Food is Information

Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash

I've been mulling over this: our food isn't just fuel, it's information. Plants absorb their surroundings — sunlight, soil, water — and encode this into their very being, down to the electrons. Eating food grown elsewhere hands our bodies mismatched information, creating a disconnect between the food's origin and our current environment, which I think can subtly disrupt our system over time.

Imagine this: each meal carries the signature of its birthplace. A tomato ripened under the Sicilian sun isn't just different in taste from one grown in a Japanese greenhouse; it's fundamentally distinct. The light it absorbed, the soil it's rooted in, the seasons it endured all imprint an environmental code into its makeup. Our bodies evolved consuming local produce — foods that reflect the same light and air we're exposed to. Our gut, equipped with sensors — nerves, microbiome, the whole setup — is tuned to interpret this code. When the food's story aligns with our surroundings, everything's in sync. But munching on a tropical mango in a snowy urban apartment? That's like playing static through our system.

This "static" is the misaligned data I'm talking about. Picture being in Minnesota during midwinter: short days, dim light. Your eyes and skin register this, signaling your body to conserve energy. Then you eat a pineapple from Costa Rica, grown under intense equatorial sun. Your gut receives signals of abundance and heat — completely out of sync with what your eyes and skin are conveying. This desynchronization is likely causing the system to glitch. It's not science fiction; it's intuitive. Nature operates in harmony: food, place, and body speaking the same language. Disrupt this, and you invite chaos.

What does this chaos manifest as? Inflammation. It's the body's way of signaling, "Something's off." Perhaps your gut struggles to process that pineapple — enzymes don't match its profile, or your microbiome overreacts. A bit of irritation sparks, a few extra free radicals emerge, and inflammation simmers. Initially, it's subtle — maybe some bloating, a dip in energy, a vague sense of unease. But it's real. One meal like this isn't catastrophic, but make it a habit — like many of us do with globally sourced grocery aisles — and it's not just a blip. It's cumulative.

Health is a marathon, and this is where it gets tricky. A single imported avocado won't derail you, but over years or decades and things begin to add up. Assuming one meal a day with a mismatched food over 20 years, you're at 7,300 meals nudging your gut off balance, fostering inflammation, altering your metabolic processes. This could account for 20-30% of extra weight, dwindling energy, the uphill battles we're all promised to face health-wise. It's not headline-grabbing — "Imported Oranges Ruin Life" — but it's a slow leak, draining vitality bite by bite.

Here's the twist: it's not just about mismatched food, it's the entire system. Nothing in health exists in isolation. If you're excelling elsewhere — getting quality sleep, ample sunshine, staying active, managing stress — this might barely register. Your gut grumbles, inflammation ticks up slightly — maybe 1-5%— but you've got the resilience to brush it off. You're a well-oiled machine; a bit of bad data doesn't cause a breakdown. But if you're already struggling — sleepless nights, confined indoors under artificial lights, high stress, sedentary lifestyle — then that same out-of-place food hits harder. It could be a 20-30% impact, or more, because your system lacks a health buffer. The gut's already compromised, baseline inflammation is high, and that foreign pineapple is like rubbing salt in the wound. Everything's interconnected. Hammer the basics, and this is a footnote; neglect them, and it's probably a player in your decline.

Where are your studies? I don't have any. I don't need a stack of studies to grasp this — it makes sense. Step outside, observe: nature thrives on coherence. A deer grazes on the grass beneath its feet, not on feed shipped from another continent. Our ancestors consumed what grew around them — berries in summer, roots in fall. Their eyes saw the same sun as the plants; their skin felt the same breeze. Now? I'm eating Columbia bananas under fluorescent lights, and my body's confused. This mismatch delivers incorrect information — the gut anticipates one thing, eyes and skin report another — and inflammation ensues. How significant is this? It varies. For the average person — with mixed habits and a global diet — I'd estimate it's 10-15% of why we're heavier, more fatigued, and less healthy than we should be. Optimize your lifestyle, and it's less; let things slide, and it's more. Either way, it's a factor.

So, yes, I believe eating local, seasonal food matters — not just for the feel-good aspect, but because our bodies are designed for it. Transporting food across the globe disrupts a rhythm we're attuned to, and we pay the price, even if it's gradual. It's not the entire picture — sleep, exercise, stress all play roles — but it's a thread I can't ignore. What about you? What do you think?

Why Nutrient Supplementation is Essential for Modern Diets

Our existence depends on what the earth offers. 

The foundation of human nourishment comes from plants, which supply vital macronutrients such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, all generated through the nourishment obtained from the earth. Additionally, plants give us crucial micronutrients, including vitamins produced through photosynthesis and minerals extracted from the soil, both of which are essential for maintaining healthy cellular functions.

Vitamins and minerals play a crucial role in enzymes and coenzymes (enzyme helpers), acting as biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions needed for cellular operations. They collaborate to either combine molecules or break them down in countless chemical reactions that occur within living cells. In essence, life would not be possible without enzymes and their vital vitamins and minerals.

