What Is Important To You

The most important thing to me personally, besides my family of course, is health and fitness.   Keeping the body healthy is my greatest personal priority.   I have always been conscientious about eating right and exercising.  When I tell people that I don't drink alcohol they look at me in bewilderment.  I don't tell them the real reason why I don't drink because it means a lot to me and it is a long story.  But for some reason  I feel compelled to tell the reason tonight as my blog entry. Here is the reason why I don't drink alcohol.   

When I was young I had a friend (DW) who was staying at my house.  She was staying at our house because she was suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and she was trying to quit. She was battling addiction for many years and was in and out of rehab centers.  My family was very caring and loving toward people and we felt that we could help this woman get through the tough time.   During the time she lived with us I developed a unique bond with her.  She told me about the drug trips she took and how horrible those experiences were. I learned a great deal on the reality of hallucinogenic drugs.  So much that I had nightmares from the truth that she told me.    Her greatest addiction though was with alcohol.  I was at the age where many of my friends started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. I didn't resort to drugs or alcohol because I was always on a sports team during the school year and I signed a contract.  To me when I sign something I commit to it.  My loyalty to following the rules was instilled to me by my parents.   However, during the this tumultuous  time in my life I was conflicted between having friends and playing sports.  If you didn't drink or do drugs you were considered a geek, freak, jock, or nerd.  When you are fifteen years old you don't want to be considered abnormal, so you often do things that you don't necessarily want to do, but do it for the sake of being called "cool."   When I would go home after school I would talk to DW and she would tell me about the peer pressures she faced when growing up.  She told me about all the irresponsibility  that her and her friends did as as an under aged drinker.  She told me that nothing good comes from under aged drinking.  In fact, she told me that most of the people that she knows that attend the AA meetings all started their addiction as under aged drinkers and drug users.  She gave me a lot of insight on the dangers of alcohol.  She told me that not everyone is an alcoholic and has problems with drinking, but for those that can't control their drinking it becomes a problem. 

DW stayed with us for only 8 months.  She made great progress when she was with us.  She was sober and clean during the time she was with us, which was a big step toward her sobriety.   Four months later we got a phone call that she relapsed and was in the hospital.  When I went to the hospital to visit her, she didn't look the same.  I was shocked at her appearance and was very saddened to see her in this state.  Her liver was dying because of all the alcohol abuse.  Her face blew up about twice the size.  The last thing she told me was, "take a look at me Daryl,  you don't want to end up like me.  Whatever you do don't drink or do drugs. You can do great things in your life without having to do this.  You are a beautiful person keep that, don't become like me."  She died the next day.  She was 28 years old.    

That experience has never left me.  I told DW at her bedside that I would honor her wish.  To this day I have never had a drink of alcohol in honor of DW.  She didn't realize it but she changed my life forever, and I truly thank her for that.   

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tags: fitness, alcohol, drugs, muscle, bodybuilding, exercise, health, 

U2 ONE

Things You Should Know

Male Pattern Baldness

Male pattern baldness is due to the extra hydrogen attached to the testosterone molecular chain producing DHT which is a toxin that causes a loss in hair production.  Men who take anabolic steroids often lose their hair.  Hereditary factors can also be the reason for hair loss.  There are medications that can block the extra hydrogen from attaching to the testosterone chain, allowing the hair follicle to re-grow.  However, medications have side effects.  

Clean the Colon

The intestines is comprised of about two pounds of bacteria.  The bacteria helps break down food to be transported into the bloodstream.  From eating junk, processed food, refined fats and sugars the colon collects toxins.  It is important to clean the colon to rid of these toxins.  In my opinion I feel that most people who suffer from weight gain around the abdomen and waist have an accumulation of toxic build up in the colon that causes poor nutrient exchange.  Once the colon is cleaned out the weight gain is reduced and nutrient absorption is increased.  The colon should be cleaned out twice a year.  You should eat fibrous vegetables; broccoli, spinach, kale, green peppers,  every day to help keep the colon healthy. 

