Staying Healthy

[Huzefa @ Blue Bolt Gear]

This is a very important topic and I dont remember being it discussed before. So here it goes.

Simple tips from top of my head.

>Always clean your hands before eating by soap or alcohol sanitizer.

There is another technique- barrier substrate such as KISSCARE polymer. Basically it doesnt allow dirt, oils and microbes to bond to your skin. So hands can be easily washed with just water.

>Keep your nails trim so that they can cleaned easily.

I have read some people cut nails with scissors. If you want a nail cutter best solution is Wenger clipper.

>Stress, inadequate rest, and too much exercise will actually run down your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness.

>Avoid junk food, most of which are inflammatory. Better then to rely on Ibuprofen.

A diet low in red meat and high in fish, fruits, nuts, cereals, mushroom and vegetables is good. Green tea is considered good too and so is dark chocolate.

Any more tips??

I will put all the info in wiki when I get time.

[Huzefa @ Blue Bolt Gear]

Dehydration

One way the immune system relies on water is the same as for exercise. Dehydration causes the blood to become concentrated and torpid–not optimal conditions for immune cells to rush the invader. Furthermore, water helps regulate temperature–essential during fever–and flushes microbes and toxins out of the body. Remember, thirst is an indicator that you are already dehydrated.

Not sure if dehydration weakens immunity, but drinking lots of water is a good thing.

[CW]

Read meat seems to be fairly safe as long as it's very lean. With that said, you shouldn't rely solely on it for protein but that's true for any food.

[Jay Wilkerson]

One can never stretch enough or do YOGA. A routine of simple body stretches can keep one limber for years-IMHO.

-Jay

[Lynn Tramper]

The most effective things to keep in mind are hygeine and sanitation. Keep your hands clean, your food from spoiling, and stay away from contagious people. Boil or treat water if needed. And listen to your body. Activities such as yoga, martial arts, tai chi etc…train you to better listen to your body, which is the most priceless health promoting thing you can practice.

[Roger Caffin]

> Activities such as yoga, martial arts, tai chi etc…train you to better listen to your body,
> which is the most priceless health promoting thing you can practice.

What about activities like walking/trekking????

Cheers

[Lynn Tramper]

"What about activities like walking/trekking????"

All things in moderation. There are many folks who carry loads that are basically crippling them, others that complete long distance walks (AT/JMT) who finish looking absolutely gaunt, and end up with rapid weight rebound. In my university tramping club days, youths used club trips as an excuse to walk as fast as they could all day, stay up all night partying, then do it all again the next day with horrible hangovers. And on and on…

[Brian UL]

Im a believer in traditional human diets i.e. Meats and greens
-high in healthy saturated animal fats and cholesterol vitamin k and A in organ meats.
I avoid SUGAR and refined grains,soy and eat real low on starches and whole grains. These things cause inflammation weight gain and blood sugar spikes. More so I avoid hydrolyzed vegetable oils (corn,canola,safflower ect.) as these things weaken cell walls and leave you susceptible to cancers like skin cancer.

Im going to try making a simple traditional pemmican using lard (from grass fed pastured organic cows) mixed with dried lean meat for protein and minerals. traditionally they may add berries but I would rather eat the berries separately. Pemmican is the original super trail food.

[Miguel Arboleda]

Brian, could you post the recipe for making traditional pemmican? I'd like to see what the Native Americans really used and try it out myself.

[Brian UL]

Here is a good article on traditional trail food:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/rohdenburg81a.html

recipe for Hudson’s Bay Company (the fur company)pemmican borrowed from the natives consisted of 50% dried meat and 50% fat/marrow.

You can buy lard from some organic farms and buy/make jerky. Grind the jerky into powder and simply melt it into the lard, add dry berries if you like. I will have to experiment with different containers but I think a zip lock should do fine.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Lynn

> university tramping club days, youths used club trips as an excuse to walk as fast
> as they could all day, stay up all night partying, then do it all again the next day
> with horrible hangovers. And on and on…

Sound like jealosy to me … :-)

Cheers

[Lynn Tramper]

"Sound like jealosy to me … :-)"

Hardly. I was a 'youth' too, just one that liked to take time to enjoy the scenery, to botanise, and then have a good nights sleep. Sharing a hut with other folks who have different ideas is actually torture when all you want to do is sleep and get up early in the morning to start the day, maybe have a nice lunch break, stop to take a picture etc…and your stuck with a group who tries to make each trip a new speed record. I had no physical problems keeping the pace, but didn't find it enjoyable, which was the main point of the trips to me. I am soooo over walking clubs!

[. .]

aim for alkalinity

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Lynn

Chuckle. Sounds like Sue and me: a walking club of just two, with a tent.

Cheers

[Roleigh Martin]

Lynn wrote "All things in moderation." — the way I heard the saying is "All things in moderation, including moderation."

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Sanitation is key. Keep your hands clean. And don't trust anybody else's hands.

Wash up your body every now and then. Don't bathe in water other people will want to drink.

Wash your feet.

