THE SUPPLEMENT GAME: ARE YOU IN IT? (ISSUE 84)

By Diane Gold

The Supplement Game is big in 2013, to the tune of over $60 Billion in total. There’s a supplement for every ache in our body, every ache in our mind and every blemish that plants itself on our body’s largest and only external organ, the skin. We are groomed from an early age to take our vitamins. In case this concept hasn’t been explored, it is a part of consumerism that is made into a habit at a very young age: daily vitamins caps.

We are taught the daily amounts of these vitamins that we should look for on a bottle so that we know we are getting the right amount. There are two flaws with this thinking and with having one universal measurement:

1) each body requires more or less depending upon our activity, our entire make-up, our diet and our genetics.

2) the “right amount” from the Department of Agriculture’s Food And Nutrition Board at the Institute Of Medicine at the National Academy of Science is often not what health professionals recommend.

The truth is we should be eating our vitamins and minerals, not taking them. Instead of being taught the combinations of foods that supply this nutrition, we get into the habit of taking a pill or a powder instead of the right foods.

WHEN SUPPLEMENTS EMPOWER

Let me clarify here that supplements can empower our lives:

1) when we don’t have the time to combine our foods perfectly, meaning it is more convenient to take a supplement than it is to search for a food to get the same vitamin or mineral.

2) while we are learning to combine foods well.

3) when we don’t have the money to obtain the perfect foods.

4) when our bodies require an extra boost.

5) when we have a deficiency that supplements can address quickly.

But food is the best source of our nutrition, by far.

I am the first to admit that I take vitamins and minerals. My goal is to get what I need from food, but I am still working on it. And I may end up choosing some supplements that are too inconvenient to get from food.

When did I begin with supplements? Four and a half years ago. Before that, I was eating what I wanted, not paying close attention to the right way to eat. Yes, I was a vegetarian for 40 years, so I didn’t ingest meat, fowl or fish. I did, however, eat lots of dairy and not enough green leafy vegetables. I did not get into the supplement game until age 60.

Even when my children were young and living with me, I did not do enough research to make certain their meals were balanced. I approximated and gave them vitamins.

So, several years ago, I took up an interest in food. I went from  four-decade vegetarian to vegan in a flash, but still not a conscientious vegan. I was in it for the animals first, health, not yet. I ate packaged protein made from textured vegetable protein, which, I now know, is processed under high heat, which removes many nutrients and renders others useless.

There are also two substances that form in processing, nitrites during spray-drying and lysinoate during alkaline processing, according to the savvy vegetarian, Judith Kingbury.

Plus, almost all the soy protein isolate, as it is usually listed in the ingredient section, is genetically modified, with many studies showing this process is detrimental to our health.

The thrill that the Chinese Restaurant down the block had a complete vegetarian menu started to wane when I realized that their fake shrimp, chicken, duck were made from this processed food that sometimes produced carcinogenic nitrites and more. The idea of shaping the food into animal shapes did not mesh with my thinking. If we chose to protect animals by not eating them, why would we be happy to pretend to eat them?

Anyway, the new information that this stuff was bad for me helped get me on the bandwagon of eating almost no processed foods.

BACK TO THE HABIT

Let’s get back to how we get into the supplement game. We begin our journey being treated by doctors who do not have to take nutrition in school although some medical schools offer one class. We were schooled at places that offered us a choice between cardboard pizza, a processed cheese sandwich or an unidentified institutional meat with a few pieces of iceberg lettuce topped with two shreds of carrot and three shreds of red cabbage. Oh, yes, and milk, which has been proven to turn cancer on and off in rats (T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study).

As of the year 2000, kids are learning much better nutrition in school. At home, though, most families do not have necessary knowledge about nutrition. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, directed the USDA’s National School Lunch Program to update its nutrition to current standards which means more fruits, veggies and grains, less sodium and calorie limitation. There is still, however, a lack of strategy on how to eat well on a normal person’s budget, but teachers are more conscientious about teaching and principals are fighting harder to get better food (with the community’s help). Still, the meat and dairy industries supply schools with most of the food that is sold to the USDA as surplus. It is not the kind of food one would choose if one were selecting good quality food for one’s child, but it passes the standard which is made up for cost, not health.

CONCLUSION

It is our responsibility to teach our family good habits. It is important to know how to eat without supplements and to strive toward removing supplements from any menu. They serve the purpose of security, maintaining our ingrained habit, allow us not to learn well what to eat, give us peace of mind even though they may not be helping us. They are a quick fix that slows down our learning curve.

When we feel tired, we can have some caffeine, an energy drink or an energy bar. This type of solution is not sustainable.

When our bones get soft as we get older, we take calcium. Ca

Does it get absorbed from the supplement or are we wasting our time and money? I often wonder whether the calcium and vitamin D I take are absorbed at all. Ask the doctor? I barely get five minutes per appointment. I have asked how we can test for supplement absorption, other than blood levels of these substances, which don’t track the supplement and bone density tests. I’ll ask again.

When we have pain in the back, we take glucosamine and get a massage. For neuropathy, Vitamin Bs and alpha-lipoic acid (Dr. Weil’s recommendation). It is true that when pain is involved, we are ready to use anything that works. And we prefer supplements to drugs. So we run to use whatever the latest and greatest fix is, be it a powdered mushroom or Vitamin E for the skin.

Why not just eat a mushroom and get that potassium, copper, selenium, vitamin B and protein?

We continue to take that one-a-day vitamin set which should be obtained from our food. The idea of external to food vitamins is so ingrained in us that we will have to make a concerted effort to learn to eat the right food.

ACTION STEPS

CAUTION

Because many of us have supplement habits, it would be best to consult with your doctor before making a change. However, understand that doctors may push supplements the way they prescribe drugs. Give this some thought before taking any action and understand the place from which the answer comes. Maybe I should say consult a food advisor who has training in nutrition. But who can afford that since it’s usually not insurance reimbursed?

1) Consider weaning off vitamins and minerals. This means we have to be responsible for our own food, so we may really fight this. First skip every third day. Then every second day. Hold it, there, for a month to make sure you are eating well enough. Once you realize that you are, continue weaning. Confirming through before and after blood tests is always a good option.

2) Eat one extra green leafy vegetable serving per day.

3) Learn one new food fact per day. These facts, obviously, will accumulate, so writing them down works well.

4) Research a food replacement for one supplement a month.

5) See how you feel with the reduction of supplements, and tell a friend.

