Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #20- Eat God food, Eliminate Man food, and Grow your Health!

It is almost universal- someone first hears about the Paleo Diet, and the very first thing they hear is to eliminate wheat!  Although it is a wonderful step, and very beneficial, it is NOT just because this eliminates the gluten and gliadin anti-nutrients or toxins within it that degrade your intestinal wall… the main reason, in my opinion, is that it frees up all of those nutrient poor calories you have been eating in the form of bread, cereals, muffins, pancakes, fiber 1 bars, twinkles, cookies… you get the idea!  

 

Just this one act forces you to start eating real, God-made, nutrient DENSE foods- foods chock full of every ingredient God and nature have determined is essential to your overall health and well-being!  Not just the macro-nutrients, like adequate protein and good fats, and not just the vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A, D, C, E, K, and all the rest we are concerned with- but especially all of the nutrients that the best minds in science STILL DO NOT KNOW THAT WE REALLY NEED!!

 

But need them we do- they are the many “missing pieces of the puzzle” that spell out HEALTH AND WELLNESS- the phytonutrients and micronutrients that have not even been discovered yet.  All of these missing nutrient pieces of health are within real, God made food- things like green leafy vegetables, oxidant rich berries, cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, grass fed meats (especially grass fed ORGAN meats!), pastured butter and eggs, sardines and scallops!  

 

The MORE you eat of these real, God made foods, THE BETTER!  

 

This notion of eating MORE is so alien to us in modern, fake food America- we are all supposed to eat LESS, and of course to MOVE MORE, to burn off those icky calories…

 

I say BS- Factory farmed excrement!!

 

Eat all you want; in the beginning eat all you CAN of these wonderful real foods- put them in your Vitamix blender, except for the meats!, along with green tea, kefir, potato starch, pastured butter and eggs, cod liver oil, turmeric,cinnamon,and build your health, and the health of your microbiome from the inside out!

 

I honestly believe that this is the ultimate key to health and wellness!

 

Most folks read books like Wheat Belly, or The Paleo Solution, and although both of these are wonderful, informative books- they lead people to concentrate on elimination of bad foods, rather than positive embracing of wonderful, real, God made foods!!

 

So go you, and do… the opposite!  

 

Eat real foods- eat LOTS of real, nutrient-loaded REAL FOODS!  Glory in how full you are- think about all of those building blocks being available for your body to build, repair, and just plain REVEL in!

 

Eliminate the man-made processed junk, too!  But, the emphasis should be on incorporating the good foods, after you do that, you really won’t have the room or even the inclination to consume the BAD- you just won’t have the room.

 

And that is the bottom line of health, my friend- to paraphrase the great John Wesley of Methodism fame:

 

Eat as much God food as you can

Eliminate the Man food as much as you can

And your Health will grow as fast as it can!

 

 

J

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #19 Straight Legged Situps and Planks!

What I want you consider is this:

 

The FIRST thing you do, each and every morning, is to first fixate on your breath, breathe into your diaphragm and then your chest, in bed, to gradually awaken yourself naturally and healthfully.  This is incredibly important for overall health and wellness- costal breathing is vital for maximum health!

 

Next, after going to the bathroom, go to your workout area- for me, this is in front of my television!  Lay down a towel if you’d like; I do, and then go through a brief warmup, rotating your neck, shoulder rolls, quarter squats, side to side twists- just methodically warm up each and every joint in your body, gently and pleasantly!  

 

At this point, I go into my kitchen, start the water boiling in my teakettle for both green tea and coffee, and then get my Vitamix blender canister and assemble my morning Paleo Green Smoothie- the foundation of my Health!!  I have ingredient lists on www.paleojay.com, and in my eBooks Perfectly Paleo Exercise and Paleo Quick Start, but here is the idea in a nutshell:  

 

Pour into the canister about a cup or so of green tea… add a can of coconut milk if you have it (ideal!), if not just add in about a cup or so of frozen mixed veggies, I like the California Mix that is cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots.  Add in another cup of kale, or spinach, or whatever fresh or frozen green you have on hand, and then throw in cod liver oil, Vitamin D, kelp powder, spirulina powder, a couple of raw free range eggs, a bit of Kerry gold butter- whatever you know to be really nutrient dense and super healthy- throw it in!!  The idea is to give yourself the maximum dose of nutrition possible, in an easily drinkable and absorbable form!  The results are actually miraculous!!

