In many respects this notorious bestseller reads like it was written by a excitable young boy, though admittedly an intelligent one – how about using your newly acquired overseas VA to harass your boss in a funny accent? Definitively where this book really makes it mark is giving us a new definition of wealth, REAL WEALTH: The “New Rich” focus on happiness, enjoyment and fulfillment in the now, whereas “Deferrers” climb the corporate ladder, collect status symbols and wait to retire (or die).

Skim-read the technical information sections on running an online business – and if you truly love your job or your office is a “home away from home” then this book isn’t for you. But despite it’s many arguable flaws, this book is essential reading – both a riveting page-turner and a wake-up call to a whole new way of looking at your world. Read simply to inspire yourself or recommend to your clients to jolt them into action.

To get your hands on a copy click here
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

If not sleep loss, what is it?
In a study of over 15,000 people a group of investigators set out to find associations between risk factors for EDS and its severity in a hope to help identify the underlying mechanisms. Remarkably it was found that contrary to popular thought sleep disorder breathing and sleep disruption did not carry nearly as much risk for EDS as diabetes, obesity and depression.

McEwen BS. Sleep deprivation as a neurobiologic and physiologic stressor: Allostasis and allostatic load. Metabolism. 2006 Oct;55(10 Suppl 2):S20-3.

Fortunately, I find in clinical experience that the symptoms of PMS can be considerably improved or even eliminated within 2-6 menstrual cycles through supplementation with the herb Agnus castus. This herb has a long history of use in natural medicine, and has (for what it’s worth) a fair bit of science behind it. For example, a study published in April found that, compared to placebo, Agnus castus improved 16 of 17 PMS symptoms [1].

In practice, I find this herb hugely effective. Very rarely, in my experience, does it fail to bring significant relief. Of course some (or even all) of the benefits may be down to the placebo response. But as I’ve stated before about such things, I don’t care (and neither, generally speaking, do my patients).

My mention of Agnus castus in the presentation last week prompted a lot of scribbling, which made me think there were many women in the audience who felt they could perhaps do with some. Out of curiosity, I asked women who were using or had used Agnus castus to raise their hands. There were no takers. Some may have been shy about declaring this in public. So, I asked who in the room had even heard of this herb. Again, not a peep!.

OK, so the women I was talking to were in a variety of industries and I suppose should not be expected to be aware of herbal medicines. However, there were about 40 women in the room, and they came from all over the country, so for no-one to have heard of this herb came as a bit of shock. PMS is a common problem, and for some women can be very debilitating for a few days up to a week or more before their period. Agnus castus offers a cheap, safe and usually effective solution to this issue. Generally, I believe more women should know, which is why I’m writing about it now.

Here’s a link to an article about the herb and how to use it.

References:

1. Ma L, et al. Evaluating therapeutic effect in symptoms of moderate-to-severe premenstrual syndrome with Vitex agnus castus (BNO 1095) in Chinese women. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2010;50(2):189-93.

In the early morning, before the hubbub of daily life, Chinese people of all ages begin the day by performing traditional exercises in the parks and woods where they live. The first time that you see so many people, some in their eighties and others in the early youth, all peacefully training together under the trees, is one of life’s unforgettable moments.

As you look more closely you may come across an even more remarkable sight. Amongst all these moving forms you will see some figures that rivet your attention. They are like the tress themselves, they are fully alive, but they are utterly still.

Standing like a tree, in Chinese Zhan Zhuang, is a unique Chi Kung system which is characterised by its great effectiveness and efficiency. Zhan Zhuang is pronounced “Jan Jong”, or, in southern China, “Jam Jong”.

Qigong or Chi Kung is the Mandarin Chinese term used to describe various Chinese systems of physical and mental training for health, ^[1] martial arts ^[2] and self-realisation. ^[3]

This is a physical exercise that focuses the mind while conditioning the body. It can help to dissipate stress and therefore reduce stress-related debilities, increase stamina, and strengthen the body and will.

Proper performance of the techniques places certain demands on the body: the sinking of the weight, over time, sends signals to the tissues of the legs to add muscle and bone mass.

Martial arts

The practice of qigong is an important component in Chinese martial arts. ^[3] It is considered to be a source of power as well as the foundation or the internal style of martial arts. Tai chi chuan, Xing yi and Baguazhan are representative of the type of Chinese martial art that relies on the concept of chi as its foundation. ^[4] Extra-ordinary feats of martial arts prowess such as the ability to withstand heavy strikes (Iron Shirt) and the ability to break hard objects (Iron Palm) are abilities attributed directly to qigong training.

