My friend, Joanne and I took a class this past weekend called Brain Awakening. We found it very interesting, but will take the information we were given with a grain of salt. Our teacher has a Dr. title, but when I looked on line, it looks like she is an acupuncture specialist. I'm not sure what kind of Dr. she is exactly but she was very knowledgeable in her field. I'm not saying that the following information might not be accurate, I'm saying you should take it with a grain of salt and do your own investigation. She did advise us to do that also.
In a nutshell, we were told that:
OK... so now I'm more paranoid than I was before, but I took a few calming breaths and listened to the rest of her lesson which was about acupuncture points. I found those more helpful and the reason why I was there in the first place.
I've already told my mother and Art where to press to reduce their blood pressure. I'll be checking to see if anything happens after a few days.
After the class, Joanne and I went to dinner at Bravos which was great. We did drink quite a bit of iced tea which does have caffeine in it; no aspartame though.
We didn't have dessert so avoided the sugar and all in all, pretty much just had a rollicking good time.
Heeeey.... she didn't say anything about chocolates! Phew!
In a nutshell, we were told that:
- We shouldn't use automatic rice cookers because they have an aluminum pot which is bad for you and can cause Alzheimers. Aluminum can be found in antiperspirants also which should be avoided. (I knew about the antiperspirant, but I don't think Mom will give up her rice cooker.)
- Don't eat raw meats (No sashimi, etc.)
- No shellfish
- Get rid of your silver fillings because it has mercury in it.
- Don't do root canals. (I forget why. Why do you think I was taking this course? I forget stuff!)
- Don't chew gum because it releases the toxins from your fillings.
- Don't dye your hair because of the toxins in the chemicals.
- Don't eat Hawaiian GMO papayas; especially avoid Rainbow (or the Sunrise or Strawberry type) papayas. Kapoho or Kapoho Solo is supposed to be good. Check out this Hawaii Papaya Industry Associaton website.
- Don't use microwave ovens.
- Avoid alcohol.
- NO diet colas because of the aspartame. No lite yogurt either for the same reason.
- Avoid sugar.
- Avoid food additives, caffeine, fast food, etc.
- Avoid cellphone use and especially Blue Tooth because of the brain cancer threat.
- Avoid water in Ewa, Kunia, Wahiawa, Mililani. (Sorry you guys out there. Toxins in your water. I thought we all drank the same water.)
- Stay away from Morton type salt. Use only sea salt.
- If you're an A or B blood type you can be omnivorous. However, if you're an O, you should be vegetarian.
- Avoid Dead water. She recommended a book by Masaru Emoto about water. She said to especially avoid Kirkland water. However, before you start praying over your water and such, you should read this article I found called, Is Masaru Emoto for Real?
- Drink lots of water! (I'll try to do better.)
OK... so now I'm more paranoid than I was before, but I took a few calming breaths and listened to the rest of her lesson which was about acupuncture points. I found those more helpful and the reason why I was there in the first place.
I've already told my mother and Art where to press to reduce their blood pressure. I'll be checking to see if anything happens after a few days.
After the class, Joanne and I went to dinner at Bravos which was great. We did drink quite a bit of iced tea which does have caffeine in it; no aspartame though.
We didn't have dessert so avoided the sugar and all in all, pretty much just had a rollicking good time.
Heeeey.... she didn't say anything about chocolates! Phew!
Oi, that doesn't leave much, does it.
ReplyDeleteOK, let's go have some healthy dark chocolate! Fine with me.
Interesting class Kay...I think you've already beaten the odds by choosing good genes via your parents, and you and Art have stayed in shape. I'm not in shape, but think that avoiding all those things all the time will make for a very short life worrying about them all. Life IS a big risk. Choosing our vices makes life exciting and bearable. None of us can avoid the End.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in the pressure points/accupuncture and Reiki, as golly gee, how good "western medicine," be the only good medicine? Just be careful using the pressure points to lower blood pressure, as you may not NEED to lower it, and TOO low causes problems, falls and hospitalizations.
