60 Day Turnaround

Cleansing Increases your Lifespan

Third Day.

To Christians, it will often bring up thoughts of Easter, the third day, the day of world change. To Suero Viv Cleansers (a bunch in my midst right now), it brings up the thought of almost being done with this fast. I have been skimping on how much of this cultured whey drink I have been having each day, so I have been surviving on 400 Calories a day for the last two days. A big change for a guy who eats 3,000 calories a day.

I weighed in around 207 lbs at the start of this, and hit 203 yesterday. My scale is currently sitting at CrossFit Silos, so I won’t know again until morning of fourth day. Why we do this is simply to heal digestion. There is practically nothing to digest in this cleanse. The cleanse is loaded with probiotics, and is also a fuel for the sodium potassium pump, driving fluid into the cells and pulling wastes out. It is a great product.
http://healthsprout.youngevityonline.com/ (Beyond Organic, look for suero silver cleanse)

The greatest thing about eating no food for three days, is that it is liberating. Many people try and cave. Some try and like myself, drink even less than the 6 daily prescribed drinks. And some, extend the cleanse a long time. I have had one patient choose to go 21 days, and I have had a significant number pick 7 days. It is a freeing feeling. No digestion, the GI tract just settles down and quiets itself. This is a good place.

A couple things about the three day victory. It is your commitment that makes it possible. It is fighting through day 1 and the morning and possibly evening of day 2. I constantly remind people of a line I heard Dr. Ben Lerner speak, years ago, My Commitments are Greater then My Feelings in THIS MOMENT. This little line is so powerful, it can assist you in pausing, and making a strong step in the right direction, with so many things.

Lastly, the question of health. Is it healthy to hold back all food? Well, rooted in Biblical truth, of course. Fasting is a very positive way to cleanse and help healing. But, on an ongoing basis, calorie restriction is also a very valuable step to take.

NY Times – http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/science/a-new-salvo-in-debate-over-caloric-restrictions-and-longevity.html?_r=0

The article is referring to two studies done where monkeys were given a low calorie diet, and the effort was to assert whether longevity increased or did not because of it. The results suggest that the answer is YES, a diet in reduced calories WILL indeed increase longevity. Studies in mice also support this hypothesis. The crazy thing is that in mice, an increase of up to 40% has been seen.

The thing I want to point out, is that in most longevity studies, the major restriction has been carbohydrate, and I truly believe that simply by restricting carbohydrate, you will live longer. Also, the restriction is designed to be around 30% of normal caloric load, which would suggest that you should eat around 1,300 calories if you currently eat 2,000, or perhaps 1,000 if you are closer to 1,500.

I referenced 3,000 calories a day earlier. I eat that amount approximately three days a week. And on four other days, I am closer to 1,200. My heavy days of consumption are primarily do to increases in nut fats, healthy raw dairy from grass fed cows, and from clean protein. We will still push in to learn the real truth, but for now, I think cleansing multiple times a year, reducing the overall carbohydrate content in your diet, and getting 13 servings of vegetables (very low calorie content, and loaded with nutrients) will assist you in your longevity and health.

The Wisconsin study reported a reduction in heart disease, cancer and diabetes as well. Huh, fancy that.

Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E

Viva La Suero Viv!

Suero Week is here! Three days with no food, totally awesome! Why? Because it is finally time to rest your digestive tract. Yes, your GI system could use a rest once and awhile. Following Biblical guidance has always been a desire of mine, so the idea of fasting is solid. But, once you add a little knowledge and understanding to this, you really get the value of it.

So, first value, as stated above, is to REST your digestive tract or gastrointestinal tract, has been under stress (the stress of work) multiplied by the stress of un-Godly food, nearly every single day of your life. For most of you, you have never intentionally rested it, which is why, I don’t care who you are, and how hard it is to do this, you need to do a suero cleanse. And like myself, you likely need to do it twice a year.

The Suero Viv is simply cultured Whey, not Whey… but the cultures from whey. It is an ancient beverage, that has been in use in Greek society since before Christ’s time. Loaded with probiotics that are living and growing, with a perfect balance of sodium and potassium to drive the sodium/potassium pump. This is the stuff that legends are made from!

