Go Nuts: Eat From the Shell

While nuts are rich in nutrients and do feature healthy kinds of fat and a high fiber content, they are still a very dense food calorically speaking. This means that you don’t want to be eating them handful after handful like potato chips. One of the simplest ways to avoid this temptation is to eat them from the shell. Consider having a decorative bowl, complete with a set or two of nutcrackers, right out there on your coffee table or countertop. Then, as you’re hangin’ out with friends or watching the tube, you can slowly enjoy all of your favorite nuts. And with the extra time it takes to crack them open and dig them out of their shell, you’ll eat them slower and chew them more thoroughly (which will aid in optimal assimilation) plus, you’ll wind up eating less overall. Also, you can usually save a few bucks when you buy them unshelled from the market.

Real World Tips for Rock-Solid Rest – Pt. 2: Ritual

In part one a few weeks ago, we talked about how darkness played an important role in getting a good night’s rest. Now, let’s look at how key nightly rituals can factor into things.

There are a few things you can do in advance of bedtime each night to promote an optimal night’s sleep. If you approach any combination of these things as a sort of nightly ritual, you have an excellent chance of consistently getting great rest.

1. Aromatherapy: Whether you use incense, scented candles or oils, or even some of that aromatherapy linen spray on your sheets and pillow cases, relaxing aromas are a well-known sleeping aid.

2. Relaxing music: Listening to some light, relaxing music is an excellent way to unwind and decompress before going to sleep. Check out some of the old stand-bys in the classical realm, some light jazz or even some new age type of ambient music.

3. White noise: Whether it’s the hum of a fan or space heater, or the drone of a waterfall or ocean from your bedside sound-soother device, these kind of monotonous sounds can help you sleep more deeply. One reason is because they tend to mask other arbitrary sounds that might otherwise distract you. Another is because some folks are able to reach consistently deeper levels of sleep through these kind of steady soundscapes. However, I would not recommend sleeping to any kind of music, TV or radio, simply because some part of your subconscious will actively be evaluating, discerning, critiquing, etc., and this could affect the depth of your sleep.

4. Lighting: We alluded to the idea of dim or ambient lighting in part one. Think about all the array of options you have with candles, lava lamps, regular lamps, different colored bulbs, etc. Setting up a particular lighting scheme every night before bed will set the stage for a good night’s rest.

5. Brain-Diet: Although I know this can be a tough one to follow logistically speaking, try to refrain from watching any kind of local news, violent movies, or anything else particularly graphic or stimulating prior to bedtime. These images tend to create a tumultuous undercurrent in our heads (even if we’re not fully aware of it), making it more difficult to sink into those deeper, more restful states of sleep.

Youngsters and All That Sugar: The Insidious Effects

Schools sell about 750 million dollars a year in junk food from vending machines, giving us some clue about why childhood obesity has doubled over the past 20 years. But what about the connection between student’s behavior and the amount of refined sugar they’re taking in? It is absolutely quantifiable.

As just one example from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, Central Middle School in Whitefish, Montana replaced all sodas in vending machines with water and 100% juice. They also made sure that all forms of candy were unavailable to students during school hours and, instead, offered alternatives like homemade pretzels, bagels, salads, fresh fruit and baked chips. The result? Discipline problems and violent outbursts went from the previous average of three or four per day after lunch to only one or two per week.

Additionally, the teachers reported an improved attentiveness and overall behavior during class immediately following lunch. One teacher commented on how students were “rested, relaxed, and ready to learn,” while another reported that she “gained 10 minutes in instruction time” per class period (which amounts to 30 extra hours per year).

Making the Deeper Holiday Connection

It would be tough to find a greater example of tradition and ritual among human beings than in our holiday meals. Most of us have years of history and familiarity surrounding Thanksgiving (or any of several other popular religious holidays), and these “events” are sacred to most people. We equate many of the ritual elements – which can range from specific dishes to certain family members or friends to particular homes and decor to football on the tube – to an overall experience of community, connection and, of course, appreciation.

And yet, like so many of our past traditions, I suggest that our forward movement as a race of people hinges on an ongoing ideal that’s not always so popular:

We must constantly question the assumptions we were born into.

Pick any significant watermark in our evolution, from civil rights to women’s rights, and you’ll find a lot of questioning going on before anything happened. And I propose that we question the dead animal centerpiece of the traditional holiday meal.

