The Vegan Lifestyle

Let us be happy  and live longer. This  is the sole purpose of our striving under the sun. To be happy and to live longer in order to see our grandchildren succeed in their lives – this is the reason for all our perennial endeavors on Earth.

In the primeval days, after Adam and Eve fell from their pristine Edenic state, men started looking for the elixir of youth. Expeditions were sent around the globe to conquer unreach territories and to find the elusive elixir believed to restore man to eternal youth.

All of them searched the globe painstakingly, and have grown old and weary until old age took their lives. Even now, in this 21st century era, some are still searching and hoping that somehow this elusive elixir of youth can finally be found.

Can we really live longer and be happy?

Of course, yes! Regular exercise, balanced diet, healthy lifestyle, and positive mental attitude can restore us to vibrant health, youthful body, and longer life.

To live longer we must be healthy; to stay younger we must be healthy. It is therefore imperative that we strive to be healthy.

How can we be heathy?

To be healthy, we need to eat nutritious food. When we say nutritious, it must contain all the essential nutrients needed by the body for proper functioning. These essential nutrients are found in fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables.

A balanced diet must contain carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables contain all these.

To live longer we must abstain from fleshly meats – they are carriers of communicable diseases, and they hasten us to the grave. To live longer, we should avoid intoxicating liquours that can destroy our liver and other organs of our body. These alcoholic drinks can lead us to petty brawls that can sometimes cost our lives, or to vehicular accidents that can cripple, maim or even result to our untimely death.

To live longer, we must believe in long life. Believing is the most important thing. We must enjoy life and live it with zest. A natural vitality inherent in the body will manifest itself when we believe in good health and hope to live longer. We are what we think. The mind has a tremendous power to make us what we want to be. As we think, we become. Therefore, let us feed our mind with enobling thoughts. Let us think about health; let us think about long life.

To live longer and happy, we must practice healthy living. Let us wake up early in the morning, and give thanks to the Lord who has given us another beautiful day. Have a regular exercise: muscle stretching, walking, jogging, and deep breathing until you perspire. Take a bath, and take your breakfast. Never ever skip your breakfast. Skipping it tends to make one obese, and this can cause a lot of health problems for us. Eat lots of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables. If possible, if you can afford it, drink lots of fruit and vegetable juices. They are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals that can cure many diseases including cancers.

To live longer, we must not abuse our body. We must not gulp or use toxic substances that can destroy our body, such as coffee, cigarettes, softdrinks, ice creams, synthetic food flavors, enhancers and colors, and illegal drugs. These are all the causes of so many diseases and deaths in the world. So avoid them, and live longer.

To live longer, we must sleep on time. Sleep has rejuvenating effects on the body. Sleep before 10 o’clock in the evening. This is the most beneficial time to sleep when the body’s production of melatonin is at its peak. And do not oversleep – it is not good for the body either.

Beware of these medicines and substances that deplete the nutrients in your body!

Have you wondered why you are deficient in vitamins and minerals in spite of your daily supplement? Is your supplement ineffective and not able to give you the vigor and vitality you need, or is there something  depleting your body of the essential nutrients that are important for good health?

We have been taking a lot of over-the-counter drugs for minor ailments such as headaches, colds, sinusitis, allergies and others without knowing what harmful effects they have on our body. There are a lot of medicines or substances that we take casually daily, and we confidently believed that they are harmless and good for our body.

These medicines and substances rob our body of the many essential nutrients for normal body functioning. Some of these substances are found in food and drinks that we take daily. The following is a partial list of these substances with the corresponding nutrients they rob from our body. Beware of these medicines and substances that deplete the nutrients in your body:

• Aspirin – Vitamins A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, potassium, and calcium

• Anti-acids – Vitamin A, C, vitamin B complex, calcium, and phosphorus

• Antibiotics – Vitamin K, vitamin B complex, and friendly colon bacteria

• Antihistamines – Vitamin C

• Barbiturates – Vitamin C

• Caffeine – Biotin, inositol, potassium, zinc, and vitamin B1

• Fluoride – Vitamin C

• Laxatives – Vitamin A, vitamin K, and potassium. This does not include herbal laxatives

• Diuretics – Vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, and zinc

• Tobacco – Vitamins A, vitamin C, and vitamin E

• Oral contraceptives – Vitamin B complex, vitamins C, vitamin D, and vitamin E

• Estrogen preparations – Vitamin B6, and folic acid

• Ethanol (alcohol) – Vitamins C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, and vitamin B complex

• Penicillin – Vitamin B6, niacin, and niacinamide

• Synthetic neurotransmitters – Vitamins B2, vitamin B6, potassium, and magnesium

• Sulfa drugs – Para-aminobenzoic acid, and friendly bowel bacteria

• Beta blockers – Panthotenic acid, choline, and chromium

• Corticosteroids – Vitamins A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, and calcium

These substances are seemingly harmless, and we sometime indulged in them. Some of us like to have coffee in our breakfast, and smoke a cigarette after meals. When our stomach becomes upset because of indigestion due to our intemperance, we cure it by taking anti-acid tablets or capsules, without knowing that coffee, cigarette, and anti-acid medication can only deplete the important nutrients that are essential to the normal functioning of our body.