Considering this, the equation is straightforward: plants cannot produce minerals; they must absorb them from the soil. Thus, without minerals, vitamins cannot function effectively. As a result, if crucial minerals are depleted from our soil, they are also diminished in our bodies.

A continuous deficiency of minerals can lead to illness. Therefore, it is not surprising that any decline in the mineral and nutrient content of our soils results in a corresponding increase in nutrition-related diseases among both animal and human populations.

The alarming fact is that foods -- fruit, vegetables and grains -- now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain needed nutrients, are starving us -- no matter how much we eat of them.

—US Senate Document 264

Surprisingly, the statement mentioned earlier was made almost 80 years ago, in 1936. Since then, the United States and other industrialized countries have been experiencing an unprecedented loss of fertile land. Today, the topsoil in the US is eroding at a rate ten times faster than it can be replenished. In regions like Africa, India, and China, soil erosion surpasses the replenishment rate by 30 to 40 times. Current projections indicate that our global topsoil reserves will last less than 50 years. As topsoil diminishes, so do essential nutrients, and consequently, our health suffers.

Data presented at the 1992 RIO Earth Summit revealed that throughout the 20th century, mineral depletion of global topsoil reserves was widespread. During this period, agricultural soils in the US and Canada lost 85% of their mineral content; Asian and South American soils saw a 76% decrease; and in Africa, Europe, and Australia, soil mineral content declined by 74%. Since then, little has been done to prevent the inevitable depletion of these invaluable mineral resources.

In March 2006, the United Nations acknowledged a new form of malnutrition: multiple micronutrient depletion. According to Catherine Bertini, Chair of the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, those who are overweight are just as malnourished as those who are starving. Ultimately, the problem lies not in the amount of food consumed, but in its quality.

Modern Agriculture Depletes Our Soil

The topsoils of the earth form a thin layer of mineral-rich, carbon-based material. They serve as buffers and filters for water and air pollutants, store vital moisture and essential minerals and micronutrients, and act as critical reservoirs for carbon dioxide and methane. Apart from global warming, soil degradation poses a severe threat to the long-term environmental sustainability of our planet.

Soil depletion was well recognized in ancient societies, which would either relocate to new lands every few years or enrich the soil with organic waste. In more recent history, the westward migration of Europeans to the New World saw families relocating frequently as their dry-land farming practices repeatedly exhausted the soil. The first indication of nutrient depletion was not crop failure but an increase in illness and disease among both animals and humans dependent on the land. Those who did not abandon their farms or practice soil replenishment experienced inevitable declines in crop production, eventually leading to complete land collapse, as seen in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

Now, there is nowhere else to go. We can no longer move to greener pastures because none remain. We must work with what we have; soil erosion, contamination from industrial pollutants, and depletion of our finite mineral resources have become global issues. Yet, modern agricultural practices continue to consume water, fuel, and topsoil at alarmingly unsustainable rates, seemingly disregarding nature's imperative to return what we have taken from the earth. Instead of renewing and restoring our soils, commercial agriculture has disrupted nature's natural cycles, and the consequences will be costly.

Depleted Soils, Depleted Crops

Soil depletion due to unsustainable agricultural practices leads to an inevitable decline in the nutrient content of our crops. Historical records indicate that the average mineral content of vegetables grown in US soils has decreased significantly over the last century. A 2004 study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found considerable declines in the mineral and vitamin content of 43 garden crops grown in US markets. Additionally, a 2001 report by the Life Extension Foundation revealed that the vitamin and mineral content of various foods declined dramatically between 1963 and 2000. Collard greens experienced a 62% loss of vitamin C, a 41% loss of vitamin A, and a 29% loss of calcium, while potassium and magnesium decreased by 52% and 84%, respectively. Cauliflower lost nearly half of its vitamin C, thiamine, and riboflavin, and most of the calcium in commercial pineapples had almost vanished.

The US data supports findings for vegetable crops grown between 1940 and 2002 in Great Britain, which show mineral losses ranging from 15% to 62% for common minerals and trace elements. In an earlier study, harmful changes were found in the natural ratio of minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, in the foods tested. Similarly, a Canadian study found significant declines in the nutrient content of produce grown over a 50-year interval to 1999. During that time, the average Canadian potato lost 57% of its vitamin C and iron, 28% of its calcium, 50% of its riboflavin, and 18% of its niacin. The same trend was observed for all 25 fruits and vegetables analyzed. The Canadian data showed that nearly 80% of the foods tested displayed large drops in their calcium and iron content, three-quarters showed considerable decreases in vitamin A, half lost vitamin C and riboflavin, and one-third lost thiamine.

Selective breeding of new crop varieties prioritizing yield, appearance, and other commercially desirable traits has also contributed to the depletion of the nutritional value of our foods. Dr. Phil Warman of Nova Scotia's Agricultural College contends that the emphasis on appearance, storability, and yield, with little or no focus on nutritional content, has significantly exacerbated the overall nutrient depletion of our food. The USDA standards for fruits and vegetables only account for size, shape, and color, neglecting nutritional value. With such standards, it is not surprising that today, one would need to eat eight oranges to obtain the same amount of vitamin A that their grandparents got from a single orange.