We actually need more massage therapists at every street corner, to alleviate our worries of the evil items on our "bad" lists.
DrumMajor
So interesting and it certainly makes you think. Thanks Kay!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Kay. I think you're wise to take the advice with a grain of salt - in fact, a pillar of salt wouldn't come amiss!
ReplyDeleteThe link between aluminium and Alzheimer's is very tenuous and has never been proved. Likewise cellphones, Blue Tooth and brain cancer.
Animals eat raw food. We are animals!
I could go on . . .
The only sensible advice I can see is about food additives and fast food.
The information about acupuncture points is interesting, though:-)
That sounds like a mixture of good advice (avoiding food additives and processed food) and questionable (as someone else mentioned, the link between aluminum/Alzheimers and cell phones/cancer has yet to be proven).
ReplyDeleteI have read several things lately about how regular salt is bad for you and sea salt is better. I have also avoided root canals, but that's because they are REALLY painful! What do you do if you have an infected tooth? Get it pulled instead?
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I'm a Type O blood and have been vegetarian for forty years. I guess I'm doing something right. Although I do lots of the other stuff such as using a microwave every single day! :-)
I've read most of that advice before. Sounds practical - not too far fetched. I guess we just need to be prudent when following it.
ReplyDeleteNah!!! Don't believe naturopathic physicians, as she probably is one. I believe longevity is linked to one's genes. If your parents lived to 100, then chances are you will, too.
ReplyDeleteI think longevity is genetic and I'll be damned if I'm giving up my 'bad' habits at this late date. Besides, I'm supposed to be dead by now anyway!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who believes in most of those things. I don't argue with her, but they've been disproved. Pretty thoroly too. I do drink more water tho.
ReplyDeleteInteresting . She may be right about many things but i am surprised to see RCT and also chewing gum in this list. .
ReplyDeleteOver the many years of trying to find out which foods I was intolerant to I've picked up on lots of differing and varying advice. One day you read that red wine is good for you, the next that it isn't (I don't drink anyway so I'm not bothered about that, but it is a good example). But there are several things in that list that make good sense, and many of them have been proved too - the link between aluminium and Alzheimers for example. And I've often heard that mercury can cause problems if you are susceptible to those problems, so I'm gradually having my fillings replaced, but I'm not paranoid about it. I'm Rh Neg Type O and was vegetarian for many years until I found that I really needed to eat some fish and meat for better health. All in all, I reckon you can find 'experts' to tell you anything you want to hear and the best thing is to eat and drink sensibly and moderately and listen to your own body.
ReplyDeleteSome of these things make sense, others do not. I have known about the aluminum issue for years, and it is only a possibility, not a fact. I am not afraid of GMO foods, papaya or not. Just as long as the papaya are ripe. Water is good, but tap water is more hightly regulated than bottled water. Type A and O tend to be Europeans. Are Europeans more ominvorus? Haven't heard that before, and doubt it is true. I use sea salt for the iodine. I avoid alcohol and aspartame both. Many kinds of sugar, which is bad?? This is all old New Age stuff. Been there and fallen off the wagon. Thanks for the update. Dianne
ReplyDeleteMy father lived to 85 and my mother lived to 83, so I think I'll live to 84, all things (and genetics) being equal.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, believe there are good acupuncturists. I once saw an acupuncturist to help me quit smoking. It didn't work, but I sure had a nice refreshing nap with those needles between my toes.
I saw another acupuncturist to relieve muscle spasms in my back, and that worked.
I forget my blood type but I'm pretty sure it isn't O, and I'm omnivorous although there are many things I don't want to eat.
Chocolate sounds good.
—Kay, Alberta, Canada
Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMercury is a problem. Everyone in my family LOVES poki (raw tuna mixed with spices and veggies); we especially go crazy over spicy ahi. but... after watching "The Cove" (oscar winning documentary about Taiji, Japan, and highly recommended... especially watch the special featurettes on the disc) we have deliberately cut back on our ahi (tuna) eating. In Japan in the 1950's the first cases of mercury poisoning were reported. These victims gave birth to children with no eyes, no ears, deformed limbs, all sorts of neural problems... the average level of mercury in their parents was 40ppm (parts per million). Unoffical tests with volunteers in modern day Japan (2009) eating 100grams tuna daily for several weeks yielded 20ppm mercury readings in their bloodstream. After switching to sushi grade (larger fish) tuna, the readings doubled to 40ppm after just 2 weeks... right where the severe birth defects were recorded in Minamata in the 50's. Spooky.
