Day 57

Another from Eric Hutchinson

Back to Where I Was

BREAKFAST

Had a nice big bowl of Oatmeal with banana and raisins, and a cup of freshly ground coffee. Excellent!

LUNCH

Had leftover veggie spaghetti for lunch, apple for dessert

DINNER

Katie made a chinese style stir fry, pad thai, mushroom fried rice, and spring rolls. IT WAS AWESOME!

Snowing here again today...just when the last snow was starting to melt....It looks like Christmas, there is a white cover on everything! Bah Humbug!!!!

more later....

Day 56

Here is another from Joss Stone showcasing her awesome talent!

I Had A Dream

BREAKFAST

Had a nice bowl of oatmeal with banana and blueberries. Usual great cup of freshly ground coffee.

Had to go to the periodontist early this morning to check on the skin graft I had done 6 weeks ago. All is well.

I will try and go for a walk today, although my left knee has been giving me problems all weekend. Feels like a tweaked meniscus to me. I have had this previously...once when I was playing racquetball. When you move just a touch the wrong way, an extremely sharp pain ensues and I feel like the knee is going to give out. So.....we'll see...I would rather be able to go for the walk.

More info about Red Meat surfaces......

Sorry cows, a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology links higher risk of age-related macular degeneration, i.e. blindness, with heavy consumption of red meat. Australian researchers recruited 6,734 people, ages 58 to 69, living in Melbourne, surveying them about how much meat they ate, and then taking macular photographs of their retinas to evaluate eye health. Findings revealed participants eating red meat 10 times a week were 47% more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than those eating less red meat; Medical News Today reports.
Red meat is vile. In November a report found harmful bacteria, called Subtilase cytotoxin gravitates to red meat and dairy products. Then just last week, consuming large amounts of red and processed meat was associated with higher risk of cancer and cardiovascular mortality and beyond that, eating red meat has been linked to metabolic syndrome, a known predictor of heart disease.
In related news, previous research shows antioxidants from foods, such as spinach, kale and collard greens promote eye health and reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

LUNCH

Had a veggie sub for lunch....VG

DINNER

Katie made whole wheat spagetti with veggie hamburger by Yves, various kinds of peppers, mushrooms etc. It was great!

more later....

Day 55

BREAKFAST

Great cup of freshly ground coffee and whole wheat pancakes with blueberries and banana....ummmm good!

Misc thoughts.....

Katie is down 15 pounds....I am just maintaining at about 10....but previously our attempts to lose weight were always concentrated on how much, and how fast. Now, that all seems unimportant somehow, as the focus has switched to healthy eating, period! Whatever happens after that...happens. I know one thing though, if I continue eating like this....there won't be a situation where I will gain any significant amount of weight loss back...as has been the case in the past when you finish a "diet".

The river is still frozen over here...should start breaking up soon...Fargo got some good news in that the crest of the river was less than anticipated. As long as their dikes hold, they should be ok.

I posted a video yesterday that my son Jeff directed and produced...on his utube page he has lots of videos from interviews he did with various bands on his show. I came across a performer named Lisa Hannigan who is subscribed to his video page. She has her own videos as a performer and I was particularly impressed with this one. Hope you enjoy it!



Found this neat video for Vegan Turkey Loaf


Vegan Turkey Loaf from Everyday Dish TV on Vimeo.

more later....

Day 54

A cut from a cd of another one of my favorite artists...Joss Stone...my youngest son told me about her and I'm glad he did....was watching American Idol the other night...and there she was doing a duet with the great Smokey Robinson....awesome

Joss Stone...Less is More

Speaking of my young son...well not quite so young anymore...he is a very talented videographer, on air personality, as well as a film editor. He works for Shaw Cable here in Winnipeg and has his own show called "Signal to Noise on their local channel" He edits and does camera work for a lot of their productions. He has done four music videos which have all appeared on Much Music, all of which he did with zero budget and had to beg and borrow equipment and locations. Here is a sample, and he edited it so that it looks like it was taken off a satellite pirate station...in reality it was made right here in Winnipeg with a local Indie Group called ABO. He did all the filming, directing, and editing to produce the final result. Very proud of him!!! He is a great guy!




An interesting article about drinking your tea too hot....

IS there anything left in life that isn't linked to cancer?

Not hot tea apparently. A group of scientists has connected it with esophageal cancer. The problem doesn't appear to be the tea itself, but the temperature at which it is consumed, their study found.

Residents of Golestan province in Iran have one of the highest rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the world. They don't drink alcohol or smoke but they do consume tea. Lots of it. Nearly 1.2 litres per day, on average.

Researchers recruited 300 esophageal cancer patients in Golestan and matched them up with 571 healthy controls who shared their age, gender and place of residence. "Impatient tea drinkers who waited less than two minutes were 5.4 times as likely to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer, the study found.

