and we all think it is nothing but loads of beneficial vitamins and minerals, all in a pretty green package.  But it also has oxalates, which are a chemical or ester that protects the spinach plant.  And the wheat plant, the rhubarb, the raspberry- in fact, many plants that we tend to regard as all good!  

They’re not.  And if you, like me now, have ever experienced the utter pain of a kidney stone, you will realize that.  But in addition, this chemical, which is stored away in the form of calcium crystals throughout the body of those of us mammals that dare to eat the plant that contains them, can cause all sorts of pain and illness in the human body.  

From joint pains, to tooth and bone density issues, to sleep troubles and digestive issues!  Oxalates are like gluten and gliaden- insidious, harmful, and hard to track or trace.  Kidney stones are just one of the more obvious contamination issues.  But I have two suggestions for you:

First- get rid of your kidney stone, if you have one, as fast as possible- pass by the urologist and the incredible pain and expense he will offer you, and order a bottle of chanca piedra for about $12.  Take a dropper full in each of the many, many glasses of water you should also be drinking to get rid of the dang thing, and hold on tight!

And above all, from now on go on a low oxalate diet!  I would drop spinach entirely, along with rhubarb, beets, and raspberries- oxalate levels in each of these are off the charts.  Of course, I hope you are already off of wheat, since that is also high in this poison as well as gluten.  And step two?

Heal your gut!  A leaky gut opens you to every disease under the sun, so get to healing it.  Bone Broth is the best tool for this that there is, helping to sooth, heal, and finally seal your gut lining- this is really job #1 in both health maintenance and health restoration!  As Hippocrates said so long ago: “All health begins in the gut.”  And it turns out he was right.


Once again, the best web site I have found on oxalates and their dangers is this one: https://sallyknorton.com/  Read through what she has to say, and take it to heart.  I have no affiliation with her whatsoever, but I recognize excellence and knowledge when I see and hear it, and Sally Norton has it.  Take her advice, along with mine, and heal thyself!

Sunday, October 8, 2017

I HATE Oxalates! PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast.

Evil Oxalates presented by a Hippie!


I’ll admit, this is a new one for me.  A new, and painful lesson, to be sure- I got a kidney stone!  

Now, of course I had heard of kidney stones- my little brother actually had one a few years back, and went through a really painful, expensive operation to get it removed.  ‘But not me’, I thought- ‘I am always healthy, never need to get treated for anything, and prize my health beyond measure!  To this end, I always drink a daily Green Smoothie, with coconut milk (good), spices (good), cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower (good), along with kefir, apple cider vinegar, ginger root, and berries- all of which are good.  

But I also put in either a big portion of raw spinach, or a beet and beet greens- sometimes both!  I’ve been doing this for years and years…

Most of us think that any dark green is very healthy, indeed- I know I did.  I grew up with Popeye the Sailorman, who is ‘strong to the finish- when he eats his spinach- he’s Popeye the sailor man’.  Well, just add Popeye, one of my childhood heroes, to the list of authority figures like M.D.’s and medical clinics, left-wing politicians and others who are and always have been wrong.  (However well-meaning.)  But, it does turn out that kale is relatively low in oxalates, as are mustard greens!

As I already knew, plants are chemical warfare masters, coming up with things like phytic acid and gluten and gliadin, (among other toxic chemicals) that are loaded into wheat so that we mammals don’t eat them or their babies.  After all, since plants can’t run away or fight, chemical toxins are their only defense, really.  This is why wheat is so awful for us, particularly modern wheat.  But it is also why spinach and many other plants are also bad, because they are loaded with a chemical called an oxalate.

Nuts, beans, and peanuts are oxalate bombs- eat sparingly, along with your dark chocolate- after all, these things are treats- desserts, really- not a main food group!  And of course, grains are horrible, high sources of oxalate poisons, best eliminated entirely if possible.  

Of course, I’d heard of oxalates- but I had never heard just how bad they really are, especially if you take in enough that your body cannot readily get rid of them- then, they form oxalate crystals, and unfortunately I eventually got one, right inside my right kidney.  It hurts something awful, too, but I’ve learned how to deal with that- I just keep completely hydrated, drinking mostly water, but also lemon water and cranberry juice- as long as I stay really hydrated, there is no pain.  I expect to pass the stone naturally- I will keep you posted.  

