kefir

Some people consider kefir a secret of long life.

Before I go further I have say that I am talking about kefir with no sugar, no flavors, no preservatives added. The stuff you buy in store often tastes bad, or it is full of “flavors”.

I start with quality milk, it has to be milk with A2 protein as our bodies have a problem with digesting common American A1 protein milk. At this moment there are couple of companies distributing A2 milk, including one pictured, and I think Costco/Kirkland does, too.

Second, it has to be whole milk, the fats in the milk (i.e. butter) are very healthy. 

I would love if it also said “pasture raised”, but I have not found one yet.

To make kefir, I buy a few types of  “natural” yougurts or commertial kefir and mix them with the milk. This is done to get the initial bacterial cultures. If you mix only one type, there is a good chance it will not become kefir, despite that label says “live cultures”. The more types of microbes you can collect, the better.  You have to do it only the first day.

Every day I pour out and drink about 80% of the kefir from the jar, add fresh milk to fill, mix, and leave at the counter in room temperature for the next day.

It is important not to keep the kefirt too long, as first it tastes super yummy, then it becomes sour like the one from the store, then it will start spoiling and smell bad and you will have to throw it out and start over fresh.

If you cannot drink your kefir because you are going for vacation, you can leave your kefir in the fridge and it should be OK for a few days.

It is important that the jar is loosly covered and out of the direct sunlight and heat.

When the kefir is made, most, but not all sugars are consumed by the microbes, this is when it tastes best. Kefir can be diet, or keto food. In addition all the proteins and fats are still there as well as all other microelements that mother cow gives the calf to grow.

Kefir in addition to have the healthy microelements, helps to maintain healthy gut microbiom, and I think that is the true secret of kefir.  

 

What is a body fat percentage for a healthy man 5'10"?

When looking for the answer to What is a body fat percentage for a healthy man 5'10" you can find "some" doctor prescribed averages. 

These healthy averages immediately will send you to the fridge-section of the supermarket for a pint of ice cream just because you are doing great.

 In the long term, the extra 10% of flab will make you feel too lazy to go for a hike, run, or bike ride. The dietary habits associated with extra weight will cause a chain of auto-imune diseases which in the end may result in diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's dementia and an early death.

So after looking for a while, instead of looking at government (still "some" doctors) statistics, I found these pictures in mensjournal.com which leave no question what is healthy.

In my 50 years, I have been to my share of doctors, I compare them to repair technicians: no need to fix that, my translation: it is not worth his time to fix it, yet.

By now, in my life, I know that the right (natural paleolithic) keto diet has cured me from numerous auto-imune afflictions. One of them caused me not to be able to swallow - thightening of esophagus (doctors were hopeless for a decade). Another, a "frozen shoulder" did not allow me lift my hand over my shoulder, for which they only prescribed physical therapy as if the right diet and uric acid levels had nothing to do with it.

Please remember the doctors today have almost no dietary, auto-imune and epigenetic training in their medical schools. And they do not care because there is no profit in preventive maintenance, good diet and body self-healing.

The exceptions are brilliant people like Dr. Berg that via his YouTube channel probably helped more people than the army of general physicians.

Today, I am at 16% after 2 weeks of keto diet, but by the time I turn 50, I want to stabilize at about 13%.

Ketogenic Diet

I am taking the opportunity while the girls are in on vacation to go on a ketogenic diet, lose a few extra pounds, and detox a bit.

My routine consists of 16 hour night and morning fast, 2 meals, one around noon, the other around 6 PM.

The meals are keto and very satisfying. The mix greens organic salad with olive oil, Modena balsamic vinegar makes it very tasty. I tried few other vinegars, but they are to harsh.

I eat 3 types of nuts, Brazil, Pistachio and Macadamia.

For the extra crunch and flavor, I put some pickles.

Almond milk, heavy whipping cream and coconut oil shake

Keto rule of the thumb is to stay below 40g of sugar per day.

I love whole milk, but since milk has about 11g of sugar per 240ml (~3 teaspoons of sugar) and for many people, milk is bad news anyway, I decided to explore alternatives.

Here is my recipe for a milk-like shake:

- 3/4 glass of organic almond milk
- 1/4 glass of heavy whipping cream
- a spoon of organic coconut oil
- a spoon of Maca powder (this changes the taste, I would say, for worse)
- few raspberries for flavor (a cup is 5g, so few is not a big deal)
- coffee if you need a boost

I warm up the shake so the coconut oil melts (76F+) and I blend it for a couple of seconds.

It is not bad, please send me your recipes.

