Move In The Opposite Direction

Photography by Trifon Marchovski

239 Reps 16kg Kettlebell Snatch 10 min 118x121 Trifon Marchovski

Sun Would Be My God

Trifon Marchovski Photography

The Ketogenic Diet in a Nutshell

The Ketogenic diet is yet another evolutionary adaptation which is based on the paleo idea. It is more restricted however. Hunting and gathering hasn’t always been a peachy walk in the park. Quite often our ancestors had to deal with scarcity. Quite often they had to adapt to what was available based on where they lived, what time of the year it was, and how much luck they had.
Ketogenic diet represents our innate inexhaustible voice. The ability to fast and use fats efficiently was critical for survival not only in times of starvation but also during cold seasons when there weren’t enough carbohydrates. Mastering to live and thrive on fat made us flexible and resistant. It gave us the power to explore and conquer a wide range of longitudes and latitudes. Inuit and all peoples who live in the North are basically on a very restricted ketogenic diet. They eat mostly fat and protein and very little carbohydrates ( over 90% animal food ).
So here is the ketogenic diet in a nutshell: fat is used as the main source of energy, proteins come in moderate amount , and carbs are severely limited. In dietary perspective we are looking at about 70-75 % of calories from fat, 20-25% from protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrate daily. The key is to understand that carbohydrates get replaced by fat and proteins stay moderate to low. The overall calorie amount should be also somewhat restricted. If we allow higher amount of protein, the body will convert the access into glucose through an alternative and very expensive pathway which will block the fat switch and make our system work hard and inefficient.
The reason cells choose glucose in front of fat is evolutionary. Life occurred in a low oxygen environment in which the first prokaryotic beings ( bacteria and archaea ) did not use mitochondria to burn fat. They didn’t even have mitochondria or any other membrane bound organelle, not even a nucleus. This happened later with the development of the eukaryotic cells where the nucleus was used to store and transfer information. According to the endosymbiotic theory, the eukaryotic cells employed ( voluntarily or not ) certain prokaryotic cells to convert energy for them. This acquisition gave birth to the Mitochondria - energy producing organelles capable of burning fat and glucose with the use of oxygen. Whatever happened back then is not exactly understood but glucose was the first available fuel. And cells seem not to forget this because when glucose is present they switch to it almost immediately. Not to mention that we are 90% bacteria ( for every cell in the body there is ten times more bacteria ) which does not have mitochondria to utilize fat and neither does our red blood cells. This is a good reason not to go on zero carbs. We need some glucose to feed our immunity and our blood. We need some glucose to create structural proteins called glycoproteins, to use it as fuel in times of very high intensity demands, and to create “reactive oxygen species” ( ROS ) to help the immune system fight invaders. Although we can extract glucose internally from a non-glucose sources ( fats and protein ), I am convinced that glucose has its rightful place in human physiology. The question is not if we should eat glucose but how much. The amount used in most ketogenic diets is 50 grams per day or less, although certain individuals can go as high as 150 grams of carbs and still maintain ketosis.
How long does it take to become keto-adapted?
It takes a few weeks to start generating the appropriate enzymes and to become more efficient burning fat and ketones. The process is unique for everyone and depends on how far from the equator your parents lived, how well your mitochondria functions, how old your are, and so on.
Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney write in their book “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living”:
“The human brain is a carbohydrate dependent organ only if one routinely eats a lot of anti-ketogenic nutrients such as sugars and concentrated carbohydrates. When dietary carbohydrates are held to 50 grams or less per day, humans undergo a process called keto-adaptation.”

Ellen Davis, the author of the “Ketogenic Diet Resource” website - a wonderful place to visit for more in depth information, describes even further:
“The less insulin resistant you are, the more carbohydrates you can eat. Some people can consume as many as 150 grams of carbohydrates a day and still efficiently use ketones for fuel. Ketogenic diets of short duration show little benefit. Our bodies require time to build the enzymes needed to burn fat efficiently and induce ketosis”.
I know that it might be obvious but I’ll say it just for the fun - the best choices of carbs are nature made, low glycemic load vegetables and fruits (like berries). The best choices of fat on the other hand are not so obvious. The undisputed king is the saturated fat such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, beef tallow, lard, duck fat, yolks, butter, cream, caviar, pate etc... Second comes the monounsaturated fat such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil, almonds etc. And the third is not even a choice because it is extremely toxic and inflammatory - the polyunsaturated fat in the name of all vegetable seed oils. In their book “Perfect Health Diet”, Paul Jaminet, Ph.D. and Shou-Ching Jaminet, Ph.D. have devoted a whole chapter on ketogenic diets where they recommend eating short and medium-chain fatty acids like coconut oil as the most ketogenic of all fats: “Ketosis can be maintained with a higher level of carbohydrate consumption if short-chain fats are consumed”.
The authors also recommend supplementing with vitamin C, glutathione, biotin, and branched- chain amino acids ( leucine is ketogenic itself ). It is also important of avoid fructose rich sources ( sweet fruits ) which depletes the liver from ATP ( adenosine triphosphate ) and its ability to generate ketones. Ketone bodies are fatty acid by-products created when liver and kidneys metabolize fats. Their production increases rapidly when glycogen (carbohydrate storage in the body ) is low or depleted and fats can not break down completely. Although almost all structures can use fatty acids for fuel our brain and central nervous system can’t. They use ketone bodies instead and as it turns out it is their favorite food. So this is the end of the myth that your brain needs glucose to survive. Not true, it actually prefers ketones. Ketones don’t require transport through the blood cells as fats do, they simply diffuse across cell membranes without energy expenditure, which involves less oxygen. As Dr. Stephen Phinney suggests, this might be a reason why Inuit people did not have a harmful oxidative stress on such a low vitamin C intake.
There are three ketone bodies worth mentioning: acetoacetate (AcAc), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetone. AcAc and BHB are produced from the condensation of acetyl-CoA ( a result of incomplete breakdown of free fatty acids) while acetone is derived directly from AcAc and is excreted in the breath and urine ( which gives the acetone breath during a ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting ).
What is the big deal about the ketogenic diet?
Besides the fact that it makes you lose fat fast, slow aging and reduce inflammation, it also helps curing insulin resistance, diabetes , metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver, cancer, yeast, fungal and other bacterial infections, autoimmune disorders, neurological and mental disorders such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, ataxia, chronic headaches, autism, depression, dyspraxia, dyslexia, A.D.H.D., A.D.D, depression, schizophrenia, and a whole lot more.
How is this possible?
Life is governed by information turning into energy and matter. In this sense all disease is some sort of miscommunication. So if we can correct the problem at base level, everything will fall into place up the ladder. Sounds like an impossible thing because we need to figure out so many variables. True, but we can also choose to let go completely and allow mother nature to do the trick.
I call this intermittent fasting. We are all children of nature and we all have an innate profound blueprint. We just need to activate it and watch from a distance. We just need to stop dumping garbage in our system and allow nature to cleanse itself and heal.
How is this relevant to the ketogenic diet?
Well, you can look at it as an extended fasting. Metabolically it mimics it. You even might hear the term “starvation ketosis” which means fasting and “ dietary ketosis “which means ketogenic diet. Simulating fasting leads us to the most critical detail about ketogenic diets we should always remember - calorie restriction. If you eat too much protein and fat you will produce a great deal of glucose and insulin and won’t see any benefits.

