10,000 Vinyasas » Body Health

Another Reason To Eschew Sugar

carl — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:39:53 +0000

If all we know isn’t enough, here comes yet another medical/scientific study which shows that sugar is addictive in rats, and as a bonus, leads to increased sensitivity to alcohol and other drugs. It’s long been my observation that those of us who reside in the US are subtlely addicted to sugar, because it is put into so many many foods, or manufactured substances that pass as foods. These new findings would certainly help explain why so much of the population is addicted to medications of some kind, and it surely is another nail in the coffin for the “low fat” theory of obesity.

Grocery Store Woes…

carl — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:23:16 +0000

I don’t trust my local grocery chain. As I’ve become more aware of the evils of the industrial food system, Big Agriculture, and the ubiquity of corn and soy products in processed foods (along with all the other harmful ingredients), I’ve also noticed that the local grocery is pretty much a cheerleader for catering to people’s ignorance and worst impulses when it comes to food. Here, we are speaking of processed meats, products containing white flour and sugar, and horrendously fatty “fresh” food offerings. Further, in contrast to, say, Whole Foods, I perceive that profit, from selling whatever, is singularly the chain’s primary motivation. Hence, they are late and reluctant to stock organic and local produce, doing this only as a sop to some of their customers. As business people, they are ruthlessly predatory, driving out almost every other major chain from San Antonio (the exception is Walmart and Target, not exactly paragons of virtue themselves). In my view, it’s not too difficult to delve beneath the superficial cheeriness and relentless “low price” propaganda and see the essential greediness sucking up the resources and health of the captive, oblivious citizenry. In addition to Whole Foods, we do happen to have a couple of smaller specialty stores which stock a lot more fresh local products (Green Fields, Sun Harvest). Not that these are perfect (nor is Costco, another place I frequent, for the fresh produce, mostly), but they are a damn sight better than the sneaky, fake grocery chain that dominates the retail landscape here.

A Great Day At Acro

carl — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:40:19 +0000

I had the most wonderful day, in terms of proficiency, at acro-yoga last Friday. I’m still floating on the clouds of accomplishment (yes, I know that isn’t the point, but still, it feels nice, for a while) that came with just about everything I tried to do. My dropbacks into backbend were excellent, my standups were improving, and my handstands were strong and controlled. When your teacher, who is normally sparse with compliments and effusiveness, gives you a look of surprise and amazement and remarks on your achievements afterwards, that really means a lot. Not all days are like this; far from it, and the ironic thing is, I’m still nursing a rotator cuff problem in my right shoulder. It was so severe last Monday that I almost didn’t practice. Acro is cancelled for this week, so it will be a good time to ~~rest~~ take it easy, and do a little more cardio and other counter exercises to yoga.

Teaching notes: my Sunday class has grown quite a bit, slowly and gradually, over the last few months. It now averages, I’d guess, about 20 people or more. Very interesting to watch it grow; I do recall the trepidation I had when I took it over last year. Seems that my mind was, let’s say, not accurate in its perceptions. I”m also considering starting to ramp it up a little in terms of difficulty, since I have a core group who has been quite regular in attendance and their abilities are improving.

Fat is….Good!

carl — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:46:18 +0000

A couple of years ago, I read a book called Good Calories, Bad Calories. Dense and full of technical analysis of many many studies, it nonetheless was a revelation, at least in my thinking about food. The immediate reaction, upon finishing, was to wonder “how could this be true?” since it essentially pointed out that much of the conventional wisdom about what to eat (and what not to eat) was based upon flawed studies, misinterpretation, and politicized recommendations, most of which center around the “low fat” diet. What Taubes indicates in the book is if you don’t eat as much fat, you have to make up for it by increasing either protein or carbohydrates, and mathematically, this must be true. The role of simple carbs, like sugar and white flour, is examined in the cases of native people who adopt Western diets and thereby suffer cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes, as well as obesity. Although it is impossible, at least to me at this time, to determine whether Taubes is correct (or at least partially correct), I began to adopt a more fat-based diet in response. I had already dropped about 10 pounds (and they were very significant pounds, too, since they came directly off my waist), and I was curious as to whether I could maintain this loss while increasing my fat content. Reading these words makes it seem that it was more of a conscious and linear process, but it actually just evolved over a period of time, while I started eating more nuts and quality meats while trying, gradually to reduce or eliminate more sugar, white flour and processed foods in my diet. As regular readers know, the latest manifestation is the addition of raw whole milk to my diet. At this point, I can report that my weight remains stable and at the level which I consider to be close to the ideal (I’m not ready to give up beer and margaritas, yet). By all rights, if the low fat theory of diet is correct, I should have gained quite a bit of weight over the last couple of years, but that didn’t happen. I am therefore ready to conclude that, for me at least, a low fat diet has no real place in my understanding of the best way to eat. Reducing the amounts of simple carbohydrates, however, does seem to work. Your mileage may vary.