For most people, training in Zhan Zhuang is a complete surprise in the beginning. There are no recognisable external movements, although it is a highly energetic exercise system. In contrast to many other methods, Zhan Zhuang develops our internal vitality & energy in a very efficient way, instead of consuming it as most exercise modalities do.

Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung is practiced in well-balanced standing positions which increase the flow of energy and build up internal strength. The Zhan Zhuang system is based on a unique fusion of relaxation and exertion which stimulates, cleanses and massages the whole body.

For a long time, Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung has been a well kept secret and it is only since the mid 40s of this century that it has been taught and discussed publicly. In Europe, Master Lam Kam Chuen introduced it in 1987. He is also the author of the first book on Zhan Zhuang in the West.

“Suitable for any age or level of fitness”

Zhan Zhuang is one of the most powerful forms of Chi Kung (or ‘Qi Gong’), an ancient Chinese health system that regulates and nourishes the body’s ‘Chi’ or internal energy.

At the heart of the system are a series of standing postures, sometimes referred to as “Standing Like a Tree”. This name was given to the postures by Master Lam Kam Chuen, who first brought the art to the West.

For those who find standing difficult, the postures can be adapted for sitting or even lying down… so absolutely anyone can try!

A little patience is required at first but once you begin to feel the benefits, you will find that Zhan Zhuang can be a treasure for life.

Zhan Zhuang is also the foundation training to Da Cheng Chuan, a very powerful martial art. For martial use or for health, the early training is the same. Like the caterpillar in its cocoon, slowly the body is being transformed from within. In studies Zhan Zhuang has been shown to boost the immune system as well as the blood. Its benefits are felt throughout the body.

The power of the body to heal itself is increased

Because the body’s general health and circulation are increased, the body begins to work better. Digestion is improved, aches and pains are diminished and mind and body become more resistant to stress and worry.

What is Chi in Western terms?

This is a tough one! In my opinion as a student of Chi Kung and Osteopathic Medicine (not an opinion all students or instructors share) I can say that ‘Chi’ is a difficult word to translate. It is an old Chinese word and its closest modern translation is air. Though in many systems of Chinese health care it is known as the ‘energy of the organs’ or ‘all pervasive life force’, similar to how it is described in ‘Start Wars’ movies.

So my take on the translation is something less mystical yet still respectful of the multi-factorial connection to the body. Perhaps it could be viewed nearer to a combination of the physical effects of focusing the mind intently on the body, a mix psychology linking to neurology, leading to endocrinology, effecting immunology. A common pathway and relationship discussed in the research into mind body medicine.

With reference to Chi, such things are observed as more balanced nerve conduction to the area of the body on which focus is directed, this leads to increased blood and oxygenating to the area as a result, especially if the area is previously one of tension. A harmonic balance of less tension and more relaxation is created in the body which will allow fluid and nutrients to move around the tissues.

Simply put, when an area has increased neural activity often from overuse or lack of awareness, the area often increases in tension or tone. When that tone is relaxed either by deliberate practice or by a skilled therapist the tone subsides and the area relaxes and the promotion of fluid circulation occurs, meaning more new nutrients from blood and more waste products taken away via lymph.

Since Chi Kung involves deeper breathing, and deeper breathing brings more oxygen into the body, this can generates a tremendous amount body energy and heat. This heat is often grouped as the term chi, which I believe comes about through Cell Respiration. It seems to me that breathing oxygen and the energy generated from Chi Kung corresponds to the Cell Respiration process. Here is the basic chemical formula for energy production:

Glucose + Oxygen => H2O + CO2 + Heat + Energy(ATP)

This is a very good indication that the oxygen is from Chi Kung breathing; and the energy associated with it is generated from the increase in new circulation of oxygen and the glucose rich fluid in the body’s tissues.

What Are The Benefits?

Calming of the Nerves

Relieving of Chronic Illness

Increased Stamina

Strengthened Immunity

Increased sense of Well-Being

Improved Quality of Sleep

The quality of the blood is proven to be improved

Studies by Professor Yu Yong Nian, at Teh Lu Hospital in Beijing, showed that after one hour of standing in a zhan zhuang posture, patients’ red and white blood cell counts were found to have increased significantly. Increases as high as 3.2 grams of haemoglobin (the blood’s oxygen carrying protein) per cm3 of blood were recorded.

The heart and lungs remain calm

People who practice Zhan Zhuang regularly, often notice that their breathing becomes deeper and slows down. This is true both during and after practice, meaning that the lungs are never over-exerted during training. Electrocardiograph measurements have also shown that the heartbeat usually becomes slower yet more powerful during practice.