 

Anyway, blend it up for a couple of minutes, and then make your coffee and tea- this whole process takes maybe 15 minutes max- I use an Aerobie Press coffee maker- about $20, and makes the very best coffee you will ever taste- the procedure is a little “ritual” that I enjoy…

 

NOW, at last, we get to the subject of this podcast!  I just want you to realize that exercise is important, but nutrition is paramount, as is deep, costal breathing for your health!  So, do those FIRST, and THEN-

 

Go into your workout space, turn on your favorite Netflix program (this is what I do, daily!), and prepare to enjoy yourself!  Watching Television passively, sitting on a couch or chair, is NOTHING compared to actively building your health and vitality while watching!

 

I always start with a sequence of Virtual Resistance exercise, which I have covered before, so lets get into the sequel: Straight legged sit-ups, and planks!  

 

These two exercises are the very best for your core; the part of the human body that is most neglected, and the most important for the health of the interior organs, and the overall body itself!  In addition, the straight legged situp also stretches and revitalizes the spine with each repetition.

 

Start with the straight legged situp: curl your body up from a flat position on the floor, and try to go as low as you can trying to touch your forehead to your knees.  Repeat.  Do NOT put your feet under anything to anchor them- it is crucial that you curl up without this crutch!  If you can’t do it at first, get into the top position, and then curl down slowly to the flat position- stick with it!  This negative situp is actually the most productive and result-producing part of the exercise!

 

Now, it’s Plank time!  Turn on your left side, and support your body on your left elbow and left foot.  You can just hold this pose, but I like to lower my hips to the floor, and then raise them, for reps- this speeds up the effect!  

 

Next, just turn onto your right side, and do the same thing…

 

Situp time again!  And then planks again…

 

The thing is; while you are watching a compelling program on TV at the same time, doing the exercises is not onerous at all- it is enjoyable and productive!  I like to think that I am earning the right to be entertained!

 

And so, with this mindset, you can start your day with not only the best base of nutrition you could possible have, with your Vitamix-powered Paleo Green Smoothie- you are also completely energized with oxygenated blood, and muscles stimulated to make the best possible use of that maximum nutrient density!  A WIN WIN!!

 

Go on out and rule the day!

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #18 FINALLY Give up Smoking!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #18 Finally GIVE UP SMOKING!!

 

I know- this doesn’t seem like a Paleo Quick Tip of the Day at all- I mean, we have been working on transitioning into the Paleo or ancestral way of life for 18 weeks now, and have literally, if following the suggestions here faithfully transformed our health and appearance dramatically for the better!   So why am I talking about smoking?

 

Well, early on in PQTD, I said to not even worry about giving up smoking, because it was so much more important to first give up grains.  This is correct: the damage done by grains, causing damage to your intestine resulting in a permeable intestine, or leaky gut is far worse for your health even than smoking!  And, including the loss of insulin sensitivity and the decreasing of communication between your insulin levels and lectin communication with your brain about your fat stores- the difference between giving up smoking, and giving up grains AND sugars if monumental.

 

Cigarettes will take 40 years or so to kill you; grains and sugars can do it much, much faster- and make you look and feel much, much worse as well!  

 

So, that is why I put the stress first on giving up the grains and sugars, and only NOW turn to eliminating the lesser toxin of smoking!  

 

Also, this last, contrary to popular belief, is incredibly easy nowadays.  

 

You just substitute “vaping”, or an e-Cigarette device for your cigarettes!  

 

Really, it is just that easy!  You can just get an advanced, refillable vaping device, like the Vapor Zeus by www. vap4life.com, and some e-Juice from either them, or from what I think is the best (I have researched all of this. at great length) e-juice provider- www.virginvapor.com

 

I will put more information up about all of this on a later post at www.paleojay.com, since that is a more appropriate forum for a more in depth article about not only vaping in general, and why it is an effortless and very effective substitute for smoking that not only eliminates most of the harm of cigarettes, but also is even more enjoyable for many, much cheaper and socially acceptable, and actually is a safe, appealing method to introduce measured amounts of nicotine… and nicotine actually has some wonderful HEALTH BENEFITS- it is the particulates from burning tobacco, and even more-so the many, many chemical additions from cigarette manufacturers that are really harmful!!

 

 

And so, get on board with gaping if you are a smoker!  Start right now- get a device, get some e-juice, and substitute!  Don’t get a cheap disposable e-cigarette if you really want to substitute this for the smoking habit- those are manufactured largely by the cigarette manufacturers who don’t really want you to quit!  Take control yourself- get a device, recharge it when needed, and cape away- add juice when needed- 

 

YOU ARE NO LONGER A SMOKER- BOOM!  THAT FAST!  

