The Toxic Age And Why Your Doctor Is Making You Sicker (PART ONE)

Ever get the feeling when you visit your doctor that you actually know more about nutrition than them? Let me put this another way, when you look at your doctor do you think that this is a person following the healthy lifestyle? A person that is truly living and breathing optimum health? Someone that is practising what they’re preaching?

I think it’s fair to say that most of the doctors I’ve visited are the exact opposite to this. Sadly, most look overweight, stressed out from all the long hours they do and their knowledge on nutrition appears extremely limited. OK, not ALL doctors are like this but the harsh reality is that the majority are.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not Doc bashing here, I think they do a great job primarily. Their knowledge on medication is second to none at the end of the day they’re trying to help us which is a good thing right?

But (and there’s always a but right!)

Are we truly any better off with medication?
Is medication making us healthier or sicker?
Have we forgotten how to heal our bodies naturally?

In this article I’m going to address some of these burning questions and hopefully give you more clarity on what’s going on underneath the surface of the medical profession:

The cold facts

There’s a valid reason why doctors knowledge on nutrition appears limited.
By law, no med schools HAVE to have nutrition on their syllabus. It’s not a requirement. So, knowing this, only 25% of all med schools have a nutrition program on their syllabus.

In 9 years of studying medicine a doctor on average receives 2 HOURS of nutrition education. Yep you heard me right, 2 hours. So, in all of those 9 years of study, only 2 hours are dedicated to nutrition and even then, the exam at the end of it is optional, so they don’t have to take it if they don’t want to.

Is medicine helping or hindering?

Let’s look at the facts:

In the last 100 years:

- Cancer has risen from 3% to 30%
(¼ of ALL deaths are cancer related)
- Diabetes has risen from 0.1% to 20%
- Heart disease has risen from

Between 1974 and 1997 there has been a 300% rise in brain disease (Alzheimer’s etc.)

When doctors went on strike

Research shows that when doctors strike, there’s a reduction in death rate:
In the year 2000, doctors in Israel decided to go on strike; demanding increases in pay. Before long, morticians began to notice a bizarre trend.

“The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically”. — Hananya Shahor, the veteran director of Jerusalem's Kehilat Yerushalayim burial society.

The longer the doctors' strike continued, the more the death rate fell. In some locations, the death rate dropped by an astounding 50%. Unfortunately, the doctors eventually stopped their strike, and the mortality rates returned to normal again.

In 1976 in Bogota, Columbia, there was a 52 day period in which doctors disappeared altogether except for emergency care. The "National Catholic Reporter" described "a string of unusual side effects" from the strike. The death rate went down 35%. A spokesman for the National Morticians Associations said, "It might be a coincidence but it is a fact.”

He also tells about an 18% drop in the death rate in 1976 when doctors went on a strike in Los Angeles County. After the strike, the death rate returned to pre-strike levels.

When we stop interfering with medicine, there seems to be a reduction in death rate.

In the UK, medical errors account for an estimated 40,000 deaths each year and have officially become Britain's third biggest killer behind cancer and heart disease.

Something’s going wrong down the line. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery and it’s not really designed to get sick. Way back in the cave man days they seemed to do just fine without medicine so why have we become so heavily reliant on it over the years? Have we forgotten that with the right nutrition and lifestyle that our bodies can heal naturally?

It’s clear from these statistics that we’re not getting healthier, we are becoming sicker and medication doesn’t appear to be working.

Now the most common reply I get when I talk about how we’re getting sicker is “well, we’re living much longer now than at any point in history. Our life expectancy is much higher now than before so we must be healthier as a result.”

Well here’s the thing…

Yes, there’s no denying the fact that we are definitely living longer (not by much) but I can assure you it’s not because we are healthier.

These “extra years” are hardly quality years though are they? Yes diseases are being caught earlier these days but most people will spend those “extra years” albeit drugged up.

Also, life expectancy increases when infant mortality rates decrease. With better sanitation procedures, infants die less than when they did over 100 years ago so life expectancy increases.

So, to come back to the title of this article “Is your doctor making you sicker?”

Well, you have some of the facts now. I’ll let you decide…

What’s happened to us? Why are we getting sicker?