Some in their good intention to get rid of their discomfort due to indigestion early during the day, drink coffee and liquor after dinner and puff  a stick of cigarette to relieve the stress of the day. This only worsen his condition, and he consult a doctor for a remedy. The doctor may give him anti-acid, antihistamine, or antibiotic depending on his ailment, and the man’s condition becomes worst.

Let us avoid these medicines and substances that deplete our body of the essential nutrients. Good health is of prime importance to us all. Great material possessions in life are worthless without good health. Therefore, let us strive to be healthy, and live a long life full of joy and happiness.

Most people have sleeping problem, and they do not know how to tackle it. This is the problem of modern-day man. The sophisticated inventions of modern technology has kept him awake almost 24 hours a day.

Many books have been written on how to combat this sleeping problem. Millions of dollars are spent on sleeping pills, vitamins and minerals to solve this sleeping problem to no avail.

What really causes sleeplessness or insomnia? Is there a way out of it? What must I do to have a good night sleep?

Like most ailments and maladies that plagued humanity today, 90% of the cause of insomnia is found in our mind. When our mind is full of fear, hatred, and other negative thoughts, we will have problems to rob us of restful sleep. So let us be at peace with all men, and enjoy  that sweet slumber that only God can give to every righteous man.

Avoid coffee and other food and drinks that have coffee in it. Coffee is a proven cause of sleeplessness. Avoid drugs too; they affect the nervous system, and destroy the wake-sleep cycle of our body.

Eat your dinner 2 to 3 hours before going to bed. Eat light meal at dinner. Overeating at night will not only taxed your digestive system, and deprive you of sleep, but it can cause nightmares that may cause death.

When you have problem sleeping at night, take some light physical exercises, such as walking and stretching. Deep breathing and meditation are also good in inducing good sleep.

Take a warm bath before going to bed. It opens up our skin pores to breathe out the pollutants and toxins on our skin, and refreshes our whole body to induce a good sound sleep.

Put the lights off when sleeping at night. Darkness stimulates the secretion of melatonin in the brain. This hormone regulates the circadian rhythms of our body such as the wake-sleep cycle. To avail of this health benefit of melatonin, we should go to bed before 10 o’clock in the evening, when the melatonin production is at its peak.

And of course, we should sleep in a quiet place away from the distractions of TV and other noise. It is very important that we sleep in clean, well-ventilated room with clean bedding, pillows and blankets. Foul-smelling bedding, blanket and dirty room are not conducive to sound sleep. Open up the windows, and allow fresh air to enter into the room for a healthful sound sleep

Almost all of us, in one point of our lives,  had a desire for academic excellence. It is the dream of everybody, young and old alike. We all believe that good academic excellence is one sure way of getting a good job as is always proven by the successes of most high academic achievers.

But some of us easily gives up our dream in life. In our failure to achieve it, we ran with the notion that academic excellence belongs only to the gifted ones, and we had permanently relegated our dream to oblivion.

Intelligence is indeed naturally inherent but not exclusive in the gifted ones. Everybody can excel in academics through good study habits, diligence and perseverance.

To succeed in all endeavors, we need determination, diligence and perseverance. Success is 99% work and only 1% inspiration. So, we need to work, work, and work to succeed in life.

To achieve academic excellence, we need to follow these study habits. Armed with  the strong will and determination to succeed, we can follow these regularly and religiously.

Intelligence is an integrated series of memories. So, to be intelligent, we need good memory. And good memory can be achieved through proper diet, exercise, and regular practice.

Upon rising in the morning, ask God for guidance in all your activities for the day. Have a physical exercise for a few minutes for good blood circulation to all parts of your body especially to the brain. Take a bath to refresh your body and mind.

Never skip your breakfast. It is good for our health when we break the fast every morning. Skipping breakfast makes one fat and obese, and can bring a lot of abnormalities in the body that can interfere with the healthy functioning of the mind.

To have good memory, we have to avoid sugar and all food or drinks with sugar in it. Sugar destroys the memory and impairs the nervous system and bemuddles the mental faculties. Our mind has a very delicate supply of glucose, the sugar from complex carbohydrates and fruits. We should be extra careful with milk and sugar combination – it destroys memory and the brain as a whole.

For a good retentive memory and sharp mind, we need to abstain from all flesh meats. Flesh meats of animals have hormones in them that block a neurotransmitter which is very essential to proper brain function. It not only adversely affect the brain, but it can also cause tumors, cancers, and other diseases.

We should avoid coffee and all food and drinks with coffee in them. It is an addictive stimulant that insidiously destroys the brain and the body. Like most excitotoxins, coffee excites the cell of the brain to fire continuously till exhaustion and death.

Like coffee, liquor is also harmful to the body. Liquor and other alcoholic drinks destroy the brain cells and damage them irreversibly. We should avoid tobacco and drugs too. They are toxic substances that can destroy the brain and the body as a whole.

To excell academically at school, we need to study diligently and religiously. We should ensure that we study in a quiet place that is conducive to learning. It should be far from the distractions of TV and the blares and honks of vehicles, and other noises.