Treat your water anywhere foolish people will have bathed or washed dishes or let animals walk in it.

Keep wounds clean, dry and covered. Use anti-bacterial ointment if you can.

Rest is good. Rest extra if you are tired. Food is good, too. A good meal and a good night's sleep can make everything so much better the next day.

[W I S N E R !]

Ahhh…footwashing in an icy stream.

[Lynn Tramper]

Brain said: "Im a believer in traditional human diets……high in healthy saturated animal fats and cholesterol vitamin k and A in organ meats."

A diet high in saturated fats is not really 'traditional', as almost all wild game is quite low in saturated fats. It's only with the advent of grass and corn fed animals that the meat has become high in sat fats.

"eat real low on starches and whole grains"

Again, I believe all things in moderation, and when it comes to grains (and dairy products), here is one of my reasonings: People who have studied human evolutionary biology have determined many of the genetic changes which have occured recently (since the end of the last ice age) which have spread like wildfire through most human populations. This quick spread of a new genetic change is assumed (with good reason) to be because that change gave the individual some reproductive and survival advantage over others who did not inherit these changes. Two very notable of these change have been the aquisition of the amylase gene (to digest starches), and the lactase gene (to digest dairy products). It is clear that these genes have allowed us to exploit a huge new range of food sources that our ancestors could not exploit, and that these have become important and vital for human evolution. Not only that, but we couldn't possibly feed the current world's population without grains and legumes.

I propose that whole grains, dairy and legumes are not the evil they are made out to be. It is just the over-consumption of calories which these foods make easy, combined with too little physical activity, which are to blame. Unless of course you are lacking the enzymes needed to digest these foods, in which case it would be foolish to eat them. If you maintain a healthy (lean) and muscular body with plenty of exercise, I think most folks can handle whole grains, dairy and legumes quite well. Now sugars, processed grains, trans fats and soft drinks are a whole other beast. They are Baaaaaaad foods!

[Roger Caffin]

> Two very notable of these change have been the aquisition of the amylase gene (to digest
> starches), and the lactase gene (to digest dairy products).

Translation: French bread and French cheese! Way to go!

Cheers

[Lynn Tramper]

"Translation: French bread and French cheese! Way to go!"

Oh yeah, and I forgot about the alcohol dehydrogenase gene which allows us to drink french wine :0

Poor old asians missed out on two outta three of the *best* genetic changes that have happened to man ;)

[Anonymous]

"Poor old asians missed out on two outta three of the *best* genetic changes that have happened to man ;)"

I guess that must be why ~50% of the world's population resides in Asia. So much for lactase and alcohol dehydrogenase conferring an evolutionary advantage. ;}

Not that lack of the alcohol dehydrogenase gene seems to have slowed them down much, IME. Leads me to doubt that it is lacking across the entire population. As for lactase, I seem to remember reading somewhere that lactase is present in Asian children but that the gene(s) that code for it deactivate when they grow older. A reasonable argument could be made that absence of lactase confers an evolutionary advantage in that it would proscribe intake of a high fat/cholesterol food group and the health problems that come with it in later life, not to mention the enormous amount of agricultural land it takes to feed milk producing animals that could otherwise be devoted to producing human food. Meat eating cultures will have to face up to that problem soon enough as population continues to increase. We could learn a lot from Asians when it comes to healthy eating, IMO.

[Lynn Tramper]

"We could learn a lot from Asians when it comes to healthy eating, IMO."

No arguement here, both in terms of eating healthy for ourselves and eating healthy for the planet.

RE: alcohol dehydrogenase. The presence or lack of it seems to reflect how two very separate populations traditionally dealt with the problems of water sanitation. In asia they relied on boiling water to sanitise their water (thus the strong tea culture), in western cultures fermentation was chosen as the preferred method of "treating' your water. In modern cultures that have access to clean water, this is obviously no longer and advantage except from a culinary and social point of view.

The gene mutation for what is technically called 'persistence of lactase' after childhood appears to have originated in the far north of Europe (in Scandinavia) where the climate favoured growth of herd animals. In these high northern latitudes with long cold winters, the ability to make use of dairy was probably critical to the survival of early settlers. Dairying is the most efficient means of obtaining nourishment from uncultivated land. Much of asia and Africa were more temperate, and thus were able to get by just fine without lactase. This didn't mean dary wan't important, just that they traditionally fermented or turned their dairy to butter to remove the lactose component. Many parts of northern asia (tibet, nepal etc…) also could not survive without the valuable calories gained from yak and reindeer milk. The fact that lactase persistence arose on at least four separate occasions and spread rapidly in cattle farming communities indicates that, at the time and in the climate that these mutations arose, the mutation was advantagious. In our over-fed modern world it may no longer be advantagious since food is not scarce, but again, a lack of lactse persistence doesn't stop anyone from eating fermented milk products or butter, just unfermented milk products.

And humans have a variable capacity to diegst starches becasue the amylase gene shows a lot of variation in the number of copies an individual carries. Some folks are really really good at digesting starch, others not so good.

