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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

pqtd Guns are Paleo


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Another rather inflammatory podcast from PaleoJay! Guns are Paleo?! Yes, they are; let me explain.

With all the national rhetoric about outlawing guns and the 2nd amendment, I have to violently disagree. Every time that guns are taken away, crime goes up dramatically. Look at Chicago, and actually any major city in the U.S.- they all have strict gun laws, and at the same time have out of control crime! So, the logic seems to be to make the gun laws even stricter, and then we will have even more out of control crime.

If I was a criminal, it would be my fondest hope to disarm everyone who I might victimize. Easy pickings, what could be better? I would also want everyone to be physically very weak, and unable to defend themselves in any way. I’d want them all to be sickly, and so easy to rob or kill that I would hardly have to try.

Let’s take the analogy further: if I was the federal government, and I wanted a compliant populace that just obeyed every dictate I made in my big, top-down, micromanaging state, I would also want everyone disarmed. Then, I would want them paying the very maximum in taxes, so they could not determine their own lives, but would be directed totally by us, the federal government bureaucrats.

In addition, I’d want everyone to be pretty sick, so I would make up lies about how whole grains are the best thing to eat, and fat and red meat are the worst. I’d even subsidize grain farmers with your tax money so that they could produce more and more of that poor food, at the expense of vegetable farmers. Then, grain would be so cheap that farmers could feed it to cattle, which would make the cattle sick and fat, just like the citizenry. And, when they ate this unnatural meat, they would get even sicker and fatter! Win Win for the government!

And just think of all the medical procedures and pharmaceutical drugs that would be needed with such a populace! All the new government, controlling programs we could set up under the guise of funding all of this unnatural, unneeded medicine. It would be unneeded, if only people ate and lived a paleo type of lifestyle.

Big Government is diametrically opposed to paleo! Paleo is small scale, locally and tribally based. Take care of yourself, and those in your “tribe” of family and friends. If you are weak, and without weapons, you are a liability to your tribe- a burden. If you are strong, hard working and vital, you can not only help yourself, but also those others who you decide are worthy of help. Not those the government decides needs your help via taxation!

So, choose the side of strength and self-determination. Don’t ask an MD how you should live and eat, and don’t ask the government for God’s sake! Do your own research, look into the common sense paleolithic lifestyle that has stood humankind well for all of time. Eat real foods, exercise naturally, avoid processed crap, grains and sugar. Sleep 8 hours each night, and do real physical work, not just shuffle papers or stare at a computer screen by day, and a television screen by night. Walk barefoot in nature daily, and create things, whether music, or writing, or painting, or woodworking- we are creative beings, and are really only fulfilled and happy when we are making new things.

And, to protect and serve both your own family and others in your tribe, get yourself a gun or two. Weapons are paleo. GUNS are paleo. To go without a gun, you are setting yourself up for evolutionary extinction. It is wrongheaded, and irresponsible.


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Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Train Around Injuries


We all know what it’s like when all is going great- morning workout, great breakfast with a green paleo smoothie and coffee with coconut oil and cinnamon, cloves and chocolate powder- and then off to a productive day! Life can be wonderful…

But, it can also be quite stressful, as we all know. I know personally, because I got injured! While not the end of the world, injuries can be very stressful, both mentally and physically. Just know that injuries are, periodically, a real part of leading an authentic, athletic life. Just sequestering yourself and perpetually “being careful” about your body is a fast track to the nursing home- our bodies expect, and need to be stressed, and to do hard things at the very edge of our abilities!

In my case, I just overworked. This is the same as overtraining, which I have seen time and again- someone gets good results with strength training, and thinks “Hey- if I just do even more I’ll be awesome!” Well, then they wind up with black and blue bruises on their triceps, or wherever, and become weaker, not stronger than before- and also injured in many cases, which is even worse.

I know the dangers of overtraining- in fact, my podcast and blog are kind of a mantra against such overtraining- forget the heavy weights, do bodyweight training, train your tendons and ligaments before your muscles exclusively- be cautious yet train very hard! I know this so well, in my training…

But, when I get caught up in physical work, well, I get too caught up and forget. I just want to get the job completed! And so, when I painted my barn of a garage, I just kept going, and going, and going! Then, I wanted to construct a playhouse for my grandson, and kept working on it, in very confined spaces, with a big power drill that contorted my body (and shoulders) into uncomfortable angles. These two activities took up 4 whole days, on which of course I did my workouts before starting work!

And then, my mower deck needed repair- I crawled underneath, and spent most of another day, doing that…

My right shoulder was fried! Dark bruises formed around the perimeter, and I could not really lift my right arm above my head. Me! PaleoJay, exercise nut and functional fitness espouser- victim of my own cautionary tales. Ah, such is humility.