Elizabeth A. Thiele, M.D., Ph.D.—Dietary Therapy: Role in Epilepsy and Beyond from Ancestral Health Society on Vimeo.
Another strong point is that the most of our cells have mitochondria ( only red blood cells don’t ) which is the only organelle able to extract energy out of fatty acids ( fats yield three times or more energy in comparison to glucose ). So when we remove the majority of glucose, it becomes a scarcity and everyone fights for it. Our healthy cells in this scenario have much bigger chance to prevail because they can afford to switch back and forth between ketones and glucose while bacteria and cancer cells can not. Bacteria and many harmful pathogens do not have mitochondria, or can not use it as well as our normal cells. Cancer cells for instance have mitochondria but their mutation allows them to get energy only from glucose through an anaerobic process called fermentation. This is true even in the presence of oxygen. So when glucose is removed, cancer cells have no food. Dr. Thomas Seyfried talks about this in his book “Cancer as a Metabolic Disease “ , where he finds “mitochondrial dysfunction” to be the common denominator among all cancers. It is the primary trigger unlocking genetic mutation, and not the other way around.

It is well established now that excess carbs spike insulin which messes up communication. It also increases ROS ( reactive oxygen species ) damaging DNA and causing glycation. Glycation is an unnecessary mixing of excess sugar and protein which leads to AGEs ( advanced glycation end products ) which harm mitochondria and cellular function.
Dr. Ron Rosedale M.D., says:
“Health and lifespan are determined by the proportion of fat versus sugar people burn throughout their lifetime. The more fat that one burns as fuel, the healthier the person will be, and the more likely they will live a long time. The more sugar a person burns, the more disease ridden and the shorter a lifespan a person is likely to have.”
Ketogenic diet can not only extend life, cut fat, generate muscle, and cure disease but it can also improve sports performance, especially if you are into endurance and ultra endurance sports like marathons, triathlons, ski running, cycling etc...You can use the diet exceptionally well to keep your weight down and fit into a lower weight category ( contact sports, weight lifting etc ).
Although ketogenic diet makes a lot of sense in endurance sports, it doesn’t seem to overpower the role of glycogen in very high intensity sports nested in the 30 second - 30 minute time frame. The way I see its implementation in this case is to use the diet as part of a periodization scheme. When working on economy and oxygen utilization period in order to improve metabolic efficiency (anaerobic threshold ), the athlete could pair with ketosis in order to achieve better fat burning and glycogen sparing effect.
Who is the ketogenic diet for?
Well, you need to be motivated, that’s for sure. Kicking carbs out is not easy. It will remove a big chunk of your daily pleasures. So, if you are really sick , if you are morbidly obese, if you are a health freak, or if you are an ultra - endurance athlete then ketogenic diet is for you.
If curiosity is my only driving force, I would follow nature. If you live in a moderate climate zone winter seems to be the best time to explore ketosis. If I look at a single day cycles, I would choose to fast or go ketogenic from the morning until late afternoon.
So don’t wait to get sick, be curious, explore and find your own ketogenic variation. You might be surprised to rediscover metabolic freedom you’ve never thought possible!

135 Reps Long Cycle Jerk 10min 2x16kg Trifon Marchovski

Dimensions of Existence

Here Comes The Sun

Sun is like Love - it gives birth to life and keeps it going. It is the key to happiness, it feeds us pleasure and energy. It shapes the world and enlightens.
Sun spreads not only light but also contrast. It draws day and night, black and white, and all of our significant patterns. We rarely understand that our hormones, our thoughts, our time awake and asleep are sun related cycles.

Sun is the ultimate source of energy for our planet. Everyone thrives on it and has its way to absorb it. No matter how much we see and how much we know about the sun, we will always discover more. This is because we are evolving our sensors and constantly changing how we percept information.
The recent discovery of biophotons is a good example. Biophotons are electromagnetic waves which can be seen with special equipment. Biophotons is energy detected as light which all living beings radiate in order to communicate in a vast instantaneous network. Science is ever so amazed discovering the subtlety of the invisible.

There is poetry after all. We are not just a bunch of parts, we are a network, vibrating and communicating through light.
Pjotr Garjajev, a Russian scientist, was able to intercept communication from a DNA molecule in the form of ultraviolet light. His view is that the communication is not only happening inside the body but it is how organisms talk to each other.
Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp, a German physicist ( PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Mainz ), has done an extensive research, and has published more than 150 scientific articles and studies on the subject.
According to the current biophoton theory light serves as a major web for all living organisms, creating a dynamic  electromagnetic field  exchanging information through unique frequency resonating through unique electromagnetic waves. Dr. Popp  figured that the most essential source of light and biophoton emissions comes from the DNA at a frequency of several billion hertz ( the same range cell phones work ). This explains how a single cell can turn into a fully formed human being. DNA contains the unique blueprint of the organism and can reproduce it holographically.
The biophoton theory also explains quite successfully the phenomenon of aura, spontaneous healing, intuition, telepathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, the Emoto’s water studies, Dr Rupert Sheldrake’s morphogenetic fields theory and many more.




In his article “An incredible story!” Dan Eden writes:
“Popp began thinking about light in nature. Light was present in plants and was used during photosynthesis. When we eat plant foods, he thought, it must be that we take up the photons and store them.
When we consume broccoli, for example, and digest it, it is metabolized into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, plus the light stored from the sun and photosynthesis. We extract the CO2 and eliminate the water, but the light, an EM wave, must be stored. When taken in by the body, the energy of these photons dissipates and becomes distributed over the entire spectrum of EM frequencies, from the lowest to the highest.
This energy is the driving force for all the molecules in our body. Before any chemical reaction can occur, at least one electron must be activated by a photon with a certain wavelength and enough energy.
The biochemist and Nobel Prize winner Lehninger mentions in his textbook that some reactions in the living cell happen quite a lot faster than what corresponds to 37C temperature. The explanation seems to be that the body purposely directs chemical reactions by means of electromagnetic vibrations (biophotons).”
Sun’s energy is cherished by everyone. We've known for a long time how plants absorb and transform inorganic energy into organic matter through the process of photosynthesis. Plants combine free electrons from the earth and water together with photons from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air to create carbohydrates and oxygen. The process has two major phases. The first is light-dependent and uses chlorophyll ( light sensitive pigment ) to capture photons and activate electrons. The second is light-independent and delivers carbon skeletons which are used for the formation of sucrose, starch and cellulose. These carbon structures can also be used for the production of amino acids and lipids.
Sun matrix is infused into water as well. It is interesting to hear that the shortwave infrared light restructures  water saturating it with more electrons thus increasing its energy potential and bioactivity. Dr Gerald Pollack explains in his book “The fourth phase of Water. Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor” the way  water can hold and exchange energy when it is negatively charged. He calls this high energy state EZ ( exclusion zone ) water.



With everything being said it is logical to say that using the sunlight at first level of conversion should yield the largest amount of energy. This is a good reason to eat raw food and especially raw plant food ( low in toxins such as leafy greens, cucumbers etc.). When cooking, we should stick to low heat methods which get rid of plants’ protections but keep the integrity of the water structure ( steaming, simmering, slow cooking ). Juicing is another good approach to get rid of toxins and harvest biophotons in high amounts. Although juicing is a powerful energizer, it is a human creation which involves extraction. As expected, everything we do has side effects and so does juicing. Throwing certain parts of the plant away concentrates the energy allowing for rapid entrance followed by a sugar spike especially if you use carrots as a base. Carrots are very dense in sugars and will have a negative effect if you have a metabolic disorder such as diabetes, insulin resistance etc ( on the other hand they are perfect if you are an athlete who is seeking to refill glycogen ). I find that using cucumber as a base together with leafy greens will provide a better solution without disrupting the hormonal communication.

