Forks Over Knives - Documentary Review

Our new flatmate recently showed us a documentary called "Forks Over Knives" talking about the world wide studies by a few top nutritionists. Their research proves many wives tales that red meat is bad for you and explains how dairy can be put in the same "harmful" category. They promote a "Plant Based Diet" and urge everyone to eat "Whole Foods" while avoiding anything processed.

The movie does a great job in busting some classic myths our parents told us:

• Drinking Milk is the only way to get your Calcium
• Your diet will be void of Protein if you don't eat Meat
• Juice is good even with High Fructose Corn Syrup

Frankly, most of the thoughts above are byproducts of very successful add campaigns which have now been dispelled by modern research. Even further, there is so much financing that goes to legislators from big food industry that health standards don't change.

One of the main points that I took away was derived from an extreme episode where well-off children in Philippines whose diet was high in Beef & Dairy were dying of Liver Cancer compared to the poverty struck lower class. Dr Colin Campbell flew out to perform a case study and his findings were shocking. The building blocks in their diets, referred to as Casein Protein, was causing the Cancer Growth. When his hypothesis was tested on rats he confirmed his findings; when given 20% Casein Protein, Cancer Growth was exponential compared to only 5%.

Additionally, when the experiment was replicated using Plant Based Proteins there was no Cancer Growth at all regardless of the amount. Fish & Poultry are also Casein Free.

• THP Fit Tip #12: Limit Beef & Dairy to under 5% of your diet

The documentary continues to talk about the benefits of a "Plant Based Diet" including many heartfelt testimonials of overweight and over-perscriptioned patients making the change.

• Lowered Cholesterol
• Reduced Exposure to many Cancers
• Elimination of Type 2 Diabetes in most patients
• Reduction in Heart & Cardiovascular Disease

Hence the title "Forks Over Knives" encouraging everyone to eat healthy in order to avoid operations. Patients exposed or recovering from coronary bypass surgery who changed their diet showed incredible  improvements in the amount of plague buildup in their arteries. The elimination of Casein Protein from their diet was proven to repair the inner lining of arteries subsequently preventing clogs.

I normally try to not press my opinions on others but strongly encourage everyone to watch the film, do research and formulate their own opinion. It honestly has changed my diet; not to the extreme as some but I try to avoid Beef & Dairy. We went to brunch yesterday and ordered Fish Fajitas, amazing!! I substituted Cheese & Sour Cream for Guacamole, Rice & Beans.

So Grow a Garden & Stay Healthy!!

Our Incredible Juicer

It was a Big Day in the lives of L & E... We bought a Juicer!! So we raided the produce section to start experimenting!! Our first concoction consisted of the following... I call it The Ginger Hulk!!

 - Fresh Spinach: Nuval Score 100

 - Green Apples: Nuval Score 96

 - Cucumbers: Nuval Score 93

 - Parsley: Nuval Score 99

 - Ginger: Nuval Score 87

We even made a homemade Tomato Soup from roasted Garlic, Onion & Tomatoes... Fresh Juice is a quick, easy and surprisingly filling snack or breakfast idea jam packed with all sorts of essential vitamins and nutrients!! Super excited about the possibilities mixing Fruits & Vegetables!! Some great ingredients I am looking play with:

 - Beetroot: Nuval Score 99

 - Blueberries: Nuval Score 100

 - Pomegranate: Nuval Score 91

 - Celery: Nuval Score 100

 - Lemon & Mint: Nuval Score 99

 - Red Peppers: Nuval Score 99

 - Jalepeno Peppers: Nuval Score 99

 - Bananas: Nuval Score 91

 - Grapefruit: Nuval Score 99

 - Kale: Nuval Score 100

 - Kiwi: Nuval Score 100

 - Carrots: Nuval Score 99

Check out the links to learn more about the Health Benefits of each Ingredient!! I strongly recommend for anyone interested in Healthy Living or Mixology to get one...

Happy Blending!!

The Resolution

New Year... New Opportunities!!

Last year my goal was to get in the best shape of my life and I did it: 1 Marathon, 1 Half, a 10k & countless hours in the gym destressing from the long work weeks. But as the memory of 2011 slowly permeates in the back of my mind the outlook for 2012 is optimistic!!

I thought this year I would choose something a little more tangible... 1000k over 365 days!! An idea stolen from L which I adopted because I like the concept as well as to offer support.

I am definitely faster than her; trying to get 5k down to 22 min, however L is the Slow&Steady type with the persistence of a Turtle, I just need to be sure not to fall asleep under a tree!!