-- Los Angeles Times

BREAKFAST

Usual great cup of freshly ground coffee and a big bowl of oatmeal with bananas

LUNCH

This is what we had for lunch

Nice big salad

DINNER

Katie made home made french onion soup from scratch...It was great! Then we had a baked potato with salsa and another salad.

 

more later....

Day 53

Another cut from Eric Hutchinson's cd

Outside Villanova

BREAKFAST

Good cup of freshly ground coffee and a big bowl of oatmeal with banana and raisins

The snow has finally stopped...supposed to be nicer temperature wise starting on the weekend

HEALTH NEWS

This was sent to me by a friend of mine, has a lot to do with diet and other tips...for those with or those who just want to live a healthier lifestyle.

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3 When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction..

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful.. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter ReedArmy Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Cast le Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

More reasons why Katie and I feel good about what we're doing

LUNCH

Tomato sandwich was the lunch of choice, with a few nuts and an apple

Back to my 40 minute walk, weather much nicer...not what you could calm warm by any means...hard slugging as the city has not yet plowed the sidewalks.

DINNER

Veggie pizza was great! Some peanuts in the shell as we were watching one of our favorite tv shows "Damages" The acting by Glen Close and the others is really good and the plot has lots of twists and turns.

more later....

Day 52

Another cut from Eric Hutchinson's cd

All Used Up

BREAKFAST

Nice cup of fresh ground coffee and bowl of cereal with shredded wheat and cheerios mixed. No banana...too green at the moment. Cereal of course has brown rice milk over it.

Still snowing here today...supposed to stop at around noon. Just when things were melting and you could actually see some grass, everything is a whiteout now. This is not good for our neighbors to the south....Fargo ND is now predicting flood levels above 40 feet which is terrible and close to setting an all time record. We wish them luck with their dike and sand bagging efforts.

Plan on going to the Y today...too nasty for an ordinary walk.

LUNCH

Had left over chinese veggie stir fry....ummmm good....apple with peanut butter later on

DINNER

Bean burrito....made with red and green pepper...onion...black beans...tomatoes....celery....veggie ground round....chili powder...whole wheat tortilla......very good!

for dessert we had homemade banana walnut ice cream....scrumptious!!!!!!!!
made with frozen bananas, chopped walnuts, whole grain rice milk, pure maple syrup

was that ever good and easy to make

more later....

Day 51

Another cut from our favorite cd by Eric Hutchinson

You Don't Have To Believe Me

BREAKFAST

Big bowl of Oatmeal with Banana and Blueberries, along with a great cup of freshly ground coffee

Winter storm here today....doesn't help the flood forecasts for the midwest....nasty outside!

LUNCH

Had the rest of the left over pasta with a small whole wheat roll...really good....

DINNER

Had a veggie burger and oven fries...again....really good

Katie made some Pumpkin walnut cookies....Excellent!



Still snowing...it was a very nasty day here today

more later....

Day 50

Another interesting article

It’s drummed into our heads. Salt bad, salt bad, salt bad. But why! A new study in the Journal of Nutrition claims salt decreases levels of an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase (NOS). NOS signals nearby muscles to relax, which improves blood flow and reduces high blood pressure. First, using bovine cells, scientists observed a decrease in NOS activity with an increase in salt concentration and similar results were observed using Chinese hamster ovary cells; Food Navigator reports.

A previous study showed obese people following a low-salt diet for two weeks had improved flow-mediated dilation, i.e. blood vessels ability to relax, and in the United States, cutting salt by just 1 gram could lower the number of new heart disease cases by 250,000.

BREAKFAST

Usual great cup of coffee and a bowl of shreddies with banana

Another interesting article in today's Free Press

CHICAGO - The largest study of its kind finds that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat and processed meats face a greater risk of death from heart disease and cancer.

The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts.

Calling the increased risk modest, lead author Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute said the findings support the advice of several health groups to limit red and processed meat intake to decrease cancer risk.

The findings appear in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

Over 10 years, eating the equivalent of a 125-gram (quarter-pound) hamburger daily gave men in the study a 22 per cent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 per cent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That's compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 140 grams per week.

Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 per cent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 per cent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less.

For processed meats, the increased risks for large quantities were slightly lower overall than for red meat. The researchers compared deaths in the people with the highest intakes to deaths in people with the lowest to calculate the increased risk.

People whose diets contained more white meat like chicken and fish had lower risks of death.

The researchers surveyed more than 545,000 people, ages 50 to 71 years old, on their eating habits, then followed them for 10 years. There were more than 70,000 deaths during that time.

Study subjects were recruited from AARP members, a group that's healthier than other similarly aged Americans. That means the findings may not apply to all groups, Sinha said. The study relied on people's memory of what they ate, which can be faulty.

In the analysis, the researchers took into account other risk factors such as smoking, family history of cancer and high body mass index.

In an accompanying editorial, Barry Popkin, director of the Interdisciplinary Obesity Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote that reducing meat intake would have benefits beyond improved health.

