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Physiological Effects of the Ketogenic Diet
Diet

The Ketogenic Diet and Its Physiological Effects on the Human Body

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by Dr. Mercola

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Insulin is key to health and disease prevention, and controlling your carbohydrate intake is the most effective way to control your insulin level and optimize your insulin sensitivity
  • An estimated 80 percent of Americans are insulin resistant, even though their glucose levels are normal, and thus undiagnosed, placing them at increased risk for chronic disease
  • A low-carb ketogenic diet addresses the endocrine aspect of metabolic health, effectively driving your insulin level down, and as your insulin decreases, your metabolic rate increases
  • The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway controls autophagy and plays an important role in aging and cancer. While protein primarily activates mTOR and therefore needs to be restricted to just what your body needs, insulin, which is increased by sugar and refined carbohydrates, activates mTOR to a far greater degree than protein
  • Aside from a ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting — where you do not eat for 16 to 18 hours a day; 12 hours being the absolute minimum — is another effective way to regain your insulin sensitivity and control mTOR

In this interview, Benjamin Bikman, Ph.D., an obesity and diabetes scientist and associate professor of physiology and developmental biology at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah,1 reveals how the ketogenic diet affects your physiology and supports optimal health.

“My main interest early on was looking at how the body adapts to obesity,” he says. “That was my master’s thesis. My master’s degree was exercise science here at BYU … I ended up pursuing a Ph.D. in bioenergetics at East Carolina University, under this wonderful scientist named Lynis Dohm, Ph.D.

His focus had been looking at how lipids cause insulin resistance. That was an interest of mine because I thought this was starting to explain why and how the body becomes insulin-resistant in the midst of obesity … Insulin resistance is that connection.

During my Ph.D., we were looking at inflammation in people who were losing weight following gastric bypass procedures and how improved inflammation is likely part of the improvements in insulin sensitivity that people see post-bypass.

I followed that up with a post-doctoral fellowship at … the Duke National University of Singapore. They had this focus on cardiometabolic disorders. I … looked at inflammation as a particular mediator there … Then in 2011, my alma mater, BYU, came knocking. They wanted to do more diabetes research, and I fit the requirements … That got me, essentially, to where I am now …

If I really am getting this conviction, based on my own research, that insulin is key to not only diabetes but to almost every chronic disease, what is the best way to control insulin? That was when I insisted on only looking at published human clinical data — not rodents, not cells, not epidemiology, just clinical data.

The low-carb diet was just this very effective way to do that. That then got me interested in asking questions about ketones, which is what my lab is doing … how ketones are regulated by insulin.”

Bikman’s conviction that insulin is a key to health and disease prevention, and that controlling carbohydrate intake is the most effective way to control insulin, led him to start practicing what he’d learned. He went on a low-carb diet about eight years ago. “Sure enough, at middle age, it’s helped me stay healthy,” he says.

Most Americans Are Insulin Resistant

Unfortunately, many, including doctors, still do not understand the influence of insulin on health and disease. The late Dr. Joseph Kraft, former chairman of the department of clinical pathology and nuclear medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago, wrote the book “Diabetes Epidemic and You: Should Everyone Be Tested?”

In it, he presents data that suggests 80 percent of Americans are in fact insulin resistant, or have “diabetes in situ.” Based on data from 14,000 patients,2 Kraft developed a powerful predictive test for diabetes.3 He would have the patient drink 75 grams of glucose, and then measure their insulin response over time, at half-hour intervals for up to five hours.

He noticed five distinctive patterns suggesting that a vast majority of people were already diabetic, even though their fasting glucose was normal. Only 20 percent of patients had healthy post-prandial insulin sensitivity and low diabetes risk. According to Kraft, “Those with cardiovascular disease not identified with diabetes … are simply undiagnosed.”

One of the take-home messages here is that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia (a condition marked by excess insulin in your blood relative to your level of glucose) are two sides of the same coin, as they drive and promote each other. In other words, if you have hyperinsulinemia, you are essentially insulin resistant and on your way toward developing Type 2 diabetes.

High Insulin Is a Key Disease Promoter

Both insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia promote fatty liver and high blood glucose, and both of those, in turn, promote atherosclerosis. High blood pressure is another side effect of insulin resistance that drives atherosclerosis by placing stress on your arteries.

The effects of insulin resistance are really at the heart of most if not all chronic degenerative diseases. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s are just a few of the most obvious ones. The logical conclusion then would be that addressing insulin resistance is a foundational component of effective health care. Bikman says:

“When I teach this to my students … I put insulin resistance in the core. Around it, I have all these chronic diseases. It’s what I call the ‘wheel of misfortune.’ Really, the most common cancers, prostate and breast cancers, almost always … will heavily express — by six or seven times — the number of insulin receptors. So, insulin is promoting the growth of the tumor.

With dementia, the connection between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s is so tight that people refer to it as Type 3 diabetes. With sarcopenia, we know that if a muscle becomes insulin-resistant, that actually diminishes insulin’s ability to promote the anabolic production of proteins within the muscle …

We have to have our medical practitioners start appreciating … the utility [of] measuring insulin, because our focus on measuring glucose misses the mark. As someone’s becoming insulin-resistant, their insulin is climbing, but it’s enough to keep their glucose in check.

And because we always look at glucose, we don’t catch the disease until they become so insulin-resistant that no amount of their own insulin is enough to keep the glucose in check. Now, the glucose starts to climb — 10 years later, perhaps — and that’s when we detect the problem. We’re looking at the wrong marker.”

How the Ketogenic Diet Improves Insulin Sensitivity

The question then becomes, how do we treat insulin resistance? As Bikman’s research reveals, the ketogenic diet is part and parcel of the “cure” for this condition.

“For me, the benefit of a low-carb ketogenic diet is that it addresses the endocrine aspect of metabolic health,” _Bikman says. “For too long … the message has been completely focused on calorie number._

It is this idea that if you can simply put a person into caloric deficiency, they will lose weight — problem solved … But we know that has long-term consequences … There’s a lasting metabolic damage …

Nevertheless, the power of the low-carbohydrate diet is that it addresses the endocrine component. As important as calorie number is, and I can appreciate the laws of thermodynamics … we cannot ignore the relevance of hormones, especially insulin.”

