ExamineHealth

One of the things that the cleanse did for me was blow open my previous conceptions of cooking. Now I've always been, what I would probably call, your average cook. I could cook 10 or 15 meals really well. They were my specialties. I had perfected them to the point that I was proud of them. I also was stuck in a rut with them. However, having to follow the rules of the cleanse, and opening myself up to a new style of cooking (vegetarian) and several new cookbooks, provided a welcome variation to my standard meals. Many of the meals that we made during the cleanse, we're still making today. In fact, I'd argue a vast majority of them.

However, one aspect of this cooking style that we had a challenge getting used to, was the preparation of the ingredients. Primarily, beans and grains. Many of the recipes called for beans or grains. In fact, they opened my eyes to a whole new world of preparing beans and grains. The problem is that they take FOREVER to prepare and cook. Beans need to be soaked overnight, then cooked for 4 hours. Grains are better after being cooked for 6 hours. Now obviously you're not constantly tending them during the periods of time, but it certainly requires some careful planning. We had to get into the habit of shopping for meals that were two nights out, in case we needed to soak something overnight. It really takes the spontaneity out of cooking.

Luckily, I found the ultimate solution to this problem! Once I stumbled across this piece of equipment, it changed my whole world. We now use it every day, and it's by far the most important item in the kitchen.

Semde is an herbal compound that is used in traditional Tibetan medicine.  The label states that it is “Often prescribed for stress, depression, and all types of anxiety related conditions.”  Semde is one of a number of Tibetan herbal compounds produced and distributed by Siddhi Energetics.  Their website states: “Used to manage stress and depression on a daily basis, many people find their overall quality of life increases.”

I always have trouble with this sort of claim.  I am of the opinion that culturally, we overmedicate.  We have come to believe that there is a pill for every ailment.  To be clear, I’m not some sort of masochist; when you have a headache, you should take an aspirin (or ibuprofen, or. . . ).  That said, I’ve meet far too many people who have more than a few headaches a week.  While I don’t get headaches often anymore, mine were always connected to dehydration and stress.  I believe our “daily pills” tend to mask problems, rather than address them.

I am particularly suspicious of psychiatric medications.  Early in my adulthood, I was prescribed Prozac for a short period.  It turned my brain off.  I couldn’t hold a thought, and was occasionally falling asleep mid-conversation.  Complaints to the doctor seemed to make him more insistent about the prescription; I stopped taking the pills and visiting his office soon thereafter.  My experience helped create my suspicion of these medications; the incredible increase in usage rates has added to my concerns.  In 2007, there were more than 100 million prescriptions for antidepressants written in the United States.

Exercise is a critical component of your overall health; it may even be one of the most critical.  Of course, there are an infinite number of ways that one can get the requisite exercise, and many of us are on the search for the program or type that fits us best.

It is my strong belief, that just as important as what exercise you're doing, is that you are changing what you are doing over time.  Variation is a key component to consistently improving your fitness.  Our bodies are incredibly adaptable and will quickly get used to any movement or set of movements that we repeat on a regular basis.  This will initially result in significant gains, as your muscles and neurology adapt to the new movements.  However once they've mastered that particular motion, the progress will begin to taper off.  Every single muscle in your body can be worked in different ways, from different angles, at different speeds, to achieve different results.

This is why the primary concept behind P90X is variety.  They refer to the approach as 'muscle confusion'.  The idea being that you work your muscles in a variety of unique ways to keep your body from getting used to any one particular movement and hitting a plateau.  With enough changes, your neurology has a harder time locking onto a particular exercise and understanding it.  Before you know it, you're hitting it with another variation to keep it on it's toes.