Nutrient Depletion in Soils: Causes and Consequences

Soil erosion by wind and water is exacerbated by over-cultivating, over-grazing, and the destruction of natural ground cover. The loss of organic matter leads to a corresponding decline in nitrogen, minerals, and trace elements, as well as a reduction in the soil's ability to retain moisture and support healthy plant growth. High-yield crops further strain the limited nutritional capacity of our depleted soils. For instance, in 1930, an acre of land yielded about 50 bushels of corn, while by 1960, yields reached 200 bushels per acre—far exceeding the soil's capacity to sustain itself.

Erosion, combined with high-yield nutrient extraction, also depletes the soil of its alkalizing minerals (calcium, potassium, and magnesium), resulting in the loss of natural buffering capacity and an increase in soil acidity. Conversely, over-irrigation with hard (alkaline) water can cause some soils to leach essential minerals while accumulating others (such as calcium), making the soil too alkaline for crop growth.

Although nitrate, phosphate, and potassium (NPK) fertilizers, introduced in the early 1900s, substantially increase crop yield, they come at a high cost. Overuse of these chemical fertilizers has been found to accelerate the depletion of other vital macronutrients and trace elements while reducing their bioavailability to plants. NPK fertilizers gradually decrease soil pH, making soils too acidic to support beneficial bacteria and fungi. These symbiotic organisms aid plants in absorbing nutrients from the soil. Once absent, plants' micronutrient uptake is significantly impaired. Additionally, NPK application in acidic soils has been found to bind soil-based selenium, rendering it unavailable for root absorption.

Using NPK fertilizers to replenish primary growth-promoting nutrients fails to address the simultaneous losses of valuable micronutrients and trace elements (such as copper, zinc, and molybdenum) in intensively cultivated soils. According to Dr. William Albrecht of the University of Missouri, using NPK fertilizers ultimately leads to malnutrition, insect infestations, bacterial and fungal attacks, weed encroachment, and crop loss in dry weather. Albrecht argues that employing chemical fertilizers to increase yield weakens the crop, making it more vulnerable to pests and diseases. As a result, commercial farmers have no choice but to depend on a range of dangerous and harmful chemical pesticides to protect their crops and investments.

Nutrient Depletion Forces Pesticide Abuse: Consequences and Solutions

The decline of soil and crop health due to unsustainable commercial agricultural practices leads to a vicious cycle of dependence on pesticides and herbicides. The highly toxic organochlorine (OC) and organophosphorus (OP) derivatives damage our soils by killing symbiotic bacteria and fungi responsible for nutrient uptake in plants, inactivating essential enzyme systems within plant roots involved in mineral absorption, and destroying soil microorganisms needed to produce organic mineral complexes that naturally replenish the soil.

Moreover, these environmental toxins end up in our food, causing widespread human exposure to pesticides primarily through consumption. There is ongoing debate about whether low levels of exposure to these persistent environmental toxins and their residues can cause harm. Some studies have found harmful biological effects resulting from chronic environmental exposure, while others have reported harmful synergistic effects from combinations of pesticides and chemical agents at typical levels of environmental exposure.

Pesticides and herbicides have been linked to various human health effects, including immune suppression, hormone disruption, reduced intelligence, reproductive abnormalities, neurological and behavioral disorders, and cancer. They can also act as potent endocrine hormone disruptors and easily pass through the placenta to unborn infants, who are especially vulnerable to toxins that disrupt the developmental process. Children are particularly susceptible to these agents due to their higher food intake relative to body weight and their still-developing immune systems.

To protect ourselves and our children, it is crucial to choose sensible dietary alternatives to commercially grown and processed foods, which are the primary sources of pesticide and herbicide exposure. Some ways to reduce exposure include:

1. Buying organic produce: Organic farming practices avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides, reducing the potential for toxin exposure through food consumption.

2. Washing and peeling fruits and vegetables: Thoroughly washing and peeling produce can help remove some pesticide residues on the surface.

3. Eating a diverse diet: Consuming a variety of foods can help minimize the risk of exposure to a single pesticide or a group of related pesticides.

4. Supporting sustainable agriculture: Encourage and support agricultural practices that prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.

By making informed choices, we can help reduce our exposure to harmful pesticides and herbicides while promoting agricultural practices that preserve soil health and protect our environment.

Organic Agriculture Improves Nutrient Content: Benefits and Considerations

Throughout most of human history, agriculture has relied on organic growing practices. However, over the past 100 years, synthetic chemicals and their destructive consequences have been introduced to the food supply. Thankfully, more and more progressive growers are abandoning commercial growing techniques and returning to organic methods and traditional soil care.

Organic gardening utilizes natural mulching and cultivation techniques that nourish the soil rather than the plant. This approach replenishes nutrients lost through plant growth and fosters the growth of beneficial fungi, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and other advantageous microorganisms. Healthy living soil encourages the symbiosis of plants with these soil microbes, enhancing the transfer of essential nutrients into the plants. Organic agriculture, unlike conventional agriculture, respects the natural replenishing cycles of nature.