As explained by Bikman, it’s important to realize that insulin is what dictates what your body does with the energy it has — the energy you consume and the energy you have stored. “Insulin has its strong, capable hands right on the steering wheel of what the body does with the energy that it has available,” he says.

Importantly, research shows your metabolic rate increases as insulin decreases. “To me, that’s the power of the low-carb diet. You’re controlling insulin, and that can start to address all of those chronic diseases,” Bikman says.

The Importance of Cycling High and Low Carbohydrate Intake

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Children

The Lunacy of Water Fluoridation

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By Dr. Mercola

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Research links fluoridated water consumption to endocrine dysfunction, hypothyroidism, ADHD and reduced IQ
  • Many water authorities do not use pharmaceutical grade fluoride; they use hydrofluosilicic acid — a toxic waste product of the fertilizer industry that is frequently contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins
  • 97 percent of Western European countries do not fluoridate, and data show non-fluoridating countries have seen the exact same reduction in dental cavities as fluoridated areas

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has hailed water fluoridation as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century. Beginning in 1945, it was claimed that adding fluoride to drinking water was a safe and effective way to improve people’s dental health. Over the decades, many bought into this hook, line and sinker, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The featured film, “Our Daily Dose,” reviews some of this evidence. As noted in the film’s synopsis:

“Filmmaker Jeremy Seifert lays out the dangers of water fluoridation informatively and creatively, highlighting the most current research and interviewing top-tier doctors, activists, and attorneys close to the issue. Through thoughtful examination of old beliefs and new science, the film alerts us to the health threat present in the water and beverages we rely on every day.”

Share This Film With Those Still Sitting On the Fence on Fluoride!

The film may not offer many brand new revelations to those of you who are already well-informed about the history and documented hazards of fluoride.

It was primarily created as an educational vehicle aimed at those who may not be aware of these issues, or who might not yet be entirely convinced that drinking fluoride isn’t a good thing. So PLEASE, share this video with all of your friends and family who are on the fence on this issue, and ask them to watch it. It’s only 20 minutes long, but it packs a lot of compelling details into those 20 minutes.

Understanding how fluoride affects your body and brain is particularly important for parents with young children, and pregnant women. It’s really crucial to know that you should NEVER mix infant formula with fluoridated tap water for example, as this may overexpose your child to 100 times the proposed “safe” level of fluoride exposure for infants!

If your child suffers with ADD/ADHD, drinking fluoridated water may also worsen his or her condition. Ditto for those with under-functioning thyroid. So please, do share this video with your social networks, as it could make a big difference in people’s health.

Fluoride Is Both an Endocrine Disruptor and a Neurotoxin

Scientific investigations have revealed that fluoride is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and a developmental neurotoxin that impacts short-term and working memory, and lowers IQ in children. It has been implicated as a contributing factor in the rising rates of both attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and thyroid disease.

Indeed, fluoride was used in Europe to reduce thyroid activity in hyperthyroid patients as late as the 1970s, and reduced thyroid function is associated with fluoride intakes as low as 0.05 to 0.1 mg fluoride per kilogram body weight per day (mg/kg/day).

For Over 50 Years, Fluoride Levels Were Too High, Government Admits

Children are particularly at risk for adverse effects of overexposure, and in April 2015, the US government admitted that the “optimal” level of fluoride recommended since 1962 had in fact been too high. As a result, over 40 percent of American teens show signs of fluoride overexposure — a condition known as dental fluorosis. In some areas, dental fluorosis rates are as high as 70 to 80 percent, with some children suffering from advanced forms.

So, for the first time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) lowered its recommended level of fluoride in drinking water by 40 percent, from an upper limit of 1.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to 0.7 mg/L. The HHS said it will evaluate dental fluorosis rates among children in 10 years to assess whether they were correct about this new level being protective against dental fluorosis. But just what is the acceptable level of harm in the name of cavity prevention?

A number of studies have shown that children with moderate to severe dental fluorosis score worse on tests measuring cognitive skills and IQ than peers without fluorosis — a clear revelation highlighted in the film, as some still insist that dental fluorosis is nothing more than a cosmetic issue.

The Price We Pay for Cavity Prevention

According to the film, the CDC estimates water fluoridation decreases dental decay by, at most, 25 percent. Recent research, however, suggests the real effect may be far lower. Based on the findings of three papers assessing the effectiveness of fluoridation on tooth decay, the researchers concluded that water fluoridation does not reduce cavities to a statistically significant degree in permanent teeth.

If that’s the case, then why are we still jeopardizing our children’s long-term thyroid and brain health by adding fluoride to drinking water?

Fluoride — like many other poisons — was originally declared safe based on dosage, but we now know that timing of exposure can play a big role in its effects as well. Children who are fed infant formula mixed with fluoridated water receive very high doses and may be affected for life as a result of this early exposure.

Fluoride can also cross the placenta, causing developing fetuses to be exposed to fluoride. Considering the fact that fluoride has endocrine-disrupting activity, this is hardly a situation amenable to the good health of that child. It’s important to realize that fluoride is not a nutrient. It’s a drug, and it’s the ONLY drug that is purposely added directly into drinking water.

This route of delivery completely bypasses standard rules relating to informed consent, which is foundational for ethical medical practice. What’s worse, there’s no way to keep track of the dosage. And no one is keeping track of side effects.

Infants Are Severely and Routinely Overdosed on Fluoride

According to the recent Iowa Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the CDC, infants and young children are being massively overdosed on fluoride. This study, which is the largest U.S. study conducted measuring the amount of fluoride children ingest, concluded that:

  • 100 percent of infants receiving infant formula mixed with fluoridated tap water get more than the allegedly safe dose of fluoride. Some formula-fed infants receive 100 times the safe level on a daily basis
  • 30 percent of 1-year-olds exceed the recommended safe dose
  • 47 percent of 2- to 3-year-olds exceed the safe dose

Most Water Authorities Use Toxic Waste Product, Not Pharmaceutical Grade Fluoride

As stated, fluoride is a drug, and research into the health effects of fluoride are based on pharmaceutical grade fluoride. However, a majority of water authorities do not even use pharmaceutical grade fluoride; they use hydrofluosilicic acid, or hexafluorosilicic acid — toxic waste products of the phosphate fertilizer industry, which are frequently contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead, and other toxins.