To be perfectly honest I don’t believe that going entirely towards raw plant food is the perfect answer. I describe why in my article “Plants want to live as much as we do”. Besides the fact that plants have the most sophisticated survival strategies and the greatest amount of toxins which makes  most of them non-digestible, there are a few other very important reasons. The first one is that biophotons are not a dormant storage of sun energy, it is an active communication through light. This changes the perspective because energy comes with the precursor of information. So it is only relevant in the context of an informational system that can utilize and communicate this energy. Well, human communications rely heavily on fat. Every cell processes information  through a phospholipid membrane. It filters billions of messages every second delivered by other lipid based messengers, hormones and neuro mediators. Plants don’t have this level of complexity. Plants also don’t have a nervous system and can not move. So if light is everyone’s divine connection to the web, there are levels of complexity that are pulling away from the divine to separate us. This is an important driving force of life and fat is the biochemical media that makes it possible. We need fat in order to use biophotons. Especially animal fat, and especially Cholesterol. Cholesterol is so important for animals that every single cell is trying to produce it on its own no matter what its food source. As dr. Seneff says: “ Cholesterol is to animals as chlorophyll is to plants “. It gives us mobility and the ability to think. It gives us even more - a direct line to the Sun! We can capture its energy through the molecule of Cholesterol with the help of sulfate. This relationship produces a lot of magic and I am convinced that we’ll never stop unveiling it. Vitamin D is part of this magic and it seems to be affecting almost everything in our body.
Well, cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D3. Both molecules are nearly identical in chemical structure. Cholesterol sulfate takes photons from the Sun and free electrons from the environment  and combines them into a usable energy. It transforms our skin into a solar battery which captures its own biophotons.

Another portal for sun’s energy is the eye. Although staring at the sun is considered dangerous by modern science, sun gazing has been practiced for many years in India. It plays a vital role in times of fasting when body’s sensitivity to energy sources is heightened. I find that intermittent fasting combined with earthing, clean air, pristine water and proper sun exposure is the best way to cleanse and re-energize.
Sun has always been an important part of our evolution. And yet we have disconnected from it a great deal. We ran away from the equator exploring new lands, putting clothes on and roofs over our heads. And while this sounds like a necessary adjustment what we do now does not - we claim the sun to be a vicious enemy, we hide from it religiously, we put toxic chemicals on our skin calling this protection, we wear sunglasses even when it’s cloudy, we spent most of our days in office using artificial light...
And then we wonder why we can’t sleep, why we feel miserable, why we are all diseased.
It is time to look at It, it is time to go back to our roots and let the sunshine in...

Kettlebell Jerk 3 min. with and without a fixometer

Tony Pantalleresco on Cholesterol

The Invisible Universe of The Human Microbiome

The Invisible Universe Of The Human Microbiome from NPR on Vimeo.

Energy, Frequency, and Vibration

"If you wish to understand the secrets of the universe, think of energy, frequency, and vibration."
Nikola Tesla
Photography by Trifon Marchovski

Don't Eat Anything With A Face

51 Reps Long Cycle 2x24 kg 5 min Trifon Marchovski

Get Grounded 4 - EMFs

Grounding and Emfs

It is hard to talk about energy simply because we can`t see it. Have you ever seen a thought, or free electrons browsing through the air? I bet you haven`t spotted a wireless connection either. But it is there. We know it because we have felt what joy or sadness can do with us, we know it because we use electricity as a core feature of civilization, we know it because we invented internet. We are all connected in a divine web which we keep learning about. We have always been part of it no matter how much we understand. And because we mainly see objects we explain this connection by the existence of invisible fields. Fields through which flows information that creates energy. Energy which empowers action and transforms into matter. Now, matter is something we can see.

There are two major fields that physics uses to explain communication at a lower level that involve our old friends - the free electrons.
The first is the magnetic field which is based on charge. It is produced by moving electric charges. The second is the electric field which is generated by stationary charges. Both are so related that science combines them into one electromagnetic field explanation. The so called EMF ( electromagnetic field ) is produced by electrically charged objects. The field can be viewed as a wave or a particle vibration.
We as part of the breathing planet have evolved based on these electromagnetic fields. Every object, every being, every cell resonates in one global EMF.
So where is the problem? Why do we keep hearing about the dangers of Emfs when we are all connected and it is a good thing!
It seems to me that we are not that connected any more. We gradually isolated ourselves creating our own rules. We even come up with our own internet with various artificial receptors, and thousands of radiating devices which now interfere with nature's internet. We brought a lot of clutter to the web of life and our only excuse is that we can't see it, we can't see energy.

Let me tell you. I am not against technology and I still believe that we can figure out a way to reconnect with nature and satisfy our need for growth at the same time. I do believe that technology can transform from being the problem to being the solution. We just need to change the way we see.
"If you wish to understand the secrets of the Universe, think of energy, frequency, and vibration."

Nikola Tesla

Human-made Emfs coming form cell phones, computers, laptops, power lines, wireless transmitters, microwaves, radars, appliances etc, are part of the 21st century physiology. The electrical pollution we have excreted is very often linked to our endless array of health problems such as brain tumors, leukemia, birth defects, miscarriages, chronic fatigue, headaches, cataracts, heart problems, stress nausea, chest pain, cancer,autism, Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's etc. It doesn't take a lot to figure out why this is so after we know that the energy these devices radiate can directly disrupt the vibration frequency of the cell .
Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, of Columbia University, draws an amazing sketch on the cellular and molecular effects of the electromagnetic fields:

Commonwealth Club 11-18-10. Panel II – Martin Blank, PhD from ElectromagneticHealth.Org on Vimeo.

How to avoid dirty Emfs?
Together with all the logical "stay away whenever possible from all wireless or transmitting devices" recommendation, there is something else you can do.
Yes, you guessed right - get grounded!
When you ground, your electrical potential equalizes with the Earth's electrical potential through a transfer of electrons from the ground. This acts as an umbrella shield against the electromagnetic fields that are coming from smaller objects than the Earth. In an article published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health the researchers have written:
"The study confirms the “umbrella” effect of earthing the body explained by Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman in his lectures on electromagnetism [16]. Feynman said that when the body potential is the same as the Earth's electric potential (and thus grounded), it becomes an extension of the Earth's gigantic electric system. The Earth's potential thus becomes the “working agent that cancels, reduces, or pushes away electric fields from the body.”"
Emfs are also known to successfully mess up the rhythm of the pineal gland. As a result we get overstimulated and sleep deprived. Sleep is the reset mechanism nature has intended for clearing the sensors, wiping the everyday noise, recharging the energy, and preparing body and mind for the next day challenges. Not being able to take a proper break accumulates fatigue quickly and ruins health fundamentally. Living in a WiFi era there is no surprise we are more diseased than ever. According to the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health, about 30-40% of adults say they have some symptoms of insomnia within a given year. This is every third person.

Sleeping grounded shields the pineal gland, restores its normal function and lowers inflammation. Melatonin goes up, cortisol goes down and healing process is set to begin. Good sleep is the best rejuvenating cocktail you can have.
So have it. Get grounded, restore sleep and vibrate as one with the Earth again, isolated from human crap.
The earth has the supreme strength to overcome what we have caused through our inventions, it is our only clean source, it is our only way to purify ourselves. All we have to do is to reconnect.

---

For more scientific research you can visit: http://www.groundology.com/ca/scientific-research.

If you are interested in sleeping grounded you can research do it yourself videos on YouTube or visit:
http://www.groundology.com/ca/products to learn about the conductive grounding bed sheets.

If you live outside North America and want to use the earthing technology you can choose the proper earthing connection plug here: http://www.groundology.com/ca/earthing/accessories.

