The Words Dad And Mom Are Not Meant To Be Opposites

Like most men when I was blessed with a family I went directly into provide and protect mode. My attention was solely on finding problems and fixing them. I got caught up in being just the provider,just the protector and I left all the nurturing up to my kids mother. Society has taught us that men and women have to stay in these gender role boxes but it doesn't have to be this way. Now a days both parents are working, or the children are being raised in two households. This means that the parenting duties need to be split somewhat equally or the children will be missing something.

It took me awhile to learn to directly focus on my kids. Even now I still have to work at just being daddy. I’m still working on listening to my kids and talking to them. It is harder for most men then you would think ladies to be an active participant in raising children. I’ve learned that I don’t really have to say a lot to my girls to be nurturing. I just have to be near them and they’ll do most of the talking. Guys you’ll be surprised how easy it is to bond with your kids just by asking them to help you with simple task, like handing you a towel to dry off a dish or throwing your scrap piece of paper away while you’re creating a workout or working. To your kids you are SuperMan, even if you’re really Clark Kent lol and they want to be your side-kick. My girls love helping me with things. Just the other day I was practicing MMA and they jumped up to join in. You might not ever be as good as mommy but that doesn’t mean you can’t be involved and have a meaningful relationship with your children. Women go to play dates with kids all the time and they automatically form these packs with other moms. You can do the same thing but with the dads. Remember Birds of a feather flock together. Seek out other dads to be friends with and spending time with your children will become more fluently.

Chill Out

We create our own stress. Exchange your expectations with appreciation and enjoy life's little moments. Don't spend too much time stressing over things that you have no control over. When something doesn't go as you expected it go take 90 seconds to freak out, then let it go.

Problems are easier to solve when you're not in a stressed out state. You may think you do better in a stressed state but that's just a lie that you talked yourself into believing. Why do you think football players,basketball players etc.. talk smack to the opposing players? They do it to stress the opposing players out to the point that they are off their game. When you are calm you see things more clearly.

Don't Believe The Hype

Don't believe the hype when it comes to milk. Yes I know you've been told that you need it for strong bones but you really don't. Milk actually depletes the calcium from your bones. It acidifies the body pH (like all animal protein) which in turn triggers a biological correction in your body. Calcium is an excellent acid neutralizer and the biggest storage of calcium in the body is in the bones. So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong is utilized to neutralize the acidifying effect of milk. Once calcium is pulled out of the bones, it leaves the body via the urine, so that the surprising net result after this is an actual calcium deficit.

Many scientific studies contradict the conventional wisdom that milk and dairy consumption help reduce osteoporotic fractures. Surprisingly, studies demonstrating that milk and dairy products actually fail to protect bones from fractures outnumber studies that prove otherwise. Even drinking milk from a young age does not protect against future fracture risk but actually increases it. Shattering the “savings account” calcium theory, Cumming and Klineberg report their study findings as follows:

“Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in old age. (“Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994).

Don't Eat The Bread Bruh

We have all been to restaurants where they give you bread or biscuits while you wait for your food. Some can resist but most of us can’t. I normally resist because I don’t want to get full before I eat my main course. Here is another reason why you should skip the bread or eat it with or after your meal if you want to stay healthy. Your body sees bread as sugar. The starches in the bread are broken down very fast in your digestive system. On an empty stomach this means you will absorb this sugar very quickly, which leads to a spike in blood sugar and a spike in insulin.

 

The significance of this was recently illustrated in a scientific study published in the Journal Diabetes Care. The researchers took a group of 11 individuals with Type 2 diabetes and had them consume a controlled meal on two separate days a week apart. The meal was the same both times but the order in which the contents of the meal were eaten was altered.

 

What they found was the average glucose levels were reduced by 28.6% at 30 minutes, 36.7% at 60 minutes, and 16.8% at 120 minutes after starting the meal with chicken and veggies compared with the bread and OJ. The overall “area under the curve” for glucose during the time period was 73% lower. Levels of insulin after the meal (60 minutes and 120 minutes) were also substantially lower.

