Why are Carbonated Drinks Unhealthy?

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You’ve heard me rant about artificial sweeteners in soft drinks, as being almost WORSE, in my opinion, than the standard refined sugar in most sodas.

Ever wonder why they call these, what I call “dessert drinks,” ….”SOFT drinks?”

If you ever look at the pH scale, we have acids on one end of the spectrum, and bases on the other.

“Soft” pH on one end, “Hard” on the other.

You may’ve heard of “hard” water from the local public water supply.

Hard water is heavy with excess mineral content that leads to a “harder,” more alkaline, water on the pH scale.

Soft drinks contain a lot of phosphoric acid, using Coke as a common example.  The phosphoric acid gives it that sorta “sharp” taste that many people enjoy.

Then we come to the use of carbonation in soft drinks, which is what gives the pop the “fizz” we all know.

The carbonation used in soft drinks creates carbonic acid.  This is a key player in the body’s acid-alkaline balance, which is a very narrow range that the body must maintain for optimal health.  The concern is that ingesting it *may* form excess carbonic acid in the blood stream, amounting to a form of metabolic acidosis.  Some theories suggest that acidosis is so rampant now in western society due to our diet, that most people suffer the on-going consequences of acidosis manifesting in so many different symptoms that it could be one of the most substantial health challenges we face.

Opponents will claim that the saliva and digestive process will help balance the body’s pH, as the natural base elements of the body come into play to maintain homeostasis.

The body will need magnesium, calcium, potassium and other minerals to help achieve this balance.  If there is enough calcium, for example, in the diet, the body should be able to utilize that calcium to raise the acidity back up into a more neutral-alkalize state.

If there is not enough calcium in the diet…perhaps the calcium will be drawn from the bones to help achieve that balance?

Many…like myself…ask “why” add to a possible acid imbalance to begin with, or burden the body with that excess challenge to maintain equilibrium, if we don’t have to?

The phosphoric acid of the drink makes it plenty acid enough.  The carbonation may revert to an internal excess of carbonic acid in the blood stream resulting in a potential perpetual acidosis condition for those who drink these drinks regularly…which we know, a great many people do.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace……………..Tim

More Proof of Diet Soda Poison:

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The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine offered up more evidence about how horrible these drinks are for people.

I get so tired of trying to explain how lousy sodas are for people, mostly because people have a particularly hard time believing DIET sodas can be that bad, when they are likely even WORSE than the sugar-filled ones.

The study examined 2,500 NYC folks over a solid ten years.  It’s these long-term studies I really like, as these present enough proof for the alternative research folks, like myself, to be able to stand on the claims we make with solid backing.  It’s the long-term effects of almost ANYTHING, that create the most problems over time.  I’ve been on the anti-fluoride in public tap water crusade for well over a decade now, because it’s the gradual *accumulation* that is causing all the problems, while the short-term effects remain hardly noticeable, AND, are always the forms of evidence and “proof” presented that claim something is safe.

Convenient, when the effects are not studied long-term.

The study showed that people who drank one diet soda per day were 44 percent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.

To be honest about the findings, this study cannot prove conclusively that drinking the soda actually CAUSES the heart attacks/strokes.

But what it can do, is demonstrate that they MAY, *and/or* that the people who consume these drinks are living a certain kind of lifestyle that may also contribute to these kinds of events.

Let’s remember that consuming any kind of carbonated drink likely contributes to a carbonic acid build-up in the blood, resulting in an acidosis condition.

So there could be multiple factors at stake here, and not just that of the awful artificial sweeteners they use in these drinks.

Solution:

Do what I do.

Drink clean spring water and consume water-filled fruits and veges.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace……………Tim

Twitter is Turning People into Twits:

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I am constantly wondering…”is it ME, or are countless people reverting into unfocused children?”

I see it especially with people under 25, with it being very rare for people over 35.

The exact ages that are most exposed to and use Twitter as a source of amusement and communication, the latter of which is what concerns me so much.

This HAS concerned me ever since Twitter came on the scene.  I could see that if this became huge, it would cause a mass-scale short-attention-span-theater class of people.

And if I recall, it concerned enough others that some studies either were going to go into it, or have already.

The worst part is how other social media outlets have followed this format to an extent.  The new world where constant stimulation is needed in order to maintain attention, lest the young person get’s “bored.” 