Is water retention caused by allergens? (Mushrooms)

I have been steadily losing excess weight on the keto diet, which is good; I have a few more to go before my optimal Spartan weight.

I monitor my "dry weight" every morning before I drink or eat and after I use the restroom.

Yesterday, I ate mushrooms in the sauce, which I know I am allergic to because of allergy tests I did and the fact my mouth is tingling after I eat them.

I did not feel good in the evening; my stomach was upset, but there were no major events. I took NyQuil to knock me out, but it did not really help, except for making me really drowsy this morning.

Other than that, yesterday I had a good diet of 2 eggs, hummus, bulletproof coffee, a lard-fried filet mignon, and some bigos (sour cabbage hunter stew).

This morning I have gained a little weight, yet, I was expecting to loose some.

I suspect my allergic reaction caused some water retention (swelling). In fact, I have read that when people cleanse, the first few pounds they lose are water.

Please comment if you suspect otherwise or if you had a similar observation.

Fortified Coffee and Tea in no-sugar, keto diet

I have a hard time drinking black coffee, I have tried Starbucks, Caribou, and other, smaller outlets and they all taste somewhere on the spectrum between acidic to burnt.

To maintain a no-sugar, limited calorie diet (I lost 8 pounds since my Chrismas weight) I drink fortified coffee or tea.

When out, in Starbucks I simply ask for "black coffee with heavy whipping cream".

To my surprise, a tablespoon of Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream has about 6g of fat and almost no sugar, or proteins. Tasty and perfect coffee, or tea addition.

Of course, the commercial outlets may not have organic grass-fed cream so your mileage will vary. last time I asked Starbucks had "Prairie Farms" brand, which is not organic as far as I know.

At home, I have an option of blending the cream, coconut oil (or pure MCT) and grass-fed butter for optimal whole day goodness. When I want to feel like a young God, I add a teaspoon of Maca powder which gives it a specific, however, not disagreeable taste.

The fortified coffee makes easier to skip meals. This is not true fasting, but better than no fasting at all.

The benefits of intermitted fasting, no-sugar diet are already well known and studied:

- prevents (and kills) cancer
- prevents hypertension (ADD kids) and food comma periods
- prevents degeneration of brain that is a primary concern in the aging population
- is one of the few ways to promote production Human Growth Hormone and creation on new brain cells for adults
- balanced fat calorie input diet prevents diabetes 2 and white fat deposits
- coffee, black tea and especially Japanese powdered green tea is full of healthy anti-oxidants

The above take care of the MOST of the reasons why adult people die, so if you do not smoke and look both ways when you cross the street (that should include no texting and driving) you increase your chances of healthy life by at least 30% percent.

No sugar diet is very pleasant as you do not feel hungry all the time and you feel your energy levels to be very constant. The switch to no sugar diet can be quite painful for the first few days, sugar is an addictive substance very similar to heroin. Limiting the refined sugars is a good first step, after a while, you can start cutting other sugar sources (in order):

- refined sugars including high fructose corn syrup
- rice
- grains (pasta)
- potatoes
- corn
- grains (bread)
- natural maple syrup (has many health benefits)
- honey (has many health benefits)

I have grown on bread, so cutting it was very hard for me, but it is worth it.

Feast Days

Some people call it "cheat days", but I do not like this terminology. Every week, usually on weekend I feast which means eating what I crave. In my case that would be a fresh Polish donut with raspberry filling. This is very natural to feast after fasting, people are adapted to that and it was a natural process over the last couple of million years of evolution.

People fasted when hunted, or migrated, then fasted. Note, the modern humans who managed to wipe out mammoths, and our meat loving cousins Neanderthals started to split at least 250,000 years ago. You are not supposed to marry your cousins, but we know our ancestors did, hence they were not truly different species. We have been the fat-eating, ketone-buring hunters for a long time!

Finally, it is very important to note that our ancestors would constantly snack on leafy vegetables, nuts, and roots as they were able to find them while on the prolonged hunt, or move to a new area. You should not skimp on vegetables in your diet.

My Grand Plan

My Grand Plan — 18 years from now in 2035 I will be 62 years old.
How do I imagine myself then?

Location, location, location.

I will be living in a place that is a maximum one hour away from the major National Forest boundary, preferably located in wild mountains. This place could be Bellevue or Redmond, WA, or Portland, Oregon. The importance of the location cannot be overstated. I have spent every moment of my youth in the mountains, often cutting school to go hiking or skiing. And, I hope, to spent the autumn of my life in nature as well. There is nothing that makes me feel better than a mountain-top vista after a strenuous hike in the chill of the subalpine meadow. I have lived almost all my adult life in (techno-bubble) Chicago. A city person cannot understand the highlander's longing for mountains.