This is a key point that many fluoride proponents fail to address when arguing for its use. Indeed, holding elected officials accountable for procuring proof that the specific fluoridation chemical used actually fulfills fluoride’s health and safety claims and complies with all regulations, laws and risk assessments required for safe drinking water, has been a successful strategy for halting water fluoridation in a number of areas around the U.S.

While the idea of hiding toxic industrial waste in drinking water would sound like a questionable idea at best to most people, it was welcomed by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In a 1983 letter, Rebecca Hanmer, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, wrote:

“… In regard to the use of fluosilicic acid as a source of fluoride for fluoridation, this Agency regards such use as an ideal environmental solution to a long-standing problem. By recovering by-product fluosilicic acid from fertilizer manufacturing, water, and air pollution are minimized, and water utilities have a low-cost source of fluoride available to them…”

Data and Science Do Not Support Water Fluoridation

Ninety-seven percent of Western European countries do not fluoridate their water, and data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that non-fluoridating countries have seen the exact same reduction in dental cavities as the U.S.,16 where a majority of water is still fluoridated. If fluoride were, in fact, the cause of this decline, non-fluoridating countries should not show the same trend.

Clearly, declining rates of dental decay are not in and of themselves proof that water fluoridation actually works. It’s also worth noting that well over 99 percent of the fluoride added to drinking water never even touches a tooth; it simply runs down the drain, contaminating and polluting the environment.

Source: KK Cheng et.al. BMJ 2007.17 Rates of cavities have declined by similar amounts in countries with and without fluoridation.

Ending Fluoridation Will Be the Greatest Public Health Achievement of the 21st Century

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The Outlier’s Handbook

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The world discards ideas and people that present multiple standard deviations away from “normal”. And yet, Reality has always been phenomenal and noumenal. To ensure you’re able to thrive in the artificial chaos of this generation you’ll need to be an outlier, in many ways. Here’s “The Outlier’s Handbook” to optimize your trajectory.

The Outlier’s Handbook

(Thriving in Artificial Chaos)

Table of Contents

Part 1 — What Outliers?

“Let Your Reasonableness Be Known to Everyone”

  • Ockham’s Razor: Benefits & Limits
  • The Bookends of Normalcy Bias & Cognitive Dissonance
  • “This Book Goes Too Far!”

What Outliers?

  • Outliers Defined
  • You Know You’re An Outlier If . . .
  • Outlier Benefits
  • Outlier Costs
  • Personal Secession and Other Outlier Mindsets

Part 2 — It’s Your World, Boss!

This Is Where You Live

American Roulette

  • The Constitution is Safe!
  • A Bank with Social Services Around It
  • Democracy: The God that Failed
  • The Corporation
  • The Deep State
  • Fascism, American Style

Lifecycle of Nations

  • “Poverty of Nations” Report Card
  • Imperial Collapse Playbook

Danger, Will Robinson!

Technocracy: The Trojan Horse of Global Transformation

Regional Bloc Head Mercantilism

  • Gee, Maybe Nation-States Weren’t So Bad, After All
  • Solutions Amidst Global Fascism
  • Change Happens Like This, Now

Part 3 — The Usual Suspects

Call Them As You See Them

Origin & Story of Rulers and Authorities

  • Angelic Gen 6 View: Consistency & Insights
  • So, Who are “They”?
  • The “New” Face of Evil (Follow the Blood)
  • Long Term Trends Require Spiritual Unity
  • The Minions
  • A Working Structure of Oppression

They Walk Among Us

  • Serial Killers
  • How Can You Spot One?
  • Political Ponerology
  • 7 signs you might be dating one
  • Protection From Them
  • Speech Patterns
  • I, Psychopath
  • The Hidden Cost of Killing Psychopaths
  • Beware the Backlash

Elements of Their World View

Their Goals

  • ”Ye Shall Be As Gods”

Their Methods

  • The Moral Code of Evil
  • Inversion
  • Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
  • Counterfeit Money
  • Controlled Markets
  • Technocracy
  • Stacked & Interlocking Pyramidical Structures
  • Consolidation
  • Democracy
  • Eugenics
  • Perpetual Fear
  • Long-Term Planning
  • With Methods Like This, Who Needs the Occult?

Part 4 — Acquiring Immunity

Move #1: Acquire Personal Immunity

Personal Matters

  • Purpose is Everything
  • Managing Outlierhood
  • Growth
  • Ethical Time Travel

Health Matters

  • First Do No Harm
  • Clean Food, Water, Air & Place
  • Nutrient Dense Diet
  • Gut Flora, Probiotics and the Second Brain
  • Optimal Exercise
  • Stress & Breathing
  • Life Extension & Blood Sugar Management
  • Sensible Health Insurance
  • Putting It All Together

Spiritual Matters

  • Intelligent or Random Design
  • Oneism (Monism) vs. Dualism
  • CINO’s & MINO’s
  • Christianity Leads To Science, Islam leads to Murder
  • Gandhi or Jesus?
  • Get Blessed
  • Get Uncursed
  • Supernatural Immunity: The Mind & Way Of Christ
  • The Whole Council of God
  • Spiritual Warfare
  • Practical Examples of Spiritually Based Solutions

Locational Matters

  • The Best Place to Live
  • Where Not to Live
  • Should you relocate?
  • The World is Yours
  • The Illusion of Ownership
  • Mobility
  • G.O.O.D Project – Lessons Learned

Family Matters

  • Instrument of Recursive Perfection
  • Spouse Choice
  • Children
  • Extended Family
  • Friends Worth the Title are Family
  • Community