 

And if you want, you can easily taper the nicotine levels down to nothing, and STILL enjoy vaping.. on flavored water vapor!!  But, you may not even want to go that low, since there are some benefits to nicotine- but, more on that later!  For now, just enjoy being a vaper, and an ex-smoker!!

 

J

 

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #17 Throw out your Scale, and then Go Forest Bathing!

The  first thing I’d like you to do today, after listening to this podcast is to…

 

THROW OUT YOUR SCALE!

 

The ridiculous notion of measuring how much gravity we displace, on any given day, is just that- ridiculous!  It shows NOTHING!  

 

Like our BMI- there is nothing about how much muscle to fat ratio there is; it is just how much weight we displace on this earth… signifying ….

NOTHING!  Modern medicine, and modern life in general thrives on measuring, and quantifying numbers.  Unfortunately, most of these numbers don’t mean anything, but they are looked at very gravely, and the practitioner folds his or her hands and says:  “Oh- very interesting!”

 

One of the most worthless indicators of your health is… YOUR BODY WEIGHT!  

 

There, I’ve said it!  If your goal is to be “as thin as possible”, you are very, very confused, and brainwashed by the media and the medical establishment…

 

What you REALLY want is to be as healthy as possible!  

 

DUH!!

 

Really, how did we ever get away from this vital, common sense, obvious conclusion??  

 

Well, my theory is that we have fallen for fake “Scientism”, rather than true SCIENCE, as was advocated by the ancient Greeks.  Scientism is what has predominated for the past 50 years or so, and it is fake, 1830’s or so era “science”, that leans on common knowledge, and repeats it, without question, and without following the real scientific method, which assumes you need to TEST the theory, rather than just ASSUME it is true!

 

In REAL SCIENCE, we would TEST the idea that body weight has any relation to overall health… but, in our current, medically sanctioned  view, it is a GIVEN, just like the notion that FAT IS BAD.  

 

These are medieval notions, in both cases- They are only true, because…

 

THEY ARE SAID TO BE TRUE!

 

Throw away your scale, and concentrate on how you FEEL, your overall HEALTH, and photos of your physique for an unbiased view of yourself!

 

The more muscle you build, through Perfectly Paleo Exericize, utilizing body weight and virtual and self resisted exercise- the BETTER!

 

And, the more WEIGHT you gain from this, the BETTER!  

 

Muscle is metabolic currency- it will keep you healthy better than any other asset you could gain.

 

And so, my friends, throw out your scale?  As Robb Wolf says famously: 

“Give it to your worst enemy!”  

 

Let THEM suffer.

 

And after you’ve done that, go out and… 

 

FOREST BATHE!

 

Never heard of that?

 

As I understand, it is a BIG trend in Japan.  And, as I know, it is a  HUGE trend in rural Wisconsin- particularly in the PaleoJay community!!

 

Probably one of my favorite things in LIFE is “forest bathing” in my backyard!   I have several acres here in Southwestern Wisconsin, and what I LOVE to do is just… (you guessed it)- FOREST BATHE!

 

What does this even mean?  

 

It means I just relish nature- I go out, and walk around on my property, enjoying the birdsong; the pollen in the air, the oxygenation all around me, the trees, and the grounding of my bare feet with the earth!

 

AND THIS TIME SPENT IN NATURE, EVEN IT IS JUST 15 MINUTES, IS MORE IMPORTANT TO MY HEALTH, BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE!

 

Sorry for the Capital letters in the show notes, but I feel really strongly about this.

 

I have gone so far, that I have even built a small structure, a TINY PUB, that resides way back in my woodlands… 

 

It’s a retreat, a hide-away, and even a JUKE JOINT, given my musical leanings- and, above all, it is a BLAST!  

 

This evening, I spent several hours down there, playing guitar, then reading, and finally just gazing out the opened doors of the PUB as we call it, since it is Irish-themed.. With my faithful CAT by my side!

 

This evening did more for my overall health than a TON of lab work could possibly have done!  I FEEL WONDERFUL!!

 

Go thou, and do likewise!

J

www.paleojay.com

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #16 The BEST Paleo exercise of ALL!

The Asian Squat!  So called because it is still used frequently in Asia, as well as in most of the undeveloped world, is the single best thing you can do for your flexibility, and the health of your BACK!

