Posts Tagged ‘Energy Boost’

Milk Campaign That Made Me Sick to My Stomach

February 5th, 2010

I have nothing wrong with someone working hard to make a good living and I respect all the hard work that farmers put into their jobs.

But…

I can’t stand when “associations” or “lobbyists” of farmers spend millions of dollars marketing GARBAGE to our youth about the supposed benefits of their product.

The most recent example is a campaign of TV milk commercials developed and paid for by the Prairie Milk Marketing Partnership (PMMP) – that’s a subtle name – touting the benefits of NEVER STOPPING DRINKING MILK!

It’s absolutely absurd.

These milk ads have been specifically targeted toward teenagers, predominantly girls, based on the TV shows during which they air. The sad part is that milk-pushing organizations like the PMMP are marketing bad messages and essentially brainwashing people who don’t know better.

As a result, these youngsters grow up believing a lie – that daily consumption of cow’s milk is actually good for us!

Nothing could be further from the truth.

To show you some of the nonsense that these ads and the website are dispelling, I’ve copied an image from the NeverStopMilk.ca website.

milk

Just in case you can’t read the so-called FACTS ABOUT MILK that this campaign is promoting, here they are listed again. I’ve also added my commentary after each of these “facts”.

The calcium in milk can actually help you lose weight by encouraging your body to use fat as a source of energy.

=> What on earth does that even mean? How does that make sense? I’m not sure how calcium helps you burn more fat? Try exercising a little.

Feeling tired? Milk can give you an energy boost!

=> How?

Milk can make you glow (but not in the dark). Drinking milk brightens your smile and keeps your eyes bright, and the proteins in milk help your hair shine and build stronger teeth.

=> I can’t believe they’re actually allowed to make these claims!

Milk makes you strong. The proteins in milk help to build your muscles.

=> Ah, the oldest trick in the book. This is the one statement that has led millions to believe that we should drink milk.

Milk is natural and contains 16 essential nutrients that nourish your entire body. Drink daily!

=> Opium is natural too. Most foods contain 16 essential nutrients (and even more). But let’s not forget to drink milk EVERY day.

Milk builds strong bones. By the age of 20, 90% of your bone mass will be built. 90 percent!

=> Milk doesn’t build strong bones. If it did, would countries that drink the most milk also have the highest rates of osteoporosis?

Can’t sleep? Warm milk can help you get your zzzzz’s.

=> There are other ways of getting the relaxing mineral – magnesium – into your body before bed. Plus, dairy has been associated with nightmares and increased incidence of bedwetting – mainly because it’s an allergenic food.

What’s My Beef with Milk?

Now, reading this you might be wondering why I keep bashing milk. After all, I totally dismantle it in my book, Eating for Energy, as well as in several other posts on this blog.

The truth is that I don’t have a HUGE issue with cow’s milk itself. I just don’t believe that it does our body good. Once you understand the science of milk and how it interacts with the human body, it just doesn’t make much sense to drink it – certainly not every day.

At the very least, if you drink cow’s milk, make sure it’s raw.

My real issue is with the MONEY-HUNGRY ORGANIZATIONS that are pushing incorrect information on the masses.

What’s been happening is really a mass brainwashing of society into truly believing that milk is good for us. But hey that’s the power of “credibility” and “social proof” – we’ll save these powerful marketing concepts for another post.

In this most recent milk campaign, the PMMP, which includes the 1188 dairy farmers represented by Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, Dairy Farmers of Saskatchewan Inc. and Alberta Milk, is obviously reinforcing this message yet again…

Never stop drinking milk!

That’s pretty powerful.

My hope for you is that these kind of campaigns make you sit up and think. Because it’s only through education and awareness that we can begin to make change.

How about this one…

Think before you drink???

13 comments »

Posted in Food For Thought

Tags: Believing A Lie Brainwashing Build Muscles calcium Cow Milk dairy eating for energy Energy Boost Farmers Garbage Lobbyists Milk Ads Milk Campaign Milk Marketing Nonsense Pmmp prairie milk marketing partnership proteins Sick To My Stomach Source Of Energy Tv Commercials What On Earth Youngsters

Assessing the Energy of Foods

February 3rd, 2010

One of the most interesting topics in nutrition, at least for me, is the concept of food energy.

What do we mean by the energy of foods?

Well, according to food labels, it would strictly reflect the number of calories in a food. But a food that packs 500 calories and comes in a box doesn’t really strike me as being very energizing.

In fact, I challenge you to eat a packaged food, regardless of how many calories it contains, and then observe how you feel afterwards.

If you feel energetic, then you’re definitely 1 in a million. But if you’re like most people, then you’ll probably experience a drop in energy – not an energy boost.

I was thinking about this the other week after I experimented with eating a “healthy” organic cereal made with spelt, flax, hemp seeds, granola, and some other seemingly healthy ingredients.

The first thing I noticed upon finishing the cereal was that I was slightly irritated. I was also tired. Definitely not energetic.

Now, this may have been due to an intolerance to some of the grains in the cereal but I also suspect that because this wasn’t a raw food, which would be packed with live energy, my body would have to expend extra energy to digest and assimilate it.

So eventhough the cereal had about 400 calories for that serving size, those calories DID NOT energize me.

So before we continue, let’s clear something up…

More calories doesn’t equal having more energy although it does mean more energy from a calorie perspective.

Obviously, the better option would be to eat whole foods that actually provide a lot of energy (not calories) without providing high amounts of calories.

So what are those foods?

Well, very simply, they are raw living foods. Specifically, fruits and vegetables.