Testosterone

Testosterone is an anabolic hormone that helps with the production of muscle tissue.   As we age testosterone levels drop.  Testosterone levels can remain stable if you exercise, get enough sleep, and live a non-stressful life.  Exercise helps boost the production of testosterone.  Sleep helps release growth factors that produce testosterone. Lack of sleep will decrease testosterone levels.  Living a stressful life can decrease a drop in testosterone levels.   Keeping testosterone high in your system will prolong life and aging. 

Fathers Day

Any man can be a father but it takes a REAL MAN to be a DAD.  Having a child is the greatest experience in the world.  The birth of my two boys (and soon to be another) are the two greatest moments of my life.   There is nothing more beautiful on Earth than to experience the birth of a new born baby.  Seeing the birth of my boys confirms my belief in God.   How can any man be an atheist once they experience the birth of a child is beyond me.  

For me the greatest responsibility as a man is to nurture God's greatest gift, the creation of life. Anyone can have a kid but not everyone is strong enough, intelligent enough, loving enough to be a true parent.  I have little respect for the clowns that get a girl pregnant from a night of being on a drunken binge.  There are too many messed up people in this world that are the result of impulsive drug and alcohol induced altered states of unconscious people that have sex.  It is a shame that many newborns are not necessarily wanted by those that conceived them.   

To be a Dad takes a strong man, who is intelligent, caring, giving, selfish less, loving, a teacher, provider, responsible, protector, role model.  I strive every day to possess all of these qualities.  Recenlty my wife Joy and I found out that she is pregnant.  I am very excited about it.  My life has always been about challenges.  I like to challenge myself to push further into greater levels of life. Some people view having kids as a burden or detriment to their lifestyle. This is bogus. These people should never have had children to begin with.  I find that having kids is  the greatest gift a human can receive on Earth.  To be able to extend the human race and to be apart of the circle of life is what life is all about.  

To achieve greater consciousness the human spirit must be challenged beyond what we know.  Fear is a cramp in consciousness that hinders human growth.  Selfishness is an act of insecurity.  When we are selfish we tend to build a wall of safety around our ego to protect ourselves from fear.  We feel better when we know that we are in control of ourselves.  The thought of having to step out of our comfort zone and to take on the responsibility of taking care of another person promotes deep fear in many humans.   Once you break away from the fear and accept the true purpose of life then you can begin to experience greater levels of consciousness.   People get stuck at a certain level and never progress any further.  They don't have to have children to get unstuck.  But sometimes when experiencing something so magical occurs it snaps a person out of unconscious selfishness and wakes them up to a greater purpose.  This is what happened to me.  I love babies and having a family.  I wouldn't change my life for anything.  I am truly blessed.  I love you Joy, Perrin, Avery and baby to come in December.  Thank you for making me a better person. 

  

I am Going To See The Black Crowes This Friday. Should be a Great Show

Reprogramming The Meme

The human brain is very complex. It contains over 100 billion neurons, linked together by thousands of synaptic connections.  The brain is the control center of the body and is responsible for all the functions of the body.  Motor control and hormonal secretions are derived by the brain.  Though the brain is the control center of the body it is also the place where we store and interpret information.  

From the moment the brain is developed we begin to collect information. The information that we gather through our development embeds into our psyche and becomes the foundation of our moral and value stature.  We are all taught certain ideas, behaviors and beliefs that are transmitted to us through rituals, gestures, mental awareness from person to person-- these are meme's.   Meme's are considered to be accepted as ideas that we embrace as rules or guidelines.  Meme's can be negative or positive constructs that turn on and off during times of our lives.  By reprogramming the meme we can redirect the negative ideas and beliefs and turn them into positive and inspiring ideas.  Here is an example of what I am talking about.  Let's say that you have this idea in your head that you have to eat everything on your plate.  This idea has been instilled in your memory banks during your time growing up.  Your mother would always say "you can't leave the table until you  eat all the food on your plate."  Her mother would say the same thing, her grandmother would tell her mother and so on and so forth.  This is how a meme is developed.  It is an idea that get's passed on and on and becomes common.  If we don't stop and identify the meme we will continue passing it along generation to generation. We will continue to force down the food no matter how stuffed we get because we can't leave the table until we eat it all.  For some reason we feel compelled to continue to follow the meme.  Until one day we break it by stopping the idea of having to eat everything on our plate. 