I believe that we’ve fully entered a new age.

The Toxic Age.



Toxins and chemicals have been polluting our environment at an alarming rate. Think of the most remote place in the world, the polar ice caps right through to the amazon rain forests. We have successfully polluted EVERY part of our planet. There isn’t anywhere in the world that is free from pollution.

Our food and water is currently more toxic than it’s ever been in our history and we are now the most contaminated species on the planet.
We spray our crops with an alarming amount of pesticides. From seed to supermarket the average seed is sprayed over 20 times from 20 different pesticides and we stuff our livestock full of antibiotics and steroids for no reason other than to bulk them up quicker for market day.

We are experiencing the birth of the toxic age.

We’re in it right now.

So how does this affect us I hear you say? Surely the body can cope with all these toxins?

Well, a lot of so-called health experts and “professors” will have you believe that the body is perfectly designed to deal with these toxins and that we don’t need to go on “detox” diets to sort this out.

Well, I agree with this up to a point. One of the liver’s roles is to detoxify any nasty’s coming in but what happens when they’re coming in at an alarming rate? (i.e. too many for the liver to deal with?)

You see, the more polluted your body is, your body is more likely to hold onto water. When the liver and digestive system are compromised your body will store the chemicals in fat cells. If you're VERY polluted then you will be fatter and unhealthier.

If there was a small amount of toxins coming in then yes you’re liver could probably just about cope but the problem is this:

No one is doing anywhere near “small amounts of toxins” and we haven’t for a while now.

The reality is that most peoples livers are overwhelmed with chemicals and toxins from our food on a daily basis and these toxins will build up over a period of weeks, months and decades so your liver never really has a chance to properly detox these nasties from your system.

And it doesn’t stop there; most of these toxins have a very negative health effect on the body.

Pesticides



Let’s take pesticides as an example. Pesticides used by commercial farms that are sprayed on our crops to help them grow.

Pesticides are designed for one thing and one thing alone.

TO KILL pests right?

So who’s to say over a period of years, decades they’re not going to do the same to a human being?

And it just so happens that there’s now very strong and alarming research linking pesticides to Parkinson’s disease.

Some pesticides are also designed to make these crop pests infertile so they stop reproducing. It just so happens that male infertility has gone up dramatically over the last 100 years as well.

You don’t need to be a rocket science to work out that ingesting pesticide is bad news – for ANY species on this planet! It’s poisonous.

Preservatives & Processed food



Most of the food we see in our supermarkets these days has been denatured. Anything tinned canned or packaged has some kind of preservative in it to preserve its lifespan. Even the pre-packed meats and fish that you see have been treated with chemicals so that they last longer.

Cereals, breads, anything tinned that you might consider to be healthy (like tinned tuna) would all come under this category. Sugar has also found its way into pretty much EVERYTHING these days. We have become a fast food nation. We live our lives at 100mph and want everything quickly, even our food. We very rarely find the time to cook our food how it should be.

Basically, any food that has been processed before it gets to you, or any crop that has been sprayed with chemicals, then the nutritional value will decrease. This means on a cellular level, your body won’t get enough nutrients and will eventually become sick. Sick cells lead to sick organs, sick organs lead to a sick system, a sick system (e.g. digestion, cardiovascular, hormones) leads to more sick systems and sick systems lead to a sick body which leads to the body breaking down which in time, results in disease.

Medication cannot stop this from happening. Medication is a disease management. Doctors can only help when your body is broken. Disease is the end result of a body that’s been sick for quite some time.

A doctor is happy to label conditions and offer prescriptions, but cannot offer any sound protocols on burning fat or how to heal with wholesome foods.

What can we do?

Now before you get your knickers in a twist, I’m not suggesting for one minute that we should all come off our medication and slag doctors off for the rest of our days but simply understand that with the right lifestyle and the right nutrition then our bodies can heal ourselves naturally without the aid of medication.

Removing chemicals from our diet, eating organically whenever we can and eating the way Mother Nature intended us to eat is a start. Although taking control of your health is more than just sticking to a diet. It means asking questions like "What lifestyle would suit me better?" It means no longer seeing the doctor as "the go-to guy" for your health but more as a partner to help find the best healing process for you.

