Thursday, June 28, 2007

Finally Science Confirms the Secret Key to Weight Loss [Insulin]

Weight gain and how to lose extra pounds are a major cause of stress (and stress itself can cause weight gain!) . You do all the right things, eat all the right foods, and nothing happens.

The reason for that is, all people metabolize food differently, and "the perfect diet" is only perfect for the people whose metabolism it matches. For the rest of us, it's of no benefit at all, and may even be counter-beneficial.

Today's article is a reprint from the website of Dr. Joseph Mercola. He explains the science behind weigh loss, matabolism, and insulin. This is one of those articles you should print out and refer to often, especially if your doctor has ever told you that you are overweight due to faulty genes. Blaming the patient for the illness is extremely counterproductive and, in this case, completely false!

Read on to learn why...

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Finally Science Confirms the Secret Key to Weight Loss

This is one of the most important posts I have written on health so I want you to carefully read this.

My site has been around for over 10 years and from day one I have been extolling the importance of insulin in nearly all chronic degenerative diseases. Well now we have a landmark study confirming that insulin is the central part of the weight-loss equation.

There are over 200 million Americans who are overweight, and collectively they are carrying around an extra 5 BILLION pounds of excess fat.

What the Boston researchers specifically found was that those who secreted high insulin levels had a far more difficult time losing weight than those who secreted low levels of insulin.

I am very grateful that these researchers produced this landmark confirmation of insulin truth. Unfortunately, they completely blew the interpretation of what they found. So let me help you sort through the researchers’ confusion.

Like most scientists they want to attribute the problem to your genes. They want you to believe that 200 million Americans are heavy because they have flawed genetics that make them hypersecrete insulin.

Folks, nothing could be further from the truth.

The reason 200 million Americans are overweight is not because of flawed genetics that cause them to make excessive insulin. Hypersecretion of insulin is an effect -- NOT the cause. The reason 200 million are overweight is because they have impaired insulin receptor sensitivity.

Impaired Insulin Receptor Sensitivity

How do your insulin receptors stop working effectively?

Very simple.

This is a natural consequence that occurs when you don’t exercise and move the way you were designed to. Your body dynamically makes this adjustment because the receptors are not being used. This is very similar to what happens if you lie in bed for a few weeks; your muscles start to atrophy. Some have called this the “use it or lose it” phenomena.

So when your insulin receptors become desensitized the only way your body can adjust is to make MORE insulin. You become an insulin hypersecretor.

Why Is This Important?

Once your body releases insulin it immediately starts to inhibit your fat-burning hormone called hormone-sensitive lipase. This hormone is responsible for releasing fat into your bloodstream to be utilized as fuel. Once this enzyme is inhibited, your body is unable to burn fat and will then begin utilizing amino acids from your muscle and carbohydrates as fuel.

This will cause you to become abnormally hungry, which further feeds this vicious cycle.

The key is to have LOW levels of insulin so your body can produce large amounts of hormone-sensitive lipase and burn fat all day so you can look thin and slim.

You might want to pick up the paper edition of this week’s Time magazine as the online version of How the World Eats only shows one of the pictures from Japan, which for the most part is really healthy food. No wonder they live over 80 years. They show a picture of a family from Chad, which is virtually no food, and then a picture of food for a typical U.S. family.

This is one of the most powerful graphic illustrations as to why the United States has an obesity epidemic. Nearly all of the U.S. food (over 90 percent) was highly processed junk food. Of course, if you shop at a grocery store you probably see this all the time. It is shocking what people are putting into their bodies.

Processed junk foods will absolutely impair your insulin receptor sensitivity.

So What Can You Do?

The bottom line is very simple here, folks. Keep your insulin levels low, very low. You can measure this with an inexpensive blood test that nearly any doctor can draw for you. Your level should be about 2 or 3. The way you lower it to these levels is by exercising, avoiding processed foods and refined carbs, and by eating the appropriate amounts of carbs for your nutritional type.

This is NOT rocket science. If you apply these simple principles you will see dramatic and remarkable improvements not only in your ability to achieve your ideal weight but also in just about every other chronic degenerative disease.

Personally, I think it is criminal malpractice that fasting insulin levels are not aggressively monitored in all cases of cancer and heart disease, because they are central to the causes of both of these diseases.

We hope to offer a weight loss coaching program later this year but in the meantime you can use krill oil and fucoTHIN to help support your weight loss efforts.

Time Magazine June 11, 2007

The Journal of the American Medical Association May 16, 2007; 297:2092-2102

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Michelle here again.....if you want to start doing something NOW, please pick up a copy of The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet to Your Own Unique Body Chemistry. I've been working with it for a couple of months now and am completely delighted with the results!

You may read my earlier review of the book here: Metabolic Typing Diet Review


Monday, June 25, 2007

Life and a couple of cups of coffee
























When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

















Here's an article about how Being With Friends Helps Keep You Healthy

For your pleasure, here is a fun Amazing Coffee Art video

Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success - book review

Almost 15 years before "The Secret" and the Law of Attraction, there was Deepak Chopra writing about acquiring the things we desire, not only cars and homes, but peace of mind and contentment in his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams.

