Superlife

I got to know about this book while watching the new Netflix documentary “Down to Earth” staring Zac Efron and Darin Olien. Of course most people would have heard of Zac Efron than Darin Olien. The show is about the things that we consume like food and water and how we should be careful with the food we eat which makes alot of sense. It is a pretty good show and rather entertaining too. It was from this show that I know about the book he wrote (Darin not Zac) about living a healthier life and it is titled Superlife.

I can say i am generally eating rather healthily but I must admit that there are alot more that i was not aware or paying too much attention too. The show and the book is indeed an eye opener. What you see in the supermarket and labelled as healthy may not be truly what it says. Many of the products are made by food giants and profit is their main driver. That appears to be the reason why many Americans have become obese. It has alot to do with the food they eat and the lifestyles. Interestingly, some of these food giants were bought over by the tobacco companies years ago trying to diversify from their diminishing tobacco business due to rising awareness and regulations. Well, i have to say they did really well for themselves. I am reading another book called Salt, Sugar and Fat by an investigative journalist on how the food giants hooked us. I hope to write something about that when i finish (which I did eventually in my next post).

In the super life book, Darin is suggesting 5 simple fixes for make for healthier living. They are nutrition, hydration, oxygenation, alkalization and detoxification. Nutrition is mainly what you put into your body. More vegetables than meat. Always eat food that is as close to nature as possible and avoid genetically modified organism (GMO) food. GMOs are seeds and grains that have been altered at the DNA level. It is usually to make them pest-resistant. Long term side effects is still not too known. However, researcher in 2012 published a two-year study on rats fed a diet on GMO corns and compared to rats fed on non GMO corn. The rats fed on GMO corn died sooner and had higher rates of tumors and organ damage. This caused me to think of all the cattles, poultry and pig farm that has been fed with GMO corns. Then we eat them. Yuks!

Hydration is to take plenty of water. We need alot of water for our body like almost 3 litres per day for men and 4 litres for women. Avoid sodas as much as possible as it contains alot of sugar and too much sugar is bad for us as it will be converted into fats, not to mention risk of diabetes. Oxygenation is short just means having lots of oxygen for our body which can come from food too which sort of means taking in more antioxidants. Raw and fresh food sources are the best source of Oxygen but with that comes risk of E.coli baterial. Excercise is another good way to take in more oxygen.

Alkalization is a nutshell is not to have too much acid in our body. When we are more alkaline, our body tissues hold more oxygen. Too much acid in our body is linked to inflammation, cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabettes, autoimmune diease, chronic pains etc. Generally, medical science discovered that no disease, bacteria, or virus can flourish in an alkaline environment.

Detoxification is simply getting rid of toxins from our body. Take care of the other four life forces with proper nutrition, hydration, oxygenation and alkalization to boost your detox systems. Eat foods and adopt habits that support your liver an kidney functions. These organs need to handle all the toxicity that you absorb daily.

Of course i do not do justice to the book with my super short descriptions. There are lots of more specific advice such as the food we eat and what vitamins it gives. It is not that easy to write about health related matters as I do not want to risk misleading others with inaccurate health advice. Better leave this to the experts. This is just a snapshot and best to get the book yourself as it contains a wealth of information which is can be a little bit overwhelming. I most likely would not do what the author is doing as it is too extreme. His lifestyle is more like vegan and he tends to eat vegetables raw. Generally he is trying to get as much food that comes generally from nature as possible. The things mentioned in the book good knowledge to have and raised my awareness to what I am eating and where it comes from. However, i plan to exercise moderation or else i might be depriving myself the joy of living. One of the joy of life is eating and if take is being taken away (or live like Darin), feel like though it can be a longer but sadder life.