A 2003 study in Seattle, Washington, found that children aged two to four who consumed organically grown fruits and vegetables had urine levels of pesticides six times lower than those who consumed conventionally grown foods. The study's authors concluded that consuming organic fruits, vegetables, and juices could reduce children's exposure levels to below the EPA's current guidelines, thus moving exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk.

A growing body of evidence supports the health-promoting effects of organically grown foods. Studies have shown that organic crops have higher levels of vitamin C, iron, natural sugars, magnesium, phosphorus, and other minerals and lower levels of harmful nitrates than conventional crops. An independent review published in the Journal of Complementary Medicine found that organically grown crops had significantly higher levels of nutrients for all 21 nutrients evaluated compared to conventionally grown produce. Organically grown spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and potatoes exhibited particularly high mineral levels.

Research by the University of California (Davis) revealed that organically grown tomatoes and peppers had higher levels of flavonoids and vitamin C than conventionally grown tomatoes. The health-promoting effects of these secondary plant metabolites, produced by plants to protect themselves from oxidative damage caused by strong sunlight, are well-established. High-intensity conventional agricultural practices seem to disrupt the production of these natural plant metabolites, resulting in reduced flavonoid content in conventional crops. In contrast, organic growing practices stimulate the plant's defense mechanisms, leading to increased production of these vital botanical nutrients. Organic crops, which are not protected by pesticides, have higher levels of flavonoids than conventional crops, including up to 50% more antioxidants. A prime example is the polyphenol content of red wine: this heart-healthy nutrient is found in much higher concentrations in wine made from organically grown grapes, which produce the nutrients to protect against a naturally occurring fungus that attacks grape skins.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the modern lifestyle and reliance on commercial, chemically based agriculture have led to the degradation of the nutritional value of our food supply and increased our exposure to environmental toxins. As a result, many people are not meeting their daily nutritional requirements, even if they consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

To counter these challenges and ensure a healthy diet, consider the following recommendations:

1. Opt for organic produce whenever possible to reduce exposure to chemical pesticides and benefit from the higher nutrient content found in organically grown foods.

2. Complement your diet with high-quality nutritional supplements to ensure you meet your daily nutritional requirements, particularly if you struggle to consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

3. Practice mindful eating habits, including consuming a diverse and balanced diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods.

4. Stay informed about the source of your food and support sustainable and responsible agricultural practices that prioritize the health of the environment and consumers.

By making informed choices about the food we consume and the agricultural practices we support, we can help protect our health and the environment while enjoying the benefits of a nutrient-rich diet.

Social Engineering Your Health

In the early part of the 20th century, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and their biggest of baller friends believed that society was overflowing with less than desirable people — “feeble minded”, physically defective, disease ridden, and everyone generally from a lower station that didn’t make for good workers. So, they decided to implement a program of systemic change called, “eugenics.”

The purpose of eugenics was to eliminate bad genes from the gene pool, in an effort to create a better society. In other words, reduce the population of undesirable people. The approach and philosophy of eugenics was to incorporate all means possible to elevate desirable traits in humans, while decreasing those with undesirable ones. Unfortunately, that meant killing off people that didn’t measure up to the standard, or at least keep them from procreating. That included diseases, chemical sterilization, pacification through lifestyle modifications, and anything else that provided them with the leverage necessary to carry out their ideological plan. 

Led by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Science of Man Project, the Ford Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation, they made no secrets about their beliefs or intentions, as they openly talked about their contempt for the common man. They influenced government policy, set up medical research institutions among other things. Rockefeller and Carnegie poured money into Caltech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and the University of Chicago to study how best to reengineer man. 

They pursued their agenda in full view of the public for decades, until the term fell out of favor. The term “eugenics” was tarnished after discovering the atrocities carried about by Germany in WWII. Never faded, Rockefeller & Friends decided to rebrand. Eugenics became known as “social engineering.” Sound familiar?

The influence of the policies laid out by Rockefeller & Friends during the early part of the 20th century set the bar for the system we currently find ourselves in. Although the message is never relayed truthfully, it’s hard to deny the institution of large scale massive control that sucks the health, life, and liberty out of everyone you know. Straining the financial stability of all and weakening the solidarity of the masses through things like the promise of vaccinations, social distancing, social tracking, weaponizing fear, the continual dumbing down of people with immediate gratification, destruction of immune systems through the promotion of inflammatory diets, and no mention of how to improve health other than wearing a mask, stay quite, and stay inside, all seems like it fits the narrative of “social engineering.” But maybe I’m crazy. 

The same protocols implemented in the early 20th century can be seen today:

• Diseases; metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and the RONA.

• Chemical sterilization; pollution of our air, water, and food, evidenced by our catastrophic drop in fertility rates over the 50 years.

• Pacification through lifestyle; panem et circenses.

Developing a System is better than Striving for a Goal

The prevailing wisdom says that the best way to properly transform your body, and health — whether it be through weight loss, muscle gain or improving overall quality of life — is to set specific, actionable goals. This notion of goal setting, while good intentioned, falls short with the majority of people. For example, according to the U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year’s Resolutions is said to be around 80%, with most people losing their resolve by mid-February. From this we can surmise that goal setting on its own is an ineffective strategy for achieving what we want and even worse for producing long lasting results. 

