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Dr. Ted’s Methods for Diabetics and All Others to Live Long and Healthy Lives©
By: Ted Micceri, Ph.D.
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Dr. Ted’s Methods for Diabetics and All Others to Live Long and Healthy Lives©
Introduction TOC
This work is directed primarily at diabetics, however, the methods outlined specify a way of life that should help almost anyone have more energy and get sick less often, no matter your age or state of health. Note that if you are a mature-onset diabetic, you almost surely don’t actually have diabetes, but are experiencing what is called glucose intolerance. Common among Americans over the age of 40, the changes in diet and lifestyle recommended here should eliminate or substantially reduce your diabetic symptoms.
Note also that I make recommendations for Body, Mind and Spirit. If you believe only in Body, then use those, because what you believe in determines what works for you. If you believe also in Mind, then use those. If you believe in Spirit, then you can use all three. My experience suggests that the third is the best situation, but your beliefs are the major factor both in what you can experience and what you can accomplish, so use what you believe.
Note: The recommendations below are not intended to replace the advice of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It is not meant to indicate that the use of any items or products recommended is safe, appropriate, or effective for you.
Due to the power of the pharmaceutical and medical profiteering industry in the U.S., a statement like the above is a requirement for any healing recommendations. As Kevin Trudeau notes (Trudeau, 2004): "A physician can kill hundreds of people, with no liability, but if I heal 100 people without using pharmaceutical industry drugs, I can be sued."
Note finally that I recommend many different methods in this document. Because everyone differs, try things, find what works best for you and what you have time for, and then, do it.
"Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and likewise anyone who receives it, in the belief that such writing will be clear and certain, must be exceedingly simple-minded."
-– Plato -- (So, e-mail me at mailto:tedm@?subject=Health_Questions regarding any questions you may have.)
Recommendations for Diabetics and All Other Humans
Biochemist Albert Syznet-Gyorni noted that Diabetes is much like Cancer, and, as such, is one of two so-called diseases that tend to have system-wide effects. He also noted that these two diseases are the only two where Physicians fare worse than patients. The reason, of course, is that patients don't follow physicians’ recommendations as rigorously as do physicians themselves. This tells you something very important, that physician’s recommendations for these problems are not highly effective.
Above all else, it is VITAL to nourish your joy. Below, I recommend things that are not typical for most Americans. If you really get joy from something (admittedly it could be addicting), then do it once in a while, even if I recommend strongly against it.
To maintain health, a few things are quite important. These fall into categories identified in the hyperlinked Table of Contents below:
Hyperlinked Table of Contents (click or control click to go to a topic)
Introduction 2
Recommendations for Diabetics and All Other Humans 3
Chapter 1 - My Background – The Reasons I Know What Works 3
Chapter 2 - Different Approaches to Health and Healing 5
Herbal Tools and Self-Healing
Herbal Tools
Self-Healing
Modern Western Medicine (MWM)
The Big Problem with Modern Western Medicine
Various Traditional Approaches
Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Herbal and Primal Methods
Herbal Approaches
Primal Methods
Chapter 3 - The Endocrine System 9
How to Stimulate Your Endocrine System
Chapter 4 - Eat and Drink for a Healthy Life 11
Eating Meat - Comparing Human and Carnivore Digestive Systems
What, When, and How to Drink
Chapter 5 - Blood Sugar Levels - Monitor This Regularly 15
Chapter 6 – Some Specific Food Recommendations 16
Important Guidelines And Information:
Where To Buy - Highest Quality and Least Expensive:
Food Preparation
White Bread and Diabetes
Two Wonderful Recipes from India
Chapter 7 - Best Food Sources for Key Nutrients 21
Vitamin B sources 2
Vitamin C Sources 2
Vitamin E Sources 3
Coenzyme Q 3
Mineral 3
Chapter 8 - Physical Exercise (VITAL) 4
Chapter 9 - Mental Attitude and Activity 7
Mental and Attitudinal Methods 7
Chapter 10 – Sleep 10
FINALLY 10
References 11
Chapter 1 - My Background – The Reasons I Know What Works
I have been a severe, brittle, juvenile-onset diabetic since I was six years old; I am now one month from 59 (April, 2007) and am quite energetic, healthy, vigorous, powerful, agile and athletic. I have been studying diet, exercise, physiology and bodily needs and processes since I was roughly 14 years old in an attempt to extend my expected 40-year lifespan. I appear to have succeeded in that objective. Diabetics are prone to retinopathy and blindness, nephritis and kidney failure, heart failure, problems with neurological failures and blood failures in the extremities (hands and feet) among many other physical problems. I have a bit of torsion in my eyes (precursor to retinopathy) but otherwise, I am not beautiful, but remain quite healthy (see photo).
I have a master’s in Gerontology (1974) and studied with the fellow who started The University of South Florida’s Medical School among other biochemists, psychiatrists (MDs and PhDs) and other medically trained individuals. When all of my faculty except one had heart attacks in their early 50s I figured that one of two things was true: (1) either they weren’t practicing what they were preaching, or (2) their methods were not effective (this turned out to be the truth). (I am also a co-author on several medical publications.)
So, I decided to follow my own path to find what works. My doctorate is in Measurement, with a statistics specialization, so I am a highly skilled, trained and experienced researcher from both a methodological and pragmatic perspective. My primary beginnings with statistics were as a professional gambler in Nevada for three years (1975 to 1978) during which time I learned that much of what I had been taught in courses was simply untrue (note how this parallels what happened with my Gerontology studies. This is a rather interestingly consistent pattern that occurs in many places. For some examples, go to my Myths website: .)
The difference between my learning as a gambler and a typical statistician’s learning is that I had a bottom line (food on the table with success, none with failure). Thus, I was forced to find what works, whereas in Academia, where most statistics are developed, there is no bottom line, one can sell incorrect ideas with abandon. The same is true in Medicine. Most patients will heal themselves given time (except for a few things like AIDS, diabetes and cancer), thus physicians can do really foolish things and their patients tend to heal anyway.
I continually experiment with techniques from all over the earth. Those that work, I continue using; those which don’t, I stop using. NOTE, HOWEVER, that everyone is different, so what works well for one may not work as well for another. Thus, I suggest a very wide variety of Physical, Mental and Spiritual approaches in this document. Everything that I recommend, I have tested and found to be effective for me. Try what you want, and use what works best for you. And please DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING I WRITE, but try it out, or research it for yourself to verify the accuracy. Please recall, however, that it is easy to be mislead by written documentation if one lacks the scientific knowledge and research background to properly evaluate things. This is a major problem with medical, health and dietary writings. Also remember again that everyone is different, so do what works best for you.
Chapter 2 - Different Approaches to Health and Healing TOC
Herbal Tools and Self-Healing
Herbal Tools
There are several seeds and spices that are used by all cultures where they grow naturally to treat diabetes symptoms. Any of these may either be ground or are already powder to put into capsule form. I suggest trying one at a time and taking between one and two 500 mg capsules. You can purchase capsules at any health food store, or Leaves & Roots. If you are going to encapsulate, I suggest buying the spices in bulk. Usually, Asian, Indian or Arabic food stores carry the spices, at far lower prices than health food stores. I have found the following items to consistently appear in healing traditions for diabetes (the prices to the right for 1 lb are from the Leaves and Roots bulk spices (3/2007: ):
Turmeric ($7.70 – 16 oz /1 lb)
Cinnamon ($8.70 – 16 oz /1 lb)
Cayenne or White Pepper ($8.50, $17.20 – 16 oz /1 lb)
Fenugreek ($7.70 – 16 oz /1 lb)
You will probably want to combine one or both of the last two with one of the first two, which I would call TOP LEVEL factors. The second pair tend to be LOWER LEVEL factors. When combining top and lower, I suggest two parts top to one part lower (e.g. two capsules to one).
Then again, you may just want to season everything with a batch of Cinnamon rather than encapsulating it, and instead, encapsulate the Turmeric.
Self-Healing
I have been a hands-on healer since 1978. I have studied with the healing touch nurse at St. Josephs Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and have investigated a number of different techniques through the years. For Christians, you only must recall that Jesus basically told his disciples: “You have seen me heal, now go out and do the same.” And so they did, with great effectiveness. It is really amazing, but our hands emit rather powerful positive energies that can have wonderful healing effects. The hands of others are more effective to heal us than are our own, but your own are always with you, thus can always be used. The most obvious evidence of this for the scientifically skeptical is the simple fact that you can’t tickle yourself, but others can tickle the bejeebers out of you. This is because they are transferring some of their energy to you. Some have extremely powerful healing/tickling energies, others less powerful. But we all have some.