It seems like not a big deal, but just as we have ruined the health of our feet by overuse of shoes, and never letting our feet develop and function as they were designed to do… so also have we ruined the natural function and health of our backs, legs, and calves by overusing chairs.

This really is the single most important “exercise” you can do for your bodily health, and it’s not really an EXERCISE at all- it is a form of resting… at least it will be once you master it, by doing it on a regular basis.

The way I do it, is when I do my Perfectly Paleo Exercises in the early morning; between sets of pushups, or straight legged sit-ups, or whatever else I am doing- I squat down, barefooted as I am as I exercise, and just hold it.  I rest my hands on my thighs, and just relax into this health promoting and flexibility enhancing squat position.

Now, I’ve been doing this for years, but I remember when I started I could not do it at all!  I rose up on my toes like most Westerners, and my center of balance was way off towards the front, rather than centered over my flattened feet… you just need to practice, as in most things!  If you can’t do it at all, stand in a doorframe, and go as low as you can into a squat, supporting yourself with your hands on the sides of the frame.  Or else put a board under your heels.  There are lots of ways to work into it, but the important thing is to work into it. It really won’t take that long; maybe a couple of weeks of daily practice- and the benefits are incredible!  When you are in the Asian Squat, you are stretching your whole lower body, and simultaneously rejuvenating your spine and lower back in the most natural manner possible!

You know how a cat stretches, when it gets up from lying down? Stretching its back, and extending it’s legs out in front?  Well, this is the Human version- squatting down to the lowest position, with flat feet!

It seems like a small thing, this full on, Asian Squat… but it is not.

Just this one thing, when you master it, will do more for the health of your entire body and spine than any chiropractor ever could!

Not to say anything against chiropractors, of which there are many fine ones, but doing things for yourself, by yourself, is better than anything that can be done for you.   This is just a fact of life, and carries over into any and all endeavors- we are our own best doctors!

And teachers, and counselors, and cooks, and gardeners, and determiners of our own lives!!

Self reliance is the best medicine, and the best advice EVER.

So, get down into an Asian squat.  Relax into it, feel the stretch, even rock back and forth a bit to relish it… Now, you are your own chiropractor!!
J

Paleo Quick Tip of the Daqy #15- Chill out with Magnesium, and become a Paleo Sunshine Vitamin D Superman!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #15- Chill out with Magnesium, and become a Paleo Sunshine Vitamin D Superman!

PQTD #15  Chill out with Magnesium, and become a Paleo Vitamin D Sunshine Superman!


I’m sure you can tell, just by hearing the above, that Vitamin D, the “sunshine Vitamin”, since that is how we naturally synthesize it, is not only necessary for health, it is is critical!!  But magnesium, the mineral, is just as critical, and works in synergy with Vitamin D to our benefit.

Everyone in the modern world is indoctrinated with the belief that, yes- calcium is needed for bone health!  But, if you are eating a paleo type of diet, such as is recommended in Paleo Quick Tip of the Day, with a big green Paleo smoothie or two per day, full of raw leafy whole greens, and also consume a big salad most days, along with Greek yogurt and kefir in your smoothie- you have plenty of calcium!

You also have some magnesium, but even you, Paleo person, are probably short of magnesium.

The reason is that, nowadays, our soil is so depleted of nutrients through chemical fertilizer bases over-farming, that most of the magnesium that used to be in our soils is...GONE!

Now when little PaleoJay was growing up, 60 years ago, our soil was still chock full of the very necessary nutrient... but NOT NOW.  Just as we have introduced the perverse fluoride poison into our water, we have eliminated most of our sources of magnesium- and, ironically, fluoride binds with magnesium, and drains it from our bodies!!
Talk about a double insult!

What to do?

Continue with all the steps you’ve taken thus far, like eating a real, God made food, veggie rich, Paleo Smoothie per day whipped up in your Vitamix blender...sleep well, 8 hours per night... exercise as outlined in previous Paleo Quick Tips of the Day...

AND supplement with Vitamin D3 and Magnesium!

I am not one who would be big into supplements- but these TWO are critical!

Unless you spend at least 15 minutes per day in a bathing suit, at high noon, outside in the sunshine- get some Vitamin D Liquid!    A couple of drops per day, in your smoothie or right on your tongue will do it- it’s cheap, tasteless, and very, very effective!

I like Liquid Vitamin D3 by Seeking Health, 2000 IU per drop!  On Amazon, and very economical indeed!