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She considers taking supplements somehow cheating because the real way to get nutrition is from eating it. She says,

“This is a great opportunity to start studying what foods are good for us and why. We get into the supplement game at an early age, or we are taught the merits of supplements, at least. Let us study how to eat our nutrition through food, slowly remove supplements from our daily intake and let us pass this on to family, friends and future generations.”

HABITS IN MEDICAL CARE, PART TWO: PAY THAT BILL! (ISSUE 83)

By Diane Gold

When we go to a medical professional for wellness or sickness services, we start to build habits. We learn that it is important to trust the doctor with both the body and the mind, or that’s how it was in the 1960s when I was young. We were taught we had to trust this person of medicine to care about us and that we could talk to them about anything that bothered us, even emotional issues.

So, in adulthood, we find a doctor or several that we believe can provide competent service, adequate face time with us, where s/he doesn’t seem bored out of her mind and where our appointment time is respected, meaning we only wait 50 minutes for our doctor instead of 90 minutes, which we have waited at the other offices and, finally, if we have medical insurance, a professional who is in our network to keep the bill down. And we call this a good choice of doctors and a great visit, more or less.

Note that I am using the term doctor to mean the individual each of us has chosen to be our primary health care provider. Personally, I’m still looking.

We will speak about the billing habit that we are taught from an early age: the bill comes and we have to pay it. So we’ve had lots of practice at believing in the medical bill.

THE BILL FOR MEDICAL SERVICES

When the bill comes, we have watched our parents pay it, and we have even paid it ourselves on more than one occasion. So, what do we do? We pay it.

I have a story that reminds me of how our habit of paying whatever bill comes in because doctor’s offices are trustworthy and would never cheat a patient can end up costing people extra money.

MY LATEST STORY

In the world of technology, it is important to change the habit of just going along. So, here’s my story.

I went to an emergency room to see if I broke a bone after slipping on cat regurgitation that blended in well with the floor. Although I pay an exorbitant amount for health insurance, I was pretty sure I wasn’t covered for the emergency room. But I needed to go because it was an emergency. So, I went.

I had X-rays taken, waited hours for a radiologist to read them and had an ER doctor report I was only bruised. Funny how that turned out to be 2 doctor bills.

I figured $2,000, easy. The next day, after resting, I decided to call Blue Cross, the insurance company to see how much I actually had to pay. I was told I had no co-pay and no charge for the emergency room to which I jumped with glee.

So, I had one recorded phone call where the rep stated I would not have to pay anything but the doctors’ bill.

Next I received an invoice for $466. This was quite different from the $00.00 I had been told I would have to pay.

So I called another agent and explained that I had already been told there would be no medical bill, only a doctor’s fee. So, what was the bill for?

The agent put me on hold and researched my insurance policy. He was happy to say that I would not have to pay a co-pay, and that my emergency visit facility charge would be paid for. He said he was going to have the correct department adjust the invoice to $00.00.

The following day, I decided to call and speak with a supervisor since I was not satisfied with having to wait 30 days. Again, I had a regular rep and a supervisor tell me, each, on her/his own, that there would be no payment necessary for the facility I had gone to. And that they would expedite the process of removing the charge.

Later that day, I got a call from the agent I called after receiving the invoice. He said he had found that all agents had misinformed me and that I would have to pay the bill.

At this time, I began thinking about people who pay blindly because they trust the medical team, or because they believe they have no voice to speak up. I wondered how many people pay an incorrect bill just because it was sent? And how much extra money do doctors and hospitals receive just because people don’t have the confidence to inquire?

People don’t want their credit scores ruined. So they pay no matter what. It’s sad. And one disgraceful thing on the part of the health insurance provider is that, “The written terms of your contract always prevail.” This, in essence, means whatever a rep says is not backed by the company. The only thing that is valid is the words in the insurance contract.

CONCLUSION

The habit we learn is if an invoice has been mailed out, it must be right. So pay it! This is false thinking and we need to check with our provider before paying any unknown amount.

ACTION STEP

There is only one step:

SPEAK OUT by asking five questions:

1) What is my co-pay?

2) What is my out-of-pocket amount?

3) What do I end up paying for this service?

4) How many doctor bills will I get separately?

5) If the information you provide is incorrect, will your company back you on the information you give?

The set of questions is crucial. As you see, I asked them and got four incorrect responses. I will appeal the bill because of all the wrong information. However, from my experience and looking at the insurance provider’s failsafe quote about “only the written terms prevail,” the provider will deny the appeal, and the patient (I, in this case) will pay in the end.

Unless we object to a policy where a company does not stand by its employees words, it will not change. So, speak out! And good luck recognizing this and other habits in medical care.

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She considers how corporate customer service affects the average person. She says,

“Since most often, our habits are working; it is to our advantage to notice them. There are so many ways we have been trained to be, so many things we blindly accept.

“We should keep a notebook of the habits we see. If they support the way we want to live, they are good habits. If they hinder us, it’s time to make an adjustment. We decide, once we are aware. So, take note, and choose what works.”

THE BIGGEST HABIT, THE INFLEXIBLE MIND: 3 SCENARIOS (ISSUE 82)

By Diane Gold

When we think of habits, we usually miss the most common one, the inflexible mind. From a very early age, we take comfort in learning new things and the fact that they are familiar to us. The fact that we like this feeling of belonging stays with us for most of our lives. We go to the same market because we’re convinced the food is adequate and the staff will greet us with a smile. We go to the same place to work out because we know the machines and the people who go there. And we even shop in the same stores because we have done so in the past.

We begin to build these patterns of repetitious behavior called habits that just creep into our lives through repetition.

An MIT study last October at the McGovern Institute For Brain Research, authored by Kyle Smith, Ann Graybiel, et al, showed how rats continued their learned habitual behavior even when their reward was removed.

Fascinatingly, it also showed how the researchers were able to remove the habit by disrupting the infralimbic cortex (a part of the prefrontal cortex) needed for habit development.

The presence of light was enough to “turn off” the habit. The basal ganglia, in the middle front brain, holds the coding that is created by habits in neural pathways, almost like tagging or  but the infralimbic cortex, alone, seems to control the execution of the habit. Great news for people who want to change a habit.

To follow are three scenarios that are common to most of us. They are pretty universal:

1) HAVING SELF-ESTEEM

Often times, we put tremendous value on what we do. If we write, we believe our writing helps the readership. If we compose, we are enamored with our own work. If we teach, we think we are the best. If we are fighters, we believe we are the best.