I don't complain so much about the food we eat, as the environment we have to live in with industrial pollutants like mercury. For instance, 50% of all males (every other male!) and 1 in 3 females will contract some form of cancer in their lifetimes. This is not a problem. It is an epidemic of unbelievable proportions, yet NO ONE is talking about it. There is no systemic plan to address any of it. When you can figure out why not (it's no secret), then by far the more difficult step is to suggest a solution or series of steps we need to take to solve some of these problems.
walt
Walt: Yikes we had tuna sandwiches two days in a row yesterday. Here's hoping it was the smaller tuna. We could become vegetarians, but then there's toxins on veggies too, right? Sigh...
ReplyDeleteThe food isn't the problem. We've been consuming the same foods since before we looked like Yoda.
ReplyDeleteThink of a bottle of wine. In the beginning it's a nice mash of squashed grapes and rich in sugars. It's sealed into a bottle and a tiny bit of yeast is introduced, then the bottle is corked. The yeast multiply, eating the sugars in a pristine environment, all happy and content. After awhile the yeast have exploded in numbers and there's less sugar and the byproducts of the yeast multiplying, carbon dioxide and alcohol, starts to rise. In a little bit more, all the sugars are depleted and the yeast are killed off due to toxins (carbon dioxide and alcohol) concentrations going so high they can no longer survive. Problem solved, no more yeast. All dead by the time you uncork it.
Before 1850 Anno Domini the population of shaved apes on the planet was stable at near 1 billion throughout recorded history and probably a bit less in years prior, in unrecorded history. Suddenly in the past 150 years the population has gone from 1 billion to now 7 billion; in just a little over 1 lifetime. Environmental toxins are building. Resources are being used up. Sound familiar? The cork is in. There are 2 solutions: we can solve it, or the earth can solve it for us, just like the bottle solved it for the yeast. Neither solution will be pleasant for the vast majority.
walt
I think balance in life and good genes make more of a difference in health and longevity than all these restrictive recommendations. I try to stay away from artificial sweeteners and sugar. I eat dark chocolate nearly every day.
ReplyDeleteMy mother is 95 and going strong. I guess I'll just try to be wise in my choices and keep on going.
That list kind of makes one feel that living in a bubble is the only way.
ReplyDeleteI think if we would learn one word, a lot of problems would go away, moderation. I am still working on that one.
"No Alcohol" <-- this is where she lost me!
ReplyDeleteLast I heard the jury was still out on aluminium, is it a cause or a symptom of alzheimers?
Salt & sugar we can safely avoid. In any sort of a western diet we get PLENTY of those without having to add extra.
Sugar does seem to be a problem...such informative posts, Kay!!! Thank you-
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral
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I agree with you but I'd call it common sense. Tell me about the acupuncture points for high blood pressure or better yet do a post about it.
ReplyDeleteSteve: I didn't say NO alcohol. I said Avoid alcohol. :-) Besides my mom likes wine with her dinner occasionally... and let's be reasonable here. Moderation is the key, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your banner photo! What a gorgeous scene as a family background. That list is a little scary. If she's right, I'm in trouble!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking when reading the list of dos and don'ts that all that's left is air and water, but no, in most places they are polluted. Then I thought maybe the only way to avoid death is to be dead. I agree with you moderation is the key, if only I could practice it better. DH is having some issues now with health, and probably moderation would have helped. Sorry for ramblng.
ReplyDeleteNo rice cooker, no sashimi (and other raw meat), no silver fillings, mo microwave, no caffeine, no fastfood, no alcohol, no cell-phone...
ReplyDeleteI'd have to change my whole life!