As our consciousness expands, we can all begin to realize that these beautiful, curious and intelligent animals have their own lives to live here…and we can find more peaceful, evolved and delicious dinner-time alternatives to killing and eating turkeys, pigs or any other living beings.

Thanksgiving, in particular, is supposed to be a celebration of all we’re thankful for. And yet, ironically, a turkey on the table represents a level of violence and brutality that is in direct conflict with the peaceful and harmonious existence we’re supposed to be celebrating.

In fact, I have always found it a bit ass-backwards that we, as a conscientious society, gather around the dinner table and denounce war, domestic abuse, gang violence, social injustices, urban crime rates, or even animal cruelty, while much of the very meal we’re consuming has been derived from unspeakable acts of exploitation and violence against our fellow creatures. Clearly, even many of our wisest have yet to make the connection between the “behind-the-scenes” violence rampant in modern animal agriculture and the more obvious, “in-your-face” violence that has a more pronounced presence in our daily lives.

Food for thought, people. Check out www.bobbyrock.com/thankgiving.html for more info and some delicious alternatives.

Let’s make it a peaceful holiday season…for all.

A Word to the Cheese Addicts of the World…

Could you literally be addicted to cheese?

Whether its packed on top of pizza, melted over nachos, stacked inside of cheeseburgers or sliced up on crackers, cheese often stands out as one of the toughest animal products for folks to shake. As it turns out, there is some pretty compelling science behind the reason why.

In 1981, researchers at Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, N.C. took a closer look at the composition of cow’s milk and drew an earthshaking conclusion: a cow’s liver actually produces small amounts of morphine, codeine and other opiates, which winds up in their milk. This is apparently nature’s way of ensuring the propagation of the species, as these trace amounts promote mother and calf bonding. (By the way, there are trace amounts of morphine in human milk, as well, presumably for the same reason.)

So here’s where it gets interesting. Casein is a prominent protein in milk, and as it breaks apart during the digestion process, it releases small amounts of these opiates. In cheese, however, the concentration of casein is much greater and, likewise, so is the concentration of these opiates. Add to this the fact that cheese contains other amphetamine-like compounds (like phenylethylamine) and we can see how a little rahab in the rubber room might not be such a bad idea for some cheeseheads!

As an advocate of the 100% plant-based eating regimen, the best advice I can give someone looking to kick the cheese habit is this: Drop it cold. Then, once you transition to using soy cheese, do not keep switching back and forth. Some people require a transition period between regular and soy, and if you keep going back to “real cheese,” it makes it tougher for your taste buds to adjust.

Also, make sure that none of these soy cheese products contain casein. The rocket scientists at some of the soy-based products companies still insist on using this milk protein, primarily (I presume) because it makes the soy cheese melt easier. Yet, most people who use soy cheese are trying to avoid dairy. Fortunately, there are a few companies out there who have gotten it right, and it will even say “vegan” on the package.

Suggested brands to try: For block-style soy cheese, look for Follow Your Heart brand. For individually wrapped slices, look for Tofutti brand.

Algae: It’s What’s For Dinner!

Algae emerged on our planet an estimated three-and-a-half billion years ago as the original, single-cell life form to perform photosynthesis (harnessing the sun’s energy), thus releasing atmospheric oxygen and facilitating the creation and flourishing of our entire food chain. So this puts algae squarely at the very foundation of this chain.

Why should you be ingesting algae? As one of the most efficient “photosynthesizers” on the planet, algae uses light energy, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen to synthesize a potent profile of proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), chlorophyll and a host of other plant pigments. This makes blue-green algae one of the single most nutrient-dense food sources on earth, boasting a whole host of benefits for the body, blood and brain. And although we’ve seen a resurgence of blue-green in the health food industry over these past few decades, it’s actually been an invaluable dietary staple in many traditions through the years, most notably, perhaps, to the almighty Aztecs.

But don’t go down to your local pond to find some. Most of the earth’s resources are contaminated, so you have to find clean sources of algae that have been properly harvested and processed (freeze-dried) for human consumption. You can find these down at the best health food stores in various capsules or tablets, or in a powder that you would add to a smoothie.