Fitness is improved without incurring an ‘Oxygen Debt’

The movement of the diaphragm becomes more powerful, enabling more efficient breathing and also massaging the abdominal organs, thereby assisting digestive function. In one study, measurements of the volume of ventilation were recorded to increase by as much as 33 per cent.

Zhan Zhuang itself seems simple, but it’s content is rich and profound. Doing Zhan Zhuang will have a positive influence on the health of your body and mind even if combat training is not your goal. Through the training of Zhan Zhuang, the body will relax, deep tensions are released and circulation increased. This is why Zhan Zhuang is often used as a therapeutic method in Chinese Medicine. Zhan Zhuang is a natural and “simple” form of exercise and can be adjusted to each practitioner. There are Zhan Zhuang exercises in standing, sitting and lying positions. Weaker individuals can start very simply, sitting or lying and by slowly building up force they will naturally be able to stand up and maintain Zhan Zhuan postures longer and longer with great benefit.

Try a class or find an experience teacher who can show you the beauty of this internal art.

My Personal Sifu – www.sifustevenwilliams.com or find an instuctor in th UK -Lam Association

My Top books on the subject

The Way Of Energy – Lam Kam Chuen

The Way Of Power – Lam Kam Chuen

Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Exercise – Standing Pole – JPC Moffett

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.” Helen Keller

Comfort zones: Nice cozy little pockets of reality.

There is nothing wring with comfort zones per se. We all like being cozy at times and there is an ebb and flow to life. There is a time for pushing ourselves and ‘being out there’ and there is a time for rest. If we trust ourselves we start to sense when the time is right for doing and when it is right for resting.

Where the comfort zone becomes a problem is when we are stuck in it, when we don’t let ourselves move on with the natural flow of life. When we hold ourselves back and hide in our comfort zone we are effectively saying no to life.

Where are you at with your own health? Are you leading you and your family forward? Or are you stuck in a rut of poor choices and poor health.

“Our life only passes us by when we give up on our ability to change” – J Prochaska, PhD

Recognise where you are stuck

The first step to moving out of your comfort zone is realising that you are in one! They can be so comfy and ‘normal’ that we don’t know where we are. Taking the time to sit down on a regular basis and assess how we are progressing in the various areas of our life is a great way to flag this up. We can then start to see how happy we are with each area and where we are dissatisfied. Take the time to listen to your feelings. A supportive friend or coach can also be useful here. For a long time I didn’t make video articles. Once I recognised the feeling I could move past it. Now I love posting videos. It doesn’t mean my aversion has gone completely, but I now know many of my fears were unfounded and I can see for myself that there are so many benefits from posting. I get a real buzz from it!

Identify ways to move forward

When you know you are stuck in your comfort zone you have made a big step. Awareness or consciousness raising is power. Now is the time to take action. Once we realise our fear of doing something that may feel uncomfortable we can change our behaviour around it, I started writing and filming more posts and emailing sites where I wanted to be featured. Take the time to work out what actions you now need to take. Fed up with being overweight? You could join a social sports group. Want to get fit? You could commit to an exercise plan and take on a small challenge, kick it off by going for a short run. Find what is right for you and just do it!

Know your fear

Some fears are good and help us weigh up our choices in life, but a lot of our fear is unnecessary and counter productive. We scare ourselves senseless about things that haven’t even happened. Stare your fears in the face and see them for what they really are. They are often related to feeling that we are not good enough e.g.: “everyone else will be fitter than me”; “I am not attractive enough” etc. You are good enough! Watch out for your secret saboteur!

Do what scares you

When you are coming up with ideas for actions you could take and you notice that something scares you it is a good sign! Write this idea down and notice if you try to talk yourself out of it. Usually the scared feeling is accompanied with a feeling of exhilaration. You are scared but the idea thrills you at the same time. There is gold here! Commit to that action.

Make it a habit

Do something that scares you every day! The more we can make a habit of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, the easier it becomes. Talk to a stranger at the bus stop! Tell a joke at work when you normally wouldn’t! Send off that guest post! Move in a way that you don’t normally move, dance, smile or whatever!

You will build up confidence and resilience. You will start to know yourself as someone who takes risks and challenges themselves and gets the results they really want.

What exactly is “Leaky Gut?”

The small bowel and colon lining consist of enterocytes which are simple columnar epithelial cells. As one of my professors once described, these enterocytes are similar in shape to that of a “marshmallow.” They are plump and strong. yet pliable, and like to sit nice and snug right up against their twin neighbours. This allows for a strong gut infrastructure that provides integral defensive, absorptive, and digestive functions with just enough room for necessary small molecules and nutrients to get through. Unfortunately, many daily mishaps, including chronic ingestion of aggravating foods, certain medications, NSAIDs, alcohol ingestion, aging, lack of proper nutrients, radiation, candida, fungus and trauma cause these gut cell “marshmallows” to shrink, shrivel, and wither.

