Merry Christmas! 2011

Merry Christmas!
Hey, how about an end of the year, Christmas Newsletter? Yeah, I feel the same way.
When I started this Health Newsletter (long, loonnngggg time ago), I wrote everything from scratch (100 copies at Office Depot). Good info on Health Basics; Exercise, Nutrition, good HealthCare practices. Pretty soon I felt like I was rewriting the same Newsletter over again. With the Internet age, I put the basic articles on my Website, DrRik.net . Periodically I recheck these pages, http://drrik.net/exercise.aspx and http://drrik.net/nutrition.aspx . This is still good stuff.
Many things change. We live in a world where pollution has finally become truly global and many people can’t give you a sensible definition of Natural; Nutrition or Lifestyle. “Everyone” tests toxic for something and Big Companies (i.e. Monsanto) are inventing technologies (to eat?) that never existed before; such as GMO.
It’s a whole new game, and with all this information, I have devoted many articles to relaying cutting edge material from authors such as Mercola, Gordon and others. Lots of detail, research and politics… this year I started a blog http://drrikdc.wordpress.com/ .
What have I learned in sixty some odd years? Well, it gets easier; oh bullshit…I just don’t care as much. He.., I’m going to die soon. But, I’m enjoying life up to that point, more than many of my peers who have all kinds of health problems from their lifestyles.
Food is probably most important. Not some oddball diet, but LOTS of Fruit, Vegetables, Whole Grains, and Meats; in approximately that order.
Supplements are “supplemental” to good nutrition, never a substitute. I routinely forget to keep a supplement routine. After surfing, with all the aches, I will probably take some Glucosamine. Nothing substitutes for a Chiropractic adjustment though (what in the world would I do without a Chiropractor?). When I get a good session going in the gym, I’ll follow up with DHEA. Sore muscles from the workout (DOMS=Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)? Large dose of Antioxidants. I’ve got bottles of all kinds, but Vitamin C is number one. Don’t be afraid of Vit C. The MD eggsperts will tell you that too much causes diarrhea. True, but that’s not a problem. Take 10 grams! I’ll take 20 grams if I feel like. There are docs doing Intravenous Vitamin C up to 100 grams and more. They say it cures everything from flu to cancer. At least, the cure hasn’t killed anyone. Feeling stressed? My daily multiple (which I forget to take daily) is high in the B complex. I will double or triple dose for a day or two.
I do a lot with plain nutrition, jalapeno peppers stimulate metabolic function, garlic helps strengthen immune function, ginger reduces inflammation. I get this stuff by the bagload at the farmer’s market. How am I going to get rich if I don’t sell my proprietary version in a bottle?
I have to remember not to eat the garlic, day before I have patients in the office!
Of course, it’s THAT time of year, flu, cold, crud, whatever. There are many “immune” formulas. Echinacea is one of my favorites. Don’t take it in tea, the heat destroys the value. Echinacea, like Ginseng, is an “Adaptogenic”. This means, that it doesn’t seem to have any druglike effect, it just allows the body to do certain things easier. This drives medical researchers nuts, looking for the “drug effect”. It also means that there is no “dose tolerance”. You can just keep taking Echinacea, everyday, forever, if you want and it keeps working.
I got a new bottle of Ginseng formula as a gift. This is truly an Asian secret. It’s kind of like coffee without the caffeine kick. You just feel better and function more efficiently.
Exercise is your own call. Anything is better than nothing, but if you REALLY want the benefit, do something INTENSE. You can listen to people telling you that a bit of walking is as good as a heavy weight workout. They’ll also tell you that French fries, catsup and pizza makes for three servings vegetables. Believe whoever you want. Most people do.
I surf one or two days a week. I’m always amazed at what an intense load it is on my body. I typically get into the gym once a week (particularly in rainy weather) and jog with the dog on nice days (I haven’t been able to lose the dog yet). But these workouts are controlled; nowhere near the metabolic intensity of an outside set of large waves cleaning up the impact zone while you are scrambling for a takeoff. But I digress.
The undiscovered and misunderstood secret of lifestyle and nutrition is Cycling. Seasons change, and so should your food. It’s OK to eat lots of fresh fruit in season, or nothing at all if you are sick or not feeling good. NO-ONE is suffering a nutritional deficiency from missing a few meals. Take a look at my “All you can eat diet” http://drrik.net/NaturalFoods.aspx to get this picture. It used to be call fasting or purification diets. Now it’s call Detoxification.
The basics don’t change. What’s simple isn’t always easy. It’s simple to buy bags of produce and cook it at home. It’s easy to pick up a stryrofoam pack of FAsT food.
Nobody gets out of this alive. I would rather spend my later years in some tropical low rent district than high end assisted living, but that depends…
PS and don’t be surprised when some Medical Researcher (finally) discovers that Genetics goes better with Broccoli!