It would serve us well to realize that we can learn about ourselves and that we always have something to learn. And that demeaning others does not give us power, even if it feels that way.

2) PASSING JUDGMENT

How many times do we compare ourselves to someone else? We believe that our writing is better than their dancing? We really believe this because we have told this to ourselves or others have told it to us. If we have not walked in the shoes of the next person, it is difficult to conclude someone else’s human prowess.
It’s important that we refrain from judging others unless we have had a personally negative interaction with the person.

3) LIVING FOR EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

Unlike the other two scenarios above, this one has to do with using others for our self-motivation. We actually get our energy from the thrill of being recognized by others rather than the satisfaction that usually comes from valuing what we do.

I have seen people so driven by looking for recognition from others that their entire careers would stop in their tracks if they didn’t get it.

CONCLUSION

Knowing our own minds takes work and practice. In order to allow the mind to be flexible, we have to change our automatic reactions. By doing so, we change the neural pathways we have created and design new ones that will serve us well on the journey away from inflexible mind and toward flexible mind.

Here are three ACTION STEPS. They only require noticing yourself.

1) COMPARE

The next time we are evaluating ourselves, stop and think that our work is no more important than the next person’s work to that person and that each deserves recognition.

2) CONSIDER

Think of three ways to improve the work that you do, and make those changes. Then realize that this type of self-improvement upgrade is important on a regular basis, even if it means making big personal changes.

3) STOP AND CHANGE BEHAVIORS

When we speak about money, politics and religion; most of us have strong opinions. We are warned that these subjects are taboo I recall the first time I was having a political discussion with a friend, I was quite surprised. She became very impassioned and very closed minded to listen to anything other than that which she had concluded.

We are all like this at one time or other about some subject. This is the inflexible mind. Next time you see this in yourself, smile and stop and notice the inflexible mind. Laugh at yourself, and keep the mind open. This will become the habit.
__________
__________

In order for these action steps to take shape, we must repeat them over and over, each time we have the opportunity. The idea is to change the habit of inflexible mind we have instilled in ourselves, and instill a new one, the habit of flexible mind. It requires self-mind training, as with any habit!

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She walks with an open way about her. If someone questions the way that she believes, she takes them seriously and is curious to know why their opinion differs from hers. She says,

“We do not have the right to demean others. We do have the duty to protect them. Our minds, though naturally inflexible, can be changed.with repetition. We need to grab that tiny moment before the old habit kicks in where the new one has the chance to emerge with new behavior. Try it; it is fairly straight forward.

“Good luck.”

CHANGING FOOD HABITS: ARE YOU EATING GMOs, ORGANIC FOODS OR … (ISSUE 79)

By Diane Gold

For years, we have been ingesting food that has been modified to yield bigger crop, faster growth, more eye-appealing shape, resist or repel certain insect infestation and more.

We have been polluting our air through crop dusting modification, exposing ourselves to the sickness from toxin exposure, used to bio-technically modify seed and now, are faced with super insects made strong through genetically modified chemical resistance and the sicknesses that come from these super bugs. There is talk that humans should not be eating toxins. Not a new revelation.

Biotech companies want to make money. Great. They should have the right. However, the regulations put forth for these companies should not be removed disguised as developing technologies that will feed the world – IF the health risks have not been examined.

Governments are the regulators. Governments are we, the people. Regulating food is an issue that needs an amendment, as I see it. As part of the wonderful Open Government Act that is fabulous in words, I’d like to see transparency in food labeling. Why would a government as large and powerful as the United States not require transparency from which we could all benefit? And the answer is _________.

Of course, governments are corporations. They deal with other corporations. When one corporation does a business deal with another, a purchase or transaction is made.

Sometimes money is not exchanged, but favors, instead. When a corporation subsidizes government programs, the government may offer lenient regulations, in gratitude. This is where governing gets tricky.
How does a government accept help from big business, (which it needs to subsidize breakfast for children, senior flu shots, food for animals and environmental programs) and still stay neutral? Not easily.

So, what can we do to help?

ACTION STEPS

1) We can become educated about food and genetic modification and change our habit of thinking that food is pure, and we can change our buying habits.

Here are three important points:

a) ingredient labels on packaged food show the major percentage of food substance. Trace ingredients under a certain percentage are not required to be included. That means, if animal bone substance is used to bleach sugar (not common in the US any more), and there is no animal substance detectable in the finished product, it does not go on the label. Our habit of believing in these labels needs to change. It should be noted that packaged goods that have 70% organic substances in them are able to use the word “organic.”

b) there is no ingredient label on produce. Our habit of believing that all produce is the same needs to be looked at. Organic food is not genetically modified. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.That means mineral oil (fossil oil), lipids, proteins, waxes and alkaloids can be used on organics. animals can be used. Yuck. That means oil can be organic since it’s not synthetic.

There are three organic categories:

1. 100% organics, made with 100% organic ingredients.

2. organic, which means made with 95% organic ingredients.

The USDA Organic seal is used with the first two categories only, 100% organic and 95% organic. There is no apparent differentiation between the two categories unless the manufacturer decided to list 100% organic. Most 95% organic producers would take advantage of the public’s ignorance in thinking a product with this label is 100% organic, rather than listing it as 95% organic.

3. made with organics, made with 70% organic ingredients and no GMOs.

Did you know these distinctions?

On both organic and non-organic produce, there are coatings (wax): organics with wax from bees, wood rosin and carnauba and non-organic from petroleum.

c) bananas, both organic and non-organic, are ripened by spraying ethylene on them. This is one synthetic chemical that is allowed because it acts identical to the chemical that naturally off-gasses in bananas that ripen naturally and are not picked early for shipping. Ethylene “gassing” is used on citrus that may look green, organic and non-. This process is not on any label. Why?

2) We can express to our government reps that we want the FDA label what is and what is not a GMO (a genetically modified organism). Since we are striving for a transparent way of living, we, as consumers, deserve to know what is in a bunch of produce or a package of food or prepared food that is ready to eat.

We don’t have this now. Isn’t this our right?

3)  Join a group that knows more about this topic so that you can become more educated and take some of the action steps these groups have set up.

nongmoproject.org/learn-more is a good place to start. There’s also a march on March 25, 2013, targeting the largest supplier of modified seed (around 90%). It is not the only one, but it’s the big one: organicconsumers.org/monsanto

CONCLUSION

The risks of modifying seeds are known to exist. More research is needed to create data on all the side effects, but it is certain that there are correlations between certain sicknesses and genetically modified seeds.