OK, perhaps an over statement. But it is what you need to push nutrients in, and pull waste out. Which is why I recommend you do this to reduce inflammation, while still taking juice plus. BUT NO OTHER FOOD. No eating. You are going to HEAL your digestive tract, or at least begin the process. This is paramount to strengthening the gut to new levels.

The 60 Day Turnarounders begin the cleanse today, Monday the 19th. If you order by tonight, then you will receive yours this Friday, and can jump in next Monday the 26th, just in time for NO SWEETS WEEK. Make a statement in your life. Make a statement in your family, do the cleanse, become healthier, and push the inflammatory weight OUT of your body. I want this practice to be he healthiest practice in all of Atlanta. I need you to help us do that. We are going to change the Woodstock world over the next twelve months, and you WANT to be a part of this. God bless you for every effort and attempt you make at health. I ask Him to bless us all for our decisions, as we put Him front and center. As we lean on Him for healing, and we lean on Him for the hope that we need to combat cancer, heart disease, diabetes and so much more.

I am fired up for the potential we all have in our bodies. I have been blessed to walk alongside numerous miracles, and I pray for God to bless me with more.

Be well, Be blessed, and Be STRONG! – Dr. E

Suero Viv can be ordered her – Suero Viv on Youngevity

(we recommend you click sign up, then shop and browse for Beyond Organic products, Silver or Gold Suero Viv Cleanse)

Changing palate on the Straight 60

Written by Dr. Mark

One of the cool things that happens when you’re on this path is that you will start to appreciate foods you typically don’t. At least this happens for me each time. I’ve never really enjoyed salads all that much, but find myself craving them at times when on this diet. Especially after a hard workout, I love viewing my food as a replenisher, when my body feels beaten down, and nothing gives me that satisfaction like some fresh lettuce, kale, and spinach.

Last night was a great example of this new appreciation for foods. Before we started this Amanda and I had put together a bunch of frozen crock pot meals. Yesterday we knew it would be hard to cook diner, so we resorted to one of these, which overall is not 60 Day approved. It was beef with carrots. We figure, we’ll eat around the carrots the best we can. However, that first bite of beef… the initial response we both had was, “did we add sugar to this?” It was incredibly sweet, and it was just the beef. Well obviously the carrots contributed to this. Which, this surprised me, because, well I’ve known carrots are sweet, but never really thought of them as that sweet. The point is that, when we’re eating a traditional, cultural diet, we, at least I, wouldn’t consider a carrot sweet. The same holds true for other vegetables and fruits as well, when compared to all the other ways we ingest sugar, they loose that. So when we eliminate those overly sweet foods it allows us to appreciate the candy that grows from the ground. I always find it funny when doing this diet, the things I start to really miss are things I typically wouldn’t eat that often when not doing it, like oranges and grapefruit. I think that is just part of my palate changing.

The other nice side effect I touched on up there also really helps me stay focused on what I’m doing. That’s viewing food as fuel to replenish, to build me up. Yes, it should be enjoyable but for me having that thought process can make that overly bitter smoothie “taste” great. One of the previous participants put it very well in her testimonial at the end, saying she learned that “food can either heal you or harm you.” Its good to just think about it before you take that first bite, is this healing or harming me?

Thanks for reading – Eat well.

-Dr. Mark

Straight 60 food is Awesome!

Written by Dr. Mark

This is one of our favorite meals on the Straight 60. Taco salad! Its pretty simple, take all your favorite taco ingredients and put them over a big bed of lettuce. Just be careful to make sure the salsa you use doesn’t have sugar added, and use it sparingly. For me this will take the place of my apple or berries for the day but its worth it.

We’ve been back at this for a little over a week now, and we’ve already brought back a few recipes that Amanda (my wife) and I had really loved on this diet that we hadn’t done since last being on this. Another dish we’ve grown to love is philly cheese steak stuffed peppers. Its very simple, take a green pepper, cut in half and clean out the seeds. Cook up some steak,cut into small chunks. Put a little cheese in the pepper, then the steak, then a little more cheese on the top. There’s not a lot of room in there, so go light with the cheese because the steak is the real winner of this dish. Then bake it until it looks good, cheese will be melted and pepper slightly cooked (I like it a bit crunchy still). Its delicious.

