Autumn Begins

As the world seems to be spinning out of control my simple life is getting very enjoyable. I am now in a place that has seasons, which I love. Health has everything to do with your environment and supporting your body's ability to know where it is in space and time so it can respond properly. The weather has shifted here. We've had a few morning frosts and the leaves are starting to turn colors. We just fired up our wood stove for the first time and it was fantastic. 

There are several things I am doing differently in this new season. I'm shifting away from sugar and fruit. I will continue to reduce my carbs as the season changes. I am eating more root vegetables. I keep eating local meats from the amazing little local farm nearby, fresh local eggs, and salmon. Steel cut oats and blueberries are some of the only carbs I'll be consuming over the fall. The first key is to eat as natural and local as possible, staying away from fake food with lots of unnecessary ingredients. Eating simplistically. What we buy at the grocery store is very limited. I can't believe how much processed, boxed food people consume. Chips and pop are the first items to fly off the shelf here. I made a soup the other day from a squash our neighbor grew in his backyard along with some carrots and a yam. It was simplistically delicious. These are the types of carbs I plan on consuming as the season gets colder.  

Getting out in nature daily is also key. I recently found a huge stretch of forest on a nearby property with large paths and open fields that is great for walks and throwing the frisbee with our puppy. No matter where you are, make it a priority to get out in nature. Take daily walks in your environment. I want my system to be exposed to the changing seasons so that when winter comes I am properly cold adapted and my body knows what time it is and what to do. 

The only supplements I'm really focused on are mushrooms, beef liver capsules, kelp, fish oil, and vitamin C. I have found that as long as my diet is on point I don't get jazzed about supplements anymore. I worked in the supplement industry for many years, so I heard all the big exciting ads and learned over time that most of it is irrelevant to actual health. Especially products with proprietary blends of a ton of different ingredients. Truth is , it's mostly hype and the removal of chemicals, addictive substances, and processed foods along with sleep and nature is far better than any supplement. 

I do feel obligated to mention that I have now been off caffeine (except for dark chocolate which is a food and not a liquid caffeine extract like tea or coffee) for well over a year now. This has been a huge accomplishment for me and it's amazing how much better my system has been able to cope with stress. It was very hard to get off and the withdrawals were terrible but I highly recommend it in this time of immense stress, along with weed, alcohol and anything else that gives you a fix or benefit on the front with a price to be paid on the back. These are all credit card type substances; meaning you can get what you want now but can't avoid paying the interest forever. I see a lot of people who have maxed out their limits with these credit card substances, so to speak.

The coffee culture along with processed sugar and alcohol fuels the world. I know there's a lot of misinformation out there spinning things to validate almost any substance of choice, but the fact is that if you are stressed, caffeine is a stressor as a stimulant that spikes dopamine. Access dopamine converts to adrenaline. So the caffeinated world is getting stressed out while taking a drug that causes stress. If you have anxiety or sleep issues and are taking a drug that destroys both, that is your choice but I encourage you to contact me if you are looking to quit. I'm be happy to share my experience as a person who had anxiety for twenty years and drank coffee for twenty years and is now free of both. 

 I don't know if there have been any studies on the recovery of the nervous system form caffeine. From my perspective the hard withdrawals of body aches, depression, mood swings and what I would call neurochemistry issues (low dopamine not allowing my brain to click up to a fast thought speed) were difficult, but it over the past year my nervous system has recovered in ways that allow much deeper, restorative sleep. I am tuned into rest in a different way. Getting off caffeine has been a such a major contributor to my current state of well being. 

Health has become very simple. I am amazed by the complexity of nature, magnetism, and so many things I see all around me like the trees and the animals. I see that you don't have to know quantum physics to embrace the simple idea that nature is where we come from and where our bodies thrive. I am very happy right now compared to what I have been in the past but am also working and working out a lot and my body composition is also changing. I'm focusing much more on developing my legs and back instead of the typical, mirror-facing muscles most guys target. I like the changes and have never been so healthy. I am so glad to have my magnetico sleep pad and to be in Ironwood, MI. I have no regrets about my move. It has been wonderful and it is good to finally be home. ​

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