But all this really argues is a) Listen to your body with regards to nutrition; and b) all things in moderation as long as they don't disagree wtih you!

[Brian UL]

"A diet high in saturated fats is not really 'traditional', as almost all wild game is quite low in saturated fats. It's only with the advent of grass and corn fed animals that the meat has become high in sat fats."

Sorry Lynn, I couldn't disagree more with that statement. traditionaly humans prized animal fat/marrow above any thing else. In fact Native Americans were known to leave the lean cuts of meat to rot or fed them to the dogs. Only when food was low would they be more thrifty. Also natives waited for those times of year when game would be the fattest to start large scale hunting of them. Yes, industrial beef is grain feed to make them "more" fatty but they are not lean animals- its a matter degree. Over consumption of lean meats is called "rabbit starvation" because rabbits have so little fat. dairy is a staple food for many peoples because it is high in HEALTHY saturated fat and cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol has NEVER been connected to any disease, the Lipid hypothesis is still pervasive today but it is a total fraud conducted by the FDA on behalf of the food industry who in the 70s wanted people to switch from lard to vegetable oils (trans fats)and shelf stable processed grains. It was then heavily promoted by left wing groups like the CSPI who also wanted people to stop eating animal products- there is simply no evidence to back it up and it flys in the face of evolutionary history -read Vilhjalmur Stefansson's studies with the Inuit for an example.
Also, grain farming is in no way better than meat/dairy farming. Cattle don't take any more room than veg/grain framing and they ADD nutrition to the soil while grains rob the soil of nutrition. Rice is know for how labor intensive it is and the huge amounts of water necessary for it. Look at the African Masai who live on dairy, blood and meat supplemented with small amounts of grains and vegetables. They are a good example of what a traditional human diet resembles. They don't suffer any of the health problems we do in fact they don't suffer any of the health problems any modern civilization does (including Asia). Obesity, diabetes type 2, Cardiovascular Disease, ect are known as diseases of civilization because civilized societies tend to eat a high grain/legume diet.
Also I don't really follow the idea of all things in moderation. I practice "cycled" eating which is meant to mimic the feast and famine of hunter gathers. I don't eat anything the first half of the day or only easy to digest foods like fruits greens and milk along with some seeds. This allows me to have a large feast at night when I can eat until Im stuffed and since I eat vegetables and high fat foods my body knows when I had enough- no calorie counting.
I don't want to get too into it- many studies and lots and lots of books have been written on traditional diets, the lipid hypothesis con, and cycled eating, in case anyone is curious. I am not alone in this many people who are serious about health and strength training follow this same diet the results speak for themselves. Its not the only way to eat- the Parillo diet of small meals every 2-3 hours is a good diet as well, just that for some people the famine and feast method works better.

[Lynn Tramper]

"traditionaly humans prized animal fat/marrow above any thing else"

Yes, because it was rare/hard to come by.

"Cattle don't take any more room than veg/grain framing and they ADD nutrition to the soil while grains rob the soil of nutrition"

!!! I won't even merit that with a reply.

"Only when food was low would they be more thrifty"

Historically, this was most of human history. Even then, on the savanah I imagine our ancestors would have eaten a lot like the other predators….grab the organ meats and run….before a bigger predator comes along and clobbers you for your spoils.

"Obesity, diabetes type 2, Cardiovascular Disease, ect are known as diseases of civilization because civilized societies tend to eat a high grain/legume diet"

No, they are diseases of 'civilisation' because we over eat and under exercise.

"I practice "cycled" eating which is meant to mimic the feast and famine of hunter gathers."

Do you practice seasonal starvation? Stuff your face all summer autumn, then hybernate and starve through the winter?

"the Lipid hypothesis is still pervasive today but it is a total fraud"

That I certainly agree with.

"small meals every 2-3 hours is a good diet as well, just that for some people the famine and feast method works better."

So is a moderate diet, where you eat as many or few healthy meals as you feel like, just don't over eat and exercise regularly. Healthy being high in protein, whole grains (rice as consumed in most of asia is NOT a whole grain), legumes, natural fats and lots and lots of fresh veggies. Avoid sugars (including most modern fruits which are many times sweeter than what our ancestors ate), refined carbohydrates or other highly processed foods. Choose free-range/range fed animals. Avoid anything raised or fattened in a factory or feedlot.

Or eat Brian's way. I'm sure it's healthy too, just not my cuppa tea.

[W I S N E R !]

"Cattle don't take any more room than veg/grain framing and they ADD nutrition to the soil while grains rob the soil of nutrition."

!!!Double HUH? I'm with Lynn on this one.
I'm not sure I even know where to begin with this.

Overgrazing?
Soil compaction?
MASSIVE waste runoff?
The thermodynamic insanity of using enormous inputs of water and acreage to raise the feed for animals that only feed a few people?
And let's not forget the chemicals, diesel fuel, antibiotics, and complicity of the pharmaceutical/chemical industries that allow us to grow and distribute this meat in record amounts…

What cows are we talking about here?

[Author]

Posts