To turn a negative meme into a positive meme we must reprogram it into our memory.  By rephrasing the idea of having to eat everything on your plate you could say, I am going to eat until I am comfortably satisfied and give myself permission to leave the table with food on my plate.  This new meme can be transferred to your kids stopping the negative idea with a positive idea.  

The food on your plate meme is just one of thousands of meme's that are common to us.  Once you identify  a meme you can change it so that you don't find yourself always following the same negative pattern.  By changing all the negative mind viruses that have been passed on from generation to generation you can reprogram the psyche to be more positive and not so held down to years and years of underlying guilt. 

Steve Tyler Sings Amazing Grace-- Quite Amazing.

The Black Crowes Live On Letterman

Fat Must Accompany Protein For Hydrolysis

Here is a topic that usually gets me in arguments with many folks.   Sometimes I feel like an alien in this world because of the way I think.  I like to challenge everything.  I debunked the calorie thinking years ago and now I want to challenge the dietary fat theory.   If something doesn't make sense I will not prescribe to it.  For example,  throwing away the egg yolk and eating only the whites is ridiculous to me.  Yet, this is what  unconscious America is taught.  It is believed that by throwing away the yolk  you are doing a "healthy act" reducing the risk of high cholesterol and heart disease.  This is ludicrous!!! What people don't know is that if you eat egg whites without fat (yolk) it doesn't get converted as protein through the liver it actually gets converted into sugar.   High levels of sugar in the blood is one of the key factors for increasing cholesterol levels.  Eating healthy fats that the body has been able to digest for thousands of years is not the killer.  The egg is the most complete food on the planet.  

Proteins and fats must be joined together to sufficiently be hydrolysized through the liver.  Without getting too deep into the scientific breakdown of chemistry, here is a simple way of understanding this concept.  It is known that dietary fat contains fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,K.  I feel that these vitamins are stored in fat to help protect them from the digestive enzymes produced during the digestive delivery sequence. Dietary fat produces the most energy yielding 9 calories per unit of enery per gram.  Fats are comprised of hydrogens that are split up during combustive processes in the digestive tract and muscle cells.  When a dietary fat is digested, fatty acids are produced.  One fatty acid, the essential linoleic acid helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins and minerals.  I believe that one reason why fat yields so much energy is because it helps moderate the combustion of food in the mouth, stomach and intestines, to allow vital nutrients to get transported into the bloodstream safely.    The stomach acids are highly concentrated and breakdown everything we eat.  If the body didn't have such a remarkable system for breaking down food, the human species would  exist.  There has to be a powerful mechanism to help digest dense foods for human survival.   Even though fats contain more energy and hydrogens than proteins and sugars they eventually breakdown into smaller constituents to enter into aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. 

I feel that fat is a major cofactor in the delivery process of proteins, vitamins and minerals.  Protein which is another complex nutrient contains active enzymes that are alive. I believe that protein and fat must coexist in order to keep the protein enzymes alive. All meat has fat combined with it because the enzymes interact with the fat soluble vitamins.  The enzymes have to survive in order to be useful in the body.  If the enzymes suffer or starve they will die which results in malnourishment for the body.   Proteins by themselves entering the stomach are too sensitive to survive without fat protection.  It is like George W. Bush walking into Bin Laden's camp by himself.  The outlook wouldn't be good for the former president.  But if he had lot's of secret service agents, and military personnel he would have a better chance of survival.  (I realize the analogy is a little obscure but it is all I can come up at this time with to illustrate my point).  