Legal Matters

  • Natural Law
  • The Constitution is Safe!
  • Jurisdiction Matters
  • Where is the Agreement?
  • It’s Hard to Be a Free Man
  • Unraveling Your Liberty

Financial Matters

  • Money is for Immunity & Purpose
  • Business as Extension of Purpose
  • Tax Penalties for Fear and Poor Planning
  • Mortgage Slavery, Repealed
  • Austrian Economics is Real Economics
  • Investments in Immunity & Purpose Have the Highest ROI
  • Asset Protection

Political Matters

  • Terms of “State” & “Government”
  • The Diversion Of Left – Right Thinking
  • The Votes that Matter
  • Optimal Government = Perfect Self-Government
  • The Chief Asset Of The State: Fear & Belief In It’s Necessity
  • All Matters of Liberty Are Related
  • Caveat Viator: Libertarianism and Anarchy are Aspects of a Complete Worldview
  • Govern Thyself Perfectly and Hold Death Dear

Perspective Matters

  • The Most Valuable Commodity on the Planet
  • Philosophers On Donuts
  • Terms of “Freedom” & “Liberty”
  • Equality & Authority
  • Freedom & Structure
  • Peace Does Not Flow From Passivity
  • Proof and Truth
  • You Can’t Beat Everything with Nothing
  • “Let’s Just Split the Difference and Find a Middle Ground”
  • Stoicism
  • The Opportunity in Uncertainty
  • If Swamp Rats Can’t be Exterminated Why Can You?
  • What About America?

Doing Matters

  • Tony Robbin’s Best Trick
  • Think Spiritually, Act Locally
  • Getting Things Done
  • Low Hanging Fruit
  • Tragic Flaws of Conventional Prepping
  • Expert Tips
  • How To Lose Without Fighting (An Outlier’s Not To-Do List)

Part 5 — Ants & The Human Mosaic

Change The World in Four Moves

  • Humans as an Ant Army
  • Move #1: Immunity
  • Move #2: Specialize
  • Move #3: Move
  • Move #4: Cooperate
  • Humanize the Best Attributes of Animals & Insects

Part 6 — Problems: Solutions

Move #2: Specialize & Pick One

Personal Concerns

  • Training Disguised as Education
  • Shortening Attention Spans
  • Media Agitprop

Health Concerns

  • Eugenics
  • Vaccines Vs. Immunity
  • Socialized Medicine
  • Food Fascism & GMOs
  • Fluoridated water
  • Nuclear Waste & Meltdown Disasters
  • Geo-Engineering
  • Disease(s) Cured

Spiritual Concerns

  • Psychopathy
  • Moral Relativism
  • Odious Debt (Slavery)
  • Wars of Conquest
  • False-Flag Attacks
  • End Times Decoder Rings
  • 501c3 Churches

Locational Concerns

  • Agenda 21
  • Scientific Control Grid
  • Power Grid Fragility

Family Concerns

  • The State as Great Father
  • Broken Families

Legal Concerns

  • Patent Squelching
  • Webs of Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
  • Drug Wars
  • Licensing
  • Militarization of Police
  • Surveillance State
  • Monopoly
  • Bonus: Beating Traffic Tickets

Financial Concerns

  • Fractional Reserve Banking (The Theft of Human Labor)
  • Disappearing Middle-Class A.K.A Unemployment
  • Currency Wars
  • US Bankruptcy
  • World Banking Systems
  • Institutional(ized) Theft
  • Market Manipulation
  • Global Cooling, Warming …Climate Change?
  • Technocracy

Political Concerns

  • Collectivism
  • Globalism

Part 7 — Appendices

  • In Case of Emergency: Read First!
  • Four Ways to Parse Solutions
  • Reading List for Outliers
  • Outlier Creeds
  • Sovereignty & Law
  • Agorist Manifesto in 95 Theses
  • Agorist Road-map Kyle Bennet
  • 100 Ways To Leave Leviathan
  • Wayne & Barry’s Guide for World Rulers
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Ladies with Wine
Diet

How To Stop Drinking Wine

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The best way to quit drinking wine is to replace it with something else. For wine you’ll need direct and indirect replacements.

The indirect replacements are for the routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes, feelings, circumstances and occasions that surround your wine drinking.

The better your choice of replacement(s) for the drink and all these other things that surround your drinking the easier the quitting will be.

I wrote similar words about quitting coffee, last week. And I’m testing their limits by simultaneously giving up wine and coffee. Wine is the tougher of the two because I like wine more. It’s also become more ingrained in my lifestyle and eating habits than coffee ever did.

I thought about calling this article, “How to Give Up Alcohol”, but, I don’t have experience with drinking other forms of alcohol, besides wine. I can’t tell you how to stop drinking alcohol unless its the alcohol in wine your trying to give up. Like every article I write this is about my direct experience. In this case my direct experience is in giving up wine.

It’s possible that some of my experience may be useful for wine alcoholics, but, that would be presumptuous. If you have a more extreme form of addiction than I’m writing about here the additional benefits of an isolated environment, group support and a counselor is probably warranted. It’s never been easier to find an Alcohol Treatment Program near you.

Should you stop drinking Wine?

The biggest stumbling block for quitting anything is knowing if and why you need to quit. In the case of wine you have to be very clear and honest with yourself on your reasons for giving it up. Wine, itself, is not a harmful drink. But, you can make it into one by drinking too much of it.

How much is too much? I’ll give you my answer, but, you’ll have to come up with yours. In terms of health one glass of wine a day is good. Between one and two glasses the benefits drop off, rapidly, according to bodyweight. There is no literature anywhere recommending more than two glasses, regardless of bodyweight. So, if health is your value there’s your answer.

If you exceed the amount good for your health its bad for your body. At that point you can no longer claim health benefits as your excuse for drinking more.

I am giving up wine for the following reasons:

  • It’s interfered with the length and quality of my sleep.
  • Lack of sleep has compromised the clarity of my thoughts and the quality of my writing.
  • I’ve been exceeding the small quantity that’s good for my health.