So this is just 2 of the amazing dishes we discovered while doing this diet. This is one of the great benefits besides the health aspect, it forced us to try new things and experiment. It was necessary for us, to not get bored, because salad every day can get boring quickly.

So if Straight 60 food is so awesome, how and why do people fall off, or revert back when its all over. It happened to me. I think it started with small compromises, which lead to bigger ones. But I think the ultimate reason these meals seemed to leave completely was simply convenience. Its somewhat unfortunate, but pretty much all of our meals that we loved so much on the Straight 60 required planning and work. Everything has to be made. For us, like I’ve said before, planning ahead is really necessary to make it work. So we’ve gotten back to planning out meals for the week. It really helps, and relieves daily stress of having to figure it out on the fly. It also gives me something to look forward to, so if I know Friday we’re having pizza (which we are this week 🙂 we’re going to try “meatza.” I’ll let everyone know how it turns out) I’m OK with eating just a salad Thursday night when I get home late. And then I’ll be OK fasting til lunch and only having a smoothie with Kale, Spinach, and coconut milk.

A few other dishes I can’t wait to have again, buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, vegetable lasagna, spaghetti squash, burgers over a salad, mashed “potatoes” (really cauliflower with a ton of Kerry Gold butter), not to mention desserts like chocolate almond butter cookies, homemade ice cream, and cheesecake. Hungry yet?

The point, the food on the Straight 60 is awesome. I know it can get boring quickly, or you have no idea what to make. I hope this will encourage you that there are a lot of options out there. You can even take recipes you love that aren’t approved and see how you can alter them to make them fit. Amanda found a lot of great ideas from just searching the web, pinterest specifically. Its a great place to start looking.

Eat well! -Dr. Mark

Are people dying from sugar abuse?

Addiction.

A powerful word, with powerful consequence, powerful correction, powerful potential. Just about everyone has addictive tendencies, and most are addicted. Sugar. Whether it be sweets or blood sugar, we are an addicted group of people.

So often when I confront people with this addiction, the tendency is to respond…

“I don’t really like sweets”

Do you like bread, cereal, sandwiches, crackers, pretzels, biscuits, bagels, pasta or pancakes? If not, how about potatoes or perhaps you like eating bananas on a regular basis? It is rare to find someone not getting their sugar fix somehow… unless they have already gone down this road in an educated manner.

Most people really don’t know how addicted they are until they step into the 60 Day Turnaround and begin the effort to change. The first two weeks are often hell for people. Some give up. Most make it through and are simply amazed by what they find. Two weeks. That is the time frame that it takes incredible commitment, then it gets better, and if you make it through two weeks, I might tell you that you need to do it for two years. 60 Days is good for many, but so many need to stay on it for life.

But back to the word. Just saying it sounds ugly. Addiction. None of us like the word, hate the idea that it could apply to us somehow, wish we were free of it completely, and want nothing to do with admitting it. But in the world of sugar, we have let ourselves slide down this slope, not realizing how bad it really is.

Read this post online and there is a video linked so you can learn more about what sugar addiction does, because that becomes the real question. I have had patients in the last few months who have been diagnosed with cancers, where in every case I have to believe that the result of sugar addiction has played a role. Whether it be inflammation, or the result of increased irritation to tissues following that inflammation, it stems from the same thing.

Our efforts are important, there is still time to jump into the 60 Day Turnaround and do it with the group, but it needs to be now. The reality is that we have had people follow the program from all over the country, so you don’t need to be with our group. Just jump in.

Our team offers more specific help for $79 a month. Not a bad deal, or I do direct consulting with people as well. But, none of it matters if you aren’t willing to entertain that you need to fight this addiction, and that you can win. You want to test to see if you are serious?

Go here and get the rules, follow them for a couple days and see. Straight 60 Rules.