Protein must be accompanied with fat to withstand the digestive acids and to be able to be hydrolysized through the liver for proper transport into the bloodstream.  If protein is ingested without a fat present then the protein will not survive the enzymatic reactions through the stomach and intestines.  By the time the protein gets to the liver it is in the form of sugar and will proceed to enter the bloodstream as sugar.  High sugar can result in hyperinsulinemia, fat storage and high cholesterol.  It is very important to combine fats with proteins.  Throwing away good fat or avoiding it altogether is a big mistake.   If you have any questions regarding today's post please email me at dconant2004@yahoo.com, and I will gladly respond to you.  Now go scramble up some eggs in sweet butter--yummy!!!

How Much Protein Do You Need

There seems to be a lot of confusion about protein intake.   I don't know where the fear of eating protein came about in America. It seems that people are afraid of eating protein.  I try to explain to folks on a daily basis the importance of protein and they look at me like I am some kind of witch doctor or evil person.   They tell  me that if you eat too much protein that your kidneys will get destroyed, or that it is dangerous for your heart, or that you will get fat, or that you will lose muscle.  I look at them with a furrowed brow and say -- HUH!  Here is the truth about protein and why you must consume it daily.  

Proteins form the major components of muscles, skin, tendons, blood vessels, hair, and cores of bones and teeth. They help you grow, heal wounds, and make up collagen - the connective tissue that gives your body its shape. Proteins are involved in practically every function performed by a cell, including regulation of cellular functions such as signal transduction and metabolism. For example, protein catabolism requires only a few enzymes termed proteases.  Proteins are very complex and are living structures that are the basis of tissues.  Proteins are made up of amino acids.  There are non-essential amino acids and essential amino acids.  The non-essential amino acids are made up inside the body and are not required from external sources (food). However, there are 9 essential amino acids that must be taken in via diet every day to complete protein synthesis in the body.  The body cannot manufacture essential amino acids, they must come from food.   

The process of protein in the body works as follows. Once you ingest a protein source it take roughly 30 minutes to 2 hours to pass through the liver and enter the blood stream.  The blood protein only stays active for 3 hours.  If it is not utilized it is excreted out of the body via the kidneys.  When protein levels drop this causes a catabolic event to occur which in turn can ignite muscle tissue to fire off protein to feed the internal organs.  You see organs are vital to the survival of the human being. If the vital organs are not being kept fed with protein, sugar and fat then they become compromised.  In order to sustain the regular balance of the vital organs cellular chemistry adequate amounts of nutrients must be replenished.  Protein is a very complex substrate that must be replenished throughout the day to keep the blood proteins high to keep feeding the vital organs. When we don't eat enough external protein then the body will take it from itself.  When the body takes from itself to feed itself this is known as acute catabolism.  An event you don't want to happen. Losing muscle creates greater fat storage.  Fat is metabolized through muscle tissue. If you lose muscle tissue you lose the ability to metabolize off the fat. 

Here is a brief calculation to figure out how much protein you need per day.

If you are not an active person (sedentary)  multiply your weight by .80 and the result is your daily number of protein grams you need to consume per day.

If you are moderately average multiply your weight by 1 and this is your daily number of protein grams you need to consume per day.

If you are bodybuilding and/or very active multiply your weight by 1.1 -1.3 and this is your daily number of protein grams you need to consume per day.  

Most people I deal with don't even come close to taking in enough protein.  They are afraid of damaging their insides.  I consume huge amounts of protein to test my body. I consume on average 8-12 eggs a day, 1 to 2 pounds of beef a day and I have never had any issues with kidneys or heart. In fact, I get leaner and leaner from eating more protein.  I have never gained fat from eating high protein.  I have been eating like this for over twenty years.  I don't advocate that you consume that many eggs or that much beef for you, because we are all different in needs.  My needs exceed the norm.  However, I do advocate that you consume the required amount of protein that matches your activity level.  

This is just a brief look at protein. I am currently writing a book on nutrition that will discuss protein in more depth.  If you have any questions regarding this blog please email me your questions at dconant2004@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to reply.  

The Greatest Moment For U2 and The Best Version of Bad. The greatest song ever produced!!!