In the same way we have executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, we need some system of checks and balances when it comes to the food industries ability to donate to or benefit the government and the government’s ability to reciprocate by regulating in favor of the industry.

We read headlines all the time that talk about “the government’s” doing this. Aren’t our representatives in government there to listen to what we have to say?

The time is now to be educated and active about the food we eat and the government’s ability to regulate on behalf of the health of its citizens with no eye on how this regulation will affect corporate donation to programs.

Old habits die hard. Now that our eyes are opening, and many of us are aware of the uncertainties of consuming GMOs, let’s work on changing our habit of consuming without asking. Let’s be diligent so that we can create healthier habits to pass on to our children and to theirs. The more of us who require non-GMO food, the less expensive it will be to certify it as “non-GMO” by label on a package or bushel of produce.

In November, 2013, the citizens of Washington State will vote on a mandatory labeling bill. Approximately, 37 states are working on bills. Some call their bills, “Right To Know.”

We’re all in this together. Let’s take action now.

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has been studying labeling for four several decades . She says,

“The fact that the labeling system has not been modernized at the same rate as our discoveries in human nutrition reflects an imbalanced assessment on the government’s part regarding our internal health. This can also be seen by how slowly integrative medicine is appearing, which includes nutrition, fitness, mind body programs. And these, as of this writing, are only insurance reimbursable if an MD, no other kind of doctor, oversees the program.

“Be tenacious with nutrition. Spread the word about the benefits of organic food, non-GMO food, plant based food, unprocessed food. Take a step to change food habits one step at a time.

“SPECIAL ACTION STEP

“If you want to go for it, make a special commitment that for one meal on the day of your choice, you will refrain from any GMO foods. Do it for 3 weeks in a row, and see how much easier the third time is than the first. Then, if you’ve accomplished three weeks worth, continue the process, whatever that is for you. Your old ways that didn’t include this will be changed. And you will be healthier.”

EDUCATION & PARENTING: HOW TO BUILD GOOD HABITS (ISSUE 78)

By Diane Gold

When our moms (and dads and guardians) enroll us in school, they want us to learn wonderful habits that will help us to flourish and be self-sufficient throughout our lives. This includes learning respectful ways to communicate, confident approaches to problem solving, creative efforts to develop our talents and interests, what it means to be ethical, charitable behavior to serve others in need and study habits that lead us to contribute.

When our children come home cursing, speak hurtfully about others, prefer greed to sharing, tell half truths instead of trusting us, and don’t consider that knowledge is freedom; we had better look in the mirror and do something now.

LANGUAGE

The language we use in the home is the example our children hear. If we use words or tones that are not within the respect or kind parameters we want for our children, it’s time to substitute different words. In doing so, we are the example to be followed, not just in language change, but in displaying the method in changing the habit of less than excellent language.

It might be a great bonding experience to have a family discussion about language and for the parent to make a commitment out loud about the change she is about to initiate.
I am reminded of a movie where there were behavior problem middle schoolers. One of them came from a traditional home where cursing by a child would be grounds for a beating. Although all the girls in her class used profane language, this lone girl from the traditional home did not.

The reason I mention this is that we carry our home foundation wherever we go. If it is strong, we have that advantage. If it is weak, we, the children, have the opportunity to pick ourselves up and build our own foundation. We all know a child from a rocky home who has developed a solid life for herself.

CHARITY

If we have not talked about charity at home, but only told our children to put money in a plate at a house of worship, we have not taken the opportunity to discuss an important part of our duty to each other. For those wonderful caregivers who have two full-time jobs, it is very important, too.

CREATIVITY

What do we really know about our child’s creative interests. I don’t mean the piano recital that we have set up for our child or the play in which our child played a tree with no lines. I do mean, how much time have we discussed creative outlets with our child? Have we shared what we like to do? Have we listened to our children, or have we just put them in gymnastics from age two to 15, only to find that they have no interest in such an activity?

ENGAGEMENT

There is nothing more important than engaging with our children. How secure they feel can be based upon a simple genuine interaction on our part. That moment we listened even though we had other responsibilities could have made the difference between the apathetic student and the person who thrives.

There are loads of stories about people being brought up in the same or similar circumstances. How they turn out depends upon how they absorb the influences they have had. More children raised in a happy home do well than not; but there are all kinds of exceptions where children from broken homes excel and live absolutely “superb” lives even though early beginnings were against them.

CONCLUSION

3% or more of our school aged population is home schooled so that parents can have a say in the ethics and the knowledge their children get. Private schools are preferred by some with smaller classes, more one-on-one; yet, there are many advocates of the public school, because it offers an environment in which children can to learn conflict resolution. Many families opt for public school out of their own district so they can choose better schools for their children to attend.

No matter where your child goes to school, the following action steps may enhance the opportunity for well-balanced learning and may give us food for thought as to the many ways we can build good habits in education.

ACTION STEPS

1) Take a look at your language. If you curse instead of expressing a feeling with more relevant vocabulary, make a pledge to use a different set of words.

2) To stimulate your child, learn one new vocabulary word per week.

3) If you have two full-time jobs, find an hour once a month to do some type of charity work with your child. If you have one or less jobs, find an hour once a week to do the same.

4) Do your favorite creative activity with your child within two weeks.

5) Ask your child what creative task s/he would like to do if s/he had the chance. Work on giving your child that opportunity.

6) Add a  creative session with your child into the weekly schedule. Visual artistry, movement arts, debating, speech making, radio broadcasting are all creative avenues. Your child may wish to play the part of an attorney to fulfill her/his interests. In this case, obtain one of the many scripts for movie or TV. Role play it to inspire your child’s creative juices.

For the knowledge and health of your child, no matter what the interest, an extra creative session could be about plant-based nutrition. For young minds to grow, healthy food is a must.

7) Take 30 minutes a week, and have tea with your child. This seemingly small activity will impress your love upon your child. It will also instill a quiet, even meditative activity that you share together.

FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has been studying the educational process for over 25 years. She says,

“We are influenced by our surroundings and our own heart. We can choose to excel and get extra fuel by communicating and collaborating. Should we find ourselves in a dark situation, it is our job to create a way to change it.