Other useful websites you can visit and learn about the earthing technology: http://www.earthing.com/ and http://earthingcanada.ca/

Silence

"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."
Confucius
Photography by Trifon Marchovski

193 Reps 2x16 kg Jerk 10 min Trifon Marchovski

Perfect Health Diet in a Nutshell

Ok, it is time to have a look at the "perfect health diet" created by a husband-and-wife team Paul Jaminet, Ph.D. and Shou-Ching Shih Jaminet, Ph.D. Paul was an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center and Shou-Ching is a molecular biologist and cancer researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and Director of BIDMC's Multi-Gene Transcriptional Profiling Core. The "perfect health diet" is currently among my favorite ways to look at nutrition. It steps solid on the paleo idea, adds various layers of cultural wisdom, reads thoroughly through the modern scientific research, and uses stable reference. I must say that the authors have all the reasons to call their diet: " Perfect Health Diet ". They believe that: " Disease, premature aging, and impaired health have four primary causes: malnutrition, food toxicity, evolutionary discordant lifestyles, and chronic infections by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. ".
The book bites strongly on the evolutionary perspective; takes an interesting look at fasting which as a self nourishing act reveals valuable macro-nutrient relationships; uses breast milk as an indisputable formula nature has presented for the infant; and tops all of that with the idea of pleasure and feel good, taste great orientation. This fusion between paleo, science and ancestral diets appreciates the intellect of the intermittent fasting, and the power of fermentation as a manifest of our connection with the invisible world. The book draws an excellent picture of the role of macro-nutrients ( carbs, proteins, fats ), micro-nutrients ( vitamins and minerals ), toxins, and supplements. The authors talk about ketogenic diet, coconut oil, and what is most interesting to me, invent the concept of "safe starches". "Safe starches" idea is saying that if carbohydrates exist they shouldn't be ignored. Glucose ( from an external source ) has its meaning and should be brought to use in the most non-toxic way, which is through " safe starches" such as white rice ( white because it has the least amount of natural toxins the plant uses to protect itself ), potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro ( most of their toxins are thrown away during cooking ). I like the "safe starches" approach because it allows people to transition better from a chaotic high carb eating to a more restricted fat burning paleo regimen. It is admirable that the book does not forget to acknowledge the benefits of slow cooking, which gives the possibility to extract nutrients further, especially minerals and fatty acids by making a bone broth for instance. Although it focuses mainly on nutrition the book also speaks about the importance of circadian rhythm, sunlight, exercise, meditation, and sleep.

Here is the "perfect health diet" in a nutshell:

where the authors recommend:

"About 3 pounds [1.4 kg] of plant foods per day, including:

About 1 pound [0.45 kg] of safe starches, such as white rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro;

About 1 pound [0.45 kg] of sugary in-ground vegetables (such as beets or carrots), fruits, and berries;

Low-calorie vegetables to taste, including fermented vegetables and green leafy vegetables.

One-half to one pound [0.25 to 0.5 kg] per day of meat or fish, which should include organ meats, and should be drawn primarily from:

ruminants (beef, lamb, goat);

birds (especially duck and wild or naturally raised birds);

Shellfish and freshwater and marine fish.

Low omega-6 fats and oils from animal or tropical plant sources, to taste. Good sources include:

butter, sour cream, beef tallow, duck fat;

coconut milk or oil

palm oil, palm kernel oil, olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut butter, almond butter, cashew butter

Acids to taste, especially citric acid (lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice), lactic acid from fermented or pickled vegetables, vinegars, tannic acids from wine, and tomatoes.

Broths or stocks made from animal bones and joints.

Snacks or desserts from our pleasure foods: fruits and berries, nuts, alcohol, chocolate, cream, and fructose-free sweeteners like dextrose or rice syrup.

By weight, the diet works out to about 3/4 plant foods, 1/4 animal foods. By calories, it works out to about 600 carb calories, primarily from starches; around 300 protein calories; and fats supply a majority (50-60%) of daily calories.

In the shadow of the apple are foods forbidden because of their high toxin content. Notably:

Do not eat cereal grains — wheat, barley, oats, corn — or foods made from them — bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, oatmeal. The exception is white rice, which we count among our “safe starches.” Rice noodles, rice crackers, and the like are fine, as are gluten-free foods made from a mix of rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.

Do not eat calorie-rich legumes. Peas and green beans are fine. Soy and peanuts should be absolutely excluded. Beans might be acceptable with suitable preparation, but we recommend avoiding them.

Do not eat foods with added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Do not drink anything that contains sugar: healthy drinks are water, tea, and coffee.

Polyunsaturated fats should be a small fraction of the diet (~4% of total calories). To achieve this, do not eat seed oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or the like.

We highly recommend certain foods for their micronutrients. These include liver, kidney, egg yolks, seaweeds, shellfish, fermented vegetables, and bone broths."

You can look at the food plate translated in various other languages here.

I find the "perfect health diet" to work very well on the long run especially when people try to incorporate intermittent fasting on a daily basis ( skipping breakfast and starting to eat around mid afternoon ). Anyone doing this can learn to listen to his body in order to gradually adjust the amount of "safe starches" and become metabolically flexible. Being able to use primarily fatty acids as an energy source will give the freedom to adapt to a wide range of nutritional regimens including valuable extremes such as the ketogenic diet where fat and protein are the primary macro-nutrients and carbs are almost non-existent.

Here is a detailed conversation about the diet between Dr. Mercola and Paul Jaminet:

Persistence

"Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience.
Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence."
Hal Borland
Photography: Trifon Marchovski

communication with the universe

201 Reps 32kg Kettlebell Swing Trifon Marchovski

Weston A. Price in a Nutshell

Dr. Weston Andrew Price was a dentist, who traveled the world studying the diets of various genuine cultures which were not affected by the western civilization. He documented and carefully compared the relationships between diet and dental health which turned to be his most important work:Nutrition and Physical Degeneration ( published in 1939 ).

His research serves as a truthful reference point to the modern human and his attempt to understand evolution and nutrition. Dr. Price could be really viewed as the "Charles Darwin of Nutrition". And while the paleo idea leads back to our divine roots: " if man made it, don't eat it ", Dr. Price's work represents the added layers of pleasure, human touch, creativity, and culture which brings us closer to modern society. He shows how adaptive and divers life could be. There isn't one answer, one way, one best diet. People can be healthy and vivid in various latitudes and longitudes as long as they are connected to nature. Based on the environment peoples' diets varied from almost all animal food to almost all plant food. It is easy to conclude that there are no truthful principles and anything goes. But this isn't the truth. There are common characteristics in the human - nature connection which needs to be noticed so we can understand our place better.

The first and largest disappointment for Dr. Price was that he couldn't find a truly vegan culture. No matter what the choice of food, or ratio between the macro-nutrients (carbs, proteins, fats),there was always an important animal source.The sacred foods of all cultures represented some sort of animal fat, rich in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids - eggs, fish eggs, butter, liver and so on. Another feature was that genuine people never ate lean meat. They would dry, cut, smoke, or ferment it and then combine it with saturated fat. The most common food was fish and shellfish. Although there were African agriculturists who ate over 90% percent plant food ( 10% came from insects and especially termites ), and the Eskimos who ate over 90% animal food, the healthiest cultures avoided the extremes. They followed the middle way.

Here is what Sally Fallon ( a co-founder of Weston A. Price Foundation ) says:

"Some had no plant foods
 Some had few animal foods
 Some had mostly cooked foods
 Some had large amounts of raw foods
 Some had milk products; some did not
 Some had grains; some did not
 Some had fruits; some did not"
The key points to remember about traditional cultures:
- people did not extract, refine, or denature their food in great extends; ( no refined sugar, salt, flour, vegetable oils, or any kind of refined fat );
- every diet contained animal food and cholesterol;
- people did not preserve their food through sanitation; people co-existed with microorganisms; they used fermentation, not refrigeration;
- people cooked to extract nutrients but part of their diet was always raw;
-people were physically active, barefoot grounded ( or wore leather shoes ) , and spend their day outdoors under the sun;
-people drank clean (non-chlorinated ) natural water from natural sources;
If I need to describe what Weston A. Price found out in a short burst, it would be: People were still fully connected to nature, they cherished fat as the most important source of life, vitality, and fertility, they ate moderate amounts of protein and varied the carbohydrates based on the season and the environment.

Sun is the father

"If Nature is the mother, then Sun is the father" Photography by Trifon Marchovski

The Paleo Diet in a Nutshell

The paleo idea is the most profound paradigm human species have come up with scientifically. It is so because it realizes how restricted we are in understanding life. It follows nature instead of telling it what's right and wrong. It goes all the way back to the paleo era when there was no agriculture and no separation between humans and nature. It was still an unified network where everybody stood in place. Hunter gatherers were arguably the happiest people in human evolution. There was no property, no chronic disease, no wars. There was lots of free time, abundance, movement, communication, curiosity, and exploration. From nutritional side of view there were plants and animals. So that's it. This is what it means to hunt and gather. This is the paleo diet.