These are not acceptable tradeoffs for my enjoyment and they’re certainly not Optimal. I won’t be having wine until its just another drink option and I can take it or leave it. Here’s how I think about it: “Wine that detracts from my health and productivity has got to go.”

Being this clear on my why and if is probably the only thing that enables me to actually stop drinking it. Seems to me the more wine detracts from your life the more motivation you have to stop drinking it. I highly recommend being honest here and getting extremely clear on your motivations.

Replacements

Quitting is a transition to something else. With wine its a transition to alternative beverages, routines and choices . With that in mind here’s a few important points to keep in mind about picking and using replacements:

The best replacements usually have a lot in common with what you’re trying to quit. Things we have to quit often involve routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes and feelings surrounding the thing we’re trying to quit. You need replacements for them, as well. For wine, there is the taste, the wine buzz, the smell, the cool liquid flowing down your throat, the occasions where its served and the mood and social interactions that occur around it. Since we live up in wine country in northern California there are many events that occur on vineyard grounds, as well.

You may need a series of replacements to step into the routines that are optimal for you. That means that your optimal final replacement may not be the best choice to use first. Your body may have to detoxify or have other reactions and compensations it has to cycle through before you can ultimately quit. In extreme cases that may mean moving from something toxic to something less toxic and eventually to something non-toxic.

It may be effective to allow yourself as much of the replacement as you want (Assuming your replacement is not toxic). It may serve as a psychological reward for following through on the quitting.

My Replacements for Wine

My first replacement for wine is sparkling water.

Sparking water is fun, cold, quenches my thirst and is poured out of what looks like a wine bottle. Like wine, I have to make a separate trip to the fridge to find a cold bottle. After opening it I pour it onto a wine glass. When we’re eating out at a restaurant and I have wine I usually pour sparkling water into the empty wine glass. So, there’s a psychological sense that I’m finishing up a good meal and a few glasses of wine at a restaurant when I pour the sparkling water without having had any wine, at all.

My second replacement is a RockStar energy drink. This is similar to the sparking water but comes in a can. Like wine it gives me an energy boost and usually gets my writing started if I’m procrastinating on an article. Many people don’t know that wine gives an energy boost, as well, and that’s part of what’s missing when you stop drinking it.

My third replacement, used in the afternoon, is a nap. I was using coffee and wine as a crutch to power through the afternoon without a nap or a break. I decided not to fight afternoon naps any longer and just take one. The benefits of afternoon naps have been enormous! If fact, I feel it gives almost a full extra day of productivity every day! Wow, talk about a replacement.

My fourth replacement is my ace in the hole: Exercise! Physical exercise is the best way to get high. And when it comes to drinking wine the physical high from exercise completely wipes out desire for anything but water or electrolytes.

I have a RockStar after waking up from my afternoon nap. So far, its been a great way to start my ’second day’. It’s one of those sugar free health drinks that has healthy ingredients. I’m skeptical about the pink, blue and yellow stuff they use in sugar free drinks and prefer stevia. But, for now, I’m enjoying the Rock-Star until I find something better. Leading candidates are pelligrino with a little fruit juice added for taste or some of the exotic teas my wife gets on her trips to China.

Exotic teas will probably become my number one beverage replacement for wine in the future. I don’t think they are the best first beverage, but, they are probably the my optimal replacement. There are an infinite variety of them, they are excellent for a wide variety of health aspects, its fun to make them and experiment with preparation and taste. They are also like wine in the sense that it feels like I’m drinking the earth. Call me nuts, but, I think drinking wine and tea feels like drinking the earth. They make me feel like I’m absorbing all the best minerals and herbs from the leaves and trees and fruit that they were made from.

How Long Does It Take?

It took about three weeks before it didn’t occur to me to have wine with dinner, any longer. That’s longer than I thought it would take and shows how much I associated food with wine.

As much as I was addicted to coffee it was easier to stop drinking coffee than wine. That was another surprise because I craved coffee but never wine. I think wine was actually providing more energy and calories than the coffee was. I was actually using wine like an energy bar. Who knew?!

One of the surprising things for me was how much I slept. Without the energy from the wine I was more tired, even during the day. I could not have a cup of coffee to bridge this gap because I was giving up coffee at the same time. This is all ok with me because one of my goals was to sleep more. I just didn’t expect to be more tired in the afternoons. This may be the temporary adjustment of my body making up for lost sleep. I sleep much better at night, now, and that has enourmous health benefits.

How Will You Know When You’ve Quit?

You’ll know you’ve quit when you can take it or leave it. Wine will take its place among the multitude of drink options available to you depending on the occasion and what you’re in the mood for at the moment.

You’ll be able to have a meal and not automatically think of having wine with it.

You’ll be able to engage in social interactions in a relaxed and enjoyable manner without the wine buzz that used to loosen up your inhibitions.

A few days ago, we were over at a friends house and I was starting to fade. We were late in getting together and didn’t want to leave, yet. The conversation was interesting and another couple had just walked in the door that we wanted to socialize with. This is the point at which I would normally pour a glass of wine. Instead I had one cup of coffee. Luckily, I had already gotten to the point of not needing coffee to start my day and it was just another drink option to me. It was just the thing needed to keep the conversation going for a little while until it was time to go. One cup of coffee and that was it. No coffee needed the next morning and no problems sleeping that night. And best of all, no wine either, which probably would have kept me up all night.

Unlike coffee, wine has never been a drink I couldn’t do without for things like starting my day or thinking clearly or what have you. It’s always been an optional drink added to the existing circumstances. My desire for it was mental more than physical because I never really craved more of it unless I was already drinking it. And that’s just part of my obsessive nature. Most of the time my obsessive nature helps me finish things. I’ve learned to redirect that urge into finishing a bottle of pelligrino instead of a bottle of wine.

Being straight is the ultimate high. Spend time with any 5 year old if you need to prove this to yourself. You’ve always known it. Children don’t need anything but a glass of water and a baloney sandwich to be ecstatic about life. And the only way to experience the full bandwidth of life is to be straight.