Rather than snuggling right up against one another, gaps between neighboring cells form as the structural integrity of our gut lining is compromised. With this less-than-perfect structure, larger food particles and other substances are able to sneak through the GI lining and into the lymph and vascular systems. Once in the blood, the body’s immune system recognizes these strangers as potentially hazardous and up-regulates the immune system in order to resolve the problem pronto! The inflammatory cascade along with all of its cellular soldiers kick into action leading to the development of chronic disease and dysfunction—research has proven correlations between leaky gut and multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune diseases such as, rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto’s, and eczema.

So, how do we fix our gut?

There a number of strategies to overcome this state of dysfunction. For starters, structural integrity has to be restored! If we only remove offending foods and clean up the diet, we’re still left with a gut that has lots of potholes—time to do some road-work. Time for a gut healing protocol! Here are a few suggestions, (by all means this is not an all-inclusive):

Glutamine is a primary fuel source for the GI cells. Unfortunately, in many cases of bowel disease and dysfunction, there is decreased availability and ability for cellular utilization. Increased levels of cortisol during times of stress can also decrease the body’s glutamine stores…so if you’re stressed about your dysfunctional gut, supplementation may be even more appropriate! In providing ample amounts, we encourage cellular feeding and can encourage more optimal function by the GI cells. Butyrate (a short chain fatty acid found in raw butter and other good fats) and Arabinogalactan are other important fuel sources, specifically for the colon. Combining these three makes for some happy enterocytes!

Demulcent botanical medicines are also beneficial as they incorporate ingredients to help rebuild the mucosal lining, which in turn helps to soothe an inflamed GI tract. They also contribute other valuable services including improving digestion and healing ulcers. Some examples include Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice), Ulmus rubra (Slippery Elm), Althea Officinalis (Marshmallow root) and Aloe (not in the form used for sun-burnt skin!). Licorice when chewed, stimulates a salivary compound called epidermal growth factor (EGF). This particular compound actually encourages the regeneration of epithelial cells. Aloe stimulates connective tissue formation and has a number of nutrients including amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants, and glycoproteins—all of which your leaky, grumpy gut will LOVE!

Essential fatty acids and antioxidants such as selenium, zinc, vitamins A, C, and E should also be included in a gut health protocol due to their ability to decrease inflammation and restore structural integrity. Naturally, with a reduction in oxidative stress, the gut will be much happier and more cooperative during the re-building process.

Proper hydration and adequate fiber enables the GI to keep things moving and prohibits stagnation of any potentially harmful substances that may stick around and cause damage. Stagnation of digested substances allows faecal matter and chemical compounds to sit around, up to no good. Let’s keep them moving along and on their way out, okay?

Potential food aggravators, addressed in a previous blog posts, need to be cleared from the pantry as well. With continual insults perpetuated by these food culprits, no matter how much we heal the gut, it will continue to suffer damage. And the idea here is to not deprive you of your favorite foods FOREVER, you just have to avoid them long enough to allow proper healing to occur. The goal is to restore integrity so that you are able to savour these delectables again in the future. Something to look forward to!

There are also a number of remarkable combo powder formulas, currently on the market, that include some of the aforementioned items and are extremely user friendly. I can’t promise they all taste delicious but if you can suffer through it, your gut will thank you!

So there you have it, an example of a gut healing protocol. Remember, we can’t fix an upset GI without healing it first. So let’s heal that leaky, grumpy gut! A healthy, happy life begins with good gastrointestinal function! Until next time, be sure to check out your own gut health by trying our GI Effects Profile which looks at the health of your digestive system, you’ll be glad you did!

Send us an email to enquire further about looking into your GI health. guy@successfulhealthcoach.com

When I present health information, I often speak about regarding the fact that in medicine, less can be more. It is certainly the case that some conventional medical approaches have downsides that outweigh any upside. Some practices are worse than useless. Modern medicine, with its learned personnel, sophisticated testing and machines that go bing, has this sheen of being brilliant, effective and all that! Scratch a bit, though, and one soon realises that a lot of what we doctors do is quite ineffective and/or downright hazardous. See here and here for more about this.

So, I was interested to read a piece in this week’s BMJ penned by its associate editor, Dr Christopher Martyn [1]. In this piece, Dr Martyn questions the commonly held notions that more medicine is generally better.