Well, let me bring you back to 21st century. Things are not that simple any more, are they? Plants are not the same, animals are not the same. We managed to mess up everything real quick. Add to this the powerful idea of "pleasure" and we have a whole different ball game.
A great deal of good contemporary diets step on the pristine paleo platform, then take "pleasure" in consideration, add all the social, and cultural layers and create mixtures of what might work on the long run. And this is what " diet in a nutshell" series is all about.
The first stop is the paleo diet itself. It calls for vegetables as your main source of carbohydrates. What about fruits you might ask. Well, fruits today are not the same as they were during the paleo period. They are a lot sweeter and contain higher fructose levels. Fruits back then would be very close to most vegetables now. In this respect berries are still very similar to the paleo fruits. For this matter fruits should be eaten in moderation, especially if they are high in sugars. Honey is also a paleo carb which was not easy to find and get, but when the chance presented itself it was eaten excessively. There were no starches except tubers which were eaten rarely. Wild grass and its seeds were really the last resort because of the high content of toxins. So there were no cereals. There were no fruit juices or vegetable juices either. This is the paleo answer on juicing. The only way to cleanse and detoxify was fasting. So the majority of the carbs were vegetables and fruits.
What about fats? There were no extracted or isolated oils. Vegetable fats were taken primarily from nuts which were time consuming to collect and break. Most of the fat though was mixed together with protein which came from animals. Good resources were the animal's inner organs (especially the liver and the brain ), as well as fatty cuts of meat, fish, shellfish and eggs. The closest choice nowadays to the wild game is the grass fed beef. Pork and chicken (and other birds) are accepted but they are not an absolute paleo food. On the other hand wild fish and shellfish is a truthful paleo fat and protein example. There was no milk, cheese, butter or any other dairy product. It was quite a challenge to milk a wild animal.
Eggs are a wonderful and nutritious paleo food but similar to honey it was hard to find, so they were consumed occasionally.
Water was not chlorinated or disinfected, nor was any food. Combining meals wasn't an issue either. Vegetables mix with meat very well although I would assume that when pray was killed our ancestors did not go: " I think this steak needs some steamed asparagus" or "I am missing a sweet potato for crying out loud", they just ate what was present.
So this is it - "Paleo Diet in a Nutshell" - plants and animals. 

Mercury Dental Fillings

Discover more about mercury and how you can get this toxic, bioaccumulative substance from your dentist through our infographic "Mercury Dental Fillings: By the Numbers." Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.

Family

How toilet posture affects your health

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." Walter M Miller Jr. Photography by Trifon Marchovski

Aspartame: The Bitter Truth Behind This Toxic Sweetener

1960 - Abebe Bikila 2.15.16.2 - Marathon - Rome Olympics - Barefoot Running at Its Finest

Principles of Natural Running with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella

Do it with ease!

Do it with ease!

Advanced and personal kettlebell case study

When facing an endurance event of any kind and specifically high intensity strength endurance event there is a dilemma how to spread your energy to get the best result. There are two major strategies depending on your genetic predisposition ( the amount of fast twitch muscle fibers vs slow twitch muscle fibers you have in the working muscle), your nervous system type, and your ability to tolerate lactic acid accumulation, and pain.
The first strategy is to ease into it and accelerate throughout the event. It is suitable for athletes who possess predominantly slow twitch muscle fibers, who can afford the patience to hold back and unveil the energy potential gradually. The downside of this approach is the risk of accumulating too much deficit in the first half and not being able to catch up in the second half. The upside is that you get to finish strong at the end which has a powerful psychological aspect and also gives you the position of control and chance to win when the battle among the competition is tight. The biggest biochemical benefit is that it’s much easier to stay within your anaerobic threshold (a delicate intensity that  allows the muscle to use primarily aerobic respiration to generate atp while being on the edge of switching to a rapid anaerobic fermentation ). In other words the usage of energy is efficient and economical. This counts not only in times of competition but most importantly during training. Being economical will save a lot of pain and resources and will make you a better athlete on the long run.
The second strategy is the opposite of the first one but not exactly. It means that you start at a higher intensity so you can get an advantage in the first half and then trying to hold on to the lead. The biggest upside is that you are in front almost through the whole time which can be quite a booster. The biggest downside is that you are going to pay back biochemically for accumulating lactic acid too early, and crossing over your anaerobic threshold way before the final stretch. It is very painful. Especially at the end. The worst thing is that if you do it often enough your body will get rid of the pain by mimicking failure prematurely. Together with the fact that fermentation is the most inefficient pathway to generate energy makes me not recommend this in training. But we shouldn't throw this approach away so fast and here is why. You can try to get the best of both strategies. The reason this is possible is because our body uses the creatine phosphate energy system in an alactic regime. It gives phosphates to regenerate atp without generating lactic acid, and without dropping Ph values ( increasing acidity ). This only happens for about 30 seconds when the pool gets exhausted and the body shifts toward glycolysis ( which produces lactic acid and rises acidity ).  So the mastery is to get the first 20 seconds more intense and then ease into a comfortable pace in order to transition gradually into glycolysis and aerobic respiration. Well, it is easily said than done and my personal case study is no exception.
I did two peak performance efforts with the two strategies in mind where the projected goal was to reach 80 reps ( plus or minus two reps ). In the first attempt I consciously hold back at the beginning and I mentally accelerate every minute, finishing with an attack the last 30 seconds ( switching to anaerobic fermentation ). I say “mentally accelerate” because this is what’s happening inside my head. What you are going to see is mostly an equal number of repetitions inside every minute ( but the mind effort is far from equal ).
I carefully listen to my heart rhythm and slow down every time I feel I am going to go out of my anaerobic threshold ( I don’t use a device for that but my intuition). I use the clock to pace myself, and I look to fit 4 reps every 30 seconds.
Although I decided to miss a couple of reps just to make sure I am inside anaerobic threshold, I was really pleased with the result. There was no excessive pain and everything went smooth, even pleasant.



The second approach got me arguably an extra repetition ( the time expired during fixation, which won’t be accepted by any judge ) and I will choose it in terms of achievement but the pain was excruciating.



So was that half rep worthed? I say NO.
In an absolute form the result of the second attempt is better but the price was much higher. Practically both efforts amount to 78 repetitions. The big difference is how the effort was perceived. The first was pleasant, the second a nightmare. So my advice to you is to be smart and master to do whatever it is with ease.

Chi Running

The Truth About Factory Farms

The mass production of America's food comes with a hefty price. Find out the environmental, animal, and human impact of raising over 99 percent of US farm animals in factory farms in this infographic, "The Truth About Factory Farms." Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version.

<img src="http://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/truth-about-factory-farms.jpg" alt="The Truth About Factory Farms" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">The mass production of America's food comes with a hefty price. Find out the environmental, animal, and human impact of raising over 99 percent of US farm animals in factory farms in this infographic,"<a href="http://www.mercola.com/infographics/truth-about-factory-farms.htm">The Truth About Factory Farms.</a>" Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.</p>

Run

From QuoteoftheDay

"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." 

-Sir Roger Bannister, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile

World Kettlebell Lifting Championships Chicago 2013 - Trifon Marchovski performs 66 Reps with 2x24 kg kettlebells Long Cycle

World Kettlebell Lifting Championships Chicago 2013 - Trifon Marchovski performs 66 Reps with 2x24 kg kettlebells Long Cycle. For the first time in history all kettlebell lifters chose to lift with a fixometer ( a motion detection device ). Trifon Marchovski took 1st place in the 75 kg category. An interesting fact is that 66 Reps is the highest number achieved with 2x24 kg kettlebells in the men's long cycle event since the beginning of the World Kettlebell Lifting Championships history regardless of the weight category or fixometer usage. Trifon Marchovski says: " I am proud to be a part of this historical movement which allows Kettlebell Lifting to break free and become an honest bullshitproof sport. I support honesty and will always choose to use a fixometer against the unstable human opinion.".