The irony is that If I have a glass of wine in a few months one glass will probably provide more enjoyment than three glasses used to. One glass is all I’ll want. And, its all I ever did need. If a second glass is poured I’ll be thinking about sleepless nights and less productivity the next day. Hopefully, I’ll be thinking about that while reaching for the pelligrino.

Copyright © 2014 by Terence Gillespie. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given to McGillespie.com

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Beating Hypertension, Naturally

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It’s time to get my high blood pressure under control, again.

Again, because I’ve fallen off the blood pressure wagon after a two-year whirlwind of getting married, buying a house, relocating, starting a business and having a child. My schedules have changed and its time to rework good health routines into my new life.

Again, because I’ve done this before, know what to do and that my ‘program’ works.

Hypertension runs in my family. My grandfather and mother have had strokes and my uncle had an aneurysm two years ago. My BP is too high and medication is the only alternative if I don’t control it myself. So far, I’m the only family member who’s been able to control it without using drugs. I hope this article changes that.

Essential vs. Secondary

I have essential or general hypertension. That’s what this article is about. Essential hypertension is a primary condition caused by how my body functions and, to a large extent, the result of my habits, good or bad.

Secondary hypertension is when some other disease is causing your hypertension. In other words, you might not even have high blood pressure if it wasn’t for this disease. It could be type-2 diabetes, kidney disease, cirrhosis of the liver, Cushing’s disease, sleep apnea and a rare tumor known as a pheochromocytoma.

Most people with high blood pressure have what I have: essential hypertension.

Natural Method is Mandatory

The side effects of Blood Pressure meds are a disaster! . . .

Impotence, insomnia, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, flu-like symptoms, arrhythmia, severe depression progressing to catatonia, disorientation, memory loss, liver failure, esophagitis, fatal angioedema and even agranulocytosis, another potentially fatal disorder.

They’re so bad that over 40% of the patients that are put on the BP Meds stop taking them! Since the meds lower your blood pressure without addressing any of the root causes those patients are now much worse off than when they started. And, what happens when you stop taking them? Your BP skyrocketts and have have a stroke!

No joke, that’s what happened to my mom when she stopped taking her BP meds. She had two strokes. When I asked her why she stopped taking them she said, “I felt alright and didn’t want to take them anymore”. It took three months before she could speak in order to even tell me that.

The side effects of BP meds may even cause high blood pressure. I feel my BP rising just reading the list. However, the real problem with the BP meds is that they don’t address the root causes of the condition.

Treat or Cure

Eating is the cure for starvation, not the treatment for it.

Likewise, using natural methods for controlling hypertension is the only way to address the root causes of the condition. All together they may even qualify for the lofty ‘C’ word: Cure.

My experience has been that the regimen for normalizing my blood pressure is something I should be doing anyway regardless of any medical condition.

My Approach – Past and Present

The previous approach was not easy, but, it worked. I used a combination of:

  1. Weight Loss
  2. Diet
  3. Exercise
  4. Food Avoidance
  5. Dr. Atkins recommended Nutrients

This time around I’m going to take another look at the consensus for the root cause of hypertension. I want to take advantage of the latest medical information out there and work some of the suggestions into my program.

I’ll be using an issue of The Blaylock Wellness Report entitled “Eliminate Hypertension Forever!” I subscribed to these reports just for this issue on Blood Pressure. It has some interesting new theories on the root cause and new recommendations on addressing them.

My previous program works. However, a better understanding of the root cause and the latest thinking on treatment may improve my lifetime plan by: 1) More directly addressing the root cause of the condition, and, 2) Making it easier to stay on the plan through the ups and downs of life.

Doctors Know Natural is the Best Way

Doctors know the best way control a patients high blood pressure is through the patients own natural efforts. They also know that patient success rates are low. A good doctor might tell their patients that its possible to influence their own hypertension by losing weight, eating healthier, etc. However, the doctors can’t wait long before prescribing drugs to a hypertensive patient because the condition is a silent killer.

In other words, doctors need to do whatever it takes to get the numbers down. If you can’t or won’t do it yourself, then get ready for your meds.

I agree with their approach. I also know that I can lower my own high blood pressure without taking drugs.

The routines, diet and nutrients that address the root causes of high blood pressure yield enormous benefits for your overall health. In fact, even if you don’t have hypertension anyone would benefit from them.

Theories on Root Cause

Doctors know more about the treatment for Hypertension than the do about the cause. That means I have to sift through the various theories on root cause if I’m going to improve on my previous program. I’m going to focus on two doctors: Dr. Atkins and Dr. Blaylock.

I trust Dr. Atkins because I followed his recommendations and successfully normalized my blood pressure for years using his methods. I trust Dr. Blaylock because his recommendations build on the foundation and conclusions of Dr. Atkins.

Its helpful to read their individual recommendations separately. I’ll paraphrase each doctors root cause theories and recommendations. Then I’ll put their recommendations together and build my own new program.

Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution

In a book of the same title Dr. Atkins is specific about how he’s successfully treated hypertension without the use of drugs. I followed his recommendations to the letter and was able to successfully normalize my blood pressure. Dr. Atkins says:

“While scientists debate what actually causes hypertension, one thing is clear: it is very responsive to nutrient and diet therapy. At the Atkins Center we routinely see blood pressure return to normal when the Atkins diet is used along with the right nutrients. A low-carbohydrate diet is important, because this helps bring down the elevated insulin response that appears to be one of the major causes of hypertension. To that we add the following nutrients:” (Listed Below).

Atkin’s Root Causes

  1. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance (Blood Sugar Stability) – Dr. Atkins says, “Why ban the salt shaker when 60 percent of all hypertension cases are a consequence of insulin resistance. A rich chromium content and low carb foods would be better. The repeated rise and fall of blood sugar apparently stimulates the body’s sympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate blood pressure.”
  2. Lack of the nutrients in the body that control BP – Although Dr. Atkins does not put it this way its implied by the nutrients he recommends.