He first of all goes after testing, and the fact that doctors tend to over-order tests to ‘play it safe’. As Dr Martyn points out, “Investigations are too likely to throw up incidental findings irrelevant to the symptoms the patient is actually complaining about. At best, this is a waste of time. More often, it leads to yet more investigations, further clinic appointments, and avoidable anxiety. Although doctors know this, it doesn’t act as a deterrent. They remember the few occasions when a test paid off and forget the hundreds of times when it didn’t.”

There’s other reasons why, I think, doctors tend to over-investigate. While at medical school we are taught to do the bulk of out diagnosing on the basis of the ‘history’ (what the patient tells us or someone else tells us about the patient) and a physical examination, after which we order tests, ideally to confirm the diagnosis, in reality, doctors often don’t have the time to work this way. And some doctors, of course, don’t really like people all that much, and use tests as a substitute for good, old-fashioned human interaction.

The tendency to over-order tests and investigations is compounded, according to Dr Martyn, by the fact that here in the UK, patients are not paying out of their pockets. But of course, in a way they often are (through a variety of taxes). But as Dr Martyn quite rightly points out, this fact tends not to act as a constraint: “Doctors don’t decide not to order tests or not to prescribe treatments because they’re worried about the tax burden on people who aren’t their patients. And patients don’t turn them down because they’re concerned that they’re getting more than their fair share.”

Another factor that contributes to the overuse of medicine is the fact that what most doctors are able to offer falls short of patient expectations. Might treatment be more effective if given earlier in the course of the disease? So, now we start thinking about screening individuals and the “invention of conditions such as pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension.” (emphasis mine). Dr Martyn wonders “how many doctors involved in these enterprises have any understanding of how many people they need to screen and, of those who screen positive, how many they need to treat, to prevent one case of disease. When my own general practitioner measured my blood pressure recently, I gracelessly asked him about the number of middle age hypertensives that he would have to treat to avert one stroke or one acute myocardial infarction. He hadn’t the faintest idea.”

The thing that Dr Martyn does not common on, perhaps because it’s beyond the scope of the piece, that it is known that generally a lot of people have to be screen to save a single life. And also, screening can cause some individuals to end up having unnecessary, damaging, and sometimes life-shortening treatment. See here and here about some of these issues as they relate to screening for breast and prostate cancer.

At the end of his piece, Dr Martyn laments that “We’re now in the ludicrous position that it’s electoral suicide, even in a country on the verge of bankruptcy, for a political leader to make an argument that we’ve been spending too much for too little gain and that, if the budget for health care were cut and doctors did less, most people would be better off.”

If you want, you can read about Dr Martyn’s career path here. He started out as a neurologist, before movning out of clinical medicine and into research and medical journalism. I’m left wondering if Dr Martyn’s career progression reflects some deep realisation that much of what doctors do simply fails to have the positive impact the image of the profession suggests.

Guy’s comment

Perhaps it is time we stood up and looked for preventative measure that will cause us to spend more time asking other for answers to our health. The answers are available when we realise that we hold the simple keys to the foundations of our health, many years before we encounter the need for most doctors visits. Good food, frequent movement and stress management. All of which can be learned about when you take responsibility for your own health.

References:

1. Martyn C. Why medicine is overweight. BMJ 2010;340:c2800

Study finds using MSG can cause weight gain

The study, reported in the August edition of Obesity examined the association between MSG intake and weight gain in humans. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study involving 752 healthy Chinese people ages 40-59. These people were randomly sampled from three rural villages in north and south China. Forty-eight percent were women. The great majority of the participants prepared their foods at home, without use of commercially processed foods. For the study, participants were told to add quantified amounts of MSG when preparing their foods. Eighty-two percent of the participants were MSG users. Their average intake was 330 milligrams per day.

After adjusting for confounders including physical activity and total energy intake, the researchers found that MSG consumption was positively related to increases in body mass index. Weight gain was significantly greater in MSG users than in nonusers. For the third of participants using the highest amount of MSG, the odds of reaching overweight status were between 2.10 and 2.75 greater than for nonusers.

MSG is an excitotoxin that causes brain damage

MSG is a food additive found in almost all commercially prepared and packaged food. It supercharges the taste of food, but not in the way you would think. MSG operates on the brain, fooling it into thinking food tastes really great. MSG is an excitotoxin in the brain, meaning that it over stimulates the brain causing the production of excessive amounts of dopamine. This creates a drug-like rush that provides a brief sensation of well being. It is highly addictive, causing its consumers to keep coming back for more and end up overeating. In the process, brain cells are destroyed.