Probably the best know and most widely used touch techniques are acupressure and massage. Dr. Devi Nambudripad put together a rather wonderful book on acupressure titled Living Pain Free (). If you are interested in viewing the vast scientific evidence supporting these techniques, I recommend Dr. Shui Yin Lo’s (2004) The Biophysics Basis of Acupuncture and Health (). He is a physicist who used to teach at Cal Tech, and who put together over 15 years of empirical research from some eight countries and developed a theory to explain how the phenomenon of acupuncture/pressure/moxibustion works. Also, Chris Criscom states in her intriguing tome Femine Fusion, p.77 “We heal ourselves by healing others.” One can generalize that: "We help ourselves by helping others." (Essentially what Jesus and the Buddha said.).
Modern Western Medicine (MWM)
MWM takes a different approach to health and healing than most traditional approaches in the following two primary ways:
1. It is quite mechanistic, treating the human body as if it were a machine (which it clearly is not), and
2. It attacks primarily symptoms rather than the underlying causes of problems.
Now, attacking symptoms is quite appropriate for broken bones, torn muscles and such, because in these cases, the symptoms are the problem.
On the other hand, when someone gets mature-onset diabetes, or hardening of the arteries (two common American problems), the symptoms are not what needs to be treated, but rather, the actions that caused the symptoms to appear.
Midway between these two extremes are contagious diseases, which result partly from germ introduction, and partly from a lack of resistance on the part of the patient.
In the first and last situations, treating symptoms is appropriate, and frequently, treating symptoms is useful even in the middle situations, because eliminating pains and high blood sugar and other debilitating factors allow the body to help heal itself. However, for all three situations, it is far better to improve a person’s overall health, vitality, durability, autoimmune system functioning and therefore, resistance to disease for long-term benefits. This also speeds recovery from trauma (e.g. broken bones) and illness (e.g. flu).
The Big Problem with Modern Western Medicine
Despite the fact that large numbers of well-intentioned people enter the American Healthcare system, the system itself is Only In It For the MONEY![1] This forces those in the system, despite their healing orientations, to focus on system, profit and legal requirements rather than individual needs. The fact that the U.S. has 25% of the world’s lawyers and only 3% of the world’s population don’t help any either, because huge profits result from suits against hospitals and health care practitioners.
Perhaps the worst part of the system is the vast influence of the pharmaceutical industry. Anyone who has tried to make their way through the voluminous Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR) well understands why most of the information physicians have about drugs comes from drug industry salespeople. Drug prices in the U.S. are well above those in other countries and higher prices mean greater profits for the corporations and all along the chain of sales. Further, as a toxicologist friend noted, and a look at the PDR will clearly verify the truth of this statement, every drug has one positive benefit and perhaps 100 negative effects, including sometimes death.
An herbalist friend noted the reasons this occurs. The pharmaceutical industry takes herbs that have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years into the laboratory and genetically alters them to obtain a patent. Once the drug is patented, it can be controlled and therefore sold at a large profit. Unfortunately, the genetic alteration always associates with really bad side effects that the original herb didn’t have. The effective result is that once they have you taking a drug, although it may help the symptoms you are currently feeling, it will soon create other symptoms for which a physician will prescribe another drug who’s side effects will create other symptoms, etc., etc….. This puts you on a permanent drug regimen which assures steady income to the pharmaceutical industry and damages your health at the same time. The thing that makes Americans particularly susceptible to this process is the tendency to seek the “Easy Way Out.” Rather than being disciplined and work on techniques such as those described in this document, Americans want a quick fix from their doctors, who also want steady income and therefore tend to prescribe drugs when none are needed.
Various Traditional Approaches
Traditional approaches fall into several categories. First, I will speak about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Ayurvedic Medicine (AM). Note that AM claims a cure for many forms of diabetes. In fact, much of their cure is precisely what I recommend here and discovered independently of the Ayurvedic methods. TCM also offers methods to improve one’s health when a diabetic. Both methods are helpful for everyone.
Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Both TCM and AM approach health from a dualistic perspective, by treating symptoms, but also, by attempting to improve a patient’s internal balance and overall health so that the same or similar problems don’t occur in the future. Historic TCM practitioners would accept payment from patients as long as they were healthy, but, if they became sick, they would work for free to cure the symptoms, because they had failed in their task of keeping the person healthy (obviously, this wasn’t true for broken bones, stab wounds and other results of accidents or war). Both TCM and AM involve a deep and rich herbal lore involving thousands of plants for treating specific problems and imbalances that tend to cause problems for patients.
Ayurvedic Medicine (). - Back
Ayurveda offers reference points for managing treatment decisions specific to each case. Ayurvedic theory is useful in analyzing individual patient constitution and understanding variations in disease manifestation. The Ayurvedic framework can be used to structure working models of the unique state of each patient, and to project a vision or goal for a whole state of health, again unique to each case. Ayurveda offers specific recommendations to each individual on lifestyle, diet, exercise and yoga, herbal therapy, and even spiritual practices to restore and maintain balance in body and mind. Ayurveda sees a strong connection between the mind and the body, and a vast amount of empirical evidence is available regarding this relationship. This understanding that we are all unique individuals enables Ayurveda to address not only specific health concerns but also offers explanations as to why one person responds differently than another. An excellent e-book on Ayurvedic approaches to diabetes can be found at: . Click on diabetes and the basic analysis will appear to you. Ayurveda suggests that the primary causal factors for diabetes are:
1] Diet - increasing kapha dosha such as sugar, fats, potatoes, rice.
2] Lack of exercise.
3] Mental stress and strain.
4] Excessive sleep etc.
NOTE – some of what I recommend in this document is close to what they suggest although the herbal treatments (a very powerful aspect of AM) are not included here. The e-book is titled: Ayurvedic Cure of Diabetes ($12 in March, 2007). It is pretty good, but (1) is somewhat difficult to decipher, because after an extensive introduction in which various terms are defined, these terms are then used to explain how and why treatments work, which means having to either memorize them, or constantly go back. (2) There are some items that I haven’t found to be true. Partly this occurs due to what I speak of regarding local diets. Local foods tend to work better; thus, for example, in India; barley is apparently good for diabetics and apparently common. In the U.S., however, I have found barley to be a negative factor, although it is not uncommon in certain places. Others may find it to work fine. Like I said, this guide is cheap, pretty complete, generally follows a similar Mind, Body, Spirit method to what I advocate (using yoga). This book includes walking, but is written from within the caste system’s cultural perspectives, which is only somewhat relevant in the U.S.
Traditional Chinese Medicine ()
TCM is best known for the use acupuncture, acupressure and moxibustion. Originally reported to the West during the 19th Century, when astounded Jesuit priests in China wrote about some amazing things they saw with acupuncture. Some dealt with pain-free surgery, others with cures of what MWM considered incurable. The Canon of Medicine was translated first into French (in the west), and acupuncture has been most widely practiced in the Western World in France, where 17 hospitals used primarily acupuncture in the 1970s. (Chang, 1976). Acupuncture/pressure can be used by anyone, see Nambudripad (1996). TCM can help diabetes and can, like the methods described in this document, in combination with diet and exercise, eliminate mature-onset diabetes symptoms. Acupressure Diabetes Treatment: The NAET Pancreas Points shown in the graphic may be stimulated by gently rubbing in a clockwise circle using the index, middle and ring finger tips for about one minute at a time to help stimulate production of insulin (Nambudripad, 1996).
Herbal and Primal Methods
Herbal Approaches
Generally, herbalists vary almost as much as do religions. Both TCM and AM have herbal traditions, many of which are shared by various herbalists. The following site lists and describes many of the more commonly recommended herbs: . Another, more complete spot is: . Leaves and Roots is about the best source I know for herbs, spices and capsulated formulae (They do have an excellent diabetic formula): ):
I have included a few recommendations in this document, but recommend the preceding sites for more information.
Adaptogens balance the body by either reducing the activity of overactive systems or increasing the activity of under active systems. The most popular adaptogen is Ginseng, but others include Suma, Astralagus and Schizandra Berry. Siberian Ginseng is also something of an adaptogen, but it can only be used for a short time and reacts negatively to caffeine (green tea, coffee, chocolate, etc.). The traditional diagnosis in China for Ginseng is as much as you can afford for as long as you can afford it.
Whole Food Supplements
A nice little analysis can be found at Dr. Mercola’s site:
Bitter and Hot/spicy) Factors
Perhaps because U.S. diets tend to be so loaded with sugars, and perhaps because of the generally Yin nature of the environment, bitter and spicy elements tend to be beneficial. Most don’t know, but hot peppers have roughly seven times the vitamin C of Orange Juice (one reason Mexicans have so few heart attacks despite an otherwise questionable diet).