“It is our responsibility as parents and teachers to pass this on to our children so that no matter what school they attend, they will sparkle and thrive. This means paying attention to them in a big way and taking action steps that will help them build good habits.”

THE GRADE GAME: SUCCESSFUL HABITS IN EDUCATION (ISSUE 77)

By Diane Gold

The grade game refers to the habit of using grades to determine success in education. This measurement system is known all over the world. How often does it work?

We, in the United States, believe in preparing our children without taking away their childhood or spontaneity. Other countries put more emphasis on learning by ingesting knowledge and less on childhood freedoms.

For the most part, we use the grade game to measure success. We are always making attempts to improve upon our system, upgrading the ineffective parts, creatively adding the new and keeping what works.

It was just the other day in around 1972 that New York University opened University Without Walls, a Bachelors Degree curriculum based upon student interests and goals and independent study (currently called The Gallatin School of Individualized Study) rather than the standard core courses for a Liberal Arts Degree conjured by someone completely impersonal to the particular student. This progressive college inside the main university was founded to accommodate the rote method of learning and to allow students motivated by their own interests to flourish.

Maria Montessori created a system of learning that was based upon student choice of activity within a formulaic systematic approach. This approach was different from the regular public school classroom that taught the same curriculum to every child. When my son was in such a school, he learned many skills and satisfied his own creativity through “working” on projects that he chose in his timing.

There were other school models that taught one color per year as opposed to the ROYGBIV method of learning.  There were the Free Schools which mirrored the philosophy of University Without Walls, above.

All these methods created education habits, in the student, the parent and the teacher. When the grade game was involved, all the players had “good grade” expectations and all that comes with that.

I read an article by Michael Thomsen, “The Case Against Grades,” at Slate.com the other day. In it, he supports the trend moving away from grades in school. He talks about the “negative reinforcement” that comes from this type of system. Having been a specialty teacher for 10 years in the New York City and State School Systems, and a private teacher for another several decades, I have first-hand experience at watching students and serving their differences.

Please note that most of my early students were labeled “emotionally disturbed,” many of whom would be called ADD and ADHD, if labeled today. So I saw a version of behavior related to grades far more dramatic than the “average” school-ager.

This is what I saw:

1) Children cut school for fear of failing a test.

2) Children quit school for fear of repercussions from cutting school for fear of failing make up tests or getting overall failing grades.

3) Children got teased over getting poor grades. Their lowered self-esteem from the teasing sapped their motivation to excel.

4) Children became withdrawn or acted delinquently. Both these types of behavior kept the student from focusing on and changing her (his) inadequate feelings, which, typically, caused the behavior in the first place. Both withdrawn and acting-out students develop the habit of acting instead of talking about grades, fear and self-esteem issues. The behavior was perpetuated by the continuation of “the grades game.”

5) Children became adults and grabbed fewer opportunities for themselves because of lost self-esteem. If they had had grade issues throughout their early schooling, they came to adulthood with a whole set of habits that went along with the issues:

a) doing less than their capacity out of fear of failure.

b) keeping silent about their feelings whether they hide in plain sight or through verbosity.
These observations led me to work hard toward teaching students to be independent thinkers who followed their dreams.

FAMILY EXPECTATIONS

Strained relations with family members are created when parents pass judgment upon their kids based on “the grade game.” Those kids with poor grades perceive that love = good grades.

Their “good grades” counterparts learn the same habits, that they are great because their grades are good.  Does this type of judgment system belong in a household?
I used to date someone of Southern Asian descent. He had discipline, and his whole family was completely dedicated to education. What he did not have was a free spirit, devoid of oppression. The male parent regularly ordered him around, he accepted the
orders and he agreed with the tradition.

I was thinking this repressed “hitting the books” family value was the reason we, in the United States, go to school for 180 days, while other countries go for more days. Wrong, incorrect, negative. What I found statistically from the OECD (Organisation For Economic Cooperation And Development) and the World Data On Education in an article by  is that, on average, top academic performing countries like Finland have several 100-300 fewer hours per year in the early grades and 100 fewer hours less than our average in higher grades. Could it be that a shorter educational format creates more relaxed students who are available emotionally better to take tests?

And should tests be the standard by which we measure our students, now that there is so much research showing that individuals do not all develop well using “the grades game?”

WHAT STANDARD?

There are always standards by which we must operate. But, to this day, other than in very free educational institutions, we have not focused our studies of intelligence on understanding who should study what and how to teach families about new systems of childhood education. If the person with mechanical interest is encouraged to pursue activities to develop it; if the girl whose entire family of eight generations of doctors wants to be a musician and is encouraged to play music; and if the son of a family of physicists wants to be a dancer and is encouraged to dance; won’t these people reach their highest potential and serve our world best by pursuing their interests? And if this is true, how can one type of grading system measure their success as students?

Placing children in a molded system that does not embellish their interests and their strengths represses their creativity, curbs their intelligence, crushes their self-worth and perpetuates a system that needs change. Having a system that is evolutionary in nature and is not framed around “the grading game” seems fresh, logical, sensible and
available.

CONCLUSION: WHAT’S NEXT?

Below we examine whether “the grade game” is the way we measure success in education and take steps to improve the way we support our children. The following are some thoughtful action steps, each of which takes just a few minutes, to enrich the life of our student or child and the support success. These steps allow us to notice habits we may have formed and a way to move away from them.

ACTION STEPS

1) Spend some quality time with yourself as a parent or teacher to confirm how you judge “the grade game” for your child, friend, student, world.

2) Spend quality time with your student/child to confirm that love or support and grades are separate.

3) Spend quality time with your student/child to listen to her (his) aspirations.

4) Spend quality time with yourself to see whether you judge your student/child’s aspirations or whether you accept them.

5) Add one behavior that would show you support your student/child’s aspirations.

6) Consider the merits of schools without grades.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has 25 years in music education and 15 years in martial arts education and personal development. She says,

“Being brought up in “the grade game” taught me a very stiff, non-creative method of measuring my own learning. I’m not sure it is the best way to motivate or instruct people as it hinders true creativity even though it encourages memorization of rote facts. It caused stress that could be avoided with another technique.

“Facilitating the creation of music, art, movement, science in school and the minds that create these are the role of the education system. Any system that does not include these is empty and does not evolve our species.

“Most systems based upon grades and tests have some type of negative effect on the student. Therefore, I would like to see a new non-grade system as a way to gauge success habits in education. Let’s get to work on creating one as the new standard.”