I am not sure if I will be able to instill the same love of nature in all my daughters, I hope I will, Lili seems to love nature already. I hope that in the next 18 years, I will spend countless vacations with my girls hiking and camping in the wild.

Health

There can be a little joy of surroundings if one has no health. I am approaching my health holistically, in multiple ways.

Cancer, dementia and heart problems.


Short of major accidents, these big three, sooner or later, will claim most of the people. It is not "some probability" like being struck by lightning, rather, it is more like loading a 30 round magazine, lining 100 people in the row and pulling a trigger in one sweeping motion, no less. All of us stand in that row. All of us, no exception.


Thankfully, we know the cause and how to prevent them, these diseases are sometimes called "diabetes type 3" and it is caused, majorly, by sugar.


Our ancestors ate everything they could find. When they came across a bee hive, they would gorge on sweet, sugary honey. When they found a patch of sweet berries, they would not leave until they had their fill and then some.
We are designed to crave and eat all sugar we can and we are designed to store it as fat for later.


The problem is the sources of sugar in nature are extremely rare, next time on the vacation in a national park make a note of all the sugar sources. When you hear bees buzzing, try to find their hive in the tree tops. See if you can collect more than a bucket of wild berries in a day, except in the late summer when it is a good idea to gain few pounds before winter anyway. When people ate sugar it was called feasting, and it was a very rare occasion.


Humans were designed to go on for few days on minimal nourishment -- something you could carry in a small pouch while on the fast-paced hunt or on the move to a new campsite, these multi-day trips were a rule, not an exception. People would be eating mostly the leafy plants as they found them, nuts, roots and supplementing that with the equivalent of venison jerky and fat (smoked bacon).




Fasting

We know that fasting prolongs life.
Avoiding sugar and proteins has an enormous benefit that most people do not realize.


Note that I mentioned sugar and to some degree dietary proteins, not fat. When our diet is missing the sugars but has fats, your body reverts to the natural state of fat burning, whether the fat comes from tree nuts, bacon, or your own love handles.





Humans, for almost 100% of the last 250,000 years were in the state of a fat-burning ketonic state, the dietary changes have changed this only recently.


Cancer starts with a single cell mutation. Each one of us harbors many cancerous cells for years before they become so malignant that our health gets affected, then, it is often too late.


Cancer feeds on glucose (a simple sugar) which our bodies do not store. When no dietary sugar is present, we create only small amounts of glucose from proteins. Cancer has a very hard time surviving when we are in the fat-burning mode. In the ketonic state, you start purging your organism of the cancer cells that you did not know you had.


A lean person (10% body fat) carries about 15 pounds, or more, of fat on them, that is a lot of bacon meals! If you drink plenty of water, eat vitamins and minerals you could live on that for a couple of weeks. Use your brains before trying any extreme diet like that. I am not taking any responsibility for your personal choices. When you have sugar, your body burns the sugar, when you have no dietary sugar, your body burns fat.
However, when you do not eat and you are too skinny to have any fat reserves, your body burns your muscles and eventually you end up in the emergency room -- and if lucky, in psychiatric counseling.


I know muscle wasting is scary news for athletes, yet many athletes are adopting the keto diet. You can very simply prevent muscle wasting by balancing fat ingestions with your body energy needs.


Would eating fat make you fat? It is a math question really. If you burn 2,500 calories every day and eat a pound of bacon you will become leaner. Marines burn 4,000 calories, so adjust to your own needs. The idea is to be "a mean, lean cancer-fighting machine".


For the next 18 years, I will be eating (mostly) carbohydrate free diet. That is no refined sugars, no rice, potatoes, no flour products, and limited sweet fruits. In addition, I plan to make frequent fasts (restricted calorie diet) and, at the end of each of my fast I will feast and celebrate.


The way of hardcore


When I was a kid I "lived" in the trees with all the neighborhood kids, later we spent middle school years in the park on the monkey bars and similar. When I have run the Marine Corps obstacle course, I loved it and I almost beat the San Diego depot time record, in fact, the drill instructors had repeat it, hoping that I will. I did not, but I was close. I do not like gyms that much. I like obstacle courses, mountains, rocks, hardship and winter weather.