Primal Methods
Again, there are almost as many primal methods as there are primal cultures, and that is a lot. Most use the Mind, Body, and Spirit approach and generally use a Shaman or herbalist guide. Many use mind altering, non-addictive, non-damaging drugs like Peyote or Salvia to assist either a shaman, a healer, or the patient perceive causal factors for their problems. Herbal methods are usually local and specific. Among First Nation (Native American) methods, the sweat lodge is frequently used to help keep individuals both physically and spiritually healthy. Sweating is second only to the liver in clearing toxins from one’s body, and the U.S. Military used saunas for soldiers who were exposed to Agent Orange in Viet Nam, to help clear the toxins.
Chapter 3 - The Endocrine System TOC
This is something that Western Medicine pays little attention to, but which is absolutely vital for the healthy and effectively functioning body. The only exercises I know for this are internal (mental focusing). I practice these every day, in addition to one Chinese physical technique to stimulate the Thymus gland by gently pounding with the thumb index and middle fingers (pulled together) just to the right of the sternum parallel with the Thymus gland. Note that the Thymus gland begins to reduce activity at about age 14, because it's primarily deals with growth – however, a fully functioning endocrine system is really important for health and well being. The exercises described below, once you develop a "feeling" for the energy flows in your body, really creates powerful positive flows and transformations within the body. Note that this is a MIND technique.
How to Stimulate Your Endocrine System
Criscom (1992, p. 81) – “You can ‘feed’ your endocrines by taking just a few moments daily to direct energy to them individually, and as a whole. The easiest way is to send them the energy of color because the body interprets each cone of colored light as a specific frequency of energy with particular effects of which it is well aware. This makes it easy for you to influence your body in the most intricate and powerful of ways that would be very difficult if you were trying to trace or control those effects in a linear, mental fashion.” Send energy in the order shown in the chart below, with females obviously using the female and males, the male organs at the base of the trunk. Don’t use the kidneys in this exercise.
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Chapter 4 - Eat and Drink for a Healthy Life TOC
You are what you eat, or, perhaps better stated: “You are what you absorb.” This is surely the most important single cause for health or non-health. Becoming a vegetarian consistently reduces insulin requirements by 70% and international studies show that vegetarians live an average of 6-8 years longer than meat eaters (Robbins, 2001).
Chapter 6 is a short manual on eating that I put together for a mature-onset diabetic friend. Almost anything one eats or drinks tends to have at least some effects that are beneficial and some that are detrimental. There are a few exceptions, like bee pollen and seaweed which are all “good.” The key is to swallow more foods and drinks with mostly beneficial effects and less of those having more negative effects.
Many, if not most Americans are nutritionally depleted today due to fast food diets and misleading Health Profiteers and Meat & Dairy Industry propaganda. When you lack required nutrients and minerals, your body can’t function as well as it should. This nutrient section spells out the best sources for many human nutritional requirements that are frequently missing from modern Americans’ diets.
1 - Generally eliminate meat (includes fish, fowl and other flesh) and both sugar and artificial sweeteners from your diet. Meat reduces the efficacy of insulin. If you eat meat, avoid factory farm products, eat little, and be sure to eat before 2 pm (human digestive cycles follow the day, being strong in the morning, moderate in the afternoon, and weak in the evening). Also, meat is loaded with toxins and doesn’t pass through human intestines effectively, thus it tends to rot in one’s intestines if eaten in the evening. Nonetheless, a few unusual people apparently either need to eat some meat to retain health, or don't properly replace the few useful nutrients found primarily in meats. Certain meats are also a good source of Coenzyme Q. I, however, have been very close to a vegan for 35 years with no problems.
Back Eating Meat - Comparing Human and Carnivore Digestive Systems
Many of you, having been subjugated to the Meat & Dairy Industry’s propaganda throughout your lives, may not believe the statement I made above about meat eating and health. Hopefully, a view of comparative physiology will give you a better basis for making judgments. First realize that toxins are present in far greater concentrations in creatures that are higher up the food chain, whether fish, fowl, mammals, reptile or amphibian, than in plants because the toxins from plants collect over time in the animals. The graphic below shows how meat-eating creatures (carnivores) are specifically designed to digest and quickly eliminate toxic meat from their system. Herbivorous animals (e.g. humans), on the other hand, have a completely different set of teeth, saliva, stomach acid and intestinal design that were designed to pull nutrition from plants for long periods of time. As a result, we absorb far more toxins than carnivores. The characteristics of the digestive system clearly tell the story:
• Carnivore teeth are designed for tearing or killing (canine), while human teeth are designed for grinding (molars) and cutting (incisors).
• Carnivore saliva is acidic to rapidly break down meat, while human saliva is alkaline, because we are generally alkaline creatures.
• Carnivore stomach acid averages about three to four times the intensity of human stomach acid, because it takes powerful acids to break down meats.
• Carnivore intestines tend to be roughly three times body length, while the human intestine system is about 12 times body length. Carnivores eliminate as rapidly as possible, while humans continue to absorb nutrients in our long, sinuous, pouched intestines for at least a full day, and usually for longer. Human intestines are quite similar to those of other non-meat eaters. If humans had been created to have a substantial portion of our diet as meat, our digestive systems would be designed in a different way. One can thus argue that eating meat is sacrilegious because it CLEARLY goes against God’s design.
•
|The Bowels of Humans and Carnivores are Strikingly Different |
|[pic] |[pic] |
|Portion of a Typical Carnivore Bowel |Portion of a Typical Human Bowel |
|Note the Smooth Stovepipe Shape |Note the puckering and pouching |
|The human bowel twines back and forth along a convoluted pathway, with many twists and hairpin turns. Carnivores’ bowels, in contrast, take|
|a relatively direct and straightforward route. As a result, their waste transition times are much shorter than ours. They can handle |
|cholesterol and fat, and have much less need for fiber to move things along. |
2 - Replace sugar with Honey, which is a mono-saccaride that has a lot of nutrients, plus, it is absorbed into the liver without much need for insulin (great for diabetics). It also is non-cariogenic (doesn't promote cavities). Raw cane sugar is OK, but avoid processed sugar (or processed anything). You can usually find a local beekeeper who will sell honey cheap. I buy it for $28 per gallon.
Let me also recommend bee pollen. This is an absolutely amazing source of almost everything you need. The problem with pollen is that the husks shield them almost completely from our digestive juices, thus, we must chew or crush to crack the husks. The first time I tried pollen (about 12 years ago), it energized my body to such a degree that I had a severe insulin reaction. I have since gotten more experience, but this is a really, really, really beneficial nutrient source (lots of enzymes also). I buy local pollen, but you can also get it, among other herbal items from a really great store called Leaves and Roots (). They are incredibly cheap, and their quality is high (I have an herbalist friend who used to work there and turned me on to them – they are also simply terrific people). Get their crushed Bee Pollen capsules and make sure that you and any diabetic or non-diabetic friends or relatives of yours take at least one and probably two per day (for most diabetics).
3 - Avoid white bread, cakes and such (effectively the same as sugars). Eat primarily whole grains. For grains, I recommend millet, rice (brown, white, or basmati), and quinoa. 100% whole wheat is also OK, but is more acidifying than the other grains noted. Corn is also OK. See the extensive Australian study on white bread.
4 - Eat a comparatively low-protein diet. (See Human and Carnivore Digestive Systems) Typical American high protein diets are highly acidifying. Such diets rapidly age the body and are the primary causal factor for our osteoporosis epidemic.[2] A good source identifying acidifying/alkalizing foods is (at the bottom of the web page are listed, by level the alkalizing and acidifying foods). Consume mostly the highly alkalizing, and little of the highly acidifying (those around neutral don’t have much effect one way or the other).
5 - Eat a lot of raw foods (the foods we can eat raw tend to be roughly 3-4 times as nutritious as the foods we have to cook. This is in addition to the nutrients lost in cooking – (One exception is carrots, which are more nutritious cooked.). Note that most lettuce has little nutritional value. Spinach is far more nutritious.
6 - Fear not carbohydrates. Perhaps best in the form of fruits, with local, in season fruits being the best choices. Depends actually on where you live. Except for grains (which travel well), you are better off eating foods that naturally grow in your region. We rapidly become part of the land we live on (with planeria it apparently only takes 45 minutes). Thus, we do better eating local foods (back to ayurveda), and preferably either natural or organic. Note, however, that this opinion regarding fruit is not held by Georges Ohsawa (Ohsawa, 1960), the originator of Macrobiotics (a World Peace Movement based on diet). He argues that people shouldn’t eat much fruit. But he was speaking from Japan, where few fruits naturally grow (try umeboshi plums, expensive, but terrific), thus his recommendations aren’t as meaningful for most Americans. Although I have found Macrobiotic approaches to be quite useful, but apparently many have difficult, so I am not recommending this. However, certain aspects appear very good, like reduced fluid intake, brown rice, seaweed and miso soup.