Get Grounded 3 - Anti Aging and ATP production

Grounding and Anti Aging

One of the most popular anti-aging theories is the free radical theory which states that organisms age because cells accumulate free radical damage over time. A free radical is any molecule or atom that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell. Electrons usually live in pairs and travel in orbitals. This does not define charge which means that the free radical can be positively or negatively charged, or neutral. The damage occurs when the free radical steals the missing electron from another molecule which turns the affected molecule into a free radical. This turns into a chain reaction creating a whole lot of dysfunctional molecules and leads to cross-linking of atomic structures. DNA cross-linking for instance can cause cancer. Cross-linking between fat and protein forms the wrinkles on your skin, the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) starts plaque formation which could end up as a heart disease or a stroke. As an addition to the free radical theory comes the mitochondrial theory of aging which takes the mitochondria as the main target for the free radicals. The theory states that mitochondrial DNA is less protected than the nuclear DNA and during energy production electrons may escape, interact with water, and form reactive oxygen species (ROS) which accumulate and do the damage over time.
The largest amount of free radicals are produced during inflammation, and energy formation. So we get them every time we take a breath. We get them every time we eat. We get them every time we get injured. It is not a question of if we are going to get them, it is a question of how much.

Grounding is still the most intelligent way to establish balance and control of the free radical chaos:

"It looks to me, from my study of biophysics and cell biology, like the body is designed with a semi-conductive fabric that connects everything in the body, including inside of every cell,...

I refer to this system as the living matrix. Those electrons that enter the bottom of your foot can move anywhere in your body. Any place where a free radical forms, there are electrons nearby that can neutralize that free radical and prevent any of those processes: mitochondrial damage, cross linking of proteins, and mutation or genetic damage.

So the whole fabric is basically an antioxidant defense system that is in every part of our body.

We have this material called ground substance which is part of the connective tissue. It goes everywhere in the body. It's a gel material and it stores electrons. So that if you go barefoot, you will take in electrons and your body will store them, and they will be available at any point where you might have an injury, or any point where a free radical might form..."
Dr. James Oschman

Grounding and ATP production

ATP is our energy currency. The molecule contains adenosine (an adenine ring and a ribose sugar) and three phosphate groups. The groups starting closest to the ribose are referred to as the alpha, beta and gamma phosphates. The energy is stored in the covalent bonds between them with the greatest energy being between the second and the third. A decent analogy is to look at ATP as a rechargeable battery. Its energy is exhausted first and then it gets recharged. ATP is the charged battery which releases energy by cutting loose the third phosphate. ADP (adenosine diphosphate ) is the exhausted battery which gets recharged with the help of additional energy and a phosphate group.

ADP + Pi + energy ----> ATP
Adenosine diphosphate + inorganic Phosphate + energy produces Adenosine Triphosphate

ATP ----> ADP + energy + Pi
Adenosine Triphosphate produces Adenosine diphosphate + energy + inorganic Phosphate

ATP generated from ADP and Phosphate ions is quite a process. There are supportive agents called coenzymes that navigate the flow of the electrons. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are the two most important enzymes. The removal of electrons or protons from a coenzyme is called oxidation and the opposite is called reduction. So the chemical workings done by the coenzymes are called oxidation-reduction reactions. Together with the coenzymes, another bunch of guys called cytochromes also deal with the electrons in a system known as the electron transport system. Cytochromes and coenzymes extract the energy from the electrons to form ATP from ADP and phosphate ions. So energy always forms by turning a high energy state electron into a low energy state electron.
ATP can be produced by using carbohydrates (broken down to glucose or fructose) or fats ( fatty acids and glycerol ).
The overall process of oxidizing glucose to carbon dioxide in humans is known as cellular respiration and can produce ideally 38 ATPs from a single glucose. There are three distinct stages: glycolysis, citric acid cycle ( also known as the Krebs Cycle ), and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm and is purely anaerobic (no oxygen). It breaks down glucose into pyruvate and generates 2 ATPs. From this point the pyruvate can go two ways based on the oxygen usage. If the cells require fast delivery of energy and the aerobic pathway (citric acid cycle) can not fulfil the requirements the pyruvate goes to fermentation turning into lactic acid. Although fermentation is not creating any more ATPs, it allows the glycolysis to start over quickly and get another two ATPs ( by regenerating NAD+ enzyme). The process is highly inefficient but also a lifesaver in times of emergency. We see this in sports all the time when the intensity of the exercise needs energy faster than the mitochondria can produce, the muscle cells switch to fermentation. If there is no rush and the mitochondria is healthy, glycolysis continues to its rightful way. Pyruvate moves on towards the citric cycle. It starts after a preparation step where the pyruvate becomes Acetyl CoA and enters the cycle as Citric Acid producing another 2 ATPs (happens in the matrix of the mitochondrion).  After the first two stages the reaction goes to the electron transport chain to generate the bulk of the energy - 34 ATPs with the help of the coenzymes and the cytochromes. This is the stage when the high energy state of the electron is used to create a high pressure turbine which jumbles ADPs and Phosphates together to form ATP.

This is also known as oxidative phosphorylation - the most efficient way to utilize glucose for energy. It is fair to note that grounding improves glucose metabolism by providing high state electrons thus promoting oxidative phosphorylation versus fermentation.
Beta-oxidation is the process of breaking the down the fatty acids in the mitochondria to generate Acetyl CoA which then enters the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain. The fatty acid metabolism can use a lot of explanation but what’s important is that it generates a lot more ATPs comparing to glucose ( palmitate yields 106 ATPs  vs 38 ATPs of the glucose ). So fats are better storage of electrons than carbs.
Being grounded is a good reason why plants don’t need fat storage, they have an access to the high state energy electrons of the earth all the time. So the more we stay connected to earth the more we don’t need fat storage. Yes, grounding consistently will help you lose fat.

Dr. Stephen Sinatra, the author of “The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic cardiology” talks about the importance of ATP production and heart health for years. He has been a promoter of the raw ingredients that help the muscle cell recycle ATP - Co-Q10, D-Ribose, Magnesium, and L-Carnitine.  He recently added to the mix the ultimate ATP recharger - Earth’s free electrons. He is convinced that grounding is the most important health discovery in the last 30 years. He also believes that grounding gives the supercharged electrons our body needs to stay on top of the energy game.

I've got a light

Laziness, Greed, Entitlement - Baby Boomers Defined

Grounded

weather

"Don't knock the weather, if it didn't change once in a while,
nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation." Kim Hubbard
Photography: Trifon Marchovski

Long Cycle 48 Reps 2x24 kg 5 min with a fixometer

Get Grounded Part 2 - The Cardiovascular System

Part 2 - The Cardiovascular System

Heart never stops. It constantly pulsates creating a flow. A flow that runs in a system of vessels - the largest being the aorta and the smallest being the capillaries. The matter of the flow is the blood. It delivers oxygen, nutrients and messages to the cell and takes away the garbage. The elasticity of the vessels, their number and bandwidth together with the volume of the blood and its thickness define how well this cardiovascular system communicates.
Grounding improves it all.

Grounding, Blood Viscosity and Zeta Potential

Blood viscosity is a term describing the thickness of the blood. The thicker your blood, the slower it flows, the greater the possibility of clumping. Visualize it as ketchup versus red wine.

Zeta potential is related to blood viscosity. It is the negative charge on the surface of the red blood cells. The higher the amount of free electrons, the more negative charge, the more red blood cells repel each other. No coagulation and no traffic jams.

