Are we just like ancient Rome in Poisoning ourselves?

Contaminants in our water and other environmental hazards- are they making us sick?  Especially mentally sick??

One of the theories about the fall of Ancient Rome is that of lead poisoning.  The Romans used lead in their famous aqueducts; also in sealing their wine jars (of which they drank a great deal!).  The most recent, and most convincing theory is that the aging vats of their wine-making were universally sealed with lead- this makes the most sense of all...

Also, that they used lead paste as a birth control method.

This last is right up there with us using the "pill" as birth control- deregulating hormones, and really screwing up the metabolism long-term!!

But my other point is this: our widespread pollution of groundwater, not to mention our addiction to plastics and teflon in our cooking and food storage-

Is poisoning us as surely as the Romans poisoned themselves with lead!

I have friends with well water that has tested high in arsenic- until testing, they were totally unaware of this HUGE hazard lurking in their lives!

I also know of many people, some older, but an alarming number of younger people, who are being diagnosed as bi-polar, and with depression, fibromyalgia, and a whole litany of mental disorders.

To me, and I know this is anecdotally, but it sure appears there is a strong connection between the pollution of our water and other foodstuffs and our mental (and of course physical) health.  

The Greeks thought that those who ignored history were condemned to repeat it.  I think we are doing just that, by repeating the poisoning of ourselves, just as the Romans did!

J

Misled and Ill fed- implementing the paleo diet in spite of a lifetime of "misinformation"

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food

- Hippocrates, the founder of Western, scientific-based medicine

It is overwhelming for many "newbies" to paleo to have trouble determining just how to switch over to a grain-free, low sugar, nutrient dense type of ancestral diet!  And rightfully so; it is hard to turn off a lifetime of mistaken and misleading brainwashing, and turn on a way of eating that will truly nourish our bodies and minds.

I truly feel that this is the very beginning of the end for the Goliath of Big Food, Big Pharma, and big Medicine!


This Goliath, that has, in self-interest or else in complete ignorance and delusion destroyed the health of the Western world, is gradually, and more-and-more coming into confrontation with the David of the Paleo Diet- that David  that is now quite small, armed only with a tiny "sling", which is the internet, but the same little David that has the ultimate, long-range ability to bring down the incredible Goliath of our economy, which collectively (Big Pharmaceuticals, Big Food (GRAIN) cartels, and conventional Medicine) commands over 40% of our economy.


This 'PaleoDavid' can also bring our health, nutrition, food and wellness back down to a local, grassroots, manageable level.

How to achieve good health, banish disease and feel really good, all without prescription drugs, processed foods, and huge medical bills?

Dr. Terry Wahls has an interesting answer for all of us:

http://www.terrywahls.com

What she espouses is basically the Paleo Diet!

Go thou and do likewise-

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food!

Aerobic Isometrics- Goes GREAT with Paleo Diet!

But, no one knows it!  (Except YOU!) and me, of course...

All right: the above is me in my farmhouse basement, doing an "aerobic isometric" dip exercise.  I made the dipping bars about 30 years ago, from pipe I bought from Menard's.  The cost was very minimal...

Anyway, that's not the point, really!  Dip stations are readily available- the problem is doing the dips!
Most people just can't do them!  They are demanding, just like chin-ups, and dips are especially demanding (and even somewhat dangerous for the untrained!) in the extreme low position.

The "aerobic isometric" version of the dip solves all of this!

By helping the "dip" just enough with the legs, the dip becomes:

1. As easy as you want, or need it to be
2. As safe as can be!
3. MORE productive than a standard dip, even for a trained athlete who has done them for years!


How can this be?  Easy:  the exercise is being done in a manner that invites and encourages loading of the musculature and joints through a full range of motion, slowly, without "momentum, i.e. heaving of the weight".  It also includes complete loading of the targeted muscles throughout- 
all done with complete safety, and, given the duration of the set- maximum inroad to the musculature involved!

What this means, in a nutshell, is that aerobic/isometric exercises exhaust, and initiate strength gains in your muscles in a completely safe manner, in one of the most productive formats possible!

It's like "Paleo Exercise"!  Aerobic Isometrics are one of the easiest, safest, most productive exercises on the planet!

Here are a couple more "aerobic isometric" exercises for you to explore:

There are more, but they will be the subject of further posts...  For now, just experiment with:
Aerobic Isometrics!  Odd to the uninitiated, but very effective!