In Search of the Six-Pack

One of the most pervasive myths in the annals of resistance training is the notion that if you want a killer six-pack (well-defined abdominal muscles), then all you have to do is a bunch of sit-ups or crunches and yours will soon magically appear. Wrong. The truth is, a nice six-pack is the result of a two-step process:

1. Lose the fat: Your six-pack is already there to some degree, it’s just covered with a layer of fat. So most people still believe that you can “spot reduce,” which in this case means that by doing a bunch of ab work, the fat around your midsection will quickly melt away. This is a myth. There is no such thing as spot reduction, so you have to do some combination of increased cardio work and a lower fat/lower calorie eating regimen to get rid of the excess body fat.

2. Develop the abs: With the fat on the way out as a result of your cardio/diet efforts, you will want to ensure that your abs are looking sharp so that there is a well-developed six-pack to reveal. Here is where the beloved crunches and other ab work come into play. The more diligent you are with your ab training, the better they’ll look when the fat goes away.

So remember, it’s going to be a combination of aerobic exercise, cutting some calories and fat out of the diet, and training those abs hard that will give you the coveted six-pack. Sound like a lot of work? No doubt…which is why you don’t see a great set of abs very often.

Go Organic!

Organic produce is that which has been grown without the usual toxic fertilizers or pesticides that are used on all conventionally grown produce. Besides the obvious health advantage of not ingesting all of those toxins, organic produce is uniformly more nutrient dense. One reason has to do with how these fruits and veggies cope with the natural elements without the “aid” of pesticides. Organic produce tends to contain heightened amounts of various phytochemicals and antioxidants as a defense mechanism against the additional environmental stress to which it is subjected (like insects, etc.). These supercharged phytonutrient profiles are passed along to those who consume organic produce and, likewise, they can serve as a defense mechanism against our various stresses. So go organic when possible.

Real World Tips for Rock-Solid Rest – Pt. 1: Enter the Darkness

In these industrious times that we live in, proper rest is usually the first thing to go. We seldom get enough quality sleep at night and the ageless tradition of the mid-day siesta (or “power nap”) is simply not practical for most people. Granted, as we adhere to a first-rate nutrition and exercise program, we usually find that we require less sleep. But that doesn’t nullify our body’s need for a particular amount, especially if we’re engaged in any kind of rigorous training regimen like weightlifting.

As we rest, the body has a chance to repair and replenish itself, while the mind gets a well-needed break from the daily turbulence that it shoulders. We think more clearly and our bodies function at a higher level when we’re well rested. And as logical as all of this seems, most people are unaware of how to sleep properly.

One of the main prerequisites for proper sleep is darkness, simply because it is one of our brain’s main signals to produce the sleep hormone, melatonin. Being exposed to any kind of light during our sleeping cycle can disrupt this signal and affect the quality of our sleep. With this in mind, consider the following:

• Avoid falling asleep with any kind of light on, including the TV.
• If you have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, try to do so with minimal lighting so as not to disrupt the cycle.
• Arrange for ultra-dark curtains or shades if you routinely sleep during the morning hours or in the afternoon.
• When possible, hang out in a low lighting situation an hour before you crash. This actually helps your body prepare for the sleep cycle. If this dim lighting arrangement conflicts with anyone else at home, considering wearing sunglasses indoors for this time period. (Sound whacked? Sure. But this recommendation comes directly from Dr. Andrew Weil, a guy who knows a thing or two about holistic health.)

Bottom line? Sleep in the dark as much as possible. You’ll feel the difference. A case in point for me is my LA office/practice room. There are no windows in the place, so all I have to do is hit the lights and it goes pitch black, even in the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes I’ll hang out and work there for days at a time, living off of power naps as needed, and I’ve noticed that I get really good quality sleep there, largely because it’s so dark. Generally speaking, fewer hours of this kind of deep sleep will serve you better than a typical “full night’s rest” where intrusive lighting or sunlight is involved.

Sweet dreams…

What’s in Your Bottled Water?

It seems that not all brands of bottled water are created equal…even when compared to tap water.

With city water being regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and the bottled water industry being regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), there is a pretty strong case to suggest that certain municipal water supplies are cleaner than commercially sold bottled water.

In fact, a recent study from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) stated that roughly 30 percent of all bottled water has chemical and bacterial contamination that tests above the levels considered safe by state and industry regulations. They also revealed that about 25 percent of all bottled water actually comes from a municipal water supply, which basically means you’re paying a premium for tap water!

This is yet another compelling argument to go with an at-home filtering system. This way, you know what the hell you’re drinking…