Grounding provides free electrons to negatively charge the red blood cells and thin the blood. Linus Pauling (the only person awarded two unshared Nobel Prize Awards) knew about zeta potential a great deal. This was one of the reasons why he promoted the supplementation of high doses vitamin c (a governor of the electron flow). Other popular blood thinners are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen. Also natural remedies such as fish oil, turmeric (curcumin extract), ginger etc.
You need to be careful with grounding if you are taking a prescription blood thinner like Coumadin (often prescribed by physicians to heart patients). The combination between the two can thin the blood too much and become a health risk (not to be able to stop any kind of bleeding for instance). A good strategy is to start grounding gradually and lower the prescribed drug after you and your doctor have monitored and agreed upon all the changes.

Grounding, Heart Rate Variability and Sympathetic Nervous System

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the variation in the time interval between heartbeats. HRV is an important indicator for both acute and chronic stress caused by mental overdrive, anxiety, and emotional trauma. In other words people with low variability are less able to handle stress and more prone to stress-related disorders.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is also an important indicator of how stress has been handled. It represents the flight-or-fight response. It constricts the cardiovascular system, rises blood pressure, rushes adrenalin and cortisol to keep us on our toes. In today’s informational chaos we are surrounded by chronic uncertainty and frustration that leaves us in a state of defense and fear. This often causes panic attacks and arrhythmia which disrupts the stability of the heart rhythm. The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS),  which takes care of relaxation, rest,and recharge, can not cover for the over excitement. Neither can the enteric nervous system which controls the gastrointestinal system.

So what are we to do since things don’t seem to be getting any less shaky?

Take it Easy. Realize that life is not that serious.Throw in some humor. Exercise, dance, listen to music, meditate, talk, be creative, laugh, reconnect to “Earth”.
Grounding acts as a calming regulator allowing the body to adapt, to lower cortisol, to balance the autonomic nervous system and to improve the Heart Rate Variability. The electrophysiologist Gaetan Chevalier, Ph. D. and Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, offer an extensive experimental research on the matter clearly showing the relationship between grounding and the reduction in overall stress and tension.

Grounding and High Blood Pressure

Ok, let’s picture the cardiovascular system as a network of elastic pipes. It is logical to say that the blood pressure will be dependent on the strength and the rhythm of the heart, the volume and the thickness of the blood, the elasticity and the bandwidth of the pipes.

Although all parameters are important, the hardest to correct are the elasticity and the bandwidth.

Losing elasticity and narrowing the bandwidth is known as a disease called atherosclerosis. It is a chronic inflammatory response in the wall of the arteries leading to their hardening and narrowing because of a plaque formation. The response could be triggered by anything producing an excess of free radicals: smoking, chemical irritants, chronic cardiovascular overtraining (often invoked in long and intense marathon training programs), but the biggest reason is the diet itself. What we eat and how much we eat holds the key to inflammation and healing. As described in Part 1- Inflammation, the problem lies not in the first inflammatory response but in the inability to transform into the second rejuvenation phase. Let me summarize chronic inflammation with one word - miscommunication. An ongoing  inflammatory battle causes a constant free radical shower. The body compensates by pulling all of its antioxidants and eventually exhausting them. One such powerful antioxidant is co-enzyme Q10. It plays an important role in ATP formation (the primary energy molecule in the cell). Once CoQ10 gets depleted the cell starts leaking energy, oxygen, and free electrons. The mitochondria can’t keep up with the energy requirements. So the body switches to an alternative anaerobic way to produce ATP which surpasses the mitochondria (glycolysis producing lactic acid through fermentation). Highly inefficient and damaging, this anaerobic respiration produces only 2 ATPs from one glucose while the aerobic respiration delivers 38 ATPs. The muscle cells (the heart is a muscle) start to lose energy in a cascading pattern which leads to an extensive glycation (bonding of protein or lipid with glucose or fructose). As a result of all this the cell membrane gets depleted from cholesterol sulfate which creates further oxidation and leakage of ions ( cholesterol serves a crucial role in preventing small charged ions, mainly sodium Na+ and potassium K+, from leaking across membranes).

Cholesterol is a long conversation which will be addressed in a future article. I will say however that it is not the bad guy. Although it is always found at the crime scene it is not the killer, in fact its intentions are quite the opposite, it is there to protect. If you believe in Nature’s intellect then it would be naive to assume that it concentrates cholesterol in the two most vital parts of the human body (the heart and the brain) just so it can get us killed.

"I always have believed that cholesterol is a very, very important nutrient,... Cholesterol is to animals as chlorophyll is to plants. It basically gives us mobility – the ability to move and it gives the nervous system the ability to think."

Dr.Stephanie Seneff

In a fascinating interview between Dr. Mercola and Dr. Seneff you can learn further about the role that cholesterol, sulfate metabolism, and sun exposure play in restoring health:

“My research has uncovered compelling evidence that the nutrient that is most crucially needed to protect the heart from atherosclerosis is cholesterol sulfate. The extensive literature review my colleagues and I have conducted to produce these two papers shows compellingly that the fatty deposits that build-up in the artery walls leading to the heart exist mainly for the purpose of extracting cholesterol from glycated small dense LDL particles and synthesizing cholesterol sulfate from it, providing the cholesterol sulfate directly to the heart muscle. The reason the plaque build-up occurs preferentially in the arteries leading to the heart is so that the heart muscle can be assured an adequate supply of cholesterol sulfate. In our papers, we develop the argument that the cholesterol sulfate plays an essential role in the caveolae in the lipid rafts, in mediating oxygen and glucose transport...

The skin produces cholesterol sulfate in large quantities when it is exposed to sunlight. Our theory suggests that the skin actually synthesizes sulfate from sulfide, capturing energy from sunlight in the form of the sulfate molecule, thus acting as a solar-powered battery. The sulfate is then shipped to all the cells of the body, carried on the back of the cholesterol molecule.”

The primary reason for cholesterol oxidation is inflammation and energy leaking. It is the sugars that cause the inflammation and which we need to fear and not the cholesterol. Cholesterol is there to help, to deliver energy, to improve communication, and to keep negative charge to fight bacteria and other invaders. Unfortunately if inflammation continues long enough cholesterol will fall oxidized on the battlefield. The free radicals do not pick the good from the bad and everybody suffers sooner or later.

Grounding is the best way to get free electrons needed as antioxidants, it is also the best way to increase the ATP production until you figure out the primary cause for the silent inflammation.

Shadows - Lindsey Stirling (Original Song)

March on Monsanto

The boat

"Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat" Jean-Paul Sartre
Trifon Marchovski Photography

Long Cycle 3 min. 30 Reps 2x24 kg kettlebells Trifon Marchovski

Earth laughs in flowers

Trifon Marchovski Photography

water

Trifon Marchovski Photography

Get Grounded Part 1 - Inflammation

Get Grounded

Part 1 - Inflammation

Electricity is a network, a flow, that transfers information into energy and matter. It is how nature communicates on a subatomic level. So we all live and function electrically on an electric planet.

The natural vibes of the Earth are waves of energy explained by science as a motion of various particles or waves. A motion that can be successfully tracked by observing the behavior of one of these particles - the free electron. If you study the atom you’ll discover that it contains protons, with a positive charge, neutrons with no charge, and electrons, with a negative charge. The protons and neutrons are in the center while the electrons are buzzing around orbits in the periphery. Electrons are the free spirits who travel the world. Their traveling pattern is altered through three types of media. The conductors are the ones that allow a free flow. An example of a conductor is the metallic copper wire. The insulators are doing the opposite ( plastic, rubber, glass, and wood ) - no flow, and the semiconductors are in between - sometimes conducting, sometimes not.

Earth gets replenished with free electrons every second through solar radiation, lightning strikes, and energy coming from its core. Similar to the earth’s texture, our bodies are mostly water and minerals which are wonderful conductors of electrons. So we mingle with “Mother Earth” electronically. We get to drink from the fountain of energy for as long as we are in direct connection. The free electrons will flow into our body only if our skin is touching the ground.

