Interesting TED Talk about electric cars

Here is the concept- we own the car, not the battery.

When the battery runs out, we pull up to a station where the battery is pulled and a fully charged one is put in.

Please watch...

Everything you need to know to be/stay healthy!

Great 5 minute video on how/ what people need to eat. Funny, clear, and totally accurate!

Please please watch!

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OK, now that you have watched, you may ask, "But Karen, I live in the middle of a major city! My best friend is not an organic rancher/farmer. I feel confused as to how to implement this into my life!"

Have I ever left you hanging?

First is to start simple. What is most important to you? Is it the reduction of sugar and grains in your diet? That's a good start. Start slow! Begin with sugary grains: cereal (even the "healthy" kind), no cake/ pie/ cookies for dessert, no waffles, pancakes (recipe for Primal Pancakes to follow). Set a limit for yourself at first, say you only allow yourself 2 slices of whole grain bread per day (I like this). You can then choose a piece of toast with your soft boiled eggs for breakfast, then a half sandwich with soup/salad for lunch. That means dinner will be veggies, protein, fruit dessert. (And maybe some organic chocolate... but I never said that...or a glass of wine...I never said that either...)

Maybe the first place to start is with manufactured food-type products. Raid your kitchen and get rid of boxes of things with more than 5-8 ingredients, packages that contain the direction "just add water". Canned soups (full of aluminum and sodium), foil wrapped "bars" (protein, breakfast, energy, meal replacement), pop-tarts, etc. You get the picture. How you get rid of it is up to you- donate it, toss it, have a "food-type product" funeral!

Margarine! Toss it! The last thing any of us need is more of this ambiguously named "vegetable oil". My Anatomy and Physiology instructor called margarine "tumor in a tub". Try ghee (clarified butter) or raw butter (Organic Pastures at Whole Foods).

Interested in fully grass/ pastured/ organic meat? A friend (Hi Elise!) sent me this great link, it's a guide to all grass fed animal ranches in the US. Get some friends and family together and place an order.

Revisit/ watch this 15 minute video I posted the other day.

Chant with me; "Leaf-y greens! Leaf-y greens!" Add handfuls of spinach to scrambled eggs, steam kale and serve with your favourite salad dressing (homemade preferably- dressing is crazy easy to make). A quote I read about kale, said by an MD, made me laugh out loud "Kale makes colon cancer cells commit suicide."

More to follow...stay tuned!

Very Important

I want to get this 19 minute video out to everyone. "We Are What We Eat". Don't worry, it won't give you anxiety or nightmares, it's not a shock value type video. It's just a real look at our food production.

Please take time to watch this.

Free Movie!

Super Size Me is now playing on Hulu, interspersed with a few 13 second commercials. Good stuff.

Great video about Vit D

I just viewed a video of Dr. Michael Holick speaking at a European Symposium on the topic of Vitamin D. We are now learning that our demonizing of the sun for at least the past 30 years is doing us more harm than good, health wise.

A synopsis:

What is the best source of Vit D? The sun.

What is the next best source during winter months or if you live above or below about 38deg longitude? A simple Vitamin D3 supplement. In the video he talks about UVB waves and the angles in which they penetrate our atmosphere. They hit most directly at 37deg longitude, a distance from the equator north to about Los Angeles. Above that they distort, wave, and the delivery of Vit D decreases in potency. In winter even at these ideal longitudes, when the sun moves further away, Vit D delivery is again weakened.

What diseases and/or disorders can solid blood levels of Vit D help cure/ prevent? Breast cancer, prostate cancer, colo-rectal cancer, psoriasis, osteomalacia, fibromyalgia. (Note: I am not implying that any one thing is the be all end all cure all. However, sometimes the answer really can be shockingly simple. Intake of Vit C = No More Scurvy. Please remember you could take all the D3 in the world, but if you eat a crap diet, are sedentary, have anger/grief issues, smoke, or do other painfully obvious self-destructive behaviors...well, the odds become inherently against you.)

What is the appropriate daily dose of oral Vit D? 1000units Vit D3

What is the appropriate solar dose of Vit D? 5-15 arms and legs exposure daily WITHOUT sunscreen.

What precaution should I take in the sun during this time of exposure? Do not burn.

Can you become Vit D toxic? It is verrrrrrry hard to do this. VERY hard, because the body has an off switch. This is why you can be in the sun for hours and not become toxic from Vit D; from the sun the body converts D --> D2 --> D3. If it has enough D3, it simply does not convert any more D2 into D3. Orally, you would need to take about 3x the recommended amount consistently.

Here is the video for your viewing pleasure! Is does have science-y lingo, but it isn't over the top at all. Challenge yourself! Dr. Holick has a great sense of humor. Enjoy!

Here is a link to Dr. Mercola aldo discussing Vit D in regards to cancer prevention.

Yes, but could I make this myself...

This is a video clip from the movie Fat Head (which I haven't seen)

The way we live, work and eat now has never before been experienced. Technology, chemistry, cars, Big Macs, cell phones, x-ray, chemical "medicine"...I feel like a walking science experiment. I am living in a science experiment I did not sign up for. For years I have been aware that evolution takes thousands of years, and I know I have not suddenly evolved to be at- one with concentrated radiation, chemical preservatives, cigarette smoke with hundreds of chemicals, antibiotics, artificial lighting, etc..For years I have looked around wondering, "Is this OK?"

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past few years about stuff. Basically, if that weren't here for me to use, how would I do this thing I am doing? Could I do this thing I am doing? These thoughts quickly turn to food. For example: Fake soy meat. If chemistry and heavy machinery were not available, I would not have this thing in my hand to eat. The chemistry and machinery have not been around for much time at all, so therefore my body is probably not recognizing this as food (it isn't food, actually). So my next question is, what would I eat if said things weren't around?

I am exploring these concepts now. One concept I am currently exploring the world of "paleo" or "primarian" diets (read: way to eat). Very interesting stuff. In a nutshell:

In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition. (courtesy of Crossfit.com)

Our bodies are amazing. Adaptable, rational, huge frontal lobes, thumbs, voice boxes, self conscious reality...couple that with surgical advancements and emergency medicine, and we are really an incredible species! But I ask this, just because we can, does that mean we should? Just because we can eat junk and drink alcohol and smoke and then roll ourselves into the hospital and let our surgeons and pharmacists patch us up and medicate us (at the expense and sanity of our loved ones), does that mean we should?

There are so many opinions out there regarding which diet is king. The diet that is king is the one that works for you on all levels; not just weight loss or gain but also hair and skin health and muscle tone maintenance. Soon, I will start incorporating the unique thing about food that The Zone, Paleo, McDougalling, Blood Type diet, etc. do not mention. This thing is the energetic quality within food. Food is not just something that should be broken down under a microscope and found to be only carbs, fats, proteins, Vit C, or the newest rage, Vit K2MK4.

The medicine I have spent years studying talks about nourishing aspects of food that cannot be seen in a lab. Rather, these aspects are regarded as a higher power available in food to promote longevity. Food as medicine. Some examples are using asparagus the help eliminate water accumulation in the body through the kidneys. Modern science tells us that this is due to the diuretic nutrient "asparagine". However, Chinese medicine practitioners knew the effects of asparagus many years before the technology was around to "prove" it. Celery is used in my medicine to treat something called "wind-damp" which roughly translates clinically as arthritis. We now know that celery is high in natural silicon which helps renew joints, bones, arteries, and connective tissue. My father swears by celery seed capsules for his arthritis!

I intend to write more about the food energetics found in the recipes I post.

Bonus: excellent article on soy written by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, Ph.D.