 

This study was done in type 2 diabetics but I expect you would get close to the same results with everyone. Lower glucose levels and lower insulin levels should lead to greater appetite control, less fat deposition, and possibly greater insulin sensitivity.

 

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/38/7/e98.full.pdf+html

We Want Our Food Cheap And Fast, But At What Cost

The wheat of today is completely different from the wheat people ate back in the day. Around the late 19^th century New techniques in grain processing made it possible to create massive amounts of refined wheat for a low cost.

We are now able to separate the nutritious components of the grain (the bran and germ) away from the endosperm, where most of the starchy carbs are contained. This new technology reduced the nutrient density of the wheat and gave refined wheat the ability to spike blood sugar very fast. We also used to prepare our grains differently. They were soaked, sprouted, fermented and bread was baked using slow rise yeast. Sprouting and fermenting grains leads to many beneficial effects. It increases the amino acid lysine, reduces anti-nutrients (like phytic acid and lectins), disables enzyme inhibitors and makes nutrients more accessible. Today, the flour is bleached and the bread is baked with quick rise yeast. No soaking, no sprouting, no fermentation. Back in the day, we used to consume different varieties of wheat like Emmer, Einkorn and Kamut. Not anymore. Almost all of the wheat eaten today is high-yield dwarf wheat, which was developed by cross-breeding and crude genetic manipulation around the year 1960. Dwarf wheat has shorter stems and a much greater yield. This basically means it’s cheaper than the older varieties and more economically feasible. The benefits of a high-yield crop are obvious, but we are now learning that there were some major downsides to this as well. Specifically, modern wheat has some subtle but important differences in its nutrient and protein composition. Modern wheat is not only less nutritious and dangerous to people with celiac disease(gluten intolerance) studies are also showing it’s harmful to healthy people as well.  

 

https://youtu.be/5eKYyD14d_0



8 Reasons Why I Supplement With Fish Oil

1. Fish oils is one of the few substances known to lower concentrations of triglycerides (fatty substances) that pose a cardiovascular risk, in the blood. J Raloff Science News


2. Increasing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids has direct effects on serotonin levels. Andrew Stoll M.D.1999 Archives of General Psychiatry


3. Fish oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) help prevent heart disease, depression, and cancer. Hans R. Larsen, Msc chE "Fish Oils: The Essential Nutrients" International Health News


4. Research has shown that supplementation with fish oils can reduce interlukin-1beta production and results in a significant reduction in morning stiffness and the number of painful joints in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Darlington, L Gail and Stone, Trevor W. Antioxidants and fatty acids in the amelioration of rheumatoid arthritis and related disorders. British Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 85, March 2001, pp.251-69. Oilofpisces.com


  5. Researchers at Mayo Clinic report that supplementation with fish oils, EPA and DHA is highly effective in slowing down the progression of IgA nephropathy, a common kidney disease. Donadio, James V.,et al. A controlled trial of fish oil in IgA nephropathy. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 331 November 3, 1994, pp1194-99 Van Ypersele de Strihou, Charles. Fish oil for IgA nephropathy? New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 331, November 3, 1994, pp 1227-29 (editorial). Oilofpisces.com


  6. Epidemiological studies have shown that populations with a high intake of fish oils have a lower incidence of inflammatory diseases such as asthma. Dry J. and Vincent D. Effect of a Fish oil diet on asthma: results of a 1-year double bind study. Int Arch Allerguy Appl Immurol, Vol.95, 1991,pp.156-57. Oilofpisces.com


7. Researchers at The University of Tromso now report that fish oil supplementation lowers blood pressure significantly in people with hypertension and has no effect on glucose control even in people with mid diabetes. Toft, Ingrid, et al. Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on glucose homeostasis and blood pressure in essential hypertension. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol 123, No 12, December 15, 1995, pp 911-18. Connor, William E. Diabetes, fish oil, and vascular disease. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol 123, No 12, December 15, 1995, pp950-52. Oilofpisces.com.


8. Medical researchers in New Zealand provide convincing evidence that an increased consumption of fish oils helps reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. Norrish, A,E, et al. Prostate cancer risk and consumption of fish oils: A dietary biomaker-based case-control study. British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 81, No.7, December 1999, pp.1238-42