In part two of this article, i'll be talking about how we can achieve all of the above and before you say eating organically is expensive and eating healthy is really boring and it feels like you’re denying yourself then you should definitely read part two of this as this will apply directly to you.

Here’s to a healthy toxic-free 2012,

Sam Winkworth – the south east’s leading fat loss coach

PS - Because you have this article, I'd like to offer you a free nutrition & lifestyle consultation (worth £56) with me based in Tonbridge, Kent. The training system I use with all my paying clients is designed to bring about great results in health, wellbeing & weight loss and what's more I guarantee results or you don't pay me a penny!

Simply call 07817 403398 or email sam@evolutionfitnessandnutrition.com to secure your place but hurry though, places are offered on a first come, first served basis and places fill quickly!!!

The 7 Foods That Experts Won't Eat - By Dr Joseph Mercola

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I trust you had a good one?

I'm sitting here writing this blog after some tough hill sprints earlier today and I just wanted to share with you an awesome article that Dr.Joseph Mercola shared with me on his facebook page.

Now, You're probably going to read a ton of diet information over the next few weeks on how to shape up after the festive season but I'm telling you now, take a quick look at this and you won't need to read another diet plan EVER again.

It will only take a few minutes and I feel as your fat loss coach it's important that you do:
(When you finished reading the article make sure you come back here and read the rest of this blog: )

>>> "The 7 Foods Experts Won't Eat" <<<

I was quite shocked when I first read this. Another reason to eat organic (what I've been saying all along!) and I will be keeping this in mind for 2010.

You should too.

Anyway, have a killer new years eve whatever you decide to do.

I'm going to a fancy dress party with my girl friend. I'm REALLY looking forward to it. The fancy dress theme is "Uniforms" and I'm going as a soldier. I'll put the pictures up on my facebook page for you to have a giggle at.

Oh, and if you haven't friended me on facebook yet, then make sure you do. : )

Here's to a successful 2010,

Sam

PS - here's the link to the article again. Make sure you read it if you value your health for 2010.

>>> The 7 Foods Experts Won't Eat <<<


PPS - If you over indulged over the festive season and are looking to detoxify your system whilst losing some body fat then my FREE e-book "9 Powerful Secrets To Losing Bodyfat" is just the thing. It has a diet plan, home workouts and recipes that you can follow for 60 days to help you transform your body.

Just click on the link below and download it with my compliments. (It's all FREE!)

>>> Detox and burn body fat for 2010 <<<



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Please read the article and let me know your thoughts below:

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Are you following these 7 Fat Loss Tips?

Hey, Sam here!

Wow, can you believe that summer is over already? I blinked and I missed it! Usually I take a vacation over the summer season but this time round as I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to do so.

So anyway I’ve decided to book an autumn break away to Orlando, Florida this week (I fly out tomorrow actually-yikes!). It’s a bit of business and pleasure actually. Fitness conference for first 2 days then on to explore Disney World for the rest of the week. When I booked the fitness conference I realised that the five star hotel that I’m staying in is over looking Disney World so I simply HAD to book in for a week and check out the parks whilst I’m there.

You can’t travel over 6,000 miles to a Fitness Conference (which is being held in one of the Disney World Hotels) and NOT check out Universal, Sea World, Disney etc,

That would be mad! = >

Anyway I’m not writing to talk to you about the weather and my holiday coming up, because today I wanted to give you some killer Fat Loss Tips to help you stay on course for achieving the body of your dreams.

Here are the tips that I use with all my private clients that you can start implementing NOW!

1) Plan, Plan, Plan And Do More Planning!

You know…So many times I hear of people embarking on a new fat loss plan and they haven’t planned properly for it. The classic excuse I’ll get is: “There is no healthy food where I work.” Or “I’m so busy I don’t have time to eat healthily.”

Here’s a question: Why don’t people take ownership of the problem and stop blaming everything and everyone else other than themselves as for why they haven’t achieved their ideal body shape yet?