Because MSG damages the brain and alters the ability of the brain to respond to the signal from the hormone leptin that satiety has occurred, it is a prime culprit in the epidemic of obesity that has everyone scratching their heads as to cause. Several research studies have shown that ingestion of MSG induces obesity in rats. In fact, when researchers want to fatten up lab rats for experiments, they feed them MSG because its effect is so predictable and rats will bulk up with regularity. MSG destroys the hard wiring in the brain of a rat like it does in the brain of a person.

Corporations that sell processed food love MSG because it makes cheap ingredients taste great. The success of their highly addictive branded flavors depends on their ability to stimulate the brain and create a repetitive response to these products. Instead of creating a quality product that tastes good on its own merits, processed food producers just lace a low integrity food product with MSG without regard for the negative effects it will have on the person who eats this product.

One of corporate America’s best friends, the FDA, has said for many years that consumption of MSG is safe, and has condoned its use as an additive flavor enhancer in countless processed and branded food products. As obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society, the FDA has purposefully ignored the steady stream of research showing its obesity producing effects. WHY is the US government OK with MSG in our food, especially when obesity and diabetes appear to be a problems they would like to address? Good question.

MSG also promotes liver inflammation and dysplasia

Chronic inflammation is a common theme in a variety of disease pathways, including autoimmune diseases. It is a concern due to its increasing prevalence in the westernized world and its direct correlation with lifestyle factors, particularly the diet. Diet caused liver damage may lead to liver cancer. In a study reported in the February-March, 2008 edition of the Journal of Autoimmunity, researchers reported that injecting MSG in mice leads to significant liver inflammation along with obesity and type 2 diabetes. To address the long-term consequences of MSG on inflammation, they performed serial analysis of MSG injected mice and focused in particular on liver pathology.

They found that by the age of 6 and 12 months, all MSG treated mice developed liver inflammation and structural change. Lesions were detected in some cases. They concluded that their results take on considerable significance in light of the widespread usage of dietary MSG and suggested that MSG should have its safety profile re-examined and potentially be withdrawn from the food chain.

The FDA condones food producers hiding MSG in their products

When people become aware of the dangers to their health and well being from the use of MSG, they no longer want to buy products that contain it. The producers of processed foods know that people don’t want to consume MSG but are unwilling to remove it from their products because without it, people wouldn’t want to buy them unless the quality was greatly improved, a task which would raise the cost of production. So they have gone to extremes to hide MSG in their products and this has been allowed by the FDA.

The term MSG is seldom seen listed on a food label, but MSG is most likely contained in the food, in a disguised form. Here are some of its many disguises: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured whey protein, and textured soy protein. Even the innocuous terms spice and natural flavor can designate the presence of MSG.

The use of MSG is another example of how corporate America has turned its back on the very consumers who buy their products, all in the name of greed. By continuing to pump their products full of MSG after knowing their customers do not want to consume it, food corporations are showing the ultimate in contempt for the food buying public, a contempt which should produce outrage rather than brand loyalty.

MSG is the world’s most widely used flavour enhancer

It’s very difficult to find any canned or packaged food item that does not contain MSG in one of its hidden forms. It’s in canned and boxed soups, dried soup mixes, frozen prepared meals, canned prepared meals, fast food, junk food, snack food, Chinese food, gravy, stew, chili, canned beans, salad dressing, seasoning blends and mixes, bullion, broths, and prepared pasta products. Most restaurant food contains loads of MSG. It’s what makes the restaurant experience so compelling. Hot food bars at grocery stores have foods containing MSG. Even high priced prepared foods that market themselves as gourmet are laced with MSG, such as the soup mixes and other non-dessert products at Harry and David’s

You won’t escape MSG shopping at Whole Foods or other stores that claim to sell healthy food. Many of the bagged, bottled, frozen and canned foods at Whole Foods contain MSG hidden under another name. Some of the deli dishes as well as those on the hot bar and the take-out rack contain hidden MSG.

Most processed food for children also contains high levels of MSG, such as spaghetti O’s and other prepared pasta or pasta mixes, alphabet soup and chicken noodle soup, microwavable cups, packaged dinners marketed to kids, and much more. A meal of MSG containing food can raise the blood level of excitotoxin to a value proven in primates to destroy brain cells. A child’s brain is four times mores sensitive to damage by excitotoxins than is the brain of an adult.

Chronic MSG ingestion by children may be one reason behind the nation’s falling test scores, as well as attention and hyperactivity problems exhibited by children at home and at school.

The best way avoid MSG is by buying whole foods and preparing them at home. The next best thing is to become an expert at label reading and knowing the various disguises under which MSG travels. There are a few packaged prepared items at traditional grocery stores that do not contain MSG. At health food stores there are many more.