(I never get bored; there’s always more than enough to hold my attention, OR, I simply shut the mind OFF and enjoy the moment free from the thought stream; a form of bliss I discovered a while back that saved my ass from a lot of depression).

Worse, the short attention span is coupled with a shortened language, a sort of abbreviated english, that (how many?) young people use as their virtual sole means of communication.  I’ve even heard of kids submitting college papers loaded with twit-speak, and professors having to contend with it.

As someone who has spent most of his life trying to obtain higher education *outside of* school, this “life school,” filled with research and direct experience, it concerns me beyond what I can describe to simply watch as the kids on the planet plummet into lowered intelligence and lack of many (what should be) basic understandings about conveying ideas, growth and even common courtesy.

I know I’m unusual.

I know it’s not common for people to want to excel, to move forward, to accomplish, succeed and produce.

But is the new norm simply the exact opposite, and if so, where on Earth are we then headed?

And of equal concern: How much of this have *I* inadvertently sunk into myself?

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace……………Tim 

Is the Raw Food Movement all wRong?

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People often ask me if my program teaches raw fooding, or anything similar to the living foods, whole foods, etc.

I explain that I support these paths, and those relating to vegetarianism, fruitarianism or veganism, but I personally do not practice these diets outright, instead incorporating parts of them into my lifestyle in such a way that I can easily bridge to one of these lifestyles if I chose to.

Granted, these would definitely not be considered “diets” by those into them.

Much like myself, they are unquestionably lifestyle choices, often with set of ethics and beliefs behind what they’re doing.

I’d know, I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about fifteen years.

There may be something profound about adhering to such a lifestyle.  I personally believe this is possible, and may someday again implement it in my life.

But the teachers/gurus who come closest to understanding how to implement such a lifestyle successfully are far and few between, with many in the movement simply have a belief about this form of dieting, and do not promote nor perhaps understand enough about its benefits to convince western civilization of its value.

In my program I offer an approach that is familiar to the western diet, although minimalist in that regard.  It does require a paradigm shift, but, is entirely obtainable with determination, effort and patience/time.

Once a cleaner diet is taken on, transitioning to an all-out raw diet becomes much more obtainable.  The rewards of simply getting to this point can be an often are profound for most people.  I personally eat only poultry, bison and occasional shrimp as flesh-based protein sources.  And I use a raw whey protein from a clean source, being cows that are not treated with antibiotics or hormones, and are eating grass the way nature intended (that raw whey can be found in a link at the bottom of this page).  Then some cage-free free-range eggs and minor weekend diary.

From here, it is not a great leap to go raw food, vegetarian, vegan, or fruitarian.  I in fact have times where I do just that, for anywhere from a day to several days.

Not a lifestyle as I lived before, but more as a way of refining my approach, and experimenting with the results I see in my body.  We are all our own best teachers.

There are unquestionably challenges involved for most people, that they may not even be aware of, to consuming animal proteins and fats, starches, grains and dairy products that once eliminated from the diet and introduced back in, can be readily-experienced via a shock to the system.

The return of gas, bloating, low energy, and perhaps even pain.

The body has an amazing tolerance considering all the crap we’ve shoveled into it over the course of our lifetimes.  The fast food restaurants as children that most of us were exposed to alone turned us all into soft garbage trucks.  It’s a wonder we even survive sometimes.

And then turning to more raw foods, sprouts, detoxifying juices and green smoothies can bring back a balance and heightened sense of being that shows us via experience and common sense:

The real “wrong” diet for us all is exactly what we’re all eating now, and not changing.

Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is insane.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace…………….Tim 

 

Why Many People Can’t (Won’t) Lose Weight:

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People complain to death about not losing weight/fat…WHILE they are engaged in roughly the same behaviors and lifestyle as they have always lived.

Doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting a different result.

You don’t have to be a raw foodist to lose fat/weight.  I personally am not, and I consider my program to be something of a “bridge” for those who may be headed in that direction.

But have you ever looked at most of those raw foodists?

And many of the vegans?

The live-food folks?

Or the fruitarians?

These people are not going to the local grocery store for any reason except the produce section.

They do not go down the other isles and pick from the myriad of items, all designed to cater to the taste buds for the least amount of money possible.

These people, are, in their vast majority…trim and fit people.

These are somewhat “extreme” lifestyles according to western civilization.

But they are also, at least in part, the wave of the future.  It will simply be the natural direction of things, because hints of these movements gaining speed and numbers are already in place and have been for years.