When I was young our karate sensei (then I thought a sadist) was running on our bellies, punched and kicked us to test our stance and had us run barefoot in the snow. Now, I see the wisdom of that and I am thankful. Running barefoot in a sweaty kimono in the snow will classify you as "abuser" in court if you try to do it to your kids, but it might be the healthies thing you can do yourself. I hope the "soft belly" culture we currently live in will pass. We need young Spartans with strong bodies and sharp minds.


Financials


It tool me first 15 years of my adult years to get out of poverty and debt, I know I am not the sharpest pencil in the drawer in this aspect, but it is what it is. Last few years I was laboring thru the middle class and for the next 18, I hope I will be able to make some smart investments. I am constantly reading and learning, but unfortunately, the financial freedom takes personality changes as well.


Since I have reached the salary level that exceeds what I consider sufficient, I will be focusing on minimalism, or rather on "essentialism". There is a good book, or two, on the subject, so not need to elaborate. By forgoing the need for "consumerism" and waste I hope to increase the surplus which then I hope to re-invest.


Personal Growth


This easy, I study constantly. I believe that the continous education that takes a significant part of every single day is the only way to survive in the fast changing world. This is especially important in the advent of the AI, when a lot of well defined jobs will be replaced with intelligent software. When studying, you have to constantly push your own boundries, way beyond your comfort level.

Spartan Race prep run

Run with obstacles.

2015 Spartan Race: training day 1

I signed up for Spartan, 
if you want run together, or cheer and take photos, 
I created a team: "Valeria Warriors" to honor our late grandma who brought this family together.

Seattle, WA, Saturday 11:15AM-4PM, run start time 1PM (IMPORTANT)
http://www.spartan.com/en/race/detail/878/overview

weight: 185 lbs (of flab)

I might consider Wisconsin Tough Mudder, too:
https://toughmudder.com/events/2015-wisconsin

Previous run photo:

Pine needle tea for good health

Our modern society lost what was a common knowledge in the old days.  This post is no news to many in outdoors pioneer circles. My mom gathered wild rose hips, herbs like chamomile for tea. I grew up surrounded by alpine forests and frequenting weekend long hikes to mountains.  

Yet this one has totally escaped me Pine needle tea!

What was more strange that when I was growing up the lemons were hard to come by, and everyone had to have their tea with lemon, for the taste, and for vitamin C content. Yet, I never have heard of pine tea.

The thing is that pine tea, which we could have in unlimited supply, have about 5 times the amount of vitamin C than lemons or orange juice. American Indians have been using it for that purpose.

Pine needles are, of course, not as tasty as lemon, but once I learned about their quality I decided to fix the situation. I have 3 young White Pines in my garden, hence the easy supply.

The way I prepare the tea is by taking a handful of fresh needles and cut them in the 1/2 inch pieces and add little black tea for flavor and some cardamon spice seeds. I boil the water and steep it all in a French press. When the tea cools down it is a truly good drink.

In addition to immunity-boosting vitamin C, pine needless contain vitamin A that helps eyes and oils that influence digestion and are helpful in aromatherapy of respiratory system. The tea also has antioxidants (flavonoids) that prevent aging and tumor growth by binding free radicals. It is also reported to help with the cardiovascular system.

Yes, green potatoes are poisonous.

A part of a good diet is to know the toxic plants around you, just as our ancestors would have. 

In the next set of posts, I will try to write about various common plants, but today let's start with one of the most boring of examples, the potato.

Today, if you ask a city kid they probably tell you that french fries grow on trees, right next to the pop-corn bush, even fewer people would recognize the potato plant in the garden.

Potatoes are tubers, and even if they come from South America, which means they were not the food of my ancestors, I do consider them a part of the "caveman diet" in small quantities.  The paleolithic cavemen would not pass an opportunity to eat a tuber rich in starch (sugar).

What is interesting, is the plant is actually poisonous, especially the green parts, potato salad in the medieval witches' days had a totally different meaning. -- Oops, I thought it was spinach! Too late.

As we know potatoes are basically safe, that is unless the store keeps them exposed to light and then you prolong that until they start turning green.

I have to admit that I love "Zuppa Toscana" with sliced unpeeled potatoes in the local Olive Garden and I feel quite safe eating it, but there is also a very good reason why I was taught to ALWAYS peel my potatoes at home. If you were to eat the green potato skin, you could end up with, at least, an upset stomach.

Store your potatoes in total darkness, keep them from getting damp in storage, peel them carefully, while dropping peeled potatoes into the water, and soak them clean before cooking.     

Natural boost of hormones after menopause.

If you are a woman after menopause you may get an extra fix of estrogen simply by munching on sweet potatoes and soybeans. To some degree, Japanese edamame and tofu with cooked sweet potatoes will do the trick.