Summary of Dr. Atkins Recommendations

  1. Low Carb Diet to Stabalize Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
  2. The Nutrient Program (Below)

Dr. Atkins doesn’t comment on every nutrient he recommends. His total nutritional regimen starts with a broad based Vitimin and Mineral complex (And possibly a superfood type supplement) with the following specific nutrients for hypertension:

Most Important

  • Taurine 1,500-3,000 mg
  • Magnesium 500-1,000 mg
  • Hawthorn 240-480 mg
  • Potassium aspartate 400-800 mg
  • Vitamin B6 100-200 mg
  • Essential oils formula 3,600-7,200 mg
  • Garlic 2,400-3,200 mg
  • CoQ10 100-200 mg
  • Carnitine 500-1,000 mg
  • Chromium 300-600 mcg

Moderately Important

  • Vitamin C 1-3 grams
  • N-acetyl cysteine 1-2 grams
  • GABA 2,000-4,000 mg
  • Arginine 2-5 grams
  • Inositol 500-1,500 mg
  • Kava 100-200 mg
  • Reishi extract 2-4 capsules
  • Choline 1,000-1,500 rng
  • Calcium 750-1,500 mg

Specific comments on the above nutrients by Dr. Atkins:

Taurine – An amino acid that promotes fluid excretion by restoring a natural balance between potassium and sodium, the minerals that govern how much fluid our tissues retain. Regulates water retention.

Vitamin D – Shown to lower BP.

Calcium/Magnesium Balance – Although Dr. Atkins thinks Magnesium is the more important of the two.

Magnesium – Addresses all of the primary causes of excess insulin in the blood, low potassium levels, constricted blood vessels.

Sodium/Potassium Balance – Atkins thinks the sodium side of the equation is overemphasized and that potassium is more important to regulating blood pressure. A low sodium diet only cut readings by a few points. But, a high potassium diet, combined with a sugar-free diet, magnesium and taurine are very effective. Apparently there is a high-potassium high-magnesium salt substitute that may be useful. The longer potassium is used the less effective an anti-hypertensive agent it becomes. Diuretics cause loss of potassium and magnesium and weaning patients off these diuretics was a major goal for Dr. Atkins. The diuretics also cause the body to make an increased amount of its normal blood pressure-raising biochemicals.

CoQ10 – The BP lowering effects of taking 60-100mg per day of CoQ10 only is so significant that Dr. Atkins found that 85% of his patients could end their reliance on hypertension medications. The effects are so significant that he cautioned patients with low blood pressure against taking CoQ10 in case it would lower the BP too much.

Vitamin A – Allows the body to use insulin more efficiently, helping the hormone to get blood sugar into the body’s cells (And thereby helping to beat insulin resistance.)

DHA/EPA Levels – 4 grams of fish oils per day have been quite successful in lowering blood pressure. Taken alone they may not lower BP enough. But, combined with Magnesium, potassium, CoQ10 and taurine within a context of a sugarless diet will avoid the need for drugs more than 80 percent of the time.

Dr. Blaylock’s “Eliminate Hypertension Forever!”

While Blaylock’s theories on causes have a lot in common with Dr. Atkins he has several new theories and recommended dietary changes and nutrients that go along with them. As with Dr. Atkins I am only paraphrasing a long and thorough report. I highly recommend anyone with hypertension read Dr. Blaylocks full report and Dr. Atkins book. Both doctors have excellent advice on most of the elements of longevity, quality of life and other ailments along with natural ways to address them.

Lower Than You Think

Dr. Blaylock says hypertension starts at 120/80. Depending on the risk factor studied the negative effects of the condition rise rapidly after this point. Therefore, you should not take comfort if your blood pressure is only, say 130 over 85. Any reading over 120/80 is a serious issue and needs to be addressed. This strict definition puts 25% of the US as having the condition and 50% at some risk for some sort of blood pressure problem.

Blaylocks Root Causes

Dr. Blaylock describes hypertension as one of three symptoms of something called metabolic syndrome. The other two are type-2 diabetes and abnormalities in blood lipids. Without delving into these other (Related) conditions I would summarize Dr. Blaylocks root causes of Hypertension as:

  1. Excess Insulin – Caused be eating too much sugar, ingesting excitotoxins (MSG, Aspartame, other food additves). Also caused by insulin resistance. Excess insulin causes inflammation and generates huge quantities of free radicals and lipid peroxidation products.
  2. Free Radicals – Caused by eating the wrong foods, not having the vitamins in your body to cleanse them and especially having too much iron in the blood. Free radicals damage the brain stem and the cells
    lining the arteries (endothelial cells) through a process called Lipid peroxidation whereby the free radicals steal electrons from the lipids in cell membranes. Apparently, this damage itself produces more free radicals. The damage to the arteries decreases the control the elasticity of the
    artery. The damage to the brain stem affects nuerons that may be responsible for some kind of primary BP control.
  3. Inflammation – A natural immune system response, but, can be triggered by excess insulin. Chronic inflammation seriously inhibits BP control.
  4. “Beer Gut” – The fat underneach the muscles of your stomach (Visceral fat) and not the fat underneath your skin (Subcutaneous). Excess visceral fat secretes immune chemicals (adipokines or cytokenes) that cause insulin resistance which leads to excess insulin. The link is so strong that surgical removal of belly fat has
    been shown to cure hypertension in
    62% of people.
  5. Bad Diet – Too much sugar intake, too much caffeine and alcohol, not enough of foods containing the right nutrients for BP control.
  6. Lack of the nutrients in the body that control BP – Once again, although Dr. Blaylock does not put it this way its implied by the nutrients he recommends.

Summary of Dr. Blaylock’s Recommendations

  1. Stabalize Blood Sugar by elimintating Sugar and excitotoxins from the Diet.
  2. Control Free Radicals by Getting Rid of Excess Iron in the Blood and other means.
  3. Cut back on Caffeine and Alcohol.
  4. Exercise to Get Rid of Belly Fat.
  5. Add the Following Nutrients to Dr. Atkins Recommended Nutrients
    • Flavoniods (quercetin / hesperidin)
    • Aged Garlic, in particular
    • Alpha Lipoic acid (R-lipoic acid)
    • Ginko biloba
    • Green tea extract (The benefits of Green Tea without the caffeine)

Iron and Hypertension Are Linked

As luck would have it my yearly checkup was scheduled on Day 3. I showed the doctor my article and we discussed the whole program. Because I have hemachromatosis it was also important to talk about how iron in the blood may affect hypertension. While writing the main article for this new blood pressure program I ran accross research that described the link between the two conditions. And the doctor confirmed it.