To get the greatest benefit from your study, divide your study time into short periods of 30 minutes each. Study time should not extend beyond 2 hours in one setting to avoid overtaxing the brain. Studies showed that memory retention is maximum when study is done in a series of short periods. Then recall what you have studied after 24 hours, after a week, and after a month.

Funny association is also very effective in memory recall. To easily remember the things you have studied, associate them with funny things that you know of. Also use mnemonics or memory aids to help you recall easily what you have studied.

Study consistently and regularly. Constant study strengthens the brain, and enables it to grow more cells. Practice recalling all what you have read or studied. Practice makes perfect.

There are other things that can help you towards achieving academic excellence at school. Some forms of exercises such as brachiation, ‘hold your breath underwater’, ‘masking’, deep breathing and meditation, and studying with stomach touching the floor can all improve intelligence. Taking gingko biloba, gotu kola, lecithin, and other brain-boosting herbs can also increase intelligence, but the best of all, is the positive mental attitude to believe with all your heart that you can achieve it.

The harmful effects of caffeine are many. Among the harmful effects of caffeine are forgetfulness, nervousness, and addiction.

Caffeine is a psychoactive substance naturally found in coffee, tea, kola nuts,  and in lesser amount, in cocoa. It is also found in beans, leaves, and fruits of some plants that acts as a natural pesticide to ward off insects.

Caffeine is a common ingredient in soft drinks, such as cola which was originally prepared from kola nuts. Soft drinks usually  contain about 10 to 50 milligrams, and energy drinks, 80 milligrams of caffeine per servings. Guarana, a prime ingredient of energy drinks, contains large amounts of caffeine with small amounts of theobromine and theophylline. It is also found in tea, and in chocolates, in the form of cocoa, in small amount.

Caffeine is an excitotoxin that harms the brain. It stimulates the body in similar manner as cocaine and heroin, and its addiction is gradual and subtle. Like most excitotoxins, caffeine causes brain malfunctions. This substance, like alcohol and nicotine, can easily penetrate the blood-brain barrier and can over excite the brain neurons to death.

Busy people  who want to extend their working hours drink more coffee in order to stay awake all day. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the central nervous system of our brain, and brings a temporary feeling of alertness and wakefulness. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that is involved in the control of the sleep-wake cycle. It promotes drowsiness and sleep after long hours of work or mental activity.

Caffeine molecule is structurally similar to adenosine. It easily binds to adenosine  receptors on the cell surface without activating them, thus blocking and inhibiting their functions. Cells that are normally slowed down by adenosine are speeded up by caffeine. Sensing that the cells are not slowed down, and suspecting that an emergency has happened, the hypothalamus reacts by releasing a neuro-hormone called dopamine into the bloodstream which triggers the adrenal glands to start pumping. Dopamine  increases heart rate and blood pressure, thus the feeling of wakefulness and alertness when drinking coffee.

The temporary sensation of high energy and alertness after drinking coffee, soft drinks, and energy drinks could be due to the the effects of caffeine’s three by-products during its metabolism.   Paraxanthine increases the lipolysis process, which releases glycerol and fatty acids into the blood as a source of fuel for the muscles. Theobromine dilates the blood vessels to increase the amount of oxygen and the flow of nutrients to the brain and muscles. Theophylline relaxes the smooth muscle of the bronchioles;  changes the time of heart rate, and alters the force of  muscle contractions in the heart.

Caffeine is an excitetotoxin that destroys the brain. Its excitatory effects not only weaken the neurons in the brain but can even over excite them to death. Caffeine, by counteracting adenosine, has inhibitory effects on brain activity. It adversely affects the healthy functioning of the brain, and other learning skills.  Long-term consumption of caffeine even in small doses affects learning and memory by inhibiting the creation of neurons in the hippocampus of the brain.

Other harmful effects of caffeine are the following:

• it causes nervousness, trembling, and abnormal muscle contractions
• it causes dizziness and headaches
• it causes indigestion
• it slows down reaction to auditory and visual stimuli
• it causes forgetfulness  and tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
• it increases the risk of myocardial infarction
• it increases heart rate
• it causes heart palpitation
• it increases the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women
• it causes lethargy, and irritability
• it causes confusion and inability to focus
• it causes visual hallucinations
• it intensifies and prolongs the effects of psychostimulant drugs such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, and dextroamphetamine
• it causes increased gastric acid secretion in the cells
• it decreases broad-range thinking abilities

Some studies showed that caffeine is good for the heart, and increases mental performance related to focused thought. This may be true as in other contradicting results from studies done on the effects of caffeine. But these are all temporary and transitory. When the stimulating effects are gone, the harmful effects of caffeine appear in the form of illnesses and diseases.

Caffeine is a nerve irritant that does not nourish the system in any way. Its temporary effects of high energy, alertness, wakefulness, increased strength, vivid imagination, and mental arousal are only nervous excitements produce before caffeine is ever digested and assimilated by the body. When the effects of this stimulant are gone, these unnatural euphoric conditions disappear, and only results to debility and langor.