THE PEACE PROCESS FORMULA: PHASE 3, CATHARSIS

WILL BE COMING ON MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013.

In the meantime, you might like to review:

The Peace Process Formula: A Step-By-Step Guide HERE.

and

The Peace Process Formula: Phase 2 HERE.

THE PROTEIN MYTH: THAT WE NEED ALL THE ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS AT EVERY MEAL (ISSUE 64)

By Diane Gold.

The protein myth has to do with combining proteins so as to consume all essential amino acids (the 9 that the body does not produce), the building blocks of protein, in 1 sitting. This concept was promoted in the 70s but was repudiated 10 years later as false and misleading.

Funny how habits stick with us so naturally. Think about before you knew how to ride a bike. Hard to recall because once we know, the steps to riding are ingrained in our head. For those of us who ride, there was a time when we didn’t. Now, it is second nature and never forgotten once learned. Take driving a car. The reflexes and reactions we use to accomplish safe driving are habits ingrained in that come back quickly if we put them down.

So my habit of believing the protein myth – that it’s necessary to combine vegan proteins at every meal – is no exception. 42 years ago, I began a dairy vegetarian diet. 3 years, ago, I became vegan. Until just recently, I didn’t learn that it’s not important to count protein grams, that it wasn’t important to combine my tempeh with my quinoa to consume all the essential aminos together.

The media didn’t correct me. The meat and dairy industry certainly wasn’t going to correct me because they wanted the macho words “high quality protein” attached to their food for the purpose of making sales. And I was an educated eater, or so I thought. Imagine those who consume the “regular Western diet.” Most only know the words “high quality protein” meaning meat. fowl, fish, dairy, eggs. They certainly aren’t taught the ills of these foods or the majesty of plant-based nutrition.

WHY, THEN, DOES THE PROTEIN MYTH STILL EXIST, IF IT HAS BEEN DISPROVED OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR DECADES?

There are 3 reasons that I see. And these are hurting the American people as well as others around the world.

1) IGNORANCE

There are nebulous references all over current nutritional literature that talk about complete and incomplete protein. This is, in part, because many dieticians and nutritionists learn from books that still promote this combining idea or the superiority of a meat diet over a plant-based diet.
Although the Center For Disease Control website mentions,

“In the diet, protein sources are labeled according to how many of the essential amino acids they provide.”

This speaks to the failure of our labeling system, which I have been monitoring since the early 1970s. Not much has changed. The words complete and incomplete protein, high quality protein and low quality protein are obsolete words.

The CDC website goes on to say,

“Is it true that complementary proteins must be eaten together to count as a complete protein source?

“In the past, it was thought that these complementary proteins needed to be eaten at the same meal for your body to use them together. Now studies show that your body can combine complementary proteins that are eaten within the same day,”

Quoted from the American Dietetic Assocation and Dietiticians of Canada, JADA, 2003; 103(6) 748-765, by the CDC, but demonstrated scientifically from many sources.

This quote should have flashing lights around it and be given more attention as to re-educate people to this fact. It is a conservative quote because many research studies have studied amino acids pool themselves over several days and make themselves available to create protein as needed.

IT IS NOW KNOWN THAT A PLANT BASED DIET DOES NOT REQUIRE PROTEIN COMBINING AND THAT, WHEN WE CONSUME ENOUGH CALORIES AND VARY OUR FOODS, WE WILL GET ENOUGH PROTEIN FROM PLANT FOODS.

2) PROFIT

The meat and dairy industries are quite anxious for this information to stay buried so that they can continue to thrive. Further, because money is such a powerful motivator, these industries work hard to hide knowledge that a non-plant-based diet causes heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study is a report of a 20+-year study that gives scientific support to this statement.

The industries that have the most advertising capital, meat and dairy, are the ones whose ads we see and hear. When was the last time we saw a billboard up saying how nutritionally sound spirulina was? Or kale juice from actual real, raw, unsprayed leaves?

Bottom line, I haven’t seen these signs.

3) SOCIAL PROOF

Social proof is the concept that we are more likely to act the way others are acting or assume the same action in order to act correctly. It’s kind of a monkey see, monkey do pattern, a habit obtained through peer action, but, nonetheless, a habit.

Eating meat, fowl, fish, dairy, eggs are a habit we are taught. Most people are not raised on a plant-based diet. Most Americans eat meat. Many others want to be able to afford meat in their diets. The world has been seduced by meat and dairy media to think that having meat makes us healthy. Advertising would have us believe that the meat and dairy diet is more healthy than the plant-based diet.

There’s lots of evidence to the contrary. But, consumer advertising leaves people associating plentiful meat and dairy with affluence, keeping up with the Joneses, being in a position of power, being surrounded by the beautiful people.

Restauranteurs open restaurants and serve all kinds of meat, fish, dairy, egg dishes. They demonstrate how their best customers eat meat. They help perpetuate the myth that the plant-based diet is still for hippies.

CONCLUSION

When medical students get the pathetic total of 3 hours training in nutrition, while school lunches are subsidized by arrangements with the meat and dairy world, while the advertising we see subliminally and overtly affects our understanding of food and diet; how can we expect to understand that there are proteins in almost everything plant-based we eat?

ACTION STEPS

1) If we are so inclined, we can take a few minutes to dispel the protein myth. Tell a friend, have a discussion at work, do some research to confirm the scientific truth that protein combining is an out-dated lesson and that a whole plant foods have plenty of protein.

2) We can set people straight about the stories people tell about getting sick or weak on a plant-based diet. These stories are about poor eating, not about lack of protein. Processed foods and lack of variety may have been the cause.

3) 1 last thing we can do now that we know our protein supply is abundant is we can contemplate saving our natural resources by starting a plant-based diet. This will save on our medical bills from the ills of meat and dairy, on grazing land, animal feed, water for manufacturing, electric power, and, last, ethical dilemmas about animals (which should be first, not last).

The corn and oats we feed to our cattle would be enough to insure that not 1 person in the world would ever go hungry. If we changed our diets. But the protein myth is no longer on the table.
_____

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It’s true that people can be vegans without eating whole living foods. Having been dairy vegetarian for so long and vegan for 3 years; I am only now eating on purpose, including lots of raw foods that are green and leafy. I am no longer counting protein grams because, for the first time in my life, I know the veggies, fruits, grains, seeds and nuts I eat balance the way my body works.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She is extremely revved to have uncovered a flaw in her education about protein. She says,

“Like so many others, I was mistakenly hanging on to the old, unscientifically broadcast myth that was started in the book Diet For A Small Planet. The author, Francis Moore Lappe, critiques how hunger could be prevented by removing the need for feeding livestock if we switched to plant-based food. In her 1971 book, which has sold over 3,000,000 copies, she also mentions the need for protein combining for proper essential amino acids use. It turns out this was incorrect, but her words echo to this day since fewer have read her retraction and the industries she speaks about, meat and dairy, want this info hushed up.