Raw Milk, Redux

carl — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:17:43 +0000

Ok, so I’ve now had about a gallon of the raw whole milk I picked up from a local farmer last week. Tentatively, I can report that consumption of this seems to decrease my appetite (produces a feeling of “fullness”) later on in the day. I’m hoping it will promote more weight stabilization as well. It’s kind of a pain to have to journey out to get this milk every ten days or so, but I suppose it’s worth it, if it is, in fact, healthier. I guess the jury’s still out on this. Certainly it tastes better than the organic skim I had been drinking.

Top Ten Reasons Not To Eat At Restaurants

carl — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:07:59 +0000

10. The ingredients are inferior. Think you’re getting organic spinach in your salad? I doubt it. This goes double for salmon, which is invariably farmed and contains harmful PCBs.

9. Alcoholic beverages are outrageously priced. Generally, a glass of wine sells for about as much as you can buy the entire bottle in the store. Some establishments resist the temptation to vastly overcharge, but they are rare. Get ready to pay out the nose if you want to drink.

8. Actually, there’s really no telling what could be in that dish you just ordered. The people in the back (see rule #7) might pour a bunch of sugar or corn syrup in there, just to make it taste “better.” Too much salt is also entirely too common.

7. Generally, felons are employed back in the kitchen. I’m not making this up; it’s one of the few areas where people with a criminal record can still find work. Would you invite someone like this into your kitchen to serve you food? I think not.

6. Noise. Apparently, many many restaurant owners think an ear-splitting volume equates to a convivial atmosphere, so little or no noise-reducing materials are used. This does not make for an setting of tranquility and serenity.

5. The temptation to eat crap is too much, when it’s all around you. I’m talking here about white processed flour and sugar. You might be a saint at home, but when it’s staring you up at you from the bread basket, it becomes much harder to stick to your chosen dietary path of avoiding raising your glycemic levels.

4. Poor service and an expected tip for same. We’ve all experienced this one, I’m sure.

3. The sanitary condition of the establishment is also a concern. Periodic inspections by your local health department are necessary, but not sufficient. Do you want to take the time to examine the certificate and do other “homework” to ensure that you’re not risking infection before you decide to patronize a restaurant?

2. Did you know many of the dishes you think are uniquely prepared in the restaurant are in fact delivered frozen on a truck? Why not just skip the dining out and just go straight to the freezer at the grocery store? Google Sysco if you think I’m kidding.

1. If you take even a small amount of time and effort, you can create dishes at home that are much better and cheaper than you will find at almost any restaurant. You’ll know you’re getting to that point when your reaction to most of the offered cuisine at an establishment is “I could make this at home, better.”

The Theory of Raw Milk…

carl — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:21:37 +0000

According to my latest reading, Real Food: What to Eat and Why, the author highly and in great detail recommends drinking whole, raw milk, fresh from the farm. It’s not too difficult to believe the the industrial processes of pasteurization and homogenation destroy necessary vitamins, minerals, and good fats. Yes, yes, we are continuing our exploration of what to eat, a la Gary Taubes, and trying out the notion that much of the low fat, high carb, meat is bad dogma we’ve been fed (sorry) most of our lives is, well, just completely wrong. To that end, I’ve located a couple of sources just outside the city for raw milk. (Texas, surprisingly, has a raw milk farmer certification program). I’m very curious about this, and about whether drinking such milk will increase my body weight. A continuing series…

Benefits of Yoga

carl — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:12:10 +0000

Here’s an article which tells us what we already knew, at least those who practice yoga, that the practice relieves back pain. Not much to say about this one.

The Resumption of Yoga Practice

carl — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:16:41 +0000

I started back this week (well, today) with my regular yoga practice schedule. It really felt great to get back to acro-yoga this afternoon, and my shoulders and arms are pleasantly tired, as they always are after one of the two hour sessions. I will attend one of my intense vinyasa classes tomorrow; I’m on the fence about trying my Friday morning Ashtanga class, though, since it almost requires, but not quite, one to assume the lotus position in a good deal of the poses. I really have not done the primary series in about two or three months, and I miss the thoroughness of it. Also, there’s the acro-yoga session on Friday afternoon; would I be strong enough to do both? Well, I suppose we will see. Meanwhile, I’m set for my follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. I really am just totally amazed that I can recover from this so quickly; must be one of the benefits of yoga.

Knee Injury Update

carl — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:29:23 +0000

Well, my recovery has been much faster than I thought. As I mentioned, I was up and walking around the first day, virtually pain-free. I’ve since resumed teaching with demonstrations, as well as practicing in a limited way. I have a follow up appointment on Tuesday, but I think this week I will resume my more difficult yoga practice sessions. It’s amazing that my recovery has been so rapid, but I suppose my condition helped. I’m looking forward to getting back into my primary series practice, perhaps as soon as Friday. Namaste!