Be organised…no, infact be super organised. Prepare your food the night before and take it to work with you in a tuppaware container. I used to do this when I worked as a lecturer for the YMCA in Central London. These were long hours (sometimes 7 in the morning till 9 at night!) but I managed to it. If I can do it, then you can too.

2) Record what you eat

Did you know that recent research suggests that those who use a food diary for their fat loss plan are more likely to be successful than those who don’t?

It’s true. Keeping a food diary should be quite straight-forward. Try not to regard it as a chore. The main purpose is to provide you with an overall view of the food and drinks you are consuming during a typical week.

You can download yours here.


3) Avoid Wheat, Dairy and Processed Food

This tip is real simple to follow. Avoid anything tinned, canned or packaged. If you remember that rule then you can't go wrong. Instead opt for fresh natural, wholesome foods that haven't been modified with additives, elmusifiers or preservatives to preserve its lifespan.

Most wheat and dairy is heavily processed so you're best off cutting it out whenever you can.

4) Use Intermittent Fasting.



If you haven’t tried intermittent fasting for your fat loss yet then I strongly advise that you do so.
Have a listen to the interview I gave with Eat Stop Eat Author Brad Pilon if you haven’t done so already. He’s a great guy and I love his nutritional philosophy so be sure to check it out. Even if you’re a little sceptical about intermittent fasting for fat loss I still think you should take a look.

This interview will blow you away!

5) Find a good Training Program



Why do people always associate losing weight or getting fit with joining a gym? This is the exact opposite of what you should be doing!
You can do it at your home. Find a good training program to help get you started. You don’t have to train hours on end. Just 3 times a week, starting off with 20 minutes and then build upon that.

If you’re stuck for ideas then you should download this great bodyweight workout from my good buddy Craig Ballantyne. You don’t need dumbbells, stability balls or expensive machines for this, all you’ll need is your body!

6) Don’t beat yourself up!

So many people that I’ve come across during my time as a fat loss expert will be going really well for a few weeks with their nutrition and then for whatever reason they have a day where it wasn’t so good and before you know, they’re back to their poor eating habits again.

If you have a bad day with your nutrition don’t beat yourself up over it, get back on the wagon and know that tomorrow will be a much better day.
Don’t be “All or nothing” and avoid putting too much pressure on yourself to eat the perfect diet.

7) Eat organically whenever you can!

Eating fruit and vegetables that are free from pesticides and meat that is free from steroids is by far the better option if you value your health. Now I understand that it’s not always easy or practical to eat organically. Life sometimes gets in the way however we should all be making an effort to eat organically whenever we can.

Aand if you want proof that pesticides are bad news then watch the video below:



Here’s also some more recent research on the dangers of pesticides and how it’s been strongly linked to Parkinsons Disease.

Check out this article from Paul Chek's Blog:

So try these 7 tips over the next few weeks and let me know how you go.

Okay, I’ve got a plain to catch,

Here’s to a new you,

Sam Winkworth

Organic Vs Non-Organic (part 2)

Scientists link Parkinson's with specific pesticide



Following on from my previous post,I came across this alarming research from The Ecologist website.

Scientists have detected a link between Parkinson's Disease and a pesticide.

For years, we've been warned about the dangers of chemical abuse and after reading this study and plenty more like it, I believe we are only seeing the tip of a very nasty iceberg.

Consume only organic fruit and vegetables whenever you can.

You owe to it yourself.

Sam

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Ecologist

14th July, 2009

Tests on Parkinson's sufferers have revealed a high incidence and levels of the organochloride pesticide beta-HCH, holding out the hope of a blood test to catch the disease early
Scientists in the US believe they have found a link between a specific organochloride pesticide and Parkinson’s disease.

A study of 113 people – 50 of whom had Parkinson’s, 20 Alzheimer’s and 43 of whom were healthy – revealed that beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) was unusually prevalent in Parkinson’s patients, and in unusually high doses.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas were testing for traces of 15 organochloride pesticides. Published in the journal Archives of Neurology, their research is the first to make a definite link between the progressive degenerative disease and a particular pesticide.

Beta-HCH was found in 76 per cent of the Parkinson’s sufferers tested, 40 per cent in healthy people and 30 per cent in Alzheimer’s sufferers. Organochloride pesticides were widely used from the 1950s to the 1970s.

