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EM&B #147: Questions and Answers is this entire show of Exploring Mind and Body.  I receive many questions throughout the week, so I thought why not dedicate and entire show to answering these questions for everyone.

Summary

What do I think of juicing diets?

Why are breakfast cereals so unhealthy?

How to get children to eat healthier?

How to deal with arthritis?

What do I think of Microwaves?

How to reduce belly fat?

Question #1: Juicing

This first question comes from Luis from Huntington Park California.

Luis wants to know what I think of juicing diets.

Thanks for your questions Luis, I hope you’re enjoying Sunny Southern California. So first of all I don’t believe in diets, I’m sure that’s not what you meant but I just want to make that clear. The whole diet thing isn’t for me. I believe in lifestyle above all else when it comes to health and fitness. If you don’t have a lifestyle that represents living healthy then you’ll struggle with health your entire life.   And that’s exactly what happens. We don’t change our lifestyle, we don’t consider the friends we keep, we don’t look at our habit or hobbies, we don’t pay attention to what we’re paying attention to.

Let’s say for example you want to start living healthier but every tue you join the guys for wings, then every Friday it’s steak night, and Sundays it’s ice cream night with the family and the only activity you do is with your thumbs or fingers cruising the net or Netflix. I mean we all have our own choices, I’m in no position to judge anyone, all I’m saying is, if you want to live healthier, if you want to feel better, if you want to be comfortable in your own body, your actions, habits or more directly your lifestyle needs to resemble that.

As for juicing, I’m not really a juicer although I’m not against it. I think juicing has almost become cool in a way, it’s like a fad or even a cult. Haha, that’s not going to make too many people happy. I only say that because when you talk to some juicers they swear by it, they love it, they protect it with all they have and I really think that’s great about it. Personally I blend, now there isn’t a fan base lets say for us blenders. See, that’s not even a cool word. The problem is, I don’t like waste and I also believe in whole food. I’m not saying jucing isn’t whole food, I am saying you don’t get all of the food, there is a difference. You lose most of the fiber when you juice and I think most people throw it away what’s left, which again I’d have a problem.

I understand some people eat it, some throw what’s left in salads, I’m sure some eat it with a fork. I know that doesn’t sound like the most positive answer. Juicing great, nutrients go straight to your blood stream because there is no fiber to slow it down. Again a very good thing. Juicing isn’t a product, it’s doesn’t have chemicals, you’re not adding anything to your diet you shouldn’t have. And then of course you have those juicing groups that love to be apart of them. So you can see people changing their lifestyles, surrounding themselves with positive, like minded people all directed towards improving your health. So I believe juicing is a good thing.

Now I don’t believe in juice cleanses, that’s an entirely different thing. I talk about a lifestyle detox in show #105 can check that out if you’re interested in what I believe a real detox is.

Thanks again for your question Luis, I hope that answered what you were looking for.

questions and answers directed towards juicing

Why most breakfast cereals are bad

The next questions if from Krystal Worth, from right here in Olds. She asked why most breakfast cereals are bad, or I’d imagine she means unhealthy.

We actually had an entire show dedicated to breakfast cereal which is actually in our top 5 of most downloaded shows, so needless to say that was a very good show. I interviewed Olympian Michelle Guliano who now owns her own business called Bundles of Energy. She offer great information on that topic.

But to answer your question briefly Krystal, unfortunately many people are looking for a quick fix in the morning. We’re looking for something that tastes good and can be consumed in a short amount of time because we’re usually rushing out the door.

On top of that high sugary cereral companies target children which is almost criminal, so children see the commercials of a leprecan dancing around a rainbow and they instantly want that cereal.

And lastly, most of these large companies don’t care about our health. That sounds harsh but it’s true. They use the lowest quality ingredients, to drive production costs down and increase profit margins. Then they add all types of chemicals, dyes, and preservatives to make it look good, taste better and to last forever which of course the grocery stores want. So there are a number of different reasons that there’s so many unhealthy breakfast cereals on the shelves.

The best we can do is educate ourselves, read the ingredients and make better choices. But check out Michelle’s interview, she offers great insight and also has a downloadable version of healthy breakfast options for cold cereals.

I have a 17 month old and would like to get her eating healthy from the start

This next question is from my man Billy Gruter all the way down there in Colorado Springs. Billy and I actually played College ball together. He follows me on my True Form facebook page as well as our Complete Truth Protein page. I always appreciate you support.