I even have more in the category of aerobic isometrics- I mean, you can do these with other exercises-

But they are made to order with the chin and dip exercises!!  
J

Liquid Breakfast, Paleo style!

OK- here is my breakfast today: A paleo smoothie, coffee (actually espresso) topped with real organic whipped cream (THANKS Kitchenaid Mixer!),  and hot chocolate, a wonderful beverage made with Hershey's special dark cocoa, two Truvia packets,  hot water and MORE whipped cream...

The HOT beverages are then sprinkled liberally with cinnamon and cloves!

I mean, this is the lap of luxury!  In the ancient world, these ingredients would be enough to signify incredible wealth, if not the meal of royalty.  But we, in the western world, can have these, daily, easily and cheaply...

WHY THEN DON'T WE??


I really mean this!  Since we can have incredibly satisfying, nutritious foodstuffs  virtually whenever we so desire, why do most of us choose cheap, processed, unsatisfying, non-nutritious CRAP???


Two words:  Marketing and Laziness

We have been "marketed" to from our births.  The ability of marketers is incredible: they can make us desire things that we have never even considered, to the point where we will do almost anything to acquire those things that they are... pushing!
In the immortal words of the rock band Steppenwolf- "God Damn- the pusher man!"The Pusher Man!

Actually, that is somewhat harsh- they are just doing their job- convincing us to buy their "stuff".  But, they do intentionally mislead us, when they tout the benefits of "whole grains" and "vitamin fortified" to get us to buy their Count Chocula and Captain Crunch types of crappy nightmare breakfast cereals.

They really are the "pusher man", come to think of it!

Laziness: That's the other side of the coin.  We ALL want things to be "easy".  Why not??

And so, the pusher man latches on to that fact, and tells us how easy it is to just eat a big bowl of "healthy" cereal, with nutrient "heart healthy" pasteurized skimmed milk, and then to eat a Big Mac super sized meal (you deserve a break today!), and then have a hearty, heart-healthy bowl of pasta and low fat breadsticks for supper, since you are concerned about your health!

If it was up to you, in the "wild", with not pusher man around, what would you choose?

I'll tell you what: you'd choose the most nutrient-dense food you could find!  Eggs, vegetables, seafood, tubers, fruits- whatever you could get your hands on!!


Fruity Pebbles would not even be on your radar...

And you'd be the better for it!!

Our bodies crave nutrient dense foods.  If we deny it, our bodies will demand that we eat more!
And more!
AND MORE!


Until we satisfy their need for vital nutrients!


And, if we keep eating "pusher-man crap"?  i.e. Mc Donald's, breakfast cereals, donuts, pop...


Our bodies will tell us to just KEEP ON EATING!!
"WE NEED NUTRIENTS!!"  


But if we keep eating "junk/pusher-man marketer mainstream low-fat crap"...

Our bodies will continue to scream: "EAT MORE!!" ad infinitum...


J

Perfect paleo addition!

KEFIR!

Kefir, a fermented milk beverage that is NOT pictured above!  (That's from a wonderful restaurant called Maldaner's in Springfield, Illinois- Pork and vegetables in a wondrous presentation- oh my!!)

Anyway, back to Kefir- a fermented milk, sometimes water, and sometimes coconut milk beverage from the Caucasus of Russia!  The milk version is unbelievably good; I have started with standard cow milk and kefir grains; goat milk is preferable if you have milk digestive problems.

I love my homemade kefir!!


It is so cheap to make, and so fresh, that it has become a Paleo Quick Start Smoothie mainstay!  And it is so easy to make, once you try it you won't want to be without it!


I've used Kefir for quite some time now in my smoothies; but, in the interest of making it easy, I used the store-bought version.

I'll never go back!


Not only is this easy, it is even easier than going to the store to buy all of those small, plastic, processed bottles of the stuff!  Basically, all you do is put some kefir grains in a jar, add milk, cover loosely, and leave on the counter for a day of two- that's it!!


So now I double the quantity of kefir in my smoothies, or even triple it!!


It has improved the taste, nutrition, and digestibility dramatically!  And this is right out of the box- they say that the first few batches might be "off tasting", but as the grains incorporate local strains of "fauna" into the batches, it should even out the taste.  My first batch is just great- what will my 10th or 20th be like??  I really can't wait to find out!