When you have managed to avoid MSG for a period of time and adjusted to the delicious taste of food as it was meant to be experienced, you will be shocked when you go out to a restaurant and taste food loaded with MSG again. You will know instantly because the flavor is so intense it is almost eye popping, and you suddenly want to just keep eating and eating.

Study found Red Clover able to block brain damage from MSG

Sometimes you just can’t get around having to eat food that contains MSG. Eating at a restaurant with friends, an invitation to the boss’ house for dinner, the need to stop for fast food while on a trip and many other situations can crop up where exposure to MSG is inevitable. A recent study found that pre-treating yourself with a supplement of red clover before you dine can nullify the potential for brain damage from MSG.

Phytomedicine, June 5, 2008 edition, reports researchers finding that the natural mixture of phytoestrogenic isoflavones found in red clover can protect the brain from MSG toxicity. They used a human cortical cell line to test the efficacy of a red clover fraction. When the cells were pretreated with red clover isoflavones there was a significant increase in cell survival and a significant decreased in the release of an enzyme indicating cell damage. The pretreatment also prevented the morphological disruption caused by MSG.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

The following foods contain MSG in amounts large enough to cause reactions in those sensitive to it.:

• Taco Bell® – seasoned meat – contains autolyzed yeast – which contains free glutamate
• Other menu items that contain soy sauce, natural flavors, autolyzed yeast or hydrolyzed protein which can contain up to 20% free glutamic acid – the active part of MSG.
• Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles® (targeted towards children)
• Doritos®
• Campbell’s® soups – all of them – based on their commitment to add “umami” (read – MSG) to their products
• Pringles® (the flavored varieties)
• Boar’s Head® cold cuts and most of their hotdogs
• Progresso® Soups – all of them
• Lipton® Noodles and Sauce
• Lipton® Instant soup mix
• Unilever or Knorr® products – often used in homemade Veggie dips.
• Kraft® products nearly all contain some free glutamate
• Gravy Master®
• Cup-a-soup® or Cup-o-Noodles®
• Planters® salted nuts – most of them
• Accent® -this is nearly pure MSG
• Braggs® Liquid Aminos – sold at Whole Foods
• Hodgson Mill Kentucky Kernel Seasoned Flour®
• Tangle extract (seaweed extract) – found in sushi rolls (even at Whole Foods) Seaweed is what MSG was first isolated from.
• Fish extract – made from decomposed fish protein – used now in Japanese sushi dishes – very high in free glutamate.
• sausages – most supermarkets add MSG to theirs
• processed cheese spread
• Marmite®
• supermarket poultry or turkeys that are injected or “self-basting”
• restaurant gravy from food service cans
• flavored ramen noodles
• boullion – any kind
• instant soup mixes
• many salad dressings
• most salty, powdered dry food mixes – read labels
• flavored potato chips
• restaurant soups made from food service soup base or with added MSG
• monopotassium glutamate
• glutamic acid
• gelatin
• hydrolyzed vegetable protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
• hydrolyzed plant protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
• autolyzed yeast (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, read labels)
• sodium caseinate
• textured protein
• beet juice – it is used as a coloring, but MSG is manufactured from beets and the extract may contain free glutamic acid – Yo Baby – organic baby yogurt has just changed the formula to include beet extract
• yeast extract
• yeast food or nutrient
• soy protein isolate
• soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Kombu extract
• dry milk and whey powder
• “natural flavors” – may contain up to 20% MSG
• carageenan
• dough conditioners
• malted barley
• malted barley flour – found in many supermarket breads and all-purpose flours including: King Arthur, Heckers, and Gold Medal flour
• body builder drink powders containing protein
• Parmesan cheese – naturally high in free glutamate
• over-ripe tomatoes – naturally high in free glutamate
• mushrooms – naturally high in free glutamate
• Medications in gelcaps – contain free glutamic acid in the gelatin
• Cosmetics and shampoos – some now contain glutamic acid
• Fresh produce sprayed with Auxigro in the field. (Yes the EPA approved this. It appalled us too.)

What really matters to you in life,….. decide and go for it!

Everyone has failed at some point, keep going until you succeed.

Learn more from Tim Ferris : The 4-hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self Reliance”

As you simplify your life and look forward to spending your new wealth of time, you’re likely to get a curious reaction from your friends and family. On one level, they will express enthusiasm for your impending adventures. But on another level, they might take your growing freedom as a subtle criticism of their own way of life. Because your fresh worldview might appear to call their own values into question (or, at least, force them to consider those values in a new light), they will tend to write you off as irresponsible and self-indulgent. Let them. As I’ve said before, vagabonding is not an ideology, a balm for societal ills, nor a token of social status. Vagabonding is, was, and always will be a private undertaking – and its goal is not to improve your life in relation to your neighbors, but in relation to yourself. Thus, if your neighbors consider your travels foolish, don’t waste your time trying to convince them otherwise. Instead, the only sensible reply is to quietly enrich your life with the myriad opportunities that vagabonding provides.