Be well and be blessed… and be free! – Dr. E

The Straight 60 – Again

Written by Dr. Mark

I’m excited to be doing this again. I need to do this again, everyone should do this at some point. I’m doing it again for a few reasons. First of all because I think its wise for anyone, no matter what their current health situation is, to challenge themselves on a regular basis. The Straight 60 is a great way to do that. Test your will power, your ability to commit to something and see it through. Accomplishing this alone, not even considering the health benefits, is a great thing for anyone, and it will improve self esteem and give you confidence to tackle new obstacles. Sounds great right.

Also, I believe anyone should do this once or twice a year to really test yourself, with really how you are doing with your overall diet. For example, if I start this up, and on day 1 or 2 I’m feeling awful, having headaches, with no energy, its a good bet i’m going through sugar withdrawal and that tells me I wasn’t doing my diet right leading into this.

Lastly, I need to do this for my person goals. I never got to that sub 200lbs. point. I was close, and got careless, the 60 days were up, and I didn’t commit to following the graduation plan (yes there’s a plan for coming off of this to maintain your success, and really driving this into real lifestyle change). So, i slowly slipped back into old habits and the weight slowly came back. Never to where I was, but higher than I like. I have stayed committed to exercising regularly which I know has kept me from completely reverting. Thank you Crossfit Bridgemill and the great coaching! But, this also shows me that exercise alone can’t get me there, I have to get it all in line, the diet, exercise, mind, and nervous system! I’m looking forward to the weeks to come and seeing and feeling my changes along with yours. If you missed last night, I’d still encourage you to join us in this mission! You don’t want to miss this opportunity!

Thanks for reading. – Dr. Mark

Stick Figured Sugared Up Kids… Uh oh…

Do you know families who have children who are stick figured looking kids? I would assume so, children often have such high metabolism that they appear to be skin and bones. The funny thing about this, is that it really seems to come to portions than anything else when you look at kids body shapes.

First off, 99% of children walking around under the age of 14, have a ridiculous metabolism. Even the kid apparently carrying around an extra 30 lbs. So why, oh why…

Should we care what a kid eats? Its all about fat anyways, right?
Do some kids actually gain weight?
Is sugar addiction a bad thing… and I don’t let them have sweets anyways.

Ugh.

First off, lets hit the last one because I hate the lack of understanding that exists in our culture on what sugar addiction really is. So, every single gram of NON fiber carbohydrate will turn into sugar in the body. So if you eat a carbohydrate, no matter where it comes from, you are turning that into blood sugar. Most likely place in kids is the grain… check this out:

NO SUGAR plain Jane bowl of cereal…. 38 grams of carbs, 4 fiber = 34 grams of blood sugar
snack bag of pretzels, or fake cheese flavored crackers…. 18 grams of carbs, 1 fiber = 17 grams of blood sugar
Lunch with a sandwich on two slices of bread – 40 grams of carbs, 6 fiber = 34 grams of blood sugar
Snack, dinner with pasta, or rice, or who knows what… sugar, sugar, sugar!

I have shared this Ted Talk before, played it in my office, during my 60 Day Turnaround, and generally made a big freaking deal about it. So here you go… and please… watch it, you will be enlightened with knowledge – https://youtu.be/lEXBxijQREo

As I pause and think about the health of our kids, there are two huge differences than the health of ourselves. First, we care about our kids more than ourselves, so we want their health more than our own (this is a mixed up thought, because they learn from your commitments, and they are inspired by your actions). Second, because we also care about nurturing our children to know they are loved, many of us think it is harsh to take away the foods they love, or to force the foods they don’t.

If I allowed myself to swear in my blog, this is where I would insert that curse word.