"But Paleojay" you say, "How do I get started on this money-saving, health-promoting, life-enhancing endeavor??"

Glad you asked, grasshopper:

How to make kefir!

Have fun in your new hobby, and please- let me know how it goes!!  

I believe that Kefir will become a mainstay in your life, and in your health!

PJ

Barefoot sprinting in Winter?

Obviously, barefoot sprinting is not something one would often do in Winter, at least not here in Wisconsin!  Since we just had our first, belated snowfall on December 4, and my Sunday, farmhouse basement workout was on the agenda, I needed a substitute.

I always usually do kettlebell swings on my Sunday workouts, but today I decided to... up the ante!


I did intervals of kettlebell swings, interspersed between my chins, dips, aerobic/isometric chins and dips-aerobic isometric dip  and aerobic isometric chin ups.

Just like the intervals I usually do sprinting across my acreage barefoot, the kettlebell swings tax every part of my body, for the 5 or 6 intervals I do, but in a do-able, and really kind of enjoyable way. (If your body has become accustomed to enjoying exertion!)

After you've "gone paleo" for a while, cutting the processed crap, grains and sugars from your diet, and added healthy fats, proteins, fruits and veggies (all easily done via the Paleo Quick Start Smoothie!), your body actually starts to crave exertion!  Just like our cat, Zeke craves to go outside and just run, jump, and play, even this old almost 60 year old wants to do the same!  Hard to believe, in our modern sick, medicated, under-exercised, sedentary society- but, if we become healthy again, we actually-

Feel again like we did when we were 10 years old!!  TONS of energy, and happy as a lark!!


I invite everyone to join me on the paleo journey!  Eat the way God intended us to eat- real food!
Move naturally!  Sleep LOTS!  Connect meaningfully with family and friends!  Play!  Make music, play golf, ride your bike, throw a frisbee, grow your garden, play in your yard, hike... you get my drift!

Live like you were put here by God to live a meaningful life, living up to your potential, fulfilling whatever gifts you have been given to develop, and then sharing them with others- this is what we are here for!

We are not here to watch spectator sports (we are meant to participate in sports- that's the whole point-they are supposed to be fun!) We are not here to watch TV- a little of good TVand movies is great; just think of TV and Netflix as dark chocolate- a little is great!  Too much... is heroin!  It will destroy you.

Start by eating right!  Believe it or not, then everything else will just make... common sense!
J

Visualized Resistance training and isometrics as natural training, i.e. MOVNAT!

Here is my cat, Zeke!

When talking of MOVNAT, or natural movement training, he is my expert!  The way this little 8 month old runs, climbs, stretches and just plain MOVES is inspirational to me.  As I think it was to Charles Atlas, the comic book, mail order icon who resurrected visualized resistance training almost a century ago, after watching a lion (think ZEKE here!), who stretched, and FLEXED his muscles (as cats do!), and inspired him to think:

"Hey- if that's how cats (and other animals keep in prime physical shape... maybe that's how humans are meant to do so, as well!!"

He was right!  

You can do an arm curl (easy to visualize, that's why I use it), and consciously apply resistance, and make it as hard as you want!  Try it- see??  You just flex as you curl, and make it as hard as you'd like!

Then, you can add an isometric hold at the end of the curl- don't stint- flex with all you've got at the uppermost part of the movement!!

See what I mean? Do 7 reps or so of curls, with visualized, self-inflicted, mental resistance; top it off with an isometric hold for 4 or 5 seconds...

and you have just completed the hardest, most PRODUCTIVE,  set of biceps curls of your life!!

With no equipment, no set-up worries, and no danger of injuries!!

I think this type of training is a no-brainer!!  Do it for ALL of your body!!

Cats do.  Humans can too!  It's how the ancient Greeks trained, and the early Asian martial artists...  

It's so old, that it seems too "low tech" for us computerized, technology junkies.  But, simple training is probably (like simple eating, i.e. the Paleo diet humans have consumed for millions of years) the best for us!  

Check out visualized resistance training for a quick tutorial on visualized resistance exercise!  

Just do like John Peterson and Wendy Pett do on transformetrics.com!  They are the most current flag-bearers for visualized resistance, so pay attention!!


Zeke would help you, but he can't talk...