Billy asks: What would you recommend for children’s needs. I have a 17 month old and would like to get her eating healthy from the start. She loves broccoli and green beans so far. But getting her to eat stuff she likes or I want are easier said than done.

Alight Billy, I really like this question because it comes up a lot. Many parents say my child won’t eat this or that.   And to be honest with you many parents aren’t going to agree or even like this answer but I’m here to give you my honest opinion. So what I really think is, it’s easy to give in, it’s easy to give a child a candy, it’s easy to try anything no matter the cost so they’ll give you a few minutes of relief. And to be quite honest with you, I believe we take the easy way out more times than not.

The truth is, it’s hard to come up with different options, it’s hard to lead by example all the time, especially if you don’t have a lifestyle that coincides with healthy eating. It’s hard to hold your ground and not give in. And it’s even hard to think your child is starving and will only eat junk.

So let me give you some ideas that will help. The very first thing a parent needs to do is lead by example. Research clearly shows the biggest influence for a little girl is the mother; just the same as the biggest influence for a little boy is the father. Now I know there’s daddy’s little girl and mommas boys but I’m talking about the norm here. But neither should matter because if you really want to lead a healthy life, if you really want to set a good example for your child, both parents should be making better choices, should be making healthy choices.

Remember this is a lifestyle. It’s not going to work out if you’re never in the kitchen and once that baby pops out, you start to cook once a week (which may be a lot of you). It’s not going to work out if you’re eating a bag of chips and try to get your child to eat a tuna sandwich. Eating out the healthy way isn’t setting a good example, I don’t even know if it’s possible all the time. You need to start developing healthy habits before your child is born. And if you don’t, you’re in for an uphill battle, and trust me I hear it all the time.

We give our children whatever they want when they’re little, maybe we don’t even know better. Then we start to live a healthy lifestyle, we want to live energized and are now more concerned about our health but our child is a child and could care less. They want that same sugary foods they’ve been able to have their whole lives, so trying to change that, especially for children may be one of the most difficult things you try to do.

Here’s my reasoning or standpoint, especially for those parents that say, my child won’t eat this or that (meaning healthy food). You child will eventually eat when they’re hungry and I’m not talking about starving your child. I’m talking about giving them only healthy options.   If they don’t like one thing that’s healthy, give them something else that’s healthy. If they don’t like carrots, then give them peas; if they don’t like peas then give them broccoli. See, if there is no other option sooner or later they’re going to pick one. When I was talking about the easy way out earlier this is what I meant. We think, well since they won’t eat veggies let’s give them something processed instead. This entire mindframe needs to be changed. And I know it’s not so easy but I think our children are worth it.

I know I’m running on with this question, I do so because I’m passionate about this subject. I heard a question like this all the time and you know what the root of it is, child obesity is growing, do you know we have child diseases now that were only found it aged adults, it’s scary and the only answer is, is to educated them when they’re very young. Only we can do that. If you start your child off with whole foods, if you give them the tools to live healthy and if you lead by example they don’t have any other choice. People often ask me when we’re at a trade show with Complete Truth Protein, is this safe for children. My answer is, yes of course, this is whole food. The sooner we start introducing and educating our children on what wholefood is, the better offer they’ll be and the better off society will be. I mean many adults don’t know what wholefood is. It’s funny how we don’t ask the manufacturer or the employee at the grocery store if the box on the shelf that never expires and has 32 ingredients is safe for children. Wouldn’t that be a switch?

Alright, I want to get to more questions. But Billy and the rest of you parents out there. Please for our next generation, start living a healthier lifestyle yourself, start educating yourself (I know you have) on what ingredients are in the products you’re consuming and implement whole food as much as possible, that’s the best thing you can do for your child. And then offer different healthy options, I promise, sooner or later she’ll pick a healthy one, you’re just goona have to put in extra effort, which will be more than worth it in the long run.

Leading be example is the best way to teach our children how to eat healthier.

What are oxalate diets?

The next question came from Michelle Jerome who asked, I’ve heard a lot of buzz about oxalate diets? Most of what I read sounds kinda chalked up. But I don’t even really understand what they are.

Alright Michelle, first of all thanks for your question. I want to tell you, you’re not alone. Because I don’t know what this is either. I’m sure that’s not the answer you want to hear but that’s the truth.   I wrote about this on my complete truth protein page not too long ago. Many people ask me about this diet or that. It became more prominent of a question after I released Detoxify Yourself which is a 30 day lifestyle detox.