7 - Eat a lot of rice and veggies or millet[3] and veggies. Season to taste. There are a host of wonderful recopies for these from India, Asia and the Arabic Peninsula. Probably the best vegetables are: spinach, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, string beans and celery. All of these are pretty high in magnesium, a vital trace mineral for diabetics. I have included two recipes from India that I LOVE.
8 – Make sure to get trace minerals in your diet (suggestions). Even in the 1930s, America’s farmlands were mineral depleted, thus, American diets are almost always mineral poor (some argue that this is the single most important cause of many diseases). Your body does not function properly without the needed trace minerals, and taking raw vitamin/mineral supplements doesn’t work very well, because your body simply isn’t designed to absorb raw minerals. You absorb chelated minerals better, but the problem with most vitamin/minerals is that they only include perhaps 20 minerals and they are usually raw, whereas in animal husbandry it is well known that, for almost any mammals (dogs, cattle, ferrets, etc), roughly 50 minerals are required for health. My wife, kids and I have raised animals, birds and reptiles of numerous species.
BEST MINERAL SOURCES: colloidal minerals are the best source (in foods), and Atlantic dulse (seaweed) has the highest concentration of minerals in any food. Any seaweed, dulse, nori (sushi), kombu (kelp), agar agar, etc. is excellent for you. Seaweed also contains unrefined sea salt, which is another good source of minerals we can absorb (always use sea salt, much better than land salt). You should be able to get this raw in any Health Food Store. My youngest son doesn’t like dulse, so I encapsulate it for him, however, it can be used in a variety of dishes, like soups and salads, and really enhances the flavor.
What, When, and How to Drink
First, how much to drink. I don’t accept the 8 glasses a day theory for a variety of reasons. The concept basically derives from the rusty pipe flush theory. My philosophy is, if you are thirsty, then drink; if not, then don’t. It is generally better to drink before a meal or during a meal rather than after a meal because drinking any fluids after a meal tends to wash away water-soluble vitamins. I do recommend starting each day with an 8 ounces glass of water, to re-supply your somewhat dehydrated body (after a night of no fluid) and also, to help cleanse the toxins your body has been working to eliminate through the night.
Generally, it is a good idea to be moderate and not drink too much of anything, except, of course, (1) water, the natural choice, and preferably filtered by a carbon filter. Aside from water, I recommend the following in order of benefit:[4]
(2) Green tea made by steeping leaves, not from teabags. You can buy tins of green tea leaves at any Asian market. Green tea has anti-oxidents and works against tooth decay bacteria. It also has caffeine. Different varieties have different amounts. The most common form is jasmine, or flower tea. Chinese say the best is Dragon Well.
(3) Raw Juices – any form or blend of raw vegetable or fruit juice contains many nutrients – avoid sweetened fruit drinks which tend to lack nutrients and create tooth decay. Note that the glycemic index (carbohydrate impact for diabetics) of fruit juices is greater than that of the fruit itself, because the bulk of fruit slows down fructose (fruit sugar) absorption.
(4) Gator-aide and similar drinks can be useful in replacing electrolytes following strenuous exertion.
(5) Coffee – coffee has several benefits, but too much coffee can induces stress like symptoms and decaffeinated coffee must be done naturally.
(6) Milk – Avoid pasteurized milk if possible. Raw is best. Cow’s milk is not well designed for humans being way too high in both fat and protein. However, goat’s milk or any type of relatively unsweetened rice, almond or soy milk can work pretty well either with dry cereal or as a drink. There are an incredible many different types of milk; however, one may take note that the only species to drink milk after being weaned is humans; thus, I tend to avoid animal milk and drink only vegetable/nut milks.
Alcoholic Beverages – These I put in a special category for several reasons. First, it takes a 150 lb adult’s liver about one hour to process one ounce of alcohol. It is generally a good idea to drink either wine or beer while eating, because this helps improve digestion and reduces the detrimental effects of alcohol on the liver. Generally, it is a good idea to limit oneself to no more than two ounces of alcohol per day. A 12-oz bottle/can of beer has a little less than one ounce of alcohol as does one 6-oz glass of dry wine. So-called hard liquor, like whiskey, tequila, run, etc., is usually about 40 to 60 proof (20-30% alcohol). Drinks like these can bring you to your daily two ounces pretty quickly. If you are average, drinking much more than four ounces a day can have negative effects on your liver (e.g. cirrhosis). If you are small, less should be consumed. Females tend to handle alcohol differently than men and less alcohol appears to have greater effects on women than on men.
AVOID - I strongly recommend against soft drinks, pop or soda of any kind. These tend to be diuretics, which leave you thirstier than before you drank (coffee is also a diuretic). As a result, you drink more, which brings more profit to the companies and leaves less money in your pocket. The processed sugar in these drinks promotes tooth decay and stimulates other detrimental physical effects, and all artificial sweeteners have negative effects on the body.
Chapter 5 - Blood Sugar Levels - Monitor This Regularly TOC
Diabetics’ problems with extremities result primarily from deterioration of blood flow, chi/prana flow, and neurological flow to the extremities. This usually results from too much high blood sugar. Blood sugar levels over about 225 (2.25%) cause ketoacidosis (An extremely high protein diet can simulate this.). When this occurs, your cell shapes alter, the semi-permeamable members cease to function properly, none of the peptides or other cellular systems work well, and your blood thickens and therefore frequently bursts your delicate capillaries. I am quite sure that this is the primary cause of diabetic deterioration: too much time at high blood sugar. The deterioration causes the gangrene (losing toes & such), and the loss of feeling in the extremities. It is not necessarily to always keep your blood sugar down below 200, but any time it gets up to about 200 (2%) or so, try to bring it down to a more reasonable range (e.g. 75 to 150). Young people can test blood sugar effectively using urinalysis. Unfortunately, once you get over 40, your kidneys retain too much of the sugars and the urine tests are no longer effective, so finger pricking becomes a painful necessity (OUCH!).
NOTE – this is important. Insulin, and everything else, functions differently for different blood sugar levels. When blood sugar is 150 or below, insulin has a greater effect than when blood sugar levels are higher. When blood sugar is 400 or higher, insulin's effectiveness in reducing sugar levels can drop to as little as a quarter of what it is at 100. Also, when sugar levels are 250 or over, as is noted above, NOTHING in the body WORKS PROPERLY, so bring it down as quickly as possible.
On the other side, anytime you get below about 70, it is a good idea to eat some carbohydrates to bring yourself up fairly quickly. I recommend dates, which are highly alkalizing, high fiber, concentrated carbohydrates that don't reduce the body's use of naturally-produced insulin.
Back Chapter 6 – Some Specific Food Recommendations TOC
First, there are over 35,000 different diets in the U.S. today, most of which are neither healthy nor effective in the long run. These exist and have been created because so many Americans are overweight. In 2000, almost two-thirds of Americans were overweight and almost one-third obese (American Obesity Association). Aside from putting extra pressure on organs, joints and the body in general, carrying too much weight also interferes with almost every physical process. The Chinese say it lessens Chi flow, which reduces ones ability to do anything, including thinking and prayer.
I am not going to recommend a specific “Diet” however, if you are overweight and you follow the food recommendations in this chapter, you will almost surely lose weight back to a reasonable level for your body. For a young person (18-30), the fat ratio of body weight should be about 15% for men and 22% for women. As we age, fat increases and muscle decreases, thus, regular exercise becomes more important.
Three specific weight loss recommendations:
1. The single best recommendation is to: LOVE VEGETABLES!!!
2. The second is to reverse your food pyramid. Most Americans eat their largest meal in the evening, just when their digestive system is starting to shut down. The digestive system is most active from about dawn to about 2:00 PM. If you make breakfast or lunch your largest meal, and only eat a salad or some vegetables after 6 PM, you will almost surely see your weight drop and you will feel better to boot.
3. Finally, reduce your fat intake. Whereas proteins and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, fat has 9 calories per gram. Thus, one gram of fat will add more than two times as much body weight as one gram of carbohydrates or protein. All oils (butter, palm, margarine, olive, safflower, etc.) are 80-100% or more fat. Mayonnaise, all nuts, most salad dressings and many meats are 50-80% or more fat. Potato chips and most other fast foods are also high fat. Vegetables, fruits and grains are all low fat, although, of course, wheat germ oil and flax oil, like all other oils, are almost all fat.
Important Guidelines And Information:
Foods you can eat raw without having to cook them (vegetables, fruits, etc.) are about 3-4 times as nutritious as those you have to cook to digest.