“I am excited to know more about the great amino acid process where aminos are stored in a pool and called upon to recombine to make a particular protein as needed. Very spectacular, this human body. May we live long and prosper.”

TURNING HABITS INTO HEALTH: HOW 1 STEP AT A TIME CAN MAKE THE CHANGE (ISSUE 63)

By Diane Gold

Turning Habits Into Health is just another way of saying we are committing to nurturing ourselves and matching our behaviors with our current goals and game plan.

Habits, as we know if we think about them, are patterns of behavior reinforced through repetition until they are almost involuntary action. Here’s a short list of these responses: eating oily, salty or sugary snacks to satisfy a food craving; verbally reacting to a child because that’s how we were raised; using mind/body-altering substances (prescribed or not) because we are tired, bored, nervous or emotional;  shutting down our emotions because it’s safer than experiencing pain; acting out anger when someone challenges us; eating processed, unhealthy foods to escape; meditating before breakfast; brushing our teeth; taking our shoes off before we enter a residence; swimming after work; praying
before eating.

Obviously, diverse behaviors serve us at various times in our lives. Most of the time, we aren’t even aware these habits are developing. And, usually, we don’t focus on them until our body, mind or spirit call out in despair. Weighing too much signals that our bodies are imbalanced. Pain in our teeth makes us examine our oral hygiene and diet. Emotional over-reaction makes us look at our stability. Our comfort level with the questions of our position in the universe arouses our spirit and calls for grand examination.

Because we are all so universally tied to habits and we all have them, WarriorsOfWeight.com now honors moms, daughters, fathers, sons, teen girls, teen boys, grandparents in focusing on and educating about Turning Habits Into Health and discussing all the astounding techniques to help each one of us along the way.

Whether we speak about personal development techniques like tai chi, free dance techniques, music and its effects on balance, involvement in social change to get us personally where we want to be or the science of proper nutrition to maximize our bodies;
WarriorsOfWeight.com aims to share material for all our supporters. From now on, our new tag line is (drum roll, please)

Turning Habits Into Health!

And we are focusing on solutions for all of us.

So what are the ways to make this miraculous change in habit? Do we have to turn ourselves inside out?

The answer, of course, is no. The prospect of making the change may seem as if we have to climb a mountain. The actual journey, if approached step-by-step, is only as difficult as each individual step.

ACTION STEPS

1) Step 1 is to look as far as the first step. The first step is the beginning action step. It’s like the running a race. When we look at 1 more step, and only 1 more step, we get to continue without collapsing – for that 1 step only.

This step could be changing 1 meal to vegetable juice or overcoming the fear of crossing the street or drinking apple juice instead of wine. With all of these habits, there is a first step, the golden step, the one that will begin the habit change.

2) Step 2 is a repetition of step 1 except that we have actual experience doing step 1. We can note that the original habit began because we repeated the same action over and over again.

Therefore, changing the habit is going to require repeating the same action over and over again. Thus, we repeat step 1.

We know we have looked at step 1. We have also looked at step 2. They are the same. So are the next steps.

3) As we get used to this step, we can repeat it more easily each time. If we continue to take the step as a replacement for some negative action that is not supporting our goals, we will begin to replace the habit.

Our journey for change starts out as a cold mountain.

With repetition and confidence, as we begin to get familiarity and control with our new actions, our journey becomes a mountain of joy.

CONCLUSION

We can change a habit with 1 step. It is the way. There is nothing mysterious about it, and the technique is as straight forward as normal breathing. We always have our collection of habits, all of them. Whether we allow them to trigger depends on how well we have replaced them using any means necessary, but usually the 1-step plan.

If we follow each individual step on blind faith, we don’t get distracted with other thoughts. In time, we can take a look at what we’ve accomplished, but not while we are doing it.

ACTION STEPS: THE HABIT CHANGE PROCESS

This section overviews The Habit Change Process. The “snack” habit is chosen so that we can act out the process without getting stuck on which habit to change. The method of 1 step, then repetition of the same step, then repetition of the same step again and again can be used for all habits.

OBJECTIVE

Replacing 1 snack a day with healthy food instead of cookies, chips, soda, anything else. (If you only eat raw food, have an allergy to 1 of the foods; please substitute. If you don’t usually have a snack, please add it for 21 days, just to be part of this process.)

1) Buy veggies (the culinary term “veggies” which would include mushrooms): carrots, broccoli, onions, garlic, spinach, mushrooms.

2)  5 minutes ahead of the broccoli, steam sliced carrots. Then add broccoli and steam for another 7-10 minutes.

3)  In another pot, use some water to brown sliced mushrooms, re-adding water several times as needed. so they don’t burn.

4)  Once the steaming is complete, in a wok or saucepan, heat a small amount of olive oil, add garlic to cook, 30 seconds later, add onions.

5)  In a couple minutes, add mushrooms, steamed carrots and broccoli.

6)  Add low-sodium soy sauce or amino acid liquid, a few drops of sesame oil, black pepper, rice vinegar, if you like.

7)  Stir fry until everything is tender.

8)  Add spinach for 30 seconds.

9)  Remove from the stove.

10) When cool, separate into 7 snack bags, 1 for each day of the week.

11) Refrigerate.

12) Now, you have a mid-afternoon snack for the next 7 days.

13) Set a phone/computer/clock alarm to facilitate this snack.

14) Do this for 7 days.

15) Repeat 1) through 14) for 2 additional weeks in a row.

16) Congratulations. You have gone through the steps to change a habit. Keep it up, and it is changed.

17) Grab your certificate below!

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She is more excited about the idea of looking at 1-step until that 1 step is completed. She says,

“When the mind is focused on 1 thing, it is not focused on 2 things. Of course, we need to do a physical act to make the concentration happen, as opposed to intellectually thinking about it.

“When we want to take a step for our betterment, whatever it is, if we focus our attention only on this 1 step; we are less distracted. Imagine walking a tight rope, for example. Because the risk is so great that we would become injured with less than 100% concentration, we concentrate.