Goals have the ability to steer us toward short-term results. Yet, because they are inherently self-fulfilling, once they are reached, much of their power quickly dwindles. Most of what was necessarily done to create change — nutritional awareness, monitoring calories, increasing exercise, etc. — to achieve the goal is disregarded or lost. Solidifying any newfound change driven by passion is bound to fail if you’re not thoroughly invested in the process.

The fundamental problem arises as goal-oriented people are seeking to become someone they aren’t. Acting in a way that suppresses the current version of yourself — e.g. eliminating cookies and cakes therefore putting you in a calorie deficit — will allow you to arrive at a weight loss goal, but without a system put into place, willpower can only last so long. By employing measures that restrict them from who they are, without improving upon who they wish to be, in effort to deliver them to a result derived from sacrifice, the inevitable result is that they fall back to the person they were at the start of the process. Success hangs on their ability to overcome the challenges that brought them to their current impasse. As Scott Adams put it in How to Fail Big; “goal-oriented people exist in a state of continuous presuccess failure at best, and permanent failure at worst if things don’t work out.”

In effect, if your goal is to lose 30lbs, you would spend every waking moment until you reach your goal focused on numbers instead of processes, thinking as though you were a failure if things didn’t progress as planned because you are an overweight person who wants to be thin. Until you usher in a system that allows you to think and make choices like the thin version of yourself would make you will inevitably be fighting against progress and exist within a constant state of failure. Because willpower is an easily fatiguable muscle, without a systems-oriented mindset, it can only last so long before delaying gratification takes its toll, and you succumb to failure. 

Goals are a complete-it-and-be-done situation. A specific objective you either achieve or don’t sometime in the future. Being goal-oriented is short-sided if long-term change is the intention. Its approach is driven by sacrifice, deprivation, and blindness to the overt desires of the self you wish to reinvent. Alternatively, a system is something you do everyday to increase your odds of fulfillment throughout the life of the system. A system is something you do on a regular basis with a reasonable expectation that following it will provide you with the body and/or quality of life you desire, ultimately becoming the “after” version of yourself with the implementation of the process.

Simply put, if you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future it’s a goal. If you’re doing it everyday, it’s a system. 

Losing weight is a goal; eating right is a system. Gaining muscle is a goal; training with purpose and intensity is a system. Improving any specific blood marker is a goal; “eating whole unprocessed foods, getting outside in the sun, moving a lot, sleeping like you’re on vacation, and surrounding yourself with loving relationships” is a health promoting system espoused by researcher and author Robb Wolf. All systems lead to desirable results, but all goals do not provide desirable systems, hence their unsustainability. Goals are about the results you want to achieve, whereas systems are about the processes that lead to those results. 

To achieve a goal, you only need to exhibit a momentary change, but what happens in the long run? Failure. Remission. Relapse. As an illustration, take this example from author James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits: “Imagine you have a messy room and you set a goal to clean it. If you summon the energy to tidy up, then you will have a clean room — for now. But if you maintain the same sloppy pack-rat habits that led to a messy room in the first place, soon you’ll be looking at a new pile of clutter and hoping for another burst of motivation.” Fundamentally, you’re left with the same outcome over and over again because you failed to change the system behind it. 

Results that last have little to do with goals and everything to do with systems. In the above example, you can see that the symptom was treated without addressing the cause. Much like an overweight person with a weight loss goal who has emotional issues with food — dieting will help them achieve a healthy weight, yet doesn’t address the real issue. Their achievement only changes their life momentarily because they were focused on a goal instead of fixing their system. We don’t need better results, we need better systems. Solving problems at the results level is temporary, instead, in order to create permanent change in peoples lives, we need to start solving the problem at a systems level because with the wrong approach to change people aren’t going to rise to their level of goals, they fall to their level of systems. 

None of this is to say that having goals doesn’t matter. It is important to recognize that the power of goals is derived from their ability to provide direction in our journey to become who we want, and live the life we want. This begs the question if you completely ignored your goals and solely focused on the systems your future-self used, could you still succeed in becoming the person you want to be? For example, if you were a coach and completely ignored the goal of winning, and instead focused on improving execution of what your team does in practice each day, would you still get results? Absolutely, because practicing a system to the point of excellence is akin to mastery. The goal of any sport is to finish first or with the highest score. Establishing a system provides a way to out maneuver, out strategize, out power, and out play your opponents. No one enters the arena wanting to lose, but because we are what we consistently do, plenty of teams approach competition with a flawed or suboptimal system. Singularly having a goal of winning, without a system to get there isn’t enough. Those are the coaches who get fired mid-season for staring at the scoreboard wondering why their teams score isn’t higher.

Nick Saban, the head coach of the University of Alabama football team, has what he calls The Process. He encourages players by saying; “Don’t think about winning a Championship. Think about what you need to do in this drill, on this play, in this moment.” The Process is about focusing on the task at hand. The ability to apply your system to what is directly in front of you. By existing in the present, not the distant future we can commit ourselves to excelling in the habits that will take us toward the person we wish to become. 