Processed foods are almost always the worst form in which to eat any food. These include all snacks, all prepared breakfast cereals, pop tarts, candy bars, chips, etc.
Eat few high fats or high protein foods (meats, dairy products, eggs, etc.). Eat moderate amounts of everything (you need less than 10% protein in your diet).
High carbohydrate foods are good for you because they help your body turn your other food into the energy that runs the body. Note that muscle mass is what does the conversion, so, if you are on a diet and losing muscle mass, you reduce your ability to burn fat. Make sure when you go on a diet that you exercise quite a bit (see Chapter 8)
As a diabetic, you probably want to limit your carbohydrates somewhat. The best to avoid are: table sugar, jelly, jam, syrup, corn syrup, candy, regular soft drinks, pies, doughnuts, cookies, pastries, regular chewing gum, sweetened pickles, sweetened fruits, non-raw juices and fruit drinks. These all have high glycemic indices.
What To Eat: These are not in any important order – just a list by types
Any vegetables (spinach, broccoli, carrots, green beans, okra, lima beans, bell peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, greens, celery, radishes, potato[5], etc.)
Any fruits (expensive, but good – banana, apple, grapes, melons of all kinds, peaches, olives, cherries, nectarines, oranges, grapefruit, limes, lemons, tangerines, tomato, any berry, etc.)
Any beans (buy raw in bulk, then soak in water until soft, and cook: black beans, pinto beans, broad beans, soybeans, white beans, etc.)
Breads - always buy only 100% Whole Wheat (or any other grains bread if you buy prepared bread – it is far better to include some whole grains. Mixed are a better idea (rice, millet, corn…). The best grains to eat are: millet, quinoa, and rolled oats,multi-grain flours, corn meal, oat and whole wheat flour are the most common. Always use only whole grains to bake breads, cakes, pancakes, waffles, etc. In a baking recipe, whole grains usually take a little less flour and a little more water than white flour.
Grains - I recommend basmati rice (no one can mess up cooking), cracked wheat, millet (one of the best, a complete source of amino acids), rolled oats, corn and flax are the most common in the U.S. Again, the best grains to eat are: millet, quinoa, rolled oats.
Nuts - Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, etc., etc. Peanut butter is also great, but buy the “old fashioned” style, without any preservatives or sugars. Eat on bread or celery or veggies. Note, however, that all nuts are high fat and high calorie (average is over 50% fat).
Milk- If you drink milk, then soy, almond or rice milk are best, but any type is ok – just not too much cow’s milk (goat is closer to natural human milk). Humans are the only mammal that consumes milk after being weaned. That should tell you something.
Cheese - Pretty much any type is OK, best is perhaps cottage. Hard cheeses – cheddar or any other types are pretty much the same – just don’t eat too much American, Processed and Velveeta.
Yoghurt is probably better than either milk or cheese.
Oils – Olive Oil is the best – Corn oil is cheapest. Olive is expensive, but it is very good for you. Avoid margarine; it is loaded with bad junk. Butter is usually ok. Buy the 1 lb packs. All oils are 80-100% fat, so limit your intake if you have weight problems.
Sugars – Honey, molasses or real maple syrup are the best, with honey by far the best.
Sea Salt is chemically different that regular salt, and is far better for you (a little more costly). Unrefined sea salt is the best. I recommend raw seaweed as a source for both vital trace minerals and unrefined sea salt. I think the best are probably dulse, kombo (kelp) and Irish moss.
Pasta is pretty good – best and cheapest to buy raw and simple.
Where To Buy - Highest Quality and Least Expensive:
Buy fruits and vegetables and anything else you can from fruit stands or farmers market if available, and preferably local, organic stuff.
For spices and flours and rice or dried beans, grains, etc., and, in some places, fruits and vegetables, beans, etc., I recommend either an Asian, Indian, or an Arabic source (can usually get dates, hummus and spices there really cheap). Asian food stores are always really cheap. Many other ethnic food sources are both comparative pure and cheap.
Food Preparation
You can wash and eat all fruits and vegetables raw. Be sure to thoroughly wash these, as pesticides and herbicides are really widely used today. Organic is best.
Popular meals include a grain or potato base (rice, millet, quinoa, cracked wheat or boiled potatoes, pasta, etc), and then serve one or more vegetables and/or beans on top after either steaming or sautéing (whisk around in hot oil for a few minutes – a Wok is great for this, but any pot will work). You have to boil potatoes and beans, but when you boil vegetables (except carrots); you lose nutrition and enzymes. It is usually better to cook less – steaming lightly or sautéing lightly is the best way to prepare vegetables. Add any sauces or spices you like (salt, pepper, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, etc.).
Pasta is also fairly good, and can also be served with vegetables. Raimen noodles (rice noodles) are a slightly different form of pasta that comes from Asia.
Preparation of grains – for all of the raw grains noted above, you take twice as much water as grain (e.g. ½ cup rice or millet and 1 cup water), put the water, some salt and the grain in a covered pot at a low to mid boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Add anything you want, like fruits, vegetables, oils, honey, molasses, either on top or mixed in. This is what I eat for breakfast, and grains prepared this way make a great base for a meal of sauteed vegetables or cooked beans (black beans are best with some onions – YUM!!!).
Of course, potatoes can be cooked in almost any way, shape or form and can compose the basis for any meal. The Irish survived primarily on Potatoes for a long time.
The least expensive base foods are: rice, Raimen noodles and potatoes. All are high in carbohydrates and all have a fair amount of nutrition. Raw millet is also not very expensive and is the best for nutrition (I pay about $1.75 per dry pound where I buy in bulk) – Millet is the only grain that has all 12 amino acids. Because grains and potatoes are so inexpensive, they make up the bulk of most peoples diets and have since the fall from Eden (“Give us this day our daily bread…”). In Ancient Rome, wheat (usually made into bread) made up 90% of the diet, with the addition of some wine and olives/olive oil.
A Really Good Idea
Buy Bee Pollen and Honey locally at a flea market if you can find it in large quantities (e.g. lb/gallon) to cut costs. For the pollen, either chew it enough to crack the husks, or use a mortar and pestle to crack the grains. Bee Pollen is absolutely LOADED with key enzymes & nutrients, but due to pollen’s strong coating (almost a shell), it is almost impossible for us to absorb the key nutrients unless the shell is cracked and our digestive juices can penetrate. This is probably the single best way to improve your overall health. Leaves and Roots () sells local powdered bee pollen in capsules quite inexpensively.
Back White Bread and Diabetes
Australian Study Finds Direct Correlation Between White Bread Consumption and Diabetes
(WebMD) Eating white bread is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new Australian study.
After following the diets and health records of more than 36,000 men and women in Australia for four years, researchers say they found white bread and starchy foods were linked to diabetes.
"White bread was the food most strongly related to diabetes incidence," they write in the November issue of the journal Diabetes Care.
Results were based on food frequency questionnaires and diabetes diagnoses made during the study. Special attention was paid to the glycemic index (GI) of the foods eaten by participants.
The glycemic index measures a food’s impact on blood sugar. High-GI foods like white bread, cakes, and biscuits spike blood sugar dramatically, while lower-GI carbohydrates including most vegetables and legumes have a smaller effect.
Participants who ate the most white bread -- more than 17 slices per week -- had the highest risk of diabetes, say the researchers, who included Allison Hodge, MENVSC, of the Cancer Council in Victoria, Australia.
Eating lots of high-GI foods like white breads and white potatoes can cause weight gain, raising the risk of diabetes, say the researchers. A high-GI diet could also lead to insulin resistance (decreased ability for the body to respond to the hormone insulin), which can lead to diabetes.
On the other hand, participants who ate a lot of sugar, magnesium, and total carbohydrates had a lower risk of diabetes.
That’s not a green light to guzzle sugar. The surveys included naturally sweet fruit, which may affect the body differently than added sugars found in cakes, pastries, and sweets.
All things considered, you may want to reach for whole-grain bread for your next sandwich.
"The simple change from white bread to lower-GI bread within a high carbohydrate diet could reduce the risk of diabetes," write the researchers. "Changing bread type may be a more acceptable dietary change than one requiring a whole new eating pattern."
Of course, eating too much of any food can add pounds, raising the risk of diabetes, Hodge and colleagues warn.
SOURCES: Hodge, A. Diabetes Care, November 2004; vol 27: pp 2701-2706. Reuters Health.
Back Two Wonderful Recipes from India
Vegetable Rice Casserole
1 ½ cups raw rice (basmati best)
1 ½ cups broccoli flowerets
1 medium carrot (sliced)
1 bunch spinach (chopped)
2 medium tomatoes (cut in eighths)
¼ teaspoon hing (I use garlic)
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
1-½ cups grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°
First cook the rice (preferably Basmati) - put rice in 3 cups of cold water with a teaspoon of salt, bring to a medium boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until the water is gone. Partially steam the broccoli and carrots. Heat oil in a 12-inch frying pan, add hing (garlic), and stir in tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes. Add well-rinsed spinach and continue to sauté for 3 minutes longer.