The bad thing is, oxalates also do lots of other damage- to your teeth, to your gut lining (oh no-just like wheat!), to your bones, making them week- and also contributes to all kinds of symptoms that we normally ascribe to aging, and so they are largely ignored as “natural”.  They are not!  Headaches, tendon and muscle pain, brain fog- the more I read, the more oxalates sound just like gluten- bad news all around!

I am going on a low oxalate diet.  After awhile, I can again include small portions of these foods, but for now I want my body to get rid of its stores of this poison.  Black pepper, potatoes, spinach and beet greens are bad- spinach is by far the worst- raw or cooked!

The goal should not be to eliminate oxalates completely, but to gradually lower them to less than 50 to 60 mg. per day.  Potato chips have 21 mg. per ounce- choose corn chips instead.  Rhubarb and raspberries are very high indeed, and are two of my favorites.  Or at least, they used to be!  Likewise black pepper- at least for now.  After awhile, up to 1 tsp. per day is OK- and really, who eats more than that?  Even the spices turmeric and circumin have oxalates, and I even found that cranberries are quite high- I guess that cranberry juice is out now!  Circumin supplements are particularly high…  Turmeric is similar to black pepper, in that no more than 1 tsp. per day- and again, who consumes more than that?

Meat and meat based products, along with most fruits are quite free of oxalates!  This includes dairy, and this is wonderful news indeed.  It appears that vegetarians and vegans are particularly prone to high oxalate diets, and this makes perfect sense.  I found a good authority in www.sallyknorton.com  She is an expert in oxalates and in low oxalate diet and its benefits.  I recommend her site highly.

Also, it is quite difficult to really get a handle on what foods are, really, high in oxalates I’ve found.  Many say one food is “really high”, but if you check out this chart, you can see that, if eaten occasionally rather than daily, they really are no problem.  For instance, a baked potato (by the way, never eat the skin!) is about 18 mg per 100 grams- this is ok, for instance, kept to a weekly basis.  All alcohol is pretty much fine, although the lists love to say they are “off limits- except of course for the hallowed red wine- which, of course, the ‘intellectuals’ putting together these lists can’t imagine living without!  Beer is really low too, though they list it as high risk.  


In addition, in order to bring my own condition to a speedy conclusion, I have ordered an herb tincture called Chanka Pedreo, which is widely recommend to help break down kidney stones.  Once again, I will do a personal N=1 experiment, and let you know my outcome. 

My own takeaway is that perhaps we need to go back to the rudiments of the original Paleo Diet, which recommended no potatoes, tomatoes, or other nightshades!  Once again, I shall keep you posted.  Good DAY!






Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff- Paleo Minutae


A growing trend has begun troubling me in the paleo sphere- concentrating on minutae.  Little things, in other words. 

Instead of just focussing on the large issues in what is wrong in health and fitness these days, most of the paleo “in crowd” seem to be trying to distinguish themselves by choosing some small niche in the field, and going on and on about how important that one small thing is!  I realize most folks that talk and write about paleo nutrition and wellness are trying to make a living from it, I get that.  But by stressing that most people need this exclusive test, or that one; while they might be carving out a lucrative niche for themselves, the are obscuring the important, vital overall message that everyone needs to hear, not just Paleo aficionados who study this stuff to death. 

While I might fall into that latter category, I am different in that I am not trying to make a living in the paleo field, or even to make a name for myself and become a recognized “expert”.  I do have an e-book on Perfectly Paleo Exercise that has turned out to be quite a good seller, but the reason I put that out was because I couldn’t find any other place that was really putting out what I considered good, safe, productive exercise information!  Everything was just recycled body building, long distance running, powerlifting  and Cross Fit types of stuff, most of which I consider largely useless, and oftentimes harmful.  So I decided to show a correct alternative using body weight, virtual, isometric, and self resisted movements since there was nowhere else really to find it.

But this is not specifically about exercise.  The Paleo, or now “Paleo-ish” lifestyle as it has evolved to become, is a really powerful, simple thing!  If all of the experts in the field, which also seem to be developing into a kind of exclusive club that recognizes one another for mutual benefit and exclusivity each stresses a few things, like SIBO or Candida, or goes into paroxysms in a wild debate over which is better, Paleo or Ketogenic- all they do is start to confuse the average person.  They take the message, and garble it.