Excess iron in the blood causes free radicals which are one of the root causes of hypertension. Blaylock says that even an iron level on the high side of normal can significantly raise blood pressure.

Free Radicals – Caused by eating the wrong foods, not having the vitamins in your body to cleanse them and especially having too much iron in the blood. Free radicals damage the brain stem and the cells lining the arteries (endothelial cells) through a process called Lipid peroxidation whereby the free radicals steal electrons from the lipids in cell membranes. Apparently, this damage itself produces more free radicals. The damage to the arteries decreases the control the elasticity of the artery. The damage to the brain stem affects nuerons that may be responsible for some kind of primary BP control.

What this means for me is that I could make all the lifestyle changes for my new program and still have problems if my iron levels are not kept in check. Practically speaking I’m going to need a convenient way to measure them without having to get a blood test everytime.

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How to Quit Drinking Coffee

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The best way to quit drinking coffee is to replace it with something else. For coffee you’ll need direct and indirect replacements.

The indirect replacements are for the routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes, feelings, circumstances and occasions that surround your coffee drinking.

The better your choice of replacement(s) for the drink and all these other things that surround your drinking the easier the quitting will be.

In the rest of this article I’ll tell you what replacement(s) I chose and describe my current experience with quitting.

Should you quit drinking coffee?

Not knowing if or why you want to stop drinking coffee is probably why you haven’t quit, already. Or maybe your why is not enough to motivate you.

In the case of coffee we’re bombarded with conflicting stories about whether its good or bad for us. Both sides of the health argument for coffee are about even and the question will probably never be resolved.

If coffee controls you instead of you controlling it then you should quit drinking it. You’ll know it’s controlling you when you can’t start the day without it. Or, if you get a headache when you don’t have enough.

Replacements

Quitting is a transition to something else. Here’s a few things to keep in mind about picking and using replacements:

The best replacements usually have a lot in common with what you’re trying to quit. Things we have to quit often involve routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes and feelings surrounding the thing we’re trying to quit. You may need replacements for them, as well. For coffee, there is the taste, the caffeine buzz, the smell, the warm liquid flowing down your throat and the routine of grinding the beans and setting up the machine.

You may need a series of replacements before settling on the final. That means Your Optimal final replacement may not be the best first replacement to use. Your body may have to detoxify or have other reactions and compensations it has to cycle through before you can ultimately quit. In extreme cases that may mean moving from something toxic to something less toxic and eventually to something non-toxic. The final replacement should be something actually good for you.

But, we’re talking coffee, here, not heroin. One or two replacements will probably do it. I used four replacements for coffee: Two for the morning and two others for the afternoon, see below.

It may be best to allow yourself as much of your replacements as you want as long as your replacement is not toxic. It may serve as a psychological reward for following through on the quitting.

My Replacements for Coffee

My first replacement is tea, with caffeine.

For me, it is the perfect first replacement because it has so much in common with the way I drink coffee. Tea is hot, I add milk and stevia to it, it prevents my caffeine withdrawal headache and the physical routine surrounding its preparation is almost identical to making coffee. We have one of those “Instant Hot” water dispensors in the kitchen so I get the added benefit of having the tea ready, almost instantly.

My second replacement is tea, without caffeine. By this time I’ve ramped down on the amount of caffeine in the tea, so, probably won’t get a withdrawal headache any more. If I do then alternating with caffeinated tea is the quick remedy. After about seven days the whole craving for coffee in the morning is gone. That’s surprisingly quick for someone who couldn’t imagine starting a day without coffee only a week ago!

My third replacement, used in the afternoon, is a nap. I was using coffee as a crutch to power through the afternoon without a nap or a break. I decided not to fight afternoon naps any longer and just take one. The benefits of afternoon naps have been enormous! If fact, I feel it gives almost a full extra day of productivity every day! Wow, talk about a replacement.

Every once in a while I have a diet Rock Star after waking up from my afternoon knap. So far, its been a great way to start my ‘second day’. It’s one of those sugar free health drinks that has healthy ingredients. I’m skeptical about the pink, blue and yellow stuff they use in sugar free drinks and prefer stevia. But, for now, I’m enjoying the Rock-Star until I find something better. Leading candidates are pelligrino with a little fruit juice added for taste or some of the exotic teas my wife gets on her trips to China.

How Long Does It Take?

The whole thing took about a week, for me.

As much as I was addicted to coffee it just didn’t take that long to quit drinking it. I had a headache for the first 3 days if I didn’t have enough caffeinated tea. A little bit of tea and “Poof”, headache gone.

One of the surprising things for me was accepting the fact that I’m a slow riser. It takes me a while to leave dreamland and cut over to wakefulness. Because of this I find the routine of making the tea just as useful as the tea, itself. Therefore, when I wake up I go right into preparing the tea and, by the time its ready, I’m ready for the day.

How Will You Know When You’ve Quit?

You’ll know you’ve quit when you can take it or leave it.

Coffee will take its place among the multitude of drink options available to you depending on occasion and mood. You’ll be able to start your day with a clear mind and ready to go to work even though you’ve had no coffee.

A few days ago, we were over at a friends house and I was starting to fade. We were late in getting together and didn’t want to leave, yet. The conversation was interesting and another couple had just walked in the door that we wanted to socialize with. I made myself one cup of coffee. It was just the thing needed to keep the conversation going for a while until it was time to go. One cup of coffee and that was it. No coffee needed the next morning and no problems sleeping that night.

Coffee is now just another drink option. I neither crave it, avoid it or even think about it. If I want a cup I have one. I’ll even just have a decaf since I don’t need the buzz to think clearly, anymore.

Start acting and feeling like this and you’ll know you’ve quit.

 

Copyright © 2008 by Terence Gillespie. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given to McGillespie.com

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