Here’s my reasoning, earlier in the show I talked about how I don’t believe in diets, so I already went over that. If it’s a diet, if it’s something that’s not sustainable and you aren’t able to do it for the rest of your life then I wouldn’t think twice about it. Move on and look to change your habits.

I could spend my entire life learning about every single diet out there, I could spend endless hours researching, becoming an expert which would give the knowledge to answer these diet questions but the truth is, I don’t want to. Celeberty diets, crash diets the latest fad diets don’t interest me in the least. In fact I pay so little attention to them I usually have never heard of them before the questions comes up. Which is exactly the case here. I even thought about doing some research for you Michelle and the rest of our listeners out there but that’s not me.

I believe in wholefood, I believe if we put in effort and educate ourselves we can avoid processed food and refined sugar. I believe food heals, food prevents and food cures. And if work toward supplementing our bodies properly with whole food every single day we’ll give our body everything it needs to be healthy, whole and energized.

Thanks again for your questions Michelle, that may not be the answer you’re looking for but maybe in a round about way it’ll tell you what I think about the topic.

What would you suggest as an anti inflammatory diet and exercise program to begin to re strengthen my body?

This questions came in from Alison from here in Olds again:

Hi Drew I have been diagnosed with arthritis in my neck and I am in pain every day. What would you suggest as an anti inflammatory diet and exercise program to begin to re strengthen my body ? I am 46 years old.

I remember rubbing my grandmothers fingers because she was in pain from arthritis and she worked steady in the garden till she was in her mid 80’s. I’ve worked with plenty of clients that have arthritis as well. One of my ladies is over 70 and is more active with arthritis that most half her age.

I would suggest a very basic exercise program to get you started and moving. My 70 year old would tell you the more she moves the better she feels. Even walking on a consistent basis would really help.

As for diet, Danielle does a great job in show #133 called reducing inflammation which would certainly help with arthritis.

What do you think of Microwaves?

Julie from Olds had a couple questions she sent in:

The first on is, what do you think of microwaves and do you use them?

The short answer Julie, I don’t think much of them at all. And no I don’t use them. A microwave is for decoration as far as I’m concerned. Did you know microwaves were an accident, I mean, course many inventions were accidents but this one has nothing to do with health and only convenience. I’m not   sure I’ve read any long term evidence that states microwaves are safe. This is what happens, we buy quality food (or hopefully we do), we spend time preparing it, hopefully we store the food in a glass non toxic container and then we put it in a microwave. Doesn’t make sense to me. Radio active waves are sent through our food, then we consume the food along with what’s left from the radio active waves.

I for one have no reason to use a microwave. We put them in our homes not thinking about what they do to our health. We have children that only know how to heat packaged or frozen food and have no idea how to prepare from scratch. I think we lose more than we get from having a microwave in the house. It’s a waste of space as far as I’m concerned.

I’ll link a short video of me talking about this subject on youtube and I’ll also link my book Detoxify Yourself in case you’d like more details on living detox free.

How do you reduce belly fat?

The other question was, how do you reduce belly fat or fat that accumulates in your lower abdomen?

This answer isn’t going to be the one you want to hear. You may want to hear a certain exercise, you may want to hear a food or maybe even a pill but that’s not where I’m going here. The number one reason we accumulate lower belly fat is stress. That’s right, when stress builds, cortisol levels rise and our body loses the ability to burn body fat. If it’s not burned off it’s stored and unfortunately our lower abs take the brunt of this issue.

My suggest would be to find ways to relax, write, listen to relaxing music, take a bath, meditate or perform various breathing exercises. There are tons of ways to put ourselves in a relaxed state. We simply don’t do it, we don’t take action to relax which will ultimately reduce our stress and take the body fat with it.

Of course nutrition needs to be addressed. That’s the simple answer, you’re not eating clean, if you’re not putting quality foods into your body then your body will also store this as body fat because it doesn’t recognize it and can’t use it as energy.

And if you really want and answer, leg exercises directed towards your ab usually targets this area. Double leg lifts, laying on your back and kicking your feel up and down, anything usually on your back that entails moving your legs will engage your abs.

Announcement:

In the show I announced Absolute Fitness Red Deer is now carrying Complete Truth Protein.  They are our first gym carrying CTP so this is an exciting step for you us to see if this is a niche we can target.  Just wanted to say a quick thanks to the guys for moving forward with this idea to see how it works.  This is also a fantastic gym atmosphere as well so if you’re in the area check them out.

Thank you

Thanks so much to all of you that took the time to send in questions.  If you have any questions you’d like answered on air, be sure to visit our contact page and let me know how I can help.