Interestingly, some of the harshest responses I’ve received in reaction to my vagabonding life have come while traveling. Once, at Armageddon (the site in Israel; not the battle at the end of the world), I met an American aeronautical engineer who was so tickled he had negotiated 5 days of free time into a Tel Aviv consulting trip that he spoke of little else as we walked through the ruined city. When I eventually mentioned that I’d been traveling around Asia for the past 18 months, he looked at me like I’d slapped him. “You must be filthy rich,” he said acidly. “Or maybe,” he added, giving me the once-over, “your mommy and daddy are.”

I tried to explain how two years of teaching English in Korea had funded my freedom, but the engineer would have none of it. Somehow, he couldn’t accept that two years of any kind of honest work could have funded 18 months (and counting) of travel. He didn’t even bother sticking around for the real kicker: In those 18 months of travel, my day-to-day costs were significantly cheaper than day-to-day life would have cost me back in the United States.

The secret to my extraordinary thrift was neither secret nor extraordinary: I had tapped into that vast well of free time simply by forgoing a few comforts as I traveled. Instead of luxury hotels, I slept in clean, basic hostels and guesthouses. Instead of flying from place to place, I took local buses, trains, and share-taxis. Instead of dining at fancy restaurants, I ate food from street-vendors and local cafeterias. Occasionally, I traveled on foot, slept out under the stars, and dined for free at the stubborn insistence of local hosts.

In what ultimately amounted to over two years of travel in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, my lodging averaged out to just under $5 a night, my meals cost well under $1 a plate, and my total expenses rarely exceeded $1000 a month.

“When I was very young a big financier once asked me what I would like to do, and I said, ‘To travel.’ ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘it is very expensive; one must have a lot of money to do that.’ He was wrong. For there are two kinds of travelers; the Comfortable Voyager, round whom a cloud of voracious expenses hums all the time, and the man who shifts for himself and enjoys the little discomforts as a change from life’s routine.”
– Ralph Bagnold, Libyan Sands

Granted, I have simple tastes – and I didn’t linger long in expensive places – but there was nothing exceptional in the way I traveled. In fact, entire multi-national backpacker circuits (not to mention budget guidebook publishing empires) have been created by the simple abundance of such travel bargains in the developing world. For what it costs to fill your gas-tank back home, for example you can take a train from one end of China to the other. For the cost of a home-delivered pepperoni pizza, you can eat great meals for a week in Brazil. And, for a month’s rent in any major American city, you can spend a year in a beach hut in Indonesia. Moreover, even the industrialized parts of the world host enough hostel networks, bulk transportation discounts, and camping opportunities make long-term travel affordable.

Ultimately, you may well discover that vagabonding on the cheap becomes your favorite way to travel, even if given more expensive options. Indeed, not only does simplicity save you money and buy you time, it makes you more adventuresome, forces you into sincere contact with locals, and allows you the independence to follow your passions and curiosities down exciting new roads.

In this way, simplicity – both at home and on the road – affords you the time to seek renewed meaning in an oft-neglected commodity that can’t be bought at any price: life itself.

# # #
Resources for lifestyle simplicity

Tim Ferris : The 4-hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

[Note from Tim: I took Walden with me, along with Vagabonding, when I traveled the world beginning in 2004. Less is More came a few months later, and I still reread it every six months or so.]

Walden: Or, Life in the Woods (Dover Thrift)
, by Henry David Thoreau
The philosophical account of Thoreau’s experiment in anti-materialist living. An American literary classic for over 150 years.

Less is More: The Art of Voluntary Poverty: an Anthology of Ancient and Modern Voices Raised in Praise of Simplicity

Quotes and essays on the value of simplicity, from the likes of Socrates, Shakespeare, St. Francis, Benjamin Franklin, and Mohandas Gandhi — as well as the Bible, the Dhammapada, the Tao Te Ching, and the Bhagavad Gita.

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Revised and Updated for the

A best-selling book that uses a nine-step process to demonstrate how most people are making a “dying” instead of a living. Practical pointers for achieving financial independence by altering your lifestyle.

Voluntary Simplicity Second: Revised Edition: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich

First published in 1981, this is a popular reference and inspiration for those looking to live a simpler life. Strongly themed toward environmental sustainability.

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living

Luhrs is the founder and publisher of The Simple Living Journal (and the companion website). Book contains tips for living fully and well through simplicity.