I read a lot.
Sometimes I read a book and think, “That is friggin’ incredible! Imagine if everyone knew that.”
The things you learn by reading non-fiction books is LIFE CHANGING.
But since most people won’t read a 700-page book I might recommend, I decided I would select 9 insights from 5 books I have recently read, to share some incredible insights, and maybe even entice you to read the whole book.
Let’s jump straight in with Book 1.
(Note: I will be diving deeper on these subjects in a LIVE Presentation and Q&A Session on 31 Aug, so if you are reading this after then, send me a message and I will give you the link for the recording.)
‘Cure Your Fatigue’ by Morley Robbins
Morley Robbins did pre-med, but then pivoted into administrative healthcare. Decades later he experienced a ‘frozen’ shoulder and friends suggested he see a chiropractor, to which he responded, “I don’t do witch-doctors”. Fast-forward, to when he relented (finally), saw a chiropractor, became pain-free in a short time, and then had an epiphany about where else was he off-track when it came to “health”. For the next 10 years, every day for 3hrs a day, 7-days a week, he did deep research into the scientific literature. He synthesized his insights into his book, and here are my 2 biggest insights (picking just two was HARD!).
INSIGHT 1
Most people don’t actually have iron issues. The planet is about 30% iron. There seems to be no shortage of exposure. When someone is tested for iron, the test only tests iron in the blood. Not in the tissues. Robbins suggests that most people have an excess of iron in their tissues built-up over time and iron is not the actual deficiency. The deficiency is most likely bio-available copper, which is an essential mineral to regulate iron metabolism (taking iron from the tissues and into the blood). More iron is not the solution. His research suggests that the iron levels in tissues can be 10 times that in the blood!
INSIGHT 2
“Persistent fatigue, as well as all disease, is caused by oxidative stress. And the root cause of oxidative stress is ‘cellular dysfunction’ caused by an imbalance of three key minerals: copper, iron and magnesium (compounded by a lack of ceruloplasmin), which prevents our ability to metabolize energy, recycle iron in the mitochondria, and therefore, prevent harm by iron’s inevitable interactions with oxygen in our tissues and blood.” Robbins.
The mitochondria are microorganisms in the cells, and produce energy, which needs the right amount of compounds to produce the most amount of energy. If they are not operating optimally, then we have less energy for daily life, and for the functional healing of our bodies. Since our soil is depleted of these key minerals (copper and magnesium), and farming methods deteriorate mineral access even more, we need to find ways to access these minerals.
I could go on and on about the insights in this book, but the two main takeaways for now are ‘iron is rarely the problem‘ and ‘oxidative stress‘ (essentially an imbalance between free radicals and anti-oxidants in the body) IS the generally the problem.
Read the book if you have ever been told you have low iron or experience fatigue.
‘The Divided Mind’ by John Sarno, M.D.
The body can experience real physical pain (e.g. back pain), but it can have psychosomatic origins. The pain is likely from a reduction of blood flow to a muscle, causing ‘pain’ to register (due to a lack of oxygen), but this symptom is initiated by the brain. The reason the brain may decide to reduce the blood flow is because at some level the mind feels you are not able to deal with the emotional trauma in your life (e.g. job or relationship issues, death in the family, excessive life stress, unprocessed childhood trauma, etc.), so it DISTRACTS you with a physical symptom. The brain is trying to protect you in the best way it knows how.
This means your pain may not be physical or structural, but emotionally triggered. And in my experience MOST people want to find a physical cause rather than face the FACT that there might be a serious emotional issue they are avoiding dealing with (either in the present, or a past trauma).
INSIGHT 2
In his book Sarno says one of the most common emotions that lead to a psychosomatic response in the body was ‘rage‘. The mind figures the expression of rage is not socially acceptable (and might get you exiled from the tribe, which is a very primal fear in our DNA), so it fires off some physical pain to divert you from raging – at your boss, partner, or family member, for example. The other emotions often suppressed and can lead to physical symptoms in the body are: anger, anxiety and resentment.
Quite often in my Weekly Meeting with Me Inc., I ask myself if there is anything happening in my life that is causing me to feel anger, anxiety or resentment. Then I go deeper, in order to understand and then resolve, express or mitigate the issues.
‘Eat Like a Human’ by Dr Bill Schindler
Dr Bill Schindler had studied as a prehistoric and experimental archeologist, and while experiencing weight issues, metabolic syndrome and gastrointestinal disease, he had a light-bulb moment. He realised, due to his study of prehistory, he was asking the wrong question about food. The question wasn’t “What to eat?” it was “HOW to eat, what you eat?“.
“We are not built to biologically eat a vast majority of plants. They are loaded with toxins [to protect themselves] and they don’t easily give up their nutrition to our bodies. So, if we are going to eat plants, we need to ask the right question: How do I make this plant as safe, nutritious and accessible as I can?” Schindler
INSIGHT 1
It is not what we eat, but it is HOW we eat what we eat. Our bodies are not designed the same as a lot of other animals – e.g. a cow has 1 stomach, but 4 compartments – so we need to adapt. For instance there is a HUGE difference between a highly processed, factory generated loaf of white bread, versus a fermented loaf of Sourdough bread. The fermentation process makes the grains vitamins and minerals more accessible for our bodies. So ‘bread’ isn’t a low quality food, it is how the bread is prepared, which makes all the difference.