In a large bowl combine rice and vegetables. Add ½ teaspoon salt (more may be needed if rice is not already salted). Add remaining ingredients (except ½ cup grated cheese). Do not over-mix. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 10 minutes, remove lid and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Ghee
Ghee is clarified butter; delicious and fragrant oil that is semi-liquid at room temperature. It is very useful in cooking, frying and seasoning (e.g. on bread, cereal, etc.). To make ghee, melt two pounds of unsalted butter (or lightly salted if unsalted is not available) in a saucepan until it reaches a slow rolling boil. Remove from the heat and carefully skim off the foam with a spoon. Return the pot to the heat and repeat this procedure twice more, removing as much of the foam as possible and discarding it. Allow the pan to cool two minutes and then remove a thin film that forms. Let the butter cool down somewhat and then, while still liquid, pour through a fine meshed tea strainer (or cheesecloth), but stop pouring when the heavier solids at the bottom of the pan move to the strainer. Collect the ghee in a glass bottle, cool completely and cover. The whole process takes about twenty minutes. Two pounds of butter yield about one pound of ghee. It can be stored without refrigeration for six months in a dark cool place.
Back Chapter 7 - Best Food Sources for Key Nutrients TOC
Below are listed some of the best sources to get some very important vitamins and minerals that assist one in maintaining health:
Vitamin B sources
Vitamin B comes from a number of natural sources, including potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, liver, turkey, and tuna. Nutritional yeast (or brewer's yeast) is an especially good source of Vitamin B. The iconic Australian spread Vegemite bills itself as "One of the worlds richest known sources of vitamin B". As might be expected due to its high content of brewer's yeast, beer is a good source of B vitamins, although this may not be true of filtered beer. In fact, beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread".
Vitamin C Sources
The following table is approximate and shows the relative abundance in different raw plant sources. The amount is given in milligrams per 100 grams of fruit or vegetable (for comparison, one 5 ml teaspoon of pure vitamin C powder weighs 5,000 milligrams).
|Plant source |Mg/ |
| |100 gr |
|Billy Goat plum |3150 |
|Camu Camu |2800 |
|Wolfberry |2500 |
|Rose hip |2000 |
|Acerola |1600 |
|Amla |720 |
|Jujube |500 |
|Baobab |400 |
|Blackcurrant |200 |
|Red pepper |190 |
|Parsley |130 |
|Seabuckthorn |120 |
|Guava |100 |
|Kiwifruit |90 |
|Broccoli |90 |
|Loganberry |80 |
|Redcurrant |80 |
|Brussels sprouts |80 |
|Lychee |70 |
|Cloudberry |60 |
|Persimmon |60 |
|Papaya |60 |
|Strawberry |60 |
|Orange |50 |
|Lemon |40 |
|Melon, cantaloupe |40 |
|Cauliflower |40 |
|Grapefruit |30 |
|Raspberry |30 |
|Tangerine |30 |
|Mandarin orange |30 |
|Passion fruit |30 |
|Spinach |30 |
|Cabbage raw green |30 |
Vitamin E Sources
In foods, the most abundant sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils such as palm oil, sunflower, corn, soybean and olive oil. Nuts, sunflower seeds, seabuckthorn berries, and wheat germ are also good sources. Other sources of vitamin E are whole grains, fish, peanut butter, and green leafy vegetables. Fortified breakfast cereals are also an important source of vitamin E in the United States. Although originally extracted from wheat germ oil, most natural vitamin E supplements are now derived from vegetable oils, usually soybean oil.
The actual content of Vitamin E for rich sources is stated in the following list: [2]
Wheat germ oil (215.4 mg/100 g)
Sunflower oil (55.8 mg/100 g)
Hazelnut (26.0 mg/100 g)
Walnut oil (20.0 mg/100 g)
Peanut oil (17.2 mg/100 g)
Soybean oil (14.6 mg/100 g)
Olive oil (12.0 mg/100 g)
Peanut (9.0 mg/100 g)
Pollard (2.4 mg/100 g)
Corn (2.0 mg/100 g)
Asparagus (1.5 mg/100 g)
Oats (1.5 mg/100 g)
Soybean (1.2 mg/100 g)
Chestnut (1.2 mg/100 g)
Coconut (1.0 mg/100 g)
Tomatoes (0.9 mg/100 g)
Carrots (0.6 mg/100 g)
Coenzyme Q
Vital for mitochondria, our symbiotic energy source. The highest dietary sources of Coenzyme Q10 come from - in descending order according to content - fresh sardines and mackerel, the heart, liver and meat of beef, lamb and pork along with eggs. There are plenty of vegetable sources of Coenzyme Q10, the richest being spinach, broccoli, peanuts, wheat germ and whole grains - in that order, although the amount is significantly smaller than that found in meats. Also, it is important to note that these foods must be raw, fresh and unprocessed - no milling, canning, preserving, freezing, etc., plus grown/produced in an unpolluted environment to be considered “good” sources.
Minerals Back
As I noted, your best mineral sources are chelated, colloidal, or in the form of salt. The best natural source is seaweed, and Atlantic Dulse is the best of these. Unrefined sea salt is also a good source. The problem with supplements is the limited number of minerals one obtains that way. There is a large complex of trace minerals we need to be healthy, so natural sources are usually better than created ones.
Magnesium
“…diabetics with the lowest magnesium levels had the most severe retinopathy, and that low magnesium levels were linked significantly to retinopathy more than any other factor.” (Link - ).
Best Sources: Green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their color) contains magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium. Refined grains are generally low in magnesium. When white flour is refined and processed, the magnesium-rich germ and bran are removed. Bread made from whole grain wheat flour provides more magnesium than bread made from white refined flour.
Back Chapter 8 - Physical Exercise (VITAL) TOC
Everyone, before starting an exercise program, should be checked by a physician. Start exercising slowly; possibly with walking only in the beginning and gradually increase the amount of exercise you do. Sweating is a very good thing both for your overall health and your skin’s health (the largest organ in your body). Although the liver eliminates roughly 75% of the toxins we take in, sweat eliminates the other 25%. If you usually don’t sweat now, start sweating! Saunas and Sweat Lodges (check with you local Tribal groups) are excellent.
Our bodies were meant to spend between two and three hours a day in physical exercise, but modern, sedentary lifestyles have destroyed this. ANY EXERCISE IS BETTER THAN NO EXERCISE AT ALL. Note that everything I mention below I either use, or have used at some time, and they all have had very beneficial effects for my body.
One thing that is an absolute necessity is to stimulate your lymph system. The lymph system resides primarily in the upper legs and intestines and is your primary immune system support. Squats work wonders (first thing in the morning, I put my hands on the back of a chair or a sink and do 20 squats at a moderate speed to stimulate my lymph system). Tai Chi is even better, and is probably the best single exercise set to use for just about anything. It works on everything in the body and is also both highly aerobic and a form of moving meditation for calming the mind. This helps keep you strong, agile and in excellent physical condition with only about 10 to 20 minutes of exercise per day. However, a full set takes a while to learn, and you can’t really learn from a book. Also, young people frequently have trouble with Tai Chi’s slow pace (doesn’t seem aerobic, but it is). A simpler and powerful alternative that takes a far shorter time to learn and can easily be learned from a book is the Chinese Eight Pieces of Brocade. I used to teach this in three-day 45 minute training sessions at Luther College (Decorah, IA) during summer terms. Dr. Master Yang Jwing Ming () has both a video and an excellent book on this exercise set.
Walking is a very, very good exercise. Worldwide, the average person walks for more than an hour per day. In America, it is roughly 5-15 minutes due to our love affair with cars. I recommend walking over running. Perhaps I should note that I used to run about 35 to 40 miles per week and was completely addicted to it (such a glorious feeling, and particularly so when you experience a runner’s high). Unfortunately hard concrete surfaces put a lot of pressure on your joints, and I ended up damaging my back badly in my mid 30s (It almost killed me emotionally when I had to quit running, but I have experimented and found alternatives like long distance biking and Tai Chi). However, just because this happened to me doesn’t mean it will happen to you. I knew our local 70 and older 10K champion, and he had no problems. Do what works for you! However, avoid HIGH HEELS (any heel over about one inch) – these are incredibly hard on your body’s structure.