Seriously? Seriously? You would let the child dictate any portion of their healthcare? Any piece at all? You are way more committed than that, you must be. And remember, so far we are only talking about sugar. If you know anything about gluten, you should know that living a life of gluten upon gluten, will make gluten your worst enemy. Treat it at arms length like God planned… consuming once daily in your daily bread, then you would eat gluten forever and have no side effect. I don’t care what anybody else says, I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Now that I have built my story, lets share it. The stick figured sugared up kid is in major trouble. Because they live off of a metabolism that will likely not stay the same. Thus they will likely develop increased body mass, which in turn becomes body fat, which increases their risk of cancer and heart disease and diabetes. Should they be one of the UNlucky ones who keeps their metabolism, then they will never fully understand the extent of the damage they are doing. As they increase the internal inflammatory attack, destroying their gut leading to inflammatory bowel diseases, leading to auto-immune dysfunction causing other organ issues, failure, and ultimately early death.

I paint a grim picture, but I truly believe we have only scratched the surface on how grim it will get. And we will be lulled into trusting the new this, and the new that for treatment options, and when they fail, we’ll feel misled, but it will be too late to matter.

Thus, the UNlucky stick kid gets messed up just the same. Had he only had the barometer of weight gain to at least bring concern, we might have saved him from all that disease.

Be Smart, Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E

Putting it all together – part 2

I wrote a daily sprout a week or so ago about this idea of putting it all together in terms of health. The major concept was that each of the 5 essentials of health are important, and necessary in the pursuit of health. What brought this on was my focus on getting right with my diet and exercise and neglecting my mind/stress, and detoxifying (nervous system health is the one I haven’t let slip, as it is the most important to have right to ensure the others can be as effective as possible).

I realized that I mentioned those 5 essentials in that last daily sprout, but I didn’t give any advice as to how to approach pursuing them or how we, Healthsprout, can assist you. We want to make sure you’re aware of everything we can offer you as a patient here.

First of all these daily sprouts are a great resource for information on different health topics. Feel free to take these home with you to reference. If you have a question about a specific topic you can check our website which has all our past daily sprouts. Just go to Healthsprout.com, click the tab that says Daily Sprout. The most recent will be at the top, to the right is the search box to put in whatever topic you’re interested in. Here you’ll find information on all 5 essentials.

Nutrition: A great starting point is the Straight 60 diet we teach. While nutritional needs vary from person to person, we all live in this culture, which means we all most likely suffer from sugar addiction at some level of insulin and leptin resistance. The rules and plenty of recipes can be found in the daily sprouts. We also partner with The Chef’s Table. This is a great way to get healthy meals, which are delivered to our office on a weekly basis. If you scroll to the bottom of the daily sprouts page you’ll find a link to order online. Many of these options are Straight 60 approved.

Exercise: Again I’ll point you to the daily sprouts where we have multiple daily workouts posted with instruction on proper movements. Also, feel free to ask us. Fitness is something we get excited about, we’d love to talk fitness with you.

Detox: We have a number of products we can suggest to you to help. Also following the diet we recommend will prevent bringing in more toxins.

Mind: In our office we’ll point you to God first. We’ll pray for you when its needed. Often Daily Sprouts will deal with topics to help de-stress. Also we have a class in the 60-day turnaround devoted just to the topic of stress management.

Nervous system health: This is the most important of the 5. Without this, the others will be in vain. If you’re a patient here, you’re already on the right path. Stay committed, do your exercises at home, and pay attention to your posture and this will be one of the best things in your pursuit of health.

So to put it all together again, if you’re looking for guidance in one of these areas, ask us and check out our past daily sprouts and definitely consider joining us for the 60-Day Turnaround coming at the end of September. This is really the best way to get on the right path for all 5 essentials of health.

-Dr. Mark

Caffeine – Coffee and Energy Drinks

Don’t be addicted. Utilize it at times, but don’t be addicted. It is interesting when we consider the argument has been running strong even among the alternative health leaders for years now.

Coffee – is it good or is it bad.

I believe there is good to be found in coffee. To be found in small amounts of naturally occurring caffeine. Which then leads me to believe that caffeine in general, at lower levels is good. But as Dr. Ben Lerner once said, “you don’t want to have to drink a cup of coffee just to get back to tired”.

He was referencing those who are addicted to the point where there is no alteration in biochemical state, it simply brings you back to tired. This is a point where I would like none of my flock to be. So, if you like a daily cup of coffee, then push to drink a cup of decaf at least three times a week.