Our ancestors didn't have to know this through millions of years of evolution because they weren't insulated with rubber shoes, plastic material, and other petrochemical compounds. They were connected. They were extracting energy from the earth just like a plant root is extracting moisture from the ground for nourishment.

Modern living has gradually disconnected us from Nature - wearing artificial clothing, sleeping on insulated padded beds, living in elevated houses, walking on synthetically covered floors. Illnesses are blooming and we are more inflamed and in pain than ever.

Inflammation and free electrons

Inflammation (Latin, īnflammō, "I ignite, set alight") is a complex defense system. It is a protective attempt by the organism to counteract any harmful attack, to destroy or remove invaders, and to heal after the fight has ended. The department of defense is the immune system. I say the process is complex because there is a lot of communication going on. The immune system tracks everyone, checks IDs, figures out who is food, who pretends to be food, and who is malicious. Then comes up with a strategy, sends troops, fights, and when peace is restored, sends the rebuilders to recover from the damage. We can see there are two distinct phases - the pro-inflammatory first response and the anti-inflammatory rejuvenation. In the first phase the body initiates an immunological battle causing  pain, swelling, and redness. The troops sent to the battlefield fall into five distinct battalions: chemical mediators, complement systems, eicosanoids, cytokines, and immunological attack cells. The first chemical mediator sent is histamine. Histamine is an alarming system which gets activated by bacterial toxins, viruses, malicious microorganisms, heat, UV radiation, trauma, proteolytic enzymes, other irritants and allergens. Once the histamine finishes ringing the bell it is quickly inactivated. Other initial inflammatory mediators such as serotonin and bradykinin work together with histamine to communicate more details - the complement system. There are more than twenty proteins which carry the signals further. Then eicosanoids, extremely powerful hormones produced within every cell, come into action to open the blood vessels to let the soldiers ( immunological cells ) onto the scene. Eicosanoids raise the temperature ( heat is a serious weapon against invaders ), increase the blood flow ( swelling and redness ), locate the intruders, and increase the sensitivity of the nervous system ( pain ), so everyone is aware there is a problem. The final whistle calling the white blood cells comes from the cytokines. They also release inflammatory proteins to help. The most famous is the C-reactive protein or CRP - a marker often used as a predictor of a heart attack or a stroke.

Once the immune cells step onto the field it gets ugly. Activated by the cytokines ( which are stimulated by the eicosanoids ), the white blood cells ( macrophages and neutrophils ) unfold by attaching to the invader, engulfing it, killing it, and eating it. On top of that neutrophils launch an aggressive bombardment of free radicals to destroy the enemy completely. 

Free radicals are positive-charged molecules, lacking one or more electrons, that search for free electrons to fill the void and become stable again. The free radicals obtain their missing electrons usually from pathogens or damaged cells which kills the bad guys. After the battle is won these hungry killers get neutralized by the  negative-charged antioxidants or the free electrons flowing in the body. This is one reason we shouldn't prematurely overload with artificial antioxidants - it will depress your immune system in times of war. We need Nature’s intelligence to take care of the free radicals instead.

The second phase of inflammation, the rejuvenation phase, is really a true anti-inflammation. It starts with calling off all battalions. The cytokines talk to the brain which fires up a chain of hormonal responses. This ends up with an increased production of cortisol from the adrenal glands. For that reason cortisol is considered a stress hormone but in most cases it acts as an anti-stress hormone because it shuts down inflammation or I should say military operation. When all the soldiers are out,  a specialized cleaning group of white cells known as macrophages goes in to remove all the debris. This is an important moment because if these guys leave anything behind, the pro-inflammatory phase will prolong. Once the canvas is clean then comes regeneration and repair. This is when balance between the pro-inflammatory and the anti-inflammatory messengers matters the most. If all the communication goes clear the rejuvenation process might not only repair the damage but make you stronger than you were before (this is what happens during adequate weight training for instance ).

So far so good. And why am I describing inflammation in such a detail when nothing seems to be wrong? Why do we hear more than ever that inflammation is the underlying cause of chronic illnesses including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, alzheimer's, autoimmune disorders, allergies, premature aging and more?

Well, because I want you to see how complex the flow of information is and how easily it can break down. The pro-inflammatory phase protects us but when there is miscommunication or lack of energy ( free electrons ) the war never ends. It goes on turning the vital acute response into an indefinite chronic attack. An attack producing free radicals in a vicious circle, damaging its own self. An attack that creates constant fear, harms the cell, and shuts down growth and repair. An attack that never really transforms into rejuvenation. 

Free electrons are the defense on all counts. Abundant flow of electrons is a marker of clean communication. In every significant reaction there is a transfer of electrons. Adenosine triphosphate ( ATP ) - the primary unit of chemical energy in the cell is bond to the flow of free electrons. Cells success, or lack thereof, is dependent on ATP and free electrons for a healthy cell repair and regeneration. 

When there are not enough electrons to neutralize the free radicals during the acute response all surrounding tissues get under fire and all cells get damaged . 

So where do we get the free electrons from?

Food is one answer -  life evolved in the presence of oxygen so all living forms have developed some kind of antioxidant defense. Vitamin C is a good example, as well as flavonoids and other plant molecules. Melatonin is the antioxidant we produce when it is dark. Clean water is also an important source of free electrons. But above all the most abundant reservoir is right under our feet. That’s right, the Earth is the biggest and the best antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that exists.

The Earth is the best free electron donor.

Reconnecting to the living matrix is called earthing or grounding. It is very simple to do. Your skin is a very good conductor. You can connect any part of your skin to the Earth and this will open the gate for free electrons. It also appears that some points on your skin have higher sensitivity for electrons . One such point is located in the middle of the ball of your foot. Acupuncturists call it Kidney 1 or K1, the point that connects all of the acupuncture meridians. You can learn more in the extensive interview between Dr. Mercola and Dr. Oschman.

Dr. James Oschman is an expert in the field of energy medicine. He wrote numerous articles which resulted in two books: Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, and Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance. He also has written the Foreword for the book Earthing: the most important health discovery ever? ( by Clinton Ober, Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra and M.Zucker ).

Dr. Oschman and his team have provided the world with the scientific research needed to understand better what happens during inflammation:

"Even the slightest bump, if you bump the door, your immune system immediately responds by sending white blood cells (neutrophils) to the place of injury…

The neutrophils secrete a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)… called free radicals, in what's referred to as an oxidative burst... These are like Pac-Man. They are very important molecules that tear things apart. If bacteria have gotten through your skin, these free radicals will destroy the bacteria very quickly. If you have damaged cells, the free radicals will break them apart so that there is a space for healthy cells to move in and repair the tissues.

That's known as the inflammatory response.

What we have discovered that is truly profound is this: we now understand why you get the inflammatory response, which has five characteristics: pain, redness, heat, loss of range of motion, and swelling. All of those are the five hallmarks of inflammation and it turns out that that doesn't have to happen.

Inflammation, which in medicine is considered an important part of the healing process, is really an artifact caused by lack of electrons in your tissues. What happens is, the neutrophils deliver the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to the site of injury, but in so doing, some of those free radicals can leak into the surrounding tissue and damage healthy tissue. That's what creates the inflammatory response.

So really what is happening with grounding or earthing is that you're protecting your body from -- I call it, collateral damage,... Damage that was not intended to take place but does take place because we have disconnected ourselves from the Earth by putting rubber and plastic on the bottoms of our shoes."

And indeed if you look into the wild you will notice that the inflammatory response is way milder and all animals heal much faster. 

So be an animal. Get grounded and you’ll start feeling more like a human being. When you find yourself surrounded by nature get your shoes off, reconnect any part of your skin to the Earth, grass, or any natural water. 

“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.” 

― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

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To learn more how to get grounded in your house or working place you should visit earthing.com or earthingcanada.ca.