So, are goals useless? No, but they should be identified as having limited utility. Goals are good for setting direction, but systems are best for making long-term progress, and sustaining the health or life goal you have captured. Without a system — founded on the principles of becoming healthy, lean, and strong — goals can restrict our overall happiness. The implicit assumption behind any goal is this; “once I reach my goal, then I will be happy.” The problem with this goals-first mentality is that you’re continually putting happiness off until the next milestone. 

There once was a great archery master named Awa Kenzo who did not focus on hitting the center of the target with his students, instead he focused on teaching technical mastery of the bow. He spent almost no time instructing his students how to think in a way that would deliver the results they desired — hitting the center of the target. You can fire randomly at a target and hit a bullseye eventually, much like you can follow any dietary program and achieve results, but in a world based on vanity no one wants to hit their target and walk away, they want to keep their target, and the happiness that comes along with it. Fulfilling results come from enacting a system that allows for the target to be continuously hit, with minimal effort, consistently, until a new target is decided upon. While the goal of archery is to hit a bullseye, Kenzo pressed the fact that “the hits on the target are only the outward proof and confirmation of the adherence and trust in the process.” He wanted his students to get so lost in the process that the result wouldn’t be the focus. He wanted them to give up their notions of what archery was supposed to look like. He was demanding that they be present, not focused on their past failures or future outcomes. The process, or systems-first approach, that allows one to become a proficient archer — much like what it takes to become the version of healthy, lean, and strong that you desire — is realized through consistent and purposeful action. 

Body transformation is similar to archery in that you are looking to hit a certain target. You can try so hard on a particular variable that you end up overshooting your target, manifesting more issues and frustrations. While all targets are achievable, the energy you’re spending aiming the arrow is energy not spent developing your system to consistently deliver the best technique. If you’re too conscious of the technical components of shooting, you wont be relaxed enough to deliver the desired result. As marksman say these days, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” Because we are what we repeatedly do, a practice of excellence put into action is the surest way to maximize our trajectory and deliver us to the body, health, and life we want. 

A systems-first approach can improve the trajectory by providing us with a structure to follow. If you are not who you want to be it is because the error of your ways has led you astray from the person you want to become. Generally this due to an accumulation of errors. Over time, small decisions can accumulate into large consequences. Think of it as the 1% rule, whereby repeating a 1% error day after day by replicating poor decisions, tiny mistakes and rationalizing little excuses all compound into toxic results. It is this accumulation of too many missteps that eventually lead to larger problems down the road. 

To make this more relevant, in his book Why We Get Fat, author Gary Taubes states that over consuming roughly 1% on your calorie intake over a 20 year period will equate to a 20lb increase in weight. “Since a pound of fat is roughly equal to 3500 calories, this means you accumulate roughly 7000 calories worth of fat every year. Divide that 7000 by 365 and you get the number of calories of fat you stored each day and never burned — roughly 20 calories.” On average, we consume around 2700 calories a day, so matching energy in to energy out, with the 20 calorie mark equates back or our 1% rule. {reference (https://garytaubes.com/inanity-of-overeating/)}

Making a choice that is 1% better or worse seems insignificant in the moment, but over the span of a lifetime, or the course of a journey toward your goal, small choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be. Therefore, success is the product of implementing a good system, not a singular focus on a distant goal. 

With a systems-first approach, trajectory can be fully applied and set toward gaining the healthful life we all desire. Let’s use a Global Positioning System (GPS) as an analogy for a systems-fist approach to get what we want. It is a literal manifestation of a system designed to get you where you want to be. By allowing the goal to set the direction, we can trust the system to align the course.

• A GPS gets you to your destination faster and with less stress. Not knowing where we are going and without help we can get lost quickly. Trusting the system can alleviate the stress of trying to navigate on your own.

• A GPS provides constant feedback. By constantly assessing your progress, it will keep you aware of where you need to turn and how far you are from your desired destination. 

• A GPS foresees upcoming obstacles. It has the ability to reroute you around roadblocks and anything else that will deter you from arriving at your destination. 

• A GPS will help you get back on track if you happen to deviate from the path. We all have missteps in our journey, but any wrong turn can be righted by rerouting and correcting course.

Whether you want to lose weight, get stronger, or save money, it pays to incorporate  systems-first approach. Without it, you may find yourself lost, confused, and failing over and over. 

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goals set the direction, systems get you there

goals are impermanent, systems are permanent 

goals work on sacrifice, systems work on fulfillment

goals say I want to look fit, systems allow you to be the fit person

goals are about the results you want, systems are about the processes that lead to the results

goals provide a picture of who you want to be, systems allow you to become that person

High Protein Diet Has No Harmful Effects

Many people are under the impression that high protein diets are evil and cause all types of diseases, however a recent study says that notion is nonsense.

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that in resistance-trained men that consumed a high protein diet (~2.51–3.32 g/kg/d) for one year, there were no harmful effects on measures of blood lipids as well as liver and kidney function. In addition, despite the total increase in energy intake during the high protein phase, subjects did not experience an increase in fat mass.