Biking is excellent (long bike rides are best; these have a wonderful aerobic effect on the body). I don’t drive due to insulin reactions, so I get around on a bike (saves a lot of money too), so I am sure of getting roughly 40-50 minutes per day of aerobic exercise merely getting to and from work. I also always do Tai Chi (10-15 minutes) and some yoga every morning shortly after awakening. Empirical research suggests that biking, due to the balance phenomena it requires, actually helps heal bad backs. Tai Chi does this also, thus my back almost never bothers me. One danger with biking is that when you bike the roadways of America, the average cyclist is hit by a car roughly once every seven years. I have been regularly biking the roads for about 40 years and have been hit twice. It is wise to be careful (I use sidewalks where I can.).
Stretching is very important - there is an excellent book on how to stretch: The Wharton’s Stretch Book: Active-Isolated Stretching by Jim and Phil Wharton (1996). This is really a well-designed method and the complete set has amazing physical effects on the body.
|The best yoga-based stretch set I have ever used is that explained by Michio Kushi (1985) in his rather wonderful The Macrobiotic Way (p. 91).|
|It covers everything one needs quite adequately, and I do the last exercise every day, no matter what, even if I don’t have time for any other|
|exercise (the best single exercise I have ever tried). |
|[pic] |Other yoga exercises that are excellent to use in addition to Kushi’s set, for some key |
| |diabetic purposes are the shoulder stand, plough (great for pituitary & |
| |thyroid/parathyroid), cobra and corpse. The site |
| |has all but the plough – which is depicted to the left. |
Weight lifting – this is generally a good idea for anyone, and particularly so for women. When you are strong, everything is easier to do. I spent four years lifting weights 6 days a week (between 15 and 19), and the effects have remained with me throughout the next 40 years. Amazingly, Tai Chi also has a similar impact on strength (and I mean AMAZING, one might ask how that can be? – I simply have no answer.).
Swimming – An excellent aerobic exercise that works all the muscles in the body.
Running – I recommend gently running long distances rather than wind sprints, because there is less chance of damaging muscles, tendons, ligaments or joints. I also recommend running on beaches or grass, rather than concrete to reduce stress on your joints, ligaments, tendons and back. When you experience a runner’s high (used to take me about 40 minutes of steady and systematic running), the WONDER of it will make you seek to attain this again, and again, and again.
Tibetan Immortality Exercises – From the Eye of Revelation, as explained in Chris Griscom’s The Ageless Body (1992 - available from the Light Institute). This is a really amazing set of exercises although somewhat taxing physically. You will really feel the effects of this set. It takes a while for this to clear toxins and detrimental energies from your system, so those who are depleted or damaged will at first feel poorly after doing these exercises (This happened to me, and I am not depleted.).
Martial Arts
Martial Arts forms are beneficial physically for beginners, and mentally, emotionally and spiritually for advanced practitioners. In China, the most well-known martial arts forms appear to have originated during the 5th Century AD among Buddhist monks at the Shaolin Monastery due to the work of the Indian monk Da Mo when he developed Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Chi Kung (Jwing-Ming, 1989). Shortly after this, Kung Fu appeared. The horse stance is basic to all forms, and as noted above under lymph system, is a simply incredibly beneficial exercise. If you do nothing else, this exercise alone will benefit you enormously.
Martial Arts systems are generally divided into two forms: (1) Wei Dan (external or muscle based), and (2) Nei Dan (internal, or mind/spirit based). Wei Dan methods include forms like Kung Fu, Judo and Karate, while Nei Dan methods, which are far fewer in number, include only Tai Chi, Hsing Yi and Pa Kua Chuan.
Akido is something of an in-between method, including both nei dan and wei dan techniques. Wei dan forms tend to easier for younger people, due to the muscle-based approach. Nei dan forms are frequently studied by older individuals who, probably due to the change in time sense that results from aging[6] can spend the time and effort necessary to focus the mind rather than just using the body. Wei dan techniques, based as they are on muscles, weaken as one ages, while nei dan methods strengthen. I have formally studied Judo, Shotokan Karate, Kung Fu and Tai Chi, and had the privilege of physically interacting with the world Akido master in my youth. This experience significantly altered my understandings regarding the nature of the physical universe.
I recommend Tai Chi as the best of all possible exercise systems. However, for younger people, if there is a good Kung Fu, Karate or Judo/Jujitsu master around, that is a very useful approach. All of these are almost strictly wei dan. If there is a qualified Akido master nearby (something of a rarity), this form may be the best of all. Before starting, make sure that the master treats students well. Some do not, which is really a bit absurd, but the types of bad masters shown in movies like The Karate Kid actually do exist, although they are rare. A very good video is Bruce Lee’s “The Lost Interview.” Bruce Lee was a true master and a multi-form master. I once saw a video of this 145 lb man (Bruce Lee) sending the 185 lb Pan American Games Judo champion flying over bales of hay with a 5” strike. This could only be accomplished using nei dan techniques.
My experience with the Akido Master – At the time, I was a very muscular 185 lb young man, who looked and was extremely strong. Apparently the Akido Master thought I looked the strongest among the group observing he and his students as he guided them through their demonstrations (very joint-based method Akido, and fascinating). He invited me up and asked if I would lift him off the ground. He was extremely small, only weighed perhaps 110 lbs, so, using proper lifting techniques (I had been lifting weights steadily since I was 14), I lifted him about two feet into the air, and then set him down again. Then he said, “Now, lift me up.” Well, of course, I expected the same, but to my amazement, I was utterly unable to budge him off the floor the second time. I tried pushing him and lifting from different angles, and simply was unable to move him one inch. He must have really been laughing at the astounded expression on my face.
I now understand that what he did was to send down roots into the earth and create what is known in nei dan as the “Iron Body” which simply cannot be moved by mere wei dan forces. If you have seen the fictional movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the master displays this technique as he and the young woman battle in the treetops. A site that gives some background is: . Anyway, this taught me that things are not as they seem on the surface. One short video on a related topic: deals with the extraordinarily weird Double Slit Experiment in Physics. Things aren’t what they seem.
Chapter 9 - Mental Attitude and Activity TOC
Attitude is very important. If you believe and think you can do it, then you can do it. If you are positive about it, you can usually get through anything. Fortunately, children tend to be very Yang from a Chinese perspective, so they can usually handle things that adults find more difficult.
I highly recommend getting a copy of the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know." It deals with the quantum environment and how we can influence it. Another good movie on the topic of quantum reality is “Mindwalk,” but this one doesn’t deal with Creating One’s Day, which is a very interesting phenomenon. I also find the The Sedona Method (Dwoskin, 2003) to be a useful tool for the mental and emotional bodies.
Below are several useful recommendations for mental attitudes and activities that I have used at some time and which have proven to work, at for me and others.
Mental and Attitudinal Methods
Much of the following comes from Chris Griscom’s (1991) intriguing book Femine Fusion, Samuel Sagan’s (1997) Awakening the Third Eye, Lucjan Shila’s (1992) The Ultimate Resolution, or the wonderful movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004).
We have the choice at every moment to focus on the problem or the solution. The answer is inherent in every question.
See Also – Reducing War, Violence, Conflict and Crime
In the following, you simply cannot make mistakes. Whatever you choose will be the correct thing to do given your mind/body/spirit(soul)’s needs at that time.
Cultivate Stillness
This helps to accomplish all of the items below. Physically, you can be lying down on your back, with your hands at your side (probably better to put a rolled towel under your neck and a pillow under your knees to support your back). You also can be sitting either in a cross-legged position like yoga, or on your knees (put a pillow between you thigh and calves to reduce pressure on the knee joint) or sitting erect on a chair. It is frequently a good idea to have trees and plants around, but they are not a necessity. A very good spot is at the edge of a body of water (river, lake, bay, sea, or ocean). Dawn or dusk are recommended by most meditative methods. For example, Buddhists and Hindu’s usually meditate at the foot of a mature tree and preferably at dawn or dusk. It is, in fact, the transition location that stimulates spiritual energies best. Transitions occur where earth, air and water come together, and where the green world, air world and earth world come together.
The erect posture, in line with gravity and perpendicular (90*) to the earth’s surface is key. In an erect posture, your bones, tendons and ligaments support most of your weight, which allows you to relax your muscles (consciously at first, then later this will become automatic). Obviously, lying on your back makes it easy to relax muscles. Try to avoid any movement when working on the items below. Breathe steadily in and out. You needn’t breathe extremely deeply, just steadily. Don’t worry if you move or your mind wanders. Merely go back to your task when you become aware of the wandering or movement and try again. And most of all HAVE FUN while doing this, don’t reprimand yourself if you lose track or your mind wanders.
Focus Your Intent
If you set your intention to solve a problem, it will be solved. Be persistent, it may take a long time, but every day, set your intention to your objective and eventually it will occur if your intent is focused. Make sure first that it is something your body really wants.