Not to make this more important than it is, but think of it like what happened to Christianity.  Whether you are a believer or not, you probably know that Jesus had a very simple, understandable concept behind his preaching: Love One Another as You Love Yourself.  Of course there is very much more, but that is the basis- Simple, understandable, and very transforming in and of itself.

But think what has become of that simplicity over the ages, as self-serving folks tried to “explain it better, more fully”, and incidentally started huge, exclusive churches with elaborate hierarchies and overarching agendas focussed on money, prestige, and power!  The Paleo Kingdom is far newer and smaller, but I think the idea is the same.

Live as well as you can like our ancient ancestors- Eat real food.  Avoid chemicals things made in a lab, and live a life in the outdoors as much as you can, moving and exercising in a natural manner in nature, and sleeping and resting amply each night.  Enjoy family and neighborhood connections, and avoid stress, particularly the stress of modern drugs and the ill-advised procedures of modern medicine, which is profit-based, not health- based.

That is my off-the-cuff explanation, not perfect of course, but pretty simple and basic.  Of course there are variations: original, Loren Cordain Paleo allowed NO dairy, no legumes, and he was quite an endurance exercise proponent.  I do very well indeed with high fat dairy, some legumes are fine for me, and I have discovered that endurance exercise is a bad fit of the vast majority, who are in need of muscle tissue far more than aerobic endurance.   Everyone needs to find just what works for them, but the truth is:

Cutting out grains, eating a higher fat diet along with lots and lots of vegetables and quality protein TRANSFORMS PEOPLE’S HEALTH!!

Doing just that above, even for a couple of weeks, will literally begin to transform anyone who does it!  They really don’t need to have lots of expensive tests, visit naturopath professionals or functional medicine docs or even regular M.D.’s- they just need to get started on the basics, and then sticking to it!  It really is just that simple.

You don’t really want to have a “guru” of health, although there may be a few that you follow that make sense to you.  But just take from each one what they have that is valuable, try it out, and then carry on on your own.  YOU are your own best health advocate!  Make it your hobby, both for you and for your family.  No one, absolutely no one cares as much about you and yours as YOU DO.

So go thou, and be a paleo pioneer my friend.  Forget the testing, the many gimmicks; the clubs and groups and this and that- just eat paleo, exercise paleo, and live paleo.

Check out this episode!

Sunday, September 24, 2017

YOU are responsible for your Health!



I can help you!

In this time of snowflakes, or those who cannot experience one moment of discomfort in their lives, one of the worst trends, health-wise, is that of folks relying- actually worshipping medical clinics and standard doctors!  

I have nothing against M.D.’s, they are wonderful to have around when you have stopped a bullet or been run over by a bus.  They are trained, since the Civil War (which, by the way snowflakes, was a war where white men fought and died to free black slaves), to save men that have been traumatized dramatically, and help them to survive, ultimately to return to the battle field.  Really, this is when modern western medicine really got in its stride.  Emergency medicine!

But, in terms of staying healthy, getting healthy, or regaining health- sorry, it is all up to you.  

I think this is the whole disconnect, right there.  Nowadays, people want to think that medical doctors and clinics can save them, literally.  Save them from themselves!  The vast majority of people do not want to change what they eat, and their lifestyle, one bit.  They want to continue to eat cereal for breakfast, but they will use skim milk, since that will save them.  (Low fat)

They also want to eat fast food for lunch, and sometimes they will eat a salad with the supplied soybean rancid seed oil dressing, washing it down with an artificially sweetened beverage, and having a bun or some other GMO crap topped with loads of more rancid seed oil, in the form of margarine. (Because it’s low fat, don’t you know)  

Supper can be a thick crust, Chicago style pizza, since you have been “good” all day, eating low fat, and watching those calories!  You are starving, so you eat the whole thing- after all, you walked in your cushioned sneakers at the mall for a good 30 minutes this morning.  You stay up late, watching CNN and feeling virtuous, since you are doing so well- and you can’t wait for your doctor’s appointment at the clinic next week, since you know you will do so well, since you follow all of their recommendation to the letter!  You just want to ask your doctor why you can’t lose weight; you just keep yo-yoing up and down- and you have constant headaches, and then there is your acid reflux that is becoming chronic.  You are so depressed as well…

What a surprise at the clinic when the doctor raises alarm bells- your health appears to be horrible!  Your triglycerides are sky high, and he recommends a statin, high blood pressure medication- and- oh yes, it’s time for a colonoscopy, along with a series of tests that need to be scheduled, since you are over 50 now, and everyone over 50 needs lots of medications and continual tests, since otherwise you can never stay alive.