It may take another 100+ years, but it will happen.

In the meantime, you have part of  the key, the “secret,” (there is no secret) to how to help yourself get there:

A radical change in behavior and lifestyle.

Because it simply works, BUT…

Are  you willing?

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace…………Tim

Nature’s Path Organic Rice Puffs Bag/Label Change:

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As one of the few grains I eat during the week, I have come to enjoy Nature’s Path organic rice puffs as a no-sugar option to getting calories and minimal protein in to a sort of breakfast/lunch “shake” I make, flavored with either some chocolate stevia or my new body-re-building juice supplement which has plenty of natural sweetness and can easily flavor a shake (recipe for this I’ll give out later).

I was looking for this product in it’s usual place, and realized that they changed the bag (it comes in a loose bag with an explanation on it regarding how much energy is used to produce the bag in comparison to using the standard cardboard box).  The new bag is an orange color, and I almost missed it.  As often happens to me, when I find products I really like…they usually discontinue them within a short time.

;)…(I’m being silly, but it’s actually very true).

The bummer with this new bag is that they do not have the old “checklist-style” layout on the back, that stresses what the product does and does not contain…such as, (and the most important omission)…that the rice is not GMO.

This is a concern for any of the grain products these days. 

And many people do not know that organic standards *should* mean that the food is NOT a GMO.   I say “should,” because these days, from what I’ve researched, there is apparently a slight “gray area” here where the non-GMO standard MAY not be being adhered to with certain foods.

So I intend to contact the company to confirm that the product is the same.  And I’ll ask them why they would omit this information, that so many of us find very important when we’re stuck getting our foods from the garbage (oops…I mean “grocery”) store.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace………………….Tim

Are Pesticides REALLY that Bad?!?

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I sure as hell think so.  And here’s why:

Organophosphate pesticides are the most commonly used.  The biggest problem is HOW they work on the pest, by inactivating a specific enzyme that is vital for normal nerve-impulse transmission.  This enzyme is the same in humans as it is in insects.

You all know how I feel about the fluoride issue in water.

“It’s just a small amount” people will defend.

The problem is, the incremental accumulation.  The daily intake of water, which is almost as close a necessity as breathing, creates a build-up in the body that is pretty well established to create all sorts of problems due to simple over-exposure (the primary problem that is constantly dealt with in almost all areas relating to illness and disease).

And what proof do we really have that a lifetime of this exposure is healthy?

Where are the humans that have been studied for 50 to 90 years…a lifetime…proving no residual impact of any kind, to chemicals that are basically AS harmful to humans, as they are to insects?

But for me, I do not really need any scientific evidence of harm.

We too often rely on what alleged authorities have to say about such matters.

For me, I simply have an intuition…a gut feeling…a sort of “knowing”…a sort of “common sense”…that screams, quite loudly at me, saying “Ingesting a poison in any amount on a consistent basis will surely not be a good thing for me.”

And that is really all I’ll ever need in making my decision on the matter.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace………….Tim

Summer and Sex are Here.

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Is it just me, or are these 90+ degree temperatures bringing out a LOT more half-naked people into public places?

My goodness.

Everywhere I look, women with their short-shorts and LOTS of legs, and men with their shirts off (said with a Matthew McConaughey accent) with LOTSA fat ‘n skinny torsos out there.

(A bit more of the former on the male side of the equation) 😉

People also seem to get a whole lot friendlier.

I guess that’ll happen when a lot more skin is being bared left and right.

I am venturing more into realm of sex with my blogs and health materials like my program.

I have struggled with bringing this topic more into light, mainly because of the stigma attached to it, especially in the western world/culture, where sexuality is sprawled all over the media, but conservative social stances still find too much of it taboo.

Most people have sex to some extent or another.  Most meaning the majority, over 50%.

Since part of my program focuses on pathogen issues, I would like to cover more areas relating to communicable diseases, so that people are having safer sex, if they are not protected or having relations where there may be a concern for whatever reason.

There are things people can do.  Some of them are old and possibly outdated, but still practiced by a great many and sworn by.

I personally would not have unprotected sex unless I was with a steady, monogamous partner.  I feel strongly about that.

I also simply do not sleep around.  It’s not in my nature, and of the few times I have done something similar, I found it to be very unfulfilling.  The best sex is had among partners who know each other and communicate openly about their wants, desires and needs.