This is not recommended if you are a woman planning to get pregnant.  Pregnant women naturally are supposed to have very low levels of estrogen, therefore eating these plants wreaks havoc on pregnancies. The phytoestrogen produced in these plants is meant precisely to abort the pregnancy in animals that eat a lot of it and therefore control their population.

I dream about life away from the rut we live in.

I want to get away and rent a cheap apartment in an old house under a red-tiled roof.
At sunrise, I want to ride a motor-bike (or an old jeep) to the deserted beach, walk for miles, dive, run, be naked, make love, feel the life, then, on the big rock eat a baguette with tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cheese, drink watered-down wine.
Spend the afternoons in a small corner cafe, reading and writing books.
Spend evenings in front of the fireplace with a cup of traditional European hot chocolate.

Thoughts on Buddhism

I was thinking about Buddhism, I have read many books, and not all Buddhism is the same.

I realize I am not Zen Buddhist, not even a "proper" Buddhist, but a follower of my own way, er..., "Uki-do" (wink-wink).

Recently, my friend sarcastically laughed at me for hearing me say "I like normality" as if I was everything but. That was the first time I realized that I may be perceived by others as some kind of rebel without a cause, to me, in my own life, I stand up against what seems as unnatural to me.

So how do you practice my "Uki-do"?

At every moment try to be mindful (vipassana), be mindful of your own states of mind, and of others, try to see what causes the pain and anger. Don't let these states of mind control the life.

The most important principle is to try to do the best you can in every moment of your life. Then, don't worry when things go wrong, you already did your best and there is nothing you could have done better. Also, things do improve slowly in your life as you make the effort (karma). Remember, your "best" is subjective and others may think contrary, again, just try your best, trust your instincts, do not succumb to the peer pressure.

Stop to smell the roses, write a poem, observe. "Don't just do anything, sit there", goes an old buddhist saying.

Your life is your meditation, sitting in the cave may work for some, but not for me.

Train to live with the assumption that you may die the next day (momento mori), and your life will become full of meaning and maybe of peace (nirvana). Only young fools think they will live forever and waste their lives.

Battles are won before they even begin. Only young fools think otherwise.
Therefore be a warrior - imagine an old, wise, gentleman/warrior/master. Old warriors avoid the fights at all costs. The fights bring the casualties, but hardly ever the solutions. They are compassionate for their opponents before and after the fight, but never during - mind must stay clean during the confrontation. They are always preparing and instinctively know what to do when the time comes.

There will be plenty of fights that life will throw at you, don't try to pick one on your own, every fight may be your last. "Choose your fights wisely" my previous boss once said to me.

Prepare yourself, if you find that something matters, learn about it (dharma). You cannot learn about everything, but you can do your best. If you missed something, don't despair.

Be good to people, relationships are most important (sangha), you can try to live without them, but you will be miserable.

Eat well (read about my caveman diet), get good rest, make love and exercise.

Oh, almost forgot: "Snap out of it!", and seek your own enlightenment (buddha).

poison, or ulcer?

I think I just poisoned my self, or I had a violent reaction of my stomach... I ate mashed patato and chicken, which has been in the fridge for a few days, and some water diluted wine (I cannot drink full strenght). Usually, I might have a hearburn after a wine, but this time I after just a bite, or two, my stomach just shut down. I had run to the kitchen to spit the wine, took a glass of water, but I could not swallow. Eventually, I managed to take two heartburn pills that I swallowed, but I still could not drink much water. For the next hour I was puking what seemed to be a foamy clear-watery substance (pill efect?). To make it worse my baby had a hissy-fit, everytime I left the room, she was screaming. So I was puking with the baby on my arm - how much fun! I was on the verge of a panic attack because my stomach was killing me, I felt like choking. I was afraid that it is a poisoning indeed, and worse, that the baby got it too (via a pacifier, or bottle I was trying to give to calm her down). After I got everything out of my stomach, the little chicken I ate, I got better. I called Ji but she did not answer, I wanted her to know what is going on in case I get worse. Finally, I managed to feed the baby enough (with the frequent stops for the bathroom visits and her cry attacs) and she fell asleep. I had to sit over her for a good 30 minutes, because she was opening her eyes to check if I am there. Now, I regained my strength and I am readying to make some jello. A trick I learned in my highschool days of heavy drinking and frequent hang-overs and alcohol poisonings -- the best cure for upset stomach is jello, or polish version of it, a kisiel. Well, life throws you the curve balls sometimes. I feel better now.