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Archive for the ‘Common Sense’ Category

Treat or Tricked?

Two cousins, the boy dressed in military camou...

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That’s right! It’s treat or tricked, not trick or treat! Now that Halloween is done and over with, let’s discuss the implications of the so-called Halloween treats. The treats that most people give away to kids during this holiday of sorts are not really a treat. Treats are supposed to be beneficial for the recipient. This is usually not the case when it comes to trick or treating though because the treats are harmful for the recipient long term. They’re mostly white sugar or refined carbs. Empty calories, that is. Sugar is addictive, even though it’s legal (or should I say, sugar is legal, even though it’s addictive). We don’t think about it in this terms but sugar in general could cause more problems than all other drugs combined. Consider how diabetes is now one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in most ages. What used to be an illness found in adults could now be seen in children. Thanks to the abundance of sugary products. And that’s not all, it’s found in products that are supposed to be sugar free under the guise of different names. It takes a more educated or more informed population to decipher the list of ingredients of most food stuff nowadays. I would say that the further refined a food is, the more harmful it is. The closer it is to nature, the more beneficial it is. Go natural!

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Common Sense, Random Thoughts, Tips

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Water, the fogotten nutrient

Clean drinking water...not self-evident for ev...

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It’s interesting how we place so much emphasis on food or supplements when we are basically, made up of 75% water (just like the earth). Without water, a lot of the metabolic processes in our body won’t work efficiently. Why is it that we can’t somehow focus on just getting enough water intake? Is it boring to just drink water? Compare that with soda (called “cola” or “soft drinks” in other countries). You see all these ads about soda everywhere. It makes you think that drinking soda quenches your thirst (which it does somewhat) but more importantly, that it makes you “cool,” (well, not as cool as other legal drinks, but you know where I’m getting). More about soda later. Anyway, the typical recommendation of glasses per day is not the best because of everybody differs in their requirements. I typically recommend half a person’s body weight in ounces (more so, if a person’s sweating a lot or when it’s hot outside). Then, as far as the quality of your water in concerned, I recommend pure water, but not just any type of “processed” water. There are pros and cons to each type of water purification system. Some may only removed dissolved solids (filtration). There are others that remove pathogens (such as bacteria, cysts), VOC’s (volatile organic chemicals), heavy metals (lead, mercury), and substances that are typically added to our water supply (chlorine, fluoride and more recently, chloramine). I would go for one that removes all these. Distillation and reverse osmosis water systems are among the more efficient ones available. Distillation probably gets rid of everything, including beneficial minerals unfortunately. This makes the water’s pH acidic in general. So, I recommend squeezing a lemon or lime into the water. The minerals in the water makes the water’s pH more alkaline. Do you know that there are water systems that make alkaline water? They’re considered medical devices in Japan, where acidic and alkaline water have specific applications. More on this later. Have a great week and drink up (water, that is)!

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Common Sense, Tips

Body Talk

Experiencing symptoms that are uncomfortable or dragging you down? Maybe it’s time to listen to your body talk. Symptoms are actually our buddies, alerting us that something in our lives is out of sync or out of balance. Sure, treating symptoms help. However, treating the root cause/causes of symptoms or illness makes more sense in the long run. For instance, treating headaches with tylenol may help but headaches are not due to a tylenol deficiency. By the way, tylenol could deplete the body of the antioxidant molecule called glutathione, which actually protects the liver, among other things. It has been promoted as a very safe drug until recent years when massive recalls of the product have taken place because of serious side effects. Anyway, headaches could be due to various factors such as dehydration, muscle tension, stress and other things. Find the cause and address it. Doesn’t that make sense? We just need to use our common sense and listen to our bodies instead of being brainwashed to think that there’s a pill for every uncomfortable physical or emotional symptom we experience. A good example of an emotional symptom is SAD, short for “social anxiety disorder”, meaning being extremely uncomfortable in social situations. In other words, being bashful or shy. Now, when has that been a medical disorder? Not too long ago. There are more normal emotional states that are being “medicalized” but I won’t even go there. Check this link however!

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Common Sense, News

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I want my coffee now!

Facts about coffee. It is a beverage prepared from the coffee seeds, otherwise known as “coffee beans”, of the coffee plant. It is grown primarily in agricultural communities in approximately 70 countries throughout the world. It was discovered in the Middle East where it’s cultivation spread throughout the Arab world. It is now consumed by more people all over the world. Just look at the popularity of Starbuck’s or Peet’s or Seattle’s Best Coffee in the US alone. Anyway, what are the benefits of drinking coffee? People who take it regularly do so because it perks them up or gives them energy (due to the caffeine content which has stimulating properties). One disturbing fact about coffee though is that it’s one of the most heavily pesticides crops in the world. So, if you’re going to have your coffee, choose sustainably-produced, organic coffee at least. Decaf coffee is another issue all by itself. During the decaffeination process, chemicals such as formaldehyde, are used which actually makes the coffee worse. So, for people who want their decaf coffee, find one that’s processed without toxic chemicals. And perhaps, have your adrenals checked out by a holistic practitioner if you’re totally addicted or dependent on coffee in general. One thing more, have you ever heard of the coffee fruit? It’s basically the whole fruit with the beans and the flesh all intact. The whole fruit has more beneficial nutrients than the coffee bean alone. It is rich in antioxidants called phenolic acids as well as beneficial polysaccharides. Antioxidants, as we all know, fight off free radicals while polysaccharides enhance cellular communication (which is beneficial for the immune system in particular). I’ll have my coffee fruit instead!

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Common Sense, Environment, Tips

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Your Best Defense…..

Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Tsim Sha ...

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….is a healthy immune system. Every day, we encounter billions of germs. Not every one gets sick, however. Ever wonder why others fall deathly ill while others seem to be resistant to illness? The answer to that is a healthy immune system. We can nurture our immune system through a nutritious diet, pure water intake, stress reduction, sun exposure, adequate sleep and rest, exercise, the use of therapeutic grade essential oils (lemon, clove, cinnamon, etc.) and exposure to the earth’s electromagnetic fields. Easy to say, huh? Ways to lower our immune systems are easier to do and most people seem to have no trouble doing it. Fast food/highly refined diet, high-stress lifestyle, dehydration, inadequate sleep and rest, exposure to harmful EMF’s and negativity are just some of these.
In traditional Chinese medicine, practitioners were only compensated if their clients are well or stay well. They don’t get paid if their client’s get sick. Sounds like an interesting concept. However, it does make more sense. Keep someone healthy so they could fight off any illness and practitioners get paid well. It’s a win-win situation if you think about it.

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Sleeping Beauty

Main pathway in growth regulation by the endoc...

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Funny title, huh? Sleep is something we often take for granted until we lose it. A few times in the past (esp. during internship and residency), I’ve had poor quality sleep and boy, it really affected me. I was useless the following day and oftentimes, I became bitchy towards others. Yep, blame it on lack of sleep! Anyway, sleep’s main goal is to help us regenerate. That’s a time when anabolic and healing hormones are secreted by our endocrine glands. These hormones include melatonin, prolactin and growth hormone. If you wanna age better than your counterparts, get some sleep or else……

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