Livestock increase greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming, he wrote, and nations should re-evaluate farm subsidies that distort prices and encourage meat-based diets.

"We've promoted a diet that has added excessively to global warming," Popkin said in an interview.

Successfully shifting away from red meat can be as easy as increasing fruits and vegetables in the diet, said Elisabetta Politi of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C.

"I'm not saying everybody should turn into vegetarians," Politi said. "Meat should be a supporting actor on the plate, not the main character."

The National Pork Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association questioned the findings.

Dietitian Ceci Snyder said in a statement for the pork board that the study "attempts to indict all red meat consumption by looking at extremes in meat consumption, as opposed to what most Americans eat."

Lean meat as part of a balanced diet can prevent chronic disease, along with exercise and avoiding smoking, said Shalene McNeill, dietitian for the beef group.

***********************************************************************************

Katie and I are satisfied with our decision to try vegan and so far all is good. The experts keep telling all of us different things and it is frustrating, but we think we can't really go wrong by eating lots of veggies and fruit and staying away from meats, dairy, and processed foods.

LUNCH

Had left over veggie pasta with small whole wheat bun and glass of water

Went for my usual 40 minute walk....had to be careful....slippery here today...freezing rain and snow

DINNER

Katie made a great stir fry for dinner. Thoroughly enjoyed it

more later....

Day 49

BREAKFAST

Regular great cup of coffee and a big bowl of oatmeal with banana

Came across this the other day, totally agree with the concept!

Every positive action you take sends ripples out into the world. Those ripples, those little things, done consistently, transform the world. Every time you take care of yourself you make the world a better place. By taking taking care of yourself you set in motion the Cascade of Positive Actions.

The Cascade of Positive Actions is the phenomenon whereby one of your positive actions causes a cascade of further positive actions. Example: You start to exercise on a regular basis, as a result you start eating more healthy food and making better food choices, you work on stress-management, and it goes on and on.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” M. Gandhi

Not only does the Cascade of Positive Actions you set in motion effect your life, it effects the lives of all the people in your life. You make your life better, it makes their lives better, that makes other peoples lives better, which in turn make even more people's lives better... That little positive ripple you created turns into a giant wave of positive action, making the world wonderful!

LUNCH

Had leftover pasta and a piece of whole wheat bread for luch

DINNER

We had veggie pizza for supper....always good!

more later....

Day 48

BREAKFAST

Had our usual great cup of coffee this morning, and had whole wheat pancakes with blueberries.

Here is an interesting article about MSG send by one of our friends

MSG (a slow poison)

The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides

behind 25 or more names, such as Natural Flavoring." MSG is even in your

favorite coffee from Tim Horton's and Starbucks coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive

obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research

assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent

years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while

going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow

Poisoning of America .

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating

obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of

rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They

make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are

first born.

The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing

rats(and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the

fat rodents they create: "MSG-Treated Rats."

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked

the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything -- the Campbell's

soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen,

Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen

prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the "healthy low-fat"

ones.

The items that didn't have MSG marked on the product label had

something called "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein," which is just another name

for Monosodium Glutamate.

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children

everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different

names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they

don't catch on. (Other names for MSG are "Accent, "Aginomoto," "Natural

Meat Tenderizer," etc.)

But it didn't stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants

what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore

they didn't use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they

grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were

everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant -- even

the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili's, Applebee's, and Denny's -- use MSG

in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG

was in every chicken dish, salad dressing. and gravy. No wonder I loved to

eat that coating on the skin -- their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat?

Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning

of America , he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it

has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby

group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to make

people eat more.

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods

that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating

more is a benefit to the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

"Betcha can't eat [just] one," takes on a whole new meaning where MSG

is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight!

MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their

products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes

people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn't added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an

addictive substance. Since its introduction into the American food supply

fifty years ago,MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the

pre-packaged meals,soups, snacks, and fast foods we are tempted to eat

everyday.

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They

claim it's safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it's safe when

there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

"The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of

exercise in obesity." Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT , Ribeiro IA. Res

Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.

"Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin

release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats." Guimaraes RB,

Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull. 2002

Aug.

'Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously

hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors."

Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima.

Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.

"Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in

suckling period and subsequent development of obesity." Tanaka K, Shimada

M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978.

Both the "medical research community" and "food manufacturers" have

known about the side effects of MSG for decades.

Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb's book link MSG to

diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer's.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this

fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity

epidemic we now see?

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of

the highest government health officials in Canada . While he was sitting in

the government office, the official told him, "Sure, I know how bad MSG is.

I wouldn't touch the stuff." But this top-level government official refuses

to tell the public what he knows.

The big media doesn't want to tell the public either, fearing issues

with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry

may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been

addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price

for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive

food additive.

LUNCH

We had left over chow mein from "Delicious" Restaurant...excellent!

more later...