January:       E - 5k & L - 6k

Balance & Moderation

Life is full of Balance and Moderation... especially when Eating!! I wrestled growing up and watching my friends gluttonously eat lunch while I feverishly ate my salad pretty much scarred me for life. Luckily Fear of Dieting is not an actual phobia.

Dieting is not even in my vocabulary. I always tended to focus on trying to burn the calories I enjoyed and more recently tried to eat in moderation to meet the caloric intake of my daily activities. This combined with a Healthy Diet I see no issues to balance a delicious Chicago Style Pizza on occasion if this makes you happy! It's healthy if it has Spinach, right?? Check out the link...

Now my "Occasion" usually comes to fruition during my Annual Thanksgiving Holiday in the Midwest... In chronological order the combination of Jetlag, Coffee, Road Trips, Dehydration, Football, Beer, Buffalo Wings, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Turkey, Stuffing, Family Fun, Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies, Chipotle, More Football, More Beer, and Al's Italian Beef definitely pays a toll on the body especially when cold weather and public transportation come into the picture.

Now I'm fully aware this is very hypocritical considering my Pseudo Mantra: Eat Healthy Live Healthy but I can't condemn the enjoyment of food. Mental Health is just as important as Physical Health!! Especially if you're Emotionally Diabetic and that perfect Burrito just doesn't exist in the Middle East...

So to make it up to my 14 Healthy Followers and prove my legitimacy as a committed fitness blogger I propose The 25 Day Healthy Press Challenge... Workout everyday until Christmas!! 

Any sort of High Intensity Exercise leading to Increased Heart Rate will do... The Challenge starts today 30 November at 1am and includes limiting the consumption of empty calories ie alcohol!! Now I just need to catch up on sleep from the trip, still on Midwest time!!

The Elixir of Life

Woke up this morning with a fuzzy head and chalky taste in my mouth after Laura and I polished off two bottles of red wine last night and a naked pizza... Brushed my teeth and ventured into the Dubai summer heat for a quick run around the marina. I normally try not to complain but, good grief, was it hot!! Temperature according to Google is 43°C, only just under 110°F, with 28% humidity. 

Definitely not the worst it's been but needless to say I didn't see any other runners out. I planned to run 5k but ended up taking the first bridge and only made it 3. Oh well, my head was starting to feel like a balloon so I went into the gym to meet Laura. Dreading the upcoming ab workout I grabbed a cup of water at the cooler and BAM!! immediately refreshed and ready for more. 

Growing up I was kind of a nerd and loved The Legend of Zelda!! You know the one: BanalumtalaLa DaNantDaNantDaNantDaNant. I felt like I drank that blue potion that gives you all your hearts back so you can shoot lasers out of the sword. Anyways, water just seems to have magical energizing properties, especially in the gym so...

HP Tip #1: Drink water, wherever and whenever possible!!

There are multiple ways to gauge your water intake and thousands of benefits aside from adding energy to your life; avoids hangovers from the alcohol replacing water in your blood stream, helps prevents diabetes and kidney stones, muscles recover from workouts faster, increases metabolism, helps the liver process fats instead of sugars and chemicals if you replace soda and processed juice with water, suppresses hunger, acts a natural detox, prevent illness by improving your immune system, reduces headaches, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, moisturizes joints for those with knee pain, prevents acne, brightens eyes, reduces wrinkles, improves overall skin quality and will ultimately puts me in a better, happy mood!!

If you're still skeptical or please read the Risk of Dehydration published by the Mayo Clinic. Additionally, if you will be working outside, hiking, or running long distances make sure to drink gatorade or add extra salt to your meal as sweating decreases your sodium levels which can be fatal. Stay healthy, keep hydrated!!

The Challenge

I see so many people; friends, family, coworkers get lost in the day to day. They start working late and stop working out... loose sight of their hobbies and ambitions. Soon weeks become months become years and suddenly you're stuck in the same routine. My goal, and I'm starting fresh, is to break out of this routine, enjoy the summer and simplify my life.

I'll be perfectly honest... I am no expert in the stuff I plan to write on but can tell you what I like, what works for those perpetually working towards enlightenment, or just a few ideas to mix things up a bit.

I live to eat, love good food and don't think I could ever compromise on this... won't touch diets but am more than willing try some simple healthy recipes.

I enjoy a drink, going out with friends helps me keep my sanity... just need to find some new refreshing drinks for the hot months ahead.

I need to workout, but have trouble finding the time... we'll see how waking up at 6 for a quick workout a couple times a week treats me?

So I take this post as a personal challenge to get fit, healthy and have a fantastic time doing it! Enjoy...