I also fully support the use of protection for anything outside of monogamy.  I know it’s trendy to say so, but I really do support this and use protection for a bit with a new partner.  And I always have us mutually tested.  Blood tests now read everything, without the need for “clinic-style” poking of yesteryear.  Blood tests read the antigens, so there is no excuse any longer. 

Granted, testing isn’t 100%, and some pathogens have a nesting stage that can be extended.

But it’s a necessary regardless in my book.

More on some of the protection methods using mechanical means as well as supplements in an upcoming post.

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace…………Tim  🙂

My Opinion on MMS

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Jim Humble’s “Miracle Mineral Supplement” remains controversial several years after its introduction to the western world’s alternative health movement.

Certain people are bashing it pretty hard, making claims about it doing damage internally to the body.

You can find the active ingredient in his formula…a formula he does not take direct credit for…in over-the-counter mouth washes and similar.

There is no question it is a potent anti-pathogen.

I personally used it for a while, several months worth, several years ago, with some interesting results and all positive that I could discern.

I am forever open-minded about what it may be doing in the body, but since I used it for a while with seeming only benefits, I’m a little suspicious of the people slamming it with vigor, and shouldn’t we assume…don’t we HAVE to assume…that an effort would be put into place to discourage and/or frighten people from using a product that seems to be much more effective than other products, at a fraction the cost of those other products?

Heck, forget FDA or government conspiracy.

How about just plain ole’ fashioned fear of competition from other major players whose income could be hit hard if such a development actually came out that was both far less expensive and far more safe and effective than where the competing corp’s interests currently lay.

It would certainly be worthwhile and easy to produce anti-MMS text and video content to fulfill the only purpose that would need to be fulfilled; that of creating doubt and concern about a product people really don’t know much about to begin with.

Perhaps on some mystical spiritual level, all of this is very much by design…

…Meaning, what WILL people do when faced with the challenge?

Rise to the occasion, or allow the powers that be to do their biding?

What I do know is that I seemed to benefit from it, as have others I have associated with.

People can and do get nauseated at a certain point, and does this reaction indicate more than what we may understand?

Those who choose to experiment with it do so because they know of other people who’ve done so as well, and not only lived to tell about it, but seemed to have benefited from it.

I personally do not use it any longer.  I would like to see more at-home research done on it (meaning in the U.S.) as well as hear what others have to say first-hand about their experience with it.

But my main problem with the entire issue is that if something new does exist that truly helps people…the forces in place to stop it, or impact its ability to get into the hands of people who need it, leave me realizing how naive idealism can often be.

Sincerely,

Idealist

Father’s Day with my Family…My Food Choices:

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I spent all day yesterday with family on a wine tour in beautiful upstate NY, the Finger Lakes region.  It is just an incredibly beautiful place, the area I will always call “home.”

We rented a limo and the bunch of us took to visiting 6 different wineries in all, and had a great time.  It was primarily for my Grandfather, who comes up from the southern tier to enjoy the time.

It’s a bit of a drive, but so scenic, and so many drunkards along the way…;)…that there is both beauty and laughs all around.

Do I taste any of the wines?

(Do you really have to ask?)

Of course not.

I haven’t drank for around six years now.  I’m not counting, I just remember getting to a point and saying “I’m done”…and it was at some point in 2006 at the latest.  Although I perhaps had a problem with alcohol in my earlier years, and there is alcoholism in my family, I never viewed it as a sobriety effort.  I simply enjoyed being clean and free of the toxins, with all the huge benefits that followed; depression lifted and sleeping soundly being enough motivation in themselves to steer clear for good.

So I just brought my glass water bottle with me (I’ll cover that product soon, it’s friggin GREAT).

Then some healthy-ER chips to pass around (sweet potato ones) and a banana and apple.

Also brought some nitrate-free turkey franks for the grill later on when we came back and had dinner at the aunt/uncles place.  The rest of them had their favorite meat by-product nitrate-cicles that they grilled up.  (I really have no idea what they were, I just knew I wasn’t going to eat them).

So the point being, I did a “BYO”…and Brought Your (My) Own.

The rest of the family completely accepts this, even though I am 100% certain many of them find me a bit on the weird side.

But…

None of them have the abs that I do…

And none of them felt nearly as good as I did when dinner time came around after a day of constant drinking.

One of them even told me:

“I wish I was you.”

😉

(Mind you, they were pretty inebriated at the time).

😉

Love, Happiness, Health and Peace……………………………Tim  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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