BABY STEP #2.

STOP DOING THE "BAD" STUFF

SIMPLE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY EASY!

MAKE BETTER CHOICES in each of the five (5) areas to reduce stress on your mind and body. STOP DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE CAUSING YOU HARM AND SETTING YOU UP FOR LONG-TERM DISASTER! Make better choices to reduce the nutritional stressors, better choices to reduce the physical stressors, and better choices to reduce the mental stressors.

AREA #1: REDUCE INGESTIONAL STRESS. Watch what goes in your mouth!

The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP

**that you must take to help you live a**

pain-free, disease-free, long life is to

reduce or eliminate

ALL ADDED Sugar consumption!

Added sugar is EVERYWHERE! It's in almost all manufactured foods. Your body was not made to process refined sugars and it reacts to them in very predictable and undesirable ways. In trying to process the sugar, your body's protective systems generate constant elevated chronic inflammation, throughout your entire body, in an effort to protect you! Continual ingestion, over a period of time, produces some pretty horrible results.

Start with complete elimination of specific high sugar items that you regularly eat or drink. Sodas and "juice' drinks are long term lethal! And don't replace them artificial sweeteners!

The International Diabetes Foundation said, “Changing lifestyles, rapid urbanization and cheap calories in the form of processed foods are putting more and more people at risk of developing type-2 diabetes. In Fiji, surgeons carry out a diabetes related amputation every 12 hours, on average. There are 382 million people worldwide with diabetes”.

Each week, eliminate one or two more of these problem items. Work toward as complete elimination as possible, of those high sugar items, you regularly use, as your ultimate goal. Forget about sugar making you fat and giving you diabetes… it is probably the single most powerful contributor to chronic inflammation that there is. We are talking about regular old cane sugar…even organic sugar. And High Fructose Corn Syrup is significantly worse. The average American ingests almost a half-pound of ADDED sugar EVERY DAY! Because your body was not programmed to handle this man-made product, it considers the sugar as a toxin and goes into an inflammatory mode in an attempt to process, what it considers, as the poison and to protect you. This occurring every day, multiple times each day, day-in-day-out, causes the deadly chronic inflammation we are trying to avoid.

The WORST OFFENDER IS COLA SUGAR-WATER DRINKS. They contain a huge amount of the worst kind of sugar, are caffeinated, are high in caffeine, and contain artificial coloring ( a known toxic carcinogen). In a "more perfect world", "soda" drinks would come with a skull and cross bones warning on the labels. (Remember that image the next time you reach for a soda!!!)

NIX THE "JUICE" DRINKS!. They are are nothing but sugar-water. Don't believe the "sales" propaganda. Their nutrient value is essentially zero (except sugar) and they are extremely inflammatory and are lethal in the long run. This includes processed orange, apple, grape and all the rest. (There is more sugar in a 7 oz drink of major brand orange juice than in a double scoop of Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream. And the protein in the ice cream makes the ice cream easier on your body).

AVOID ALL MANUFACTURED FOOD AND DRINK AS MUCH AS PRACTICAL. This is difficult to do, but the long-term health rewards are tremendous! It costs so little to put special ingredients in food that make it taste better, look better and give it a more appealing texture, that manufacturers and restaurants cannot resist the temptation. These ingredients are what "sells" the product, the reason we buy more or come back again. If it is made in a factory, bakery, shop, or restaurant, it probably includes these ingredients that are mildly toxic (but highly inflammatory) to your body. Your body is not programmed to recognize these chemical ingredients, so it sees them as a perceived threat(s) and ups your inflammation level. If it comes in a box, is wrapped in cellophane,or is canned or bottled, your body DOES NOT RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE CHEMICALS IN IT so it thinks they are poison (which in most cases they are).

You will have better luck, making this a permanent change, by allowing yourself some sweet treats on special occasions. You need to be pretty strict with yourself, at first, until your body has adjusted and you have firmly broken the "frequent or regular" sweet problem...

Switch to Stevia for sweetness, wherever you can.

It's an antioxidant, tastes great and is actually good for you with no negative side effects. (Agave Nectar is a good second choice, paticularly for hot items.)

Manufacturers and restaurants add MSG (alias "natural flavorings"), High Fructose Corn syrup, trans-fatty acids, preservatives and other toxic chemicals to everything because they are dirt-cheap and they make their products, look, feel and taste better!We know that these additives are disastrous to your long term health and wellness.

Stop eating wheat!!! William Davis, M.D., author of the Wheat Belly books said on CBS News that modern wheat is a "perfect chronic poison". Your government hasn't told you but the wheat you get in everything you eat has been genetically modified since the 70's. Your body doesn't know how to process it. Eating "organic" or "whole-grain" doesn't help!