I feel the same when it comes to dairy. For me, most dairy fits into the ‘processed’ foods category. Homogenized and pasteurized milk (thanks to that idiot Pasteur) is highly modified (super-heated) and depleted of the beneficial microorganisms that help break down the food. Raw milk or fermented milk products (yogurt, kefir, cheese) have a completely different relationship and effect on most of our bodies, than the processed versions, which are closer to junk food, IMHO.
So, think about HOW you eat what you eat. Go for the more traditional methods, perfected over 100’s and sometimes 1000’s of years.
‘The Comfort Crisis’ by Michael Easter
Micheal Easter is a professional writer who has traveled the world and sums up his experience as having “spent a career traveling, researching, and writing on what leads humans to live healthier, happier, and remarkable lives.” He talks the same lingo as me in his conversation about the downsides of getting ‘too’ comfortable in life. I reckon Wim Hof is reading from the same sheet of music too.
“Research backs solitude’s health properties. It has been shown to improve productivity, creativity, empathy, and happiness, and decrease self-consciousness.” Easter.
INSIGHT 1
A research study in 2016 showed that just 20-mins strolling through a city park caused profound (positive) changes in the neurological structure of our brains. It could also reduce blood pressure, resting heart rate and positively influence hormones. BUT people who used cellphones on that same walk saw none of those benefits. It is about our minds being able to expand and contract naturally, to observe and immerse ourselves with the fractal patterns of nature around us, and to let day-dreaming be restive for our brains. When you go for a walk, do it tech-free to get the best neurological, physiological and stress-preventive benefits. The recommendation is at least 3 x 20-mins in nature per week (tech-free).
INSIGHT 2
I knew this already from personal experience, reading and research. Our body becomes more resilient and we enhance our immune system by experiencing different climatic conditions – just like we did throughout all of human history (apart from the last 50+ years). Just like in the gym, our muscles respond (grow) when faced with a resistance (weight); when we are feeling the cold (rather than rugging up) we challenge our bodies to become more adaptive. Wim Hof has taken this practice to the extreme with his cold water exposure (e.g. ice baths), which scientists are able to prove enhances the immune response.
Get in the habit of feeling the cold for a bit, before you rug up. Spend more time in the natural environment, with the natural expression of the sessions, as opposed to temperature controlled places. Stand in the rain. Get wet. Get uncomfortable. And then feel more powerful for the experience.
‘What Really Makes You Ill?’ by Dawn Lester and David Parker
From their website: Dawn Lester and David Parker have backgrounds in the fields of Accountancy and Electrical Engineering, respectively. These fields both require an aptitude for logic, which proved extremely useful for their investigation that has involved more than ten years continuous research to find answers to the question: “What really makes people ill?” I have marked up this book to the begeezus, as they have provided so much great research, and sited studies.
They do a lot of ‘debunking’ in their book. E.g. “Although referred to as ‘side effects’, the fact that all (pharmaceutical) drugs enter the bloodstream means they are able to, and invariably do, interfere systemically: causing a wide variety of adverse events.“
INSIGHT 1
Not news to me, but they highlighted the vast load of toxins that exist in the modern world, which our bodies need to detoxify, and which lead to oxidative stress. Often the toxic load is too high for our bodies (skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, bowels) to effectively detoxify and eliminate. This means that in order to support our bodies detoxifying mechanisms, we need to significantly reduce the amount of toxins we ingest, inhale, put on our bodies, surround ourselves with and are exposed to (e.g. electromagnetic radiation). Because the vast majority of pharmaceutical drugs are ‘synthetic’ and not biological (in order to be patented) they are processed as additional toxins in the body, and contribute to the overall toxic load in the body. A drug may feel like it is making a difference, but the body still needs to detoxify the elements of that drug.
INSIGHT 2
We need to take care of our own health and not outsource our health to agencies that are a bit suspect in their proficiency (and care for people over profits). For example the WHO Asthma Fact Sheet acknowledges that, “Urbanization has been associated with and increase in asthma.” But adds a qualifying statement that, “…the exact nature of this relationship is unclear.” REALLY? Could it be from air pollution perhaps? Or less access to oxygen producing green spaces and ‘fresh’ air?
So, with the significant influence in profit-making for the multi-trillion dollar healthcare industry (and Big Pharma) we really need to self educate. For instance here are another two additional insights: 1) Cholesterol is an ESSENTIAL element for numerous functions in the body, so the ‘war on cholesterol’ is more profit driven than fact driven. 2) The evidence supporting the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory in relationship to anxiety / depression is VERY tenuous.
In summary…
Do yourself a favour and check out these books.
Also join me on 31 August (4pm Bali time) for more conversation on these 5 books, some Q&A time and as I said, if you are reading this after 31 August, get in touch and I will direct you to the recording of the replay.
My Parting words
Hopefully my very diluted summary of these 5 great books has stimulated your curiosity.
It is back to that idea that “We only know what we know, and don’t know what we don’t know.“
Never stop learning.
And as I have alluded to, we need to take better care of ourselves and not depend on outside entities, to have our best interests at heart.
Whether it is in relation to physical and mental health, or financial security.
To learn it is to grow.
And according to Tony Robbins, without growth we don’t experience fulfillment.
Happy reading.
Also do ask questions if you have them.
Plus see if you can incorporate one of the INSIGHTS above into your day and life.
So, have an insightfully inspired day, and insightfully influenced week (and life).
See you next week.
Take care,
Carl