“If we don’t take the same care with changing a habit, we can get off track. Easily. So, concentrate on the physical action we have decided would be in our best interest. And we will be happy with the results.”

PLANT-BASED NUTRITION AND 3 WEIGHT LOSS FACTORS THAT COME ALONG, TOO (ISSUE 59)

By Diane Gold

There is much evidence that plant-based nutrition helps rid us of a variety of modern-day ailments. However, major “Western” food manufacturers downplay it. After all, what would happen to their food consumption if even 50% of the people who now eat meat/fish/fowl/dairy/eggs changed their ways?. What would manufacturers do if people in the United States stopped eating processed foods?

There are 3 factors that can make us healthy and affect our weight loss plan. They are relevant to every kind of food and every type of food plan. They are important.

MUCUS

We might think about mucus as toxins that we release when we are sick. But mucus is a substance produced to protect our membranes and is always present. Its overproduction is our body’s getting clogged from a variety of things: smoke, food, bacteria and dust.

Animal and dairy products are known to form excess mucus in our bodies because of their composition and the way it is absorbed into our body. Part of it, generally, is not useful to the body and turns into substance that turns into mucus.

Vegetables and fruits do not form mucus, except for sulphured fruits and gassed bananas. (Did you know that when bananas are brought to market, they are usually gas-ripened? That means they are picked green and gassed so that, by the time they come to market, they are yellow). This is why so many physicians realize the merits of the plant based diet and weight loss. These foods do not add excess bulk that makes the body work hard to digest it.

Additives, in general, cause excess mucus as a type of inflammation. This includes pesticides, which are prevalent in all fruits and veggies not so listed or home-grown. Although mucus is needed as a normal body secretion, too much mucus is not always visible and is often detected when we are already suffering from its effect.

Mucus forming foods are plaque forming foods. Over-production of plaque in our vessels causes clogging in the lungs and the intestines.

[True story:
One of the MDs in my health care world had a medical problem. What did he do to help himself? He went on a raw vegan diet and got rid of his medical issue.]

ACTION STEP

When choosing a food, think about how it would seem to digest in the body. If it is heavy and thick, chances are it is mucus forming. If it is light and it sways (I was thinking of lettuce in the breeze), it probably provides the roughage that the digestive system needs to smoothly process foods. Consider eating non-mucus forming foods exclusively.

FIBER

Dietary fiber is that indigestible part of plant foods, including whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits and veggies. So, when eating meat/fish/fowl/dairy/eggs, there is no fiber.

There are 2 main components in fiber: soluble fiber ferments into helpful colon gases. Insoluble fiber keeps our elimination of food waste regular. They both have to do with digestive absorption and gastrointestinal activity.

ACTION STEP

Keeping the body fresh with fiber is usually healthy for most people diets. When we eat non-plant-based foods, we often stop up our plumbing with non-fibrous foods. When we eat plant-based nutrition, our bodies eliminate food easily and frequently. This is partially due to the high fiber content in the food. This helps with weight loss. Consider fiber when choosing food.

ACIDIC AND ALKALINE FOODS

Foods are labeled acid or alkaline for the effect they have on the body after ingestion. That’s why lemons and limes are considered alkaline-forming, since their properties result in the body’s becoming alkaline.

Acid-forming foods are: soda/energy drinks/coffee/alcohol, animal foods, soda, fried foods.

Alkaline foods are veggies, fruits, almonds, seeds, some whole grains and tofu.

Too acidic a body means the body has to work overtime to correct its pH level which should be around 7.5,  just like a swimming pool. This means the breathing rate would have to increase to remove carbonic acid which would exhale as CO2; kidneys would have to increase the acid in the urine and minerals would be leached out of the body, using up Calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, Vitamin K and Sodium to balance the pH.

How many times do we hear about Acid Reflux and all the drug products we can take to control it? Increasing the body’s alkalinity intake should be looked at first.

Let’s look at soda, including diet-soda. The highest source of calories of any food in the United States is soda. It is an acid-forming food along with diet soda, which has no calories but is in the same acid category. Both regular and diet soda contain phosphoric acid, all the way over on the acid side of acid-forming foods.

To balance the pH, the body is forced to leach calcium, which hurts bones, but it also leaches iodine which is necessary for proper function of the thyroid gland. When the thyroid gland does not work properly, the body’s metabolism fails and often slows down. When the metabolism is slow, the body can be sluggish, leading to weight gain from lack of movement. This is the main reason that soda, even diet soda with its “0 calories,” causes weight gain.

Did you know that saliva is alkaline and that if you chew more, you enable the digestive process? Many monks profess that we chew our food 50 times before swallowing. This will predigest the food and liquify it. It will provide a time for us to appreciate the food without rushing. Now, I know it will certainly combine well with alkaline saliva for body health.

Acidosis

When the body is too acidic and cannot correct itself by leaching minerals, urine acid, it produces fat as a buffer for the acid. This fat can deposit itself in many places to protect the body for the effects of its acidity. This can make the weight increase.

ACTION STEP

Feel good, feel balanced. Consider eating plant-based nutrition for a proper pH level. Keep the body in the best position for losing weight, and learn which foods are alkaline and eat them.

CONCLUSION

The very nature of plant-based nutrition gives the natural weight loss property to these foods themselves. They are physically lighter. They have a high content of water which makes them easier to digest. This, in turn requires less stomach acid to break them down for absorption into the intestines and they provide bioflavonoids, of which there are over 800, for medicinal uses.

There is also the ethical factor. This means that, by eating a plant-based diet, we can feel more responsible for caring for the lives of animals. This has to feel good, on behalf of these animals, even for a short while.

The more we study, the more data we compile. We will do more reporting on this topic since it seems to be the more healthy way to eat, to save manufacturing resources as well as the temples which are our bodies and minds.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She believes in the benefits of plant-based nutrition. She says,

“The body always feels better after eating greens, juicing veggies, ingesting plants. When I finish drinking fresh wheatgrass juice, I feel as strong as a truck. That must mean something biologically about the power of plants in the human body.

“There are 2 other important factors that go along with my relationship with plants. 1 is a personal philosophy to limit the amount of animal lives I use for my benefit. The other is that the processing of animals for food costs a great deal more than using non-processed (preferably non-pesticide sprayed) fruits and vegetables. So, the choice for plant-based nutrition helps the planet, the animals and the human body.”