To give you an example of what I mean have a look at the following 2 kirlian photographs …

This first photograph is of organic broccoli (a very healthy food) that has just been steamed for 2 minutes – not a long time. Notice the energy or “life force” emanating from it. This aura is what kirlian photography is able to capture. It’s truly amazing!

cookedbrocolli_000

Now look at this photograph.

raworganicbrocolli_000

What’s the first thing you notice?

Perhaps, a much greater energy field surrounding the broccoli? Well, this is because this broccoli has not been steamed. This time it is truly alive. It is raw and has not been heated. Thus, it still preserves it’s inherent life force.

Calories vs. Life Force

When looking for foods (or a diet) that will energize you this concept of calories vs. life force is a helpful one.

Sure packaged foods state that they contain a certain number of calories (a measure of energy) but they do radiate the kind of life force that we see with raw foods? Not at all.

When foods are heated or processed they essentially die.

So if you want more energy, wouldn’t it make sense to eat foods that are alive? That carry a natural life energy that your body can benefit from?

I think so.

And that’s what Eating for Energy is all about.

That’s really what eating for a healthy and vital life is all about.

It’s too bad that our current food supply had taken so many of us so far astray.

But you can get back on track…

2 comments »

Posted in Raw Foods

Tags: 1 In A Million alive Broccoli Energy Boost Extra Energy flax Food Calories Food Energy Food Labels Fruits And Vegetables Granola Healthy Food Healthy Ingredients How Many Calories Interesting Topics Kirlian Photographs life force Live Energy live foods Organic Cereal raw food Serving Size whole foods

Energy Foods – Coffee vs. Water

December 4th, 2009

I have to confess that over the last year or so I’ve fallen in love with a good latte or cappuccino. I don’t if it’s the smooth creamy taste or slight caffeine buzz that I get, but something keeps me coming back for more.

And that’s with the knowledge that coffee consumption isn’t the greatest healthy practice. Maybe that makes this post even hypocritical. But it’s important information nonetheless.

But having said that, I don’t drink coffee for an energy boost. In fact, over time, it will do the exact opposite. It will drain your adrenals and, eventually, your body of its energy!

So let’s look at the difference between coffee and water as possible energy foods.

As you probably know coffee is by far one of the world’s most popular and loved beverages. According to Wirthlin Worldwide (a market research company), North Americans consume on average 1.8 cups of coffee per day.

Compare this to our water consumption. It is recommended to consume on average 8-10 8oz glasses of “living water” (ie. mineral rich, slightly alkaline, and energy producing when in body) each day. However, scary statistics reveal that 20% of North Americans drink no water at all while only 42% of us consume a mere 2 glasses or fewer.

The struggle between water and coffee is intensified further when you take into consideration that for each cup of coffee (100 mg caffeine) your body needs 3 cups of water to compensate for the water loss that occurs due to coffee’s diuretic effect.

Before ordering your next “mocha latte frappawhatever…” remember the following facts about coffee:

• Coffee intensifies stress, causing an average 40% increase in adrenaline. This results in increased blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, nervousness, and irritability.

• Coffee increases the secretion of stomach acid by 400%, contributing to gastritis and peptic ulcers.

• Coffee have a 50% higher risk of heart attack (British medical journal Lancet)

• Coffee causes a significant loss of nutrients, especially magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins.

• Coffee is a major source of cadmium, a heavy metal that has been linked to cancer and immune suppression.

If you’re a woman, please consider the following even scarier facts:

• Caffeine is linked to ovarian cancer, and bladder and kidney cancers.

• Coffee increases the risk of miscarriage and can double the rate with just 1 cup (160 mg caffeine) per day (JAMA, 1993).

• Coffee has adverse effects on the baby’s muscular development and nutritional balance and increases the risk of birth defects.

• Coffee reduces fertility. More than 1 cup per day makes a woman half as likely to conceive (American Journal of Epidemiology)!

In regards to your energy, the caffeine inherent in coffee is the stimulant that gives you that short lasted energy rush in the morning. But here’s the problem, caffeine is like any other stimulant – it is a drug which creates dependency.

This dependency occurs as result of the caffeine receptors in your body which become saturated fairly quickly. As such, you need to consume more caffeine to elicit the same effect! You can see how this vicious cycle can get out of hand. If you’re a coffee drinker just think of the last time you went without coffee for a day or two.

How did you feel? Tired, irritable, headache? Exactly!

Water is bliss

Now consider the wonders of water. Considering that the adult body is at least 60% water its no wonder that clean “living water” can have absolutely phenomenal effects on your body.

Water is central to many bodily functions including circulation, digestion, absorption, and elimination of wastes. Water also carries electrolytes (ie. sodium, potassium) which are essential for electrical signaling within the body.

Considering its many roles in the body, is it any wonder that you can feel tired and sluggish when dehydrated?

Water is also a natural blood thinner since it makes up the majority of our blood. Water constitutes 95% of the plasma component of the blood which, in turn, comprises roughly 55% of total blood volume. Therefore, when your body does not receive enough water, the blood loses its fluidity as water is drawn out of the blood. The result – clumping of red blood cells. This increased blood viscosity leads you to feeling more tired and sluggish.

So, one of the easiest, safest, and best ways to boost your energy throughout the day is to constantly sip on “living water” to keep your body hydrated and functional.

A rule of thumb for how much water you should be drinking per day (at rest) is the following:

Multiply your body weight (lbs) x 0.55 and divide by 8. This will give you the number of 8oz glasses that you should be drinking per day at rest.