I know a lot of people say things like this, but it really is true when I tell you that this little book changed my life. It completely changed how I perceive the world and its workings. Not only do these seven laws teach about manifestation, but they teach how to work harmoniously with universal energies thereby eliminating a lot of stress and anxiety from daily life.

I bought it on a whim when Christmas shopping with my son. It was on a table of discounted books near the checkout counter of the store; placement for purely impulse purchases, and it got me that December evening in 1994. Even after all these years, I count it as one of the wisest impulse purchases I've ever made.

It's just 128 pages – easy to read; simple yet profound as many great teachings are.

The first sentence of the introduction states: "Although this book is titled The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, it could also be called the Seven Spiritual Laws of Life, because these are the same principles that nature uses to create everything in material existence – everything we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch."

In this sense – and throughout this book – "spiritual" means "life force," not necessarily a religious "God-force." This book isn't about religion, it's about natural laws, life force and energy, and the physical manifestation of thought and desire.

Right off, the title intrigued me because the number seven certainly carries with it a variety of Mystical and Mysterious meanings in many cultures and traditions. (For more information on that, read the article "Spiritual Symbolism in the Number 7" on my "Spirits In Harmony" blog.)

The first law is the Law of Pure Potentiality which states that every thought is a potential manifestation, and that you can manifest anything that you can think of.

Second is the Law of Giving. Whatever you give is returned to you, so make sure you give that which you seek.

Third is the Law of "Karma" or Cause and Effect. Every action is not only the result of the application of energy, it generates an energetic force as well.

Fourth is one of my favorites and dovetails perfectly with Daoist philosophy – The Law of Least Effort. If you are in harmony with the universe, whatever you desire manifests easily and effortlessly.

Fifth is the Law of Intention and Desire. Clarity of intention and desire is crucial to the manifestation process.

Sixth is the Law of Detachment. This is a little bit like "let go and let God." Once you are clear on what you want to manifest, allow it to happen in its own way. Don't try to control the process, just envision the outcome.

Seventh is the Law of "Dharma" or Purpose in Life. The introduction to this chapter explains: "Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals."

Each chapter goes into detail on how the subject Law works in the universe, and the manifestation process. Each also ends with a section called "Applying the Law of ______" in which practical steps are enumerated showing you how to incorporate the teaching into your daily life.

I still keep this little book at my bedside to read at night and meditate on the principles within. Not only does it contain food for thought, but nourishment for the soul as well.

Average Customer Review: based on 171 reviews.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Baduanjin qigong: Conception Vessel Channel

Shaking Off Illness

I can’t recall where I saw this, but this movement allows for energy to be let go or sent back into the earth instead of being raised from it. Alternative names of this exercise support this idea: “Seven Disorders and Hundreds of Illnesses Disappear and are Left Behind your Back” and “Reaching Down to Dissipate Disease.”



Internal Health Benefits of this position
: internal organ massage; benefits spine, nervous system, and balance. Especially, this activity activates the lymph system, and that is very beneficial.

"Cells are able to function better with fresh lymph fluid filled with the proper concentrations of oxygen, glucose and all other nutrients. When fresh supplies replace the waste products of cells--the toxins, bacteria viruses, poisons, trash and debris--cells are healthier, and so are you. But the lymphatic system is completely dependent on some kind of movement to stimulate the pumping action. When you do rebound exercise, your lymphatic system moves about twenty times as fast as it does at rest." Tuberose.com

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of calves, thighs, and lower back; beneficial for the nervous system, and balance.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: it supports the benefits of the yin organs; the Lung, Spleen, Heart, Kidney, Pericardium, and Liver.



















Acupuncture charts courtesy of Pedro Bernardy and RyuBuKan Dojo. For informational purposes only.




Average Customer Review: based on 17 reviews.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Baduanjin qigong: Governing Vessel Channel

Striking (Punching) With Angry Eyes

The previous channels, as a group, are known as the "Regular Channels." There are also several "Extraordinary Channels," two of which are included in most acupuncture charts. I'll post about each separately.


The Governing Vessel
Meridian: controls all yang channels. I placed “Striking” with the Governing Vessel Meridian because: “This exercise develops the flow of chi from your feet through your entire body and extends it through your hands and eyes.” P. 78, The Way of Energy: A Gaia Original. Upward movement is usually considered a yang activity, so I paired the controller of the yang channels with the upward movement of the Governing Vessel Meridian.

Internal Health Benefits of this position: improves circulation and nervous system, strengthens eye muscles.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works chest (pectorals), back, shoulder, and arm muscles; helps trim waistline; improves circulation and nervous system, strengthens eye muscles.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: it supports the benefits of the yang organs; the Large Intestine, Stomach, Small Intestine, Bladder, Triple Burner, and Gall Bladder.



















Acupuncture charts courtesy of Pedro Bernardy and RyuBuKan Dojo. For informational purposes only.

Average Customer Review: based on 17 reviews.