You go home with your bags and bags of pills you got from the pharmacy.  You feel virtuous!  You are doing everything right!  You eat lots and LOTS of whole grains, not too much white flour, (except maybe your pizza, but you do mostly right- wheat chex every morning, right?)  And the doctor says that mall walking is probably the best exercise that you can do, along with Zumba, which you plan to start next month.  Things are looking great!

But, as you watch the bluish glow from your large-screen TV, you kind of wonder why you feel like crap?  You remember Grandma and Grandpa, who lived on that hardscrabble farm in the midwest… How had they survived so long?  They ate bacon and eggs every morning like clockwork, and slaughtered their own animals as well.  They never made near as much money as you do, out in the suburbs, but the always seemed healthy and happy, Grandpa out cutting wood in his late 80’s while Grandma was frying bacon and then doing all of the household chores, including weeding the huge vegetable garden on a near daily basis.

You look distractedly at Rachel Maddow, your hero, and remember that Grandma and Grandpa always were in bed by 9, while you never go to bed before midnight, despite having to get up at 5.  YOU are no stick-in-the-mud like those old fossils, even thought you love them dearly.  Those poor, benighted souls…all of that butter, and red meat, and just a high fat diet!  How can they stay alive??

Shrugging, you remember you need to take your pills- blood pressure, statins, anti-depressants, acid-blockers- well, the list goes on and on.  You feel great as you take them, knowing you are destined, through medical science, to live the longest, healthiest life in the history of the human race, thanks to worshipping the medical science developed in the 1970’s!!

Finally, you go to bed.  Since you live in a metropolitan area, since of course the job prospects are so much more lucrative there, you lie in bed listening to the sirens and urban clamor all around you.  The bright lights from the street lights shine in on your bedroom, so you sure don’t need a nightlight!  You smile.  Grandma and Grandpa have been sleeping for hours!  What kind of life is that, anyway?  You lie back, waiting for sleep to come- tomorrow will be a stressful day, in fact they are all stressful days- high pressure!

You lie there, light shining in your windows, noise outside as it will continue all night.  You can’t sleep, in fact you almost never can sleep.  ‘Have to ask the doctor about  sleeping pills next week,’ you think.  You pull out your phone, and check out facebook- you sigh.  This will be one long night; hopefully you will get a few hours of sleep.

At 6 AM the next morning, Grandpa gets out of bed, and goes lightly downstairs to make the coffee for the two of them.  He starts his morning exercises, doing limbering and stretching ones mostly, but concluding with pushups and situps, of which he can do a surprising number, strictly.  

After showering, Grandma comes down, and they make a large breakfast together of eggs, meat, and a big smoothie made in their Vitamix- their offspring would be startled and horrified, since it is a high fat smoothie, and a high fat meal altogether!  They laugh together, and talk, planning their day.  Grandpa needs to mow their rural acreage with his tractor, which he loves, so Grandma will run to town to get some ribs and steak for later on, along with some baking potatoes, that she will load with sour cream and pastured butter.  The sun shines down on their rural place, and Grandpa smiles as he goes out to his tractor- this will be a fulfilling day!

You kind of wake up, after the alarm on your phone goes off, on the nightstand right next to your head.  You really don’t know if you ever slept, really, or not.  You only know you feel groggy.  You stumble downstairs, and put some whole wheat bread in the toaster, and pull out the margarine.  ‘How am I going to make it through this day?’ you think.  ‘I feel like crap, what will I do later when I’m even more tired?”  You munch your tasteless bread, topped with an even more tasteless and nutrition less fake fat.  You drink your coffee, laced with skimmed milk and artificial sweetener.  You finally take a shower with fake soap that is mainly Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.  You remember that you have to also ask the doctor about why your skin is so dry, red and flaking!  My goodness, this doctor list of questions keeps growing and growing.

You smile, thankful that you are ultimately saved!  Modern medicine is a miracle- you will live a really long life, unlike Grandma and Grandpa and others like them.  They don’t know about science- they are hicks- rubes, really- the fact that they are so old shows that they don’t know anything!