A High Protein Diet Has No Harmful Effects: A One-Year Crossover Study in Resistance-Trained Males

The Liver & Detoxification (Part 1)

By Graeme Bradshaw    

Did you ever want to know about how to look after your liver? 
This is part of a detailed series of articles explaining liver metabolism related to detoxification. You will learn how and what to do to maintain optimal liver health.  

Where is the liver? 
The Liver’s location is on the right side, at base of the ribs, shown in lilac color. The Gall Bladder sits under the liver. 

Expanded view of the gall bladder ducts - the gall bladder is under the liver

The next diagram gives a better idea of the actual appearance of the liver, as well as how the blood flows into it from the intestines. It is the first place blood that having picked nutrients, like fats, amino acids, phyto-chemicals, vitamins and minerals and any wastes from the intestines and bowels. One of the liver's primary functions is filtering the blood. Almost 4 liters of blood pass through the liver every minute for detoxification. The blood then passes out to the heart. 

Bile from the liver is both a waste product, and it helps digesting and absorbing the fats and oils form food. Bile is especially released by fatty meals. Bile is necessary for bowel peristalsis, that is constipation may be caused by lack of bile.

Green colors above indicate the “biliary tree”, which are the bile ducts draining the liver into the gall bladder. These may be blocked with fatty cholesterol-laden plaque, bilirubin and bile salts, as depicted on the picture on the right side. The gall bladder may become congested with this plaque if it is not released as well and is prone to crystallize into gall stones by mid-life if the diet is incorrect. Read on for how to prevent this.    

What are the functions of the liver?

1. It is responsible for the production of bile that is stored in the gallbladder and released when required for the digestion of fats
2. The liver stores glucose in the form of glycogen that is converted back to glucose again when needed for energy
3. It also plays an important role in the metabolism of protein and fats.
4. It stores the vitamins A, D, K, B12 and folate and synthesizes blood clotting factors.
5. Another important role is as a detoxifier, breaking down or transforming substances like ammonia, metabolic waste, drugs, alcohol and chemicals, so that they can be excreted. These may also be referred to as "xenobiotic" chemicals.

Filtering the Blood
The liver plays a key role in most metabolic processes, especially detoxification. The liver is a filter designed to remove toxic matter such as dead cells, microorganisms, chemicals, drugs and particulate debris from the bloodstream. The liver filter is called the sinusoidal system, and contains specialized cells known as Kupffer cells that are part of the white blood cell immune function. They make up 10% of liver weight, and function to ingest and break down toxic matter.  

Filtration of toxins is absolutely critical as the blood from the intestines contains high levels of bacterial waste, (endotoxins from the bowels), antigen-antibody complexes, and various toxic pollutants. When working properly, the liver clears 99% of the bacterial toxins during the first pass. However, when the liver is damaged, such as in alcoholics, the passage of toxins increases by over a factor of 10. This is similar if your intestines are too permeable, a condition known as “leaky gut”. Allergies (especially to gluten) and parasites may cause this.  

The liver neutralizes a wide range of toxic chemicals, both those produced internally and those coming from the environment. The normal metabolic processes produce a wide range of chemicals and hormones for which the liver has evolved efficient neutralizing mechanisms. However, the level and type of internally produced toxins increases greatly when metabolic processes go awry, typically as a result of nutritional deficiencies, pesticide laden foods, low fiber diets and high red meat or alcohol intake.  

Many of the toxic chemicals the liver must detoxify come from the environment: the content of the bowels and the food, water, and air. The polycyclic hydrocarbons (DDT, dioxin, 2,4,5-T, 2,3-D, PCB, and PCP), which are components of various herbicides and pesticides, are on example of chemicals that are now found in virtually all fatty tissues of the body, including the brain. Even those eating unprocessed organic foods need an effective detoxification system because all foods contain naturally occurring toxic constituents, and bacterial or fungal activity in the bowel may produce more.  

So far we’ve learned that liver plays several roles in detoxification: it filters the blood to remove large toxins, synthesizes and secretes bile full of cholesterol and other fat-soluble toxins, and now we move on to how it enzymatically disassembles unwanted chemicals. This enzymatic process usually occurs in two steps referred to as phase I and phase II. Phase I either directly neutralizes a toxin, or modifies the toxic chemical to form activated intermediates that are then neutralized by one of more of the several phase II enzyme systems.  

Proper functioning of the liver's detoxification systems is especially important for the prevention of cancer, since phase II detoxification deactivates carcinogens. Around 70% of all cancers are thought to be due to the effects of environmental carcinogens, such as those in pesticides, trans and burned fats in food, plastics and other sources of environmental estrogens, as well as air pollutants, cigarette smoke, etcetera. Our own hormones that are poorly detoxified may be cancer inducing, notably some forms of estrogens, and we are especially at risk if there is insufficient liver detoxification and bowel elimination. When combined with deficiencies of the nutrients the body needs for proper functioning of the detoxification and immune systems this issue gets worse. The level of exposure to environmental carcinogens varies widely, as does the efficiency of the detoxification enzymes, particularly phase II. High levels of exposure to carcinogens coupled with slow phase II detoxification enzymes significantly increases susceptibility to cancer.  