Stop eating salads and foods made with Omega 6 oils (found in corn, safflower, sunflower, soy and vegetable oils & and products made with those oils) and trans fats (hydrogenated oils). They cause significant inflammation.

Stop cooking meats, fish and fowl at high temperatures. When cooked at high temperatures, the food is not only inflammatory, but also produces carcinogens that promote cancer in your body.

Don't eat "blackened" food for the same reasons.

Stop drinking acidic, chlorinated, fluoridated water. Most municipal water supplies are all three.

Stop using commercial tooth pastes. Almost all contain toxic or inflammatory ingredients. Many still contain fluoride which is very toxic, inflammatory, and now banned in most countries.

Be aware of the negative effects of pharmaceutical drugs even when correctly prescribed and properly used. Most pharmaceuticals generate inflammation because they are foreign and unrecognized by the body. The Harvard University, Center for Ethics web site (6/2014) says that properly prescribed correctly taken pharmaceuticals "cause about 1.9 million hospitalizations a year" with a "total of 2.74 million serious adverse drug reactions. About 128,000 people die in the U. S.and Europe from prescription drugs each year"

AREA #2: REDUCE ENVIORNMENTAL STRESS

"CLEAN UP" YOUR IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT.

Stop using pesticides in your home and office. Pesticides have been shown to cause toxic reactions in the brain and incurable neurological diseases.

STOP using deodorants, soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, perfumes and colognes containing carcinogens or chemicals that are toxic to your body and or brain or both. Almost all highly advertised one are a source of toxicity and inflammation.Throw out what you have probably been using and look for "natural" non-toxic stuff to do the same job. You won't miss the perfumes and colognes and your brain will thank you for trash-canning them (and the most expensive ones are the absolute worst...because the scent which carries the toxin stays with you longer.) Look for the "bad" guys, lauryl sulfate (in soaps, shampoos, even tooth paste) and aluminum (in most deodorants).

Switch to all electric appliances indoors. Gas stoves, home space heaters, water heaters and clothes dryers all put off large amounts of fumes that are inflammatory to your body. This is particularly troublesome in homes that are closed with little fresh air circulating throughout.

Move all electrical and electronic devices to at least 4 feet away from where you sleep at night (particularly away from your head) to reduce the electromagnetic and radio frequency radiation you receive. Particularly beware of electrical power companies "Smart Meters' and all wireless (Wi-Fi) devices. Turn Cell phone off if they stay by your bed. Move CD players far away since they are a particularly bad source of radiation, even when turned off. Consider electrical Earthing/Grounding techniques to protect you from undesirable electrical, electronic and radio frequency (like from Wi-Fi and "Smart" devices).

Check your home and workplace for mold, mildew and allergens. Get rid of it! Call a professional to check it out. Central air and heating systems are frequently major problems and centers for spreading mold, bacteria, and other allergens throughout the home and workplace. Consider installing unit on your central system to kill and remove the allergens before they are spread throughout your home and/or workplace.

Don't walk (or worse) or run near traffic where you will be breathing exhaust fumes. Exercising in "bad" air has been proven to be significantly worse than not exercising at all. When exercising, the body is more receptive to the pollutants and toxins in the air than it normally is. Avoid exposure to smog.

AREA #3: REDUCE MENTAL STRESS

TRY TO REDUCE THE INTERRUPTIONS YOU HAVE DURING YOUR DAY, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Ask people to text message you whenever possible, instead of calling. Send all your return messages in one batch at the same time.

MULTI-TASKING DOESN'T WORK! It significantly reduces your efficiency, creativeness and problem solving ability while activating your sympathetic nervous system. Don't do it.It doesn't work! Stay with each task until you have completed it, then move to the next. Try to batch similar items or tasks.

TURN "OFF" THE CONSTANT "RACKET'. Try to have calming soothing music as a background. It been proven that you are more creative and better at solving problems when you work with classical music in the background. It helps you stay in the para-sympathetic mode. You are most productive and healthiest when you have the least distractions in the background.

FORGET ABOUT THE PAST!!! Quit grieving. Forgive everybody and everything. Rethinking old memories only seriously hurts you.

#4: REDUCE PHYSICAL STRESS

Do what you need to do to assure that you get enough quality sleep and rest. Pay attention that you do not over exert your self. Don't allow changes in your sleep pattern and hours.

AREA #5: REDUCE AGEING STRESS

There are many things that you can do to reduce the natural stresses of aging. Poor quality sleep and overexertion are major stresses leading to inflammation and pain and disease. Stop spending so much time sitting and slouching. Don't allow your posture to begin to fail. Don't allow changes in your sleep pattern and hours.

JUST BE THANKFUL that you ARE aging! A tremendous number of people no longer are. See the information on nutrition specifically for seniors. Pay attention to your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep and overexertion are major stresses leading to inflammation and pain and disease.