It happens. We are all only all too human, and afterwards we need to get up and start to repair the damage. And, it is a learning experience: I learned about DMSO, which is Dimethyl sulfoxide. You can get it in a cream form, or liquid, and I have been rubbing the cream on my shoulder a couple of times per day. It is anti-inflammatory, and enhances circulation dramatically- in addition, it relieves pain really quickly as well. DMSO has been used by veterinarians and horse race trainers for decades, along with some enlightened medical practitioners.

I plan to continue to use it, and explore its possibilities. Of course, the FDA disapproves, as they disapprove of anything that can’t be patented by drug companies for huge profit potential. DMSO has been known of for so long, that no one can claim the patent.

In addition to that? Train cautiously. For a few days, all I did was to stretch out in the mornings. Also, I did do isometric full body holds for multiple reps, with my arms at my sides… Then, I added in straight legged setups and hindu squats for multiple sets, since they did not aggravate my upper body. My shoulder mobility improved dramatically, and this morning, about a week later, I did some pushups and other exercises using my gymnastic rings in the basement! Hallelujah!! If you do not yet have rings in your house or garage, consider getting them- the most useful apparatus for training ever.

I was doing pushups in the almost standing position, and flies as well- no strain. Went back and lower, still fine- I just made sure to not go into the “pain zone”. I could do pistol squats as well, no problem, and even chins on the rings, with leg support.

The one thing I can’t do yet is isometrics with arm-against-arm resistance. But it will come, and soon- you just need to listen to your body, and not give up!

Being careful about training is not the same as being careful by doing nothing!


Check out this episode!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

pqtd 136 White willow bark


Yes, my friend, White Willow Bark is really the only drug that I can wholeheartedly recommend! It has really no side effects, is very effective, and can be used without reservation. It works for headache, muscle or joint pain- almost anything really, that most folks have been resorting to aspirin, ibuprofen, and tylenol for. (Along with more potent drugs with more damaging side effects!)

The good news is this: white willow bark is very, very effective, has virtually no side effects, and is inexpensive. Let us compare white willow bark to Tylenol, the supposedly safe aspirin substitute: “acetaminophen [Tylenol] poisoning now accounts for at least 42% of U.S. acute liver failure cases seen at tertiary-care centers [large hospitals] and one third of the deaths.”

Isn’t that awful? How about the old standby, aspirin? “No conventionally used prophylactic Aspirin™ regimen seems free of the risk of peptic ulcer complications,” said the British Medical Journal.

Aspirin always made me sick to my stomach! Rightfully so, since it degrades the stomach lining! So, let’s just go to ALL of the NSAID’s- the Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs, and consider them all:

Over-the-counter pain relievers. Nonprescription pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve, others) can damage your liver, especially if taken frequently or combined with alcohol. Prescription medications.Jun 1, 2013

And, as I stressed earlier, not just the liver! So, since Hippocrates himself recommended white willow bark, why oh why does not current Western medicine, (of which he is the founder) not do so as well??

So far as as I can tell, it’s just because there is no money to be made- no patent- nothing!! It’s free to all, a natural substance, from the white willow itself! In fact, you can even purchase the willow bark to chew, which is fine, but tablets are also readily available.

“So, Jay- why is white willow bark so great?”

Great question, grasshopper, and it is simple to answer. As a natural substance, white willow bark is not isolated, or refined into a prescription drug type of deal. It is totally a natural substance, which means it contains all the substances of the original plant, not just a tiny subset that has been concentrated unnaturally. There is more than just salicin, which is the only active ingredient in aspirin.

As the University of Maryland medical center puts it:

The bark of white willow contains salicin, which is a chemical similar to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). In combination with the herb's powerful anti-inflammatory plant compounds (called flavonoids), salicin is thought to be responsible for the pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects of the herb. In fact, in the 1800s, salicin was used to develop aspirin. White willow appears to bring pain relief more slowly than aspirin, but its effects may last longer.

Medicinal Uses and Indications

Willow bark is used to ease pain and reduce inflammation. Researchers believe that the chemical salicin, found in willow bark, is responsible for these effects. However, studies show several other components of willow bark, including plant chemicals called polyphenols and flavonoids, have antioxidant, fever-reducing, antiseptic, and immune-boosting properties. Some studies show willow is as effective as aspirin for reducing pain and inflammation (but not fever), and at a much lower dose. Scientists think that may be due to other compounds in the herb

And that is the bottom line- there are other plant chemicals, that make everything more effective, and much safer.

So get yourself some white willow bark! Get it now, since you don’t want to be like me, who gave all of mine away (I rarely need it), and then tried to buy it locally. Trust me: when you go to Walmart of Walgreens (the two Wally’s), and ask for “white willow bark”, it is as if you asked for “eye of newt”… They won’t have it, although their websites do.

Just get a good variety, like NOW foods or Nature’s Way. Keep it on hand, or give it away, knowing you will only help. As Hippocrates said it: “First, do no harm!”

NSAIDs do harm. Modern medicine has lost their way…

 

 


Check out this episode!

Wednesday, September 7, 2016