Bile Excretion 
The liver's second detoxification process involves the synthesis and secretion of bile. Each day the liver manufactures approximately 2 liters of bile, which serves as a carrier in which many toxic substances are dumped into the intestines. In the intestines, the bile and its toxic load are absorbed by fiber (if there is any in the diet) and then excreted. However, a diet low in fiber results in inadequate binding and reabsorption of the toxins back from the intestines into the liver. This low fiber diet (especially soluble fiber like oats and flax seed lignans) is a major cause of gall stones. This problem is magnified when bacteria in the intestine modify these toxins to more damaging forms.  

The Gall Bladder : What does it do? 
The gallbladder's main purpose is to concentrate and store your bile. Bile is a fluid made in the liver that helps you to digest fats in your small intestine. It is made from cholesterol, water, bilirubin and bile salts.  

Bilirubin is what gives bile its greenish colour – the color turns darker brown the longer it is in the intestines. Bilirubin comes from the breakdown of used red blood cells.  

When you eat fatty foods, the fats are broken down (digested) in your stomach and intestines. To get the bile to the food in your gut, your body either:

1. Releases it from the liver and down the bile ducts, straight into your small intestine
2. Stores it first in your gallbladder, which releases bile into your common bile duct as you need it
3. Fats and oils in the diet stimulate the release of bile following a meal
4. Fiber, especially soluble fibre such as from oats causes more bile to be released from the bowel, reducing gall stone formation. A low fiber diet increases gall stone risks, especially if no breakfast is eaten.

Factors causing most gallstone formation:

1. A low fiber diet. Low fiber from too few vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain foods and whole grains such as oats or flax seeds. Do you eat 5 serves of fruit and vegetables a day or have a high fiber cereal breakfast? If not add oats and flax seeds which have high lignan content that is a soluble fiber. 
2. Too much red meat, cheese, and other dairy, bacon, sausages and gravies which are all high in saturated fat, that increase triglycerides (TG’s) and cholesterol, affecting the liver and gall (makes more concentrated bile). 
3. Omega 3 oil deficiency makes the TG’s and cholesterol go higher as well. Omega-3 oil, found in fish or flax seed oil, blocks cholesterol formation in bile. 
4. Sugar (and lack of exercise) increases triglyceride (TG’s) levels in the blood – high TG’s create less soluble bile. High sugar intake increases insulin levels that increase cholesterol saturation in bile (a bad effect). 
5. Irregular meals, skipping breakfast (“coffee breakfast”) and crash dieting contribute. 
6. Estrogens (the pill and oral contraceptives, and pregnancy increase frequency of gall stones – hence women more common sufferers). Women with a family history of gallstones are best to avoid oral contraceptive pills. 
7. Some gastrointestinal diseases – including Crohns disease. 
8. Some cholesterol lowering drugs (fibric acid derivatives e.g. Cliofibrate). 
9. Incidence of liver fluke is able to precipitate a particular type of pigmented gallstone and is relatively common in Asia (common especially if raw fish is regularly eaten). 
10. Food allergies are another trigger factor for gall related symptoms – if the gall is partly blocked consumption of food allergens trigger symptoms. The most common offenders are: egg, pork, onions/garlic, chicken, chocolate, dairy products chili, coffee, oranges, wheat, corn, beans and nuts in descending order. The high fat dairy products and pork are not recommended whether you have allergy/intolerance to them or not because of their saturated fat content. 
11. Coffee contracts the gall bladder – even if de-caffeinated – so if you have gallstones coffee may cause pain. 
12. Finally an odd one - sun-burning increases risk of gallstones.

Helpful Supplements and Nutritional Measures:

1. Drink two large glasses of water on rising, and midmorning and mid afternoon to maintain the water content of the bile. Sliced un-peeled lemon in hot water is a bile stimulant too, and a healthy way to start the day. Add honey and some turmeric powder for anti-inflammatory benefits
2. Take 2 fruits and 3 - 4 vegetable serves daily, especially including the cabbage family. This is for the fiber and important anti-oxidant content. (Carrots, beets, prunes, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kiwi, papaya, apples are all very useful).

Lose excess weight (low animal fats and/or low sugar/sweets diet)

1. Take extra mg vitamin C and 200 of vitamin E daily - improves bile solubility (Innate Response Antioxidant is our best antioxidant supplement)
2. Fish oil ideally as 3 or 4 Krill Oil capsules daily (providing 750 - 1000mg of EPA and contains fat mobilizing phosphatidyl choline). We recommend this also for Fatty Liver. Oily fish include salmon, sardine, halibut herring, trout – twice or more weekly.
3. Initially you need herbal bile stimulating herbs: Artichoke Extract is best and simplest for this, slightly lowering cholesterol and helping bowel movement along.
4. Milk thistle can be used alternatively, having more benefits on detoxification and liver protection. A product giving Milk Thistle, Globe Artichoke and further nutrients as well (choline, methionine) called Liver Support – is often given for optimal liver-gall function.
5. Exercising three times per week reduces gall stone formation.
6. Take a probiotic - Lactobacilus bowel flora. These stimulate excretion of bile from the intestine, as well as binding these as well as other intestinal toxins and removing them.