Decaf however, opens up a whole host of concerns. The greatest one being the processing of caffeinated beans to decaf beans. The only process I like is the water process involving carbon dioxide, any other process (which means if the processing cannot be determined, it is another process), adds some form of toxin to your body, commonly a toxic metal. Starbucks for example is NOT a clean decaf. Starbucks is NOT a clean coffee. I do however LOVE the flavor of Starbucks, and I typically get one two times a week, and boy do I enjoy that. One of my vices, I don’t take it lightly, and I most commonly speak these words – “testing my liver here, this is a test of my liver“.

That awareness is what stops me from OVER – testing my liver. So you might need to utter similar words yourself. What about the benefits? The key things that we hear more and more these days, are that the anti-oxidant benefit is significant (coffee not caffeine). And the benefit is more significant in a younger bean, or green bean as we sometimes see listed.

Energy drinks on the other hand, have no value. The caffeine is not naturally occurring, it is cleaved and added. It is a dose that is inappropriate, and I have had multiple stories from patients developing high blood pressure, which immediately stopped at the conclusion of their consumption of energy drinks. YOUNG patients in their 30’s and 40’s at most. Energy drinks, on average, are doing NOTHING good for you and you should cease and desist.

I want to lastly close you with the problem with addiction. You lose a pathway to energy development with too much caffeine. The action of cyclic AMP is limited in high caffeine lifestyles, causing you to have an inability to recreate ATP from ADP utilizing the AMP. What does this mean? You weaken a biological process. I give the full explanation in my 60 Day Turnaround, look for it soon.

Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E

Girl Power – The Like a Girl promo, and what it means for health

Exercise is an integral part of health. We were made to move. Made to get up and run, to toil in the fields as it were, pulling, dragging, carrying, lifting and more. We hear this all the time, but I don’t know how much we apply it to ourselves. How much we apply it to our kids, to our parents and everyone else for that matter.

I am actually amazed at the number of people that can hear these statements, and somehow think it doesn’t apply to them. I find that this seems to hold true for more women than men. I am not saying that women don’t work out. There are more total women working out in some of my gyms, than the men. But as I ask questions about individuals exercise habits, I find that more women will tell me they don’t exercise, with NO guilt, than men.

Now on the flip side, I know a ton of women who feel very guilty for every day missed in the gym. I am just noticing that there seem to be more men willing to say, “I really need to get back into the gym” than women. But, that could very likely be the product of the gym, not so much the person.

So take yourself back to the superbowl, when the Always commercial for Like a girl came out. What this commercial did, was to level the playing field for men and women when it comes to activity. It helped to promote women as equals in athletic ability. Which would then suggest “equals” in physical activity or action.

Watch the Video here – https://youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs

Women’s sports have come up a ton, popularity of womens professional sports, and world league amateur has come up. The idea of women being less than fit as a normal state, is being eradicated. Opportunities for girls to move into any sport of their choosing, is increasing. I told my daughters that their best bet for a scholarship to college, might just be following in my footsteps and playing ice hockey.

My point is for you to see the opportunity for women to engage in sport, and to keep it going for their entire lives. But to then take that one step further, and begin to see this as the norm. Fitness for everyone is part of life and health forever. Working out drives oxygen into tissues, deeper into tissues that have difficulty becoming full oxygenated. This is such a value, such a huge lifetime value, as higher O2 levels have been associated with reduced risk of cancer.

So when I think of Like a Girl, I think of an intense athletic movement. I think running like a girl is a thing of beauty, moving with intensity and purpose.

Women, don’t ever let anyone ever make you feel like you have less athletic potential than a man. But likewise, don’t ever feel like you have less of a responsibility to be strong and fit.

CrossFit Bridgemill just started a CrossFit Lite class for men and women alike, who need fitness (all of us) but who have concerns over stepping into something too hard, or too intense at first. This is one example of all of the programs that continue to flood the market to make it easier for people to become fit. To drive oxygen into their tissues, and to increase lean muscle mass while reducing fat.

Be well and Be blessed…. and be fit. – Dr. E