Create Your Day (see What the Bleep)
Immediately upon awakening, before you begin to move, run through what you need to accomplish this day. Then center your awareness on completing these tasks. It might be a good idea to write down what you want to do the night before, and lay it below your pillow.
Alternatively, you can take a different, less directive approach – say to yourself very lowly, letting the words rest in your mind so you are fully present with each of them:
“Today, I will know extraordinary people.”
“Today, I will have an encounter of the unusual.”
“Today, I will know wealth in a way I have never known.”
“All along, I will be so excited about today; I shall never feel the illness that I dread every day.”
Creating Time
(Griscom, 1991, p. 88) Both the Kahuna and Silva Mind Control have demonstrated how to expand the time funnel by commanding the mind to find the answers, even while you turn your attention elsewhere. In fact, once you have set your intention, you must let go of the goal so that your higher mind can transverse the universal ethers to gather the appropriate energy and return it to you. ‚When I wake up tomorrow, I will have the answer, I feel the solution to this problem coming to me.‘ Do not let the outside world dictate timing, but let your inner self set the pace.“ Sense the moment to accomplish the task and it will occur.
Mentally Healing or Improving Yourself
Become still, then pay attention to what your body is telling you. Find the locale where a signal is being sent to your consciousness (this may move during the activity). Bring your consciousness into the part of the body that is indicating pain or unrest and ask what message is being sent. Breathe steadly and empty your mind of thoughts so you can listen to your body. You can consciously send a color into the area of unrest, just ask the body which color to send. Colors you might find suggested by your body include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and indigo (these are the colors of the succession of your chakras from the root to the crown). The color you select will reflect what area in your spirit body is experiencing a shortage/need at any given point in time.
Sound and Music
The positive effects of music on the human body are well documented. Humming apparently accesses the actual vibration of the electrons in the cells. Each of your chakras has a tone that stimulates it (note these may differ somewhat from person to person). You may be drawn to hum at a tone that stimulates your heart chakra, or your root chakra, or another. Whatever you choose will be the correct choice for you.
A Qi Gong (Chi Kung) exercise from Lucjan Shila (The Ultimate Resolution, p. 40)
Sit relaxed in stillness. “Then, when you inhale, you should draw in all the energy that has been misinterpreted by everyone and transform it into something unmistakable, like compassion, joy or peace. As the air enters your nostrils, imagine that it travels up the center of your forehead close to the surface, as if that was the path of your windpipe. You should imagine that this new path extends all the way up to the top of your head. Technically, the zenith point of this path is the fontanel, which is a little bit posterior to the top. In this Oi Gong, when you inhale, you should practice feeling the air/energy travel up through this new path, all the way to the fontanel, and then back down the same path and out the nose again as you exhale. As you exhale, you should imagine that the transformed energy is distributed with complete equanimity to benefit all life forms everywhere. Your breathing should be relaxed and natural, and you should continue for about five minutes. When you have become accustomed to this exercise, you can add the following detail. When inhaling, you should make the air feel cool and you should trace this coolness along the whole path from nose to fontanel. As you exhale, the air should and this feeling should also be traced for the entire path as the air recedes.” You should spend at least five minutes and longer, if possible, at least once per day – see also the Reducing War evidence below,
Back
Reducing War, Violence, Conflict and Crime
Chapter 10 – Sleep TOC
Your body will tell you how much sleep you need. Be sure to listen to your body. I have known people who need only 15 minutes of sleep per day, and others, who need 10 hours. It is, however, important to do what your body needs. Trudeau (2004) states that certain healing processes take place only between 10 pm and 2 am and you should be asleep during these times. I honestly don’t know whether this is true or not, but it may well be given that those would be natural times for primates to sleep before the use of fire and other unnatural light sources.
FINALLY
In fact, when you heal, it is your body doing the healing. No one actually heals you, even in hands-on or spiritual healing; rather they help guide your body to the place it needs to be to eliminate the problems. Modern Western Medicine helps reduce symptoms that handicap the body’s ability to heal itself, and this usually allows us to get back to the process of actually healing ourselves.
Maintain your health through wise choices many of which are outlined here, and you will find yourself to be more alive, vibrant, physically able and intelligent than you have been since childhood.
One last suggestion, from Trudeau (2004). In addition to the many toxins we take into our bodies today, another problem is the “electronic chaos,” in the form of computers, IPODs, TV, radio, WiFi, electrical lines (in buildings on the streets), etc., etc.. The chaos can damage the way our bodies natural energy flows work (see, for example, recent research showing how cell phone use is interfering with bees and honey production. Without bees, there is little pollen transfer and few plants – OUCH!). One method that appears to reduce the influence of this chaos is magnets. Get a ceramic, north-polarized magnet cushion for your most used chair, and sleep with a few magnet rings on your fingers and toes. This should help (This apparently improves Chi flow by reducing blockages, according to my feelings of flows within my body.).
Two books that I recommend to anyone who wishes to understand and improve themselves mentally, physically and emotionally are Dwoskin’s The Sedona Method (2003) and Bodhi’s In the Buddha’s Words (2005). The Sedona Method deals with freeing onself, as does In the Buddha’s Words. Both provide methods that work. Although I have been studying Buddhism for almost 40 years, it wasn’t until I read Bodhi’s work that I began to understand how incredible these teaching’s were. These two are much like Red Pine’s terrific translation of Lao-Tsu’s Lao-Tsu’s TaoTeChing (1996). Another worthwhile reading on this topic of nature, humanity and the universe is Rudolph Steiner’s 1890’s dissertation, The Philosophy of Freedom, reproduced in Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path : A Philosophy of Freedom (1995).
Again, let me state Above all else, that it is
ABSOLUTELY VITAL to nourish your joy.
References TOC
Bodhi, B. (2005). In the Buddha’s Words. Wisdom Publications, Sommerville, MA.
Chang, S.T., MD (1976). The Complete Book of Acupuncture. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA.
Criscom, C. (1991). Feminine Fusion: The Merging of Sexual Polarity. Light Institute Press, Gallisteo, NM.
Criscom, C. (1992). The Ageless Body. Light Institute Press, Gallisteo, NM.
Dwoskin, H. (2003). The Sedona Method. Malloy, Inc., Sedona, AZ.
Jwing-Ming, Y., Ph.D. (1989). Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Chi Kung: The Secret of Youth. Yang Martial Arts Association, Jamaica Plains, NY.
Kushi, M. (1985). The Macrobiotic Way: The Complete Macrobiotic Diet & Exercise Book. Avery Press, Wayne, NJ.
Lo, S.Y., Ph.D. (2004). The Biophysics Basis of Acupuncture and Health. Dragon Eye Press, Pasadena, CA.
Nambudripad, D. (1996). Living Pain Free with Acupressure. Delta Publishing Co. Buena Park, CA.
Ohsawa, G. (1060). Zen Macriobiotics. George Ohsawa Macriobiotic Foundation, Oroville, CA.
Robbins, J. (2001). The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World. Conari Press, Berkeley, CA.
Red Pine (1996). Lao-Tsu’s TaoTeChing. Mercury House, San Francisco, CA.
Sagan, S. (1997). Awakening the Third Eye. Clairvision Press. Roseville, NSW, Australia.
Shila, L. (1992). The Ultimate Resolution. Water Bubble Publishing, Tampa, FL.
Steiner, R. (1995). Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path : A Philosophy of Freedom.
Trudeau, K. (2004). Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. Alliance Publishing Group, Elk Grove, IL
What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004). Movie & Much More – Information available at:
Wharton, J. & Wharton, P. (1996). The Wharton’s Stretch Book: Active-Isolated Stretching. Random House, NY.
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[1] Two Good Documentaries on the topic are The Future of Food and Why We Fight.
[2] High Protein diets tend to acidify the blood stream. Since we are alkaline creatures, our body must increase the ph to alkalize the blood when this occurs. A more alkaline diet accomplishes this. Acid diets force the body to either drain calcium from the bones, or generate ammonia in the kidneys to alkalize the blood. The calcium loss is what causes osteoporosis. Consuming more calcium has minimal beneficial effects for osteoporosis.
[3] About half of China lives on Millet, the only grain that has all 12 Amino Acids and is wonderfully aromatic and delicious. In American we primarily feed it to birds and feed lot animals like hogs.
[4] Note that benefit depends on the situation. As noted, Gator-aide and other such drinks can be useful following heavy-duty exercise like running long distances.
[5] I’m not sure exactly where to put the potato, the food from Peru.
[6] As one ages, time appears to move, more rapidly. Having worked with very elderly individuals as a Gerontologist, and very young individuals, as a father and a Scout Leader, the differences in perceptions is simply astounding. This phenomena apparently associates with the lowering of metabolic rates.
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