And you also need Magnesium- the product Natural Calm, also on Amazon, is amazing, inexpensive, and easily available on... Amazon!  Also from many other vendors...  And Magnesium Oil, available from Ancient Minerals, also on Amazon, is another easy way to supplement- just spray the liquid onto your skin, after your shower- it soaks right in, and loads you up with magnesium, easily.




But just why do you need these two incredible supplements?  Well, if you have high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, depression, anxiety, rheumatoid arthritis- the list goes on and on- you are probably magnesium and/or Vitamin D deficient.  They work together, eliminating, in many cases, migraine headaches, and diabetes...  and also, especially in the case of Vitamin D- CANCER.

It has recently been released that darker skinned peoples, especially, in the Northern hemisphere are MUCH more, at least 30% more likely to die of ALL types of cancer that fairer skinned individuals- specifically because they produce less Vitamin D from their skin.  But lighter skinned people are at nearly as much risk, because we have all become so sun averse- we are all afraid of skin cancer!


Ironically, however, Vitamin D, usually derived from the sun itself, is the most protective vitamin, along with magnesium to prevent skin cancer!!

I know, this is quite a truth bomb to absorb- but, if you get out in the sun, eat lots of green veggies, and supplement even MORE with Vitamin D and Magnesium-

YOU WILL BE WAY, WAY HEALTHIER!

As usual, it seems, conventional medical advice is ...WRONG!

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #14- Play, but do REAL WORK FIRST!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #14 Play, but do REAL WORK FIRST!


One big thing brought up in the Paleo world lately is the importance of PLAY!

I would never argue with this: PLAY is what mammals, including human animals, DO.  It is part and parcel of our makeup; the interplay between members of a tribe of men, or a pack of dogs for that matter- this has huge importance to the development of interrelations of the various members of those groups, their mental and physical health, and also the layers of dominance.  All really, really important stuff indeed!

But, let’s put it into context:  Today you worked out, using virtual resistance, pushups, other body-weight moves like straight legged situps, hindu squats, gymnastic rings training (You own the eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise, of course!), so you know just what to do!

And then, you went to work- probably a desk job- and now you’re home!  You feel good, you feel energized; after all, you slept a good 8 and 1/2 hours last night, had a big glass of Paleo Green Smoothie along with your eggs this morning, a big salad for lunch topped with grass fed beef-

You feel pretty darn good!  

So, should you just go out and play frisbee with your friends and family??  Or golf?  Cards??? (Does anyone even play anymore?)  Board games?? VIDEO GAMES??

Well, you sure could!  You’ve earned the right... but, have you ever considered that you might be better served, as would the world at large...

IF YOU DID SOME REAL WORK FIRST??

Now don’t go crazy and get your back up!  I know you’ve already worked an 8 hour day or longer, plus worked out in the early AM...

But really, have you done any real work??

Real work is physical in the real sense of the word: Moving, carrying, lifting - hard, physical, manual labor.

It is really becoming a concern that many, many folks in this modern, digital age, have really...  never done any real, manual, hard, physical WORK- NEVER!!

Real, physical work, not just typing on a keyboard or talking on a telephone, is what we are really programmed to do!  It’s the Yang to the Ying of meditation and physical culture- we create a calm, centered, rational mind and healthy body to.... work!

I don’t mean an assembly line of fake work- I mean accomplishing real tasks, and feeling great about it!





Last Saturday evening, I had spent the whole evening cutting wood, and moving it.  Exhausting, tough labor- but very rewarding when accomplished!  The next day, I moved it all where it needed to go- pushed the brush piles off the beaten path for the deer to shelter in (the tractor did this for me, mostly!)  Luckily, I got it all done, but then had batter trouble with the tractor...

Just now,  on Tuesday evening during this incredibly cold Winter that absolutely PROVES that we should be much more worried about a NEW ICE AGE than we should about a politically motivated global warming scare, I got my old Ford F100 pickup started and had to rescue my John Deere with a dead battery...

And you know what?

I feel a heck of a lot more satisfied with doing all of that than if I had just skied, then paddle boarded, and then played ultimate frisbee followed up with tennis!

Not that there’s anything wrong with any of that fluffy stuff!  It’s fine, as long as we first ground and center ourselves around real work.

And, after you do real work, you know what you will really feel like doing?

MAYBE a little play, like toss your kids or grandkids around, or play a board game, or play some music on your guitar and sing, or play cards...

But I think ultimate frisbee, paddle boarding, snowboarding, and kayaking will not beckon to you at ALL-

You’ll just be to tired, and also, just too... content!

Check out this episode!