A possible explanation for the presence of beta-HCH could be found in the genetic make-up of some people, whose metabolism is such that it is harder for their bodies to break down certain substances. Another possibility is that the presence of the pesticide is a marker of another harmful chemical. The researchers said pesticides were only one contributing factor in the development of the disease.

‘There's been a link between pesticide use and Parkinson’s disease for a long time, but never a specific pesticide,’ said lead researcher Professor Dwight German. ‘This is particularly important because the disease is not diagnosed until after significant nerve damage has occurred.

‘Much higher levels of the beta-HCH were in the air, water and food chain when the Parkinson's patients were in their 20s and 30s… also the half-life of the pesticide is seven to eight years, so it stays in the body for a long time.’

The findings hold out the hope that it may be possible to identify those susceptible to Parkinson’s by performing a simple blood test.

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Organic vs Non-Organic

Anyone that tells you that Organic produce is no different to commercial produce is either lieing, been misinformed or works for the government.

This week I read a report in The London Times suggesting that "organic food is no healthier than other produce" according to the Government's food watchdog.

This "recent research" was carried out for the Foods Standard Aency by experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who studied data collected over 50 years.

They concluded that organic food contained no more nutritional value than factory-farmed meat or fruit and vegetables grown using chemical fertilisers.

You can read the report in full here.

The year-long review which cost £120,000 was led by public health nutritionist Dr Alan Dangour who said and I quote: "Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced crops and livestock on the basis of nutritional supremecy."

I hate absolutely EVERYTHING about this research.

This research (funded by the government incidentally) fails to take into account one major impact.

The impact of pesticides on people and the overall effect on the environment.

Organic farming bans the use of any chemical fertilizers on it's crops and has stricter animal welfare rules than conventional farming so how can these so-called experts say that organic produce has no extra health benefits?

What a pointless study! £120,000 worth of our money to tell us THAT? How can such a study take place where a key arguement is that pesticide residues in non-organic food are detrimental to health?

I have no problem in accepting the reports conclusion that organic food may have no real nutritional supremacy over conventionally produced crops and livestock,

however, I don't eat organically because the food has more nutritional supremacy over conventionally produced food and I haven't met anyone else that does so either?

There are other reasons as to why people want to eat organic.

1)Taste.

It's not rocket science. I eat organic because it tastes better.I don't know about you but I can definitely tell the difference. The organic meat I eat is more flavorsome, the vegetables are crunchier and you can often SEE the difference between organic and non-organic produce.



2)Animal Welfare.

This is the main reason for me. I eat organically because I KNOW the livestock are treated better and have had a good life. I'm a bit of an animal lover at heart and although I'm a big meat eater I still like to know that the livestock I'm buying has at least seen the light of day and had some kind of life before it get's to me.

I came across this disturbing footage on you tube and was completely shocked (and saddened) at the conditions of some factory-farms as well as the cruelty inflicted to the animals. Take a look at these vids but I warn you, please don't open if you're an animal lover or are easily shocked.

I was disgusted when I first watched these.










Yup, shocking isn't it? The government don't tell you about that in their 50 year review do they! I wonder why?

Still want to eat factory-farmed meat?

3) Pesticide Free

I like to eat my fruit and veg knowing that they haven't been sprayed with a ton of chemicals. The bottom line is that we really don't know the long-term side effects of pesticide residues. Pesticide residues are the very small amount of pesticides that can often remain in (or on) a crop after harvesting or storeage and will make their way into the food chain.

Pesticides are designed for one thing, and one thing only.

To kill animals.

Now, I realize that mice, roaches, fleas and spider mites are small animals but still - they are animals right?

If a small amount of a pesticide will kill a small animal such as an insect or mite, why wouldn't a larger amount or a prolonged exposure to the same pesticide kill a larger animal - like for example a cat or dog or a human?

I'll leave you to make your own mind up on this one.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you MUST eat organically ALL the time. It's up to you at the end of the day. We all lead busy lives and sometimes it just isn't practical to shop like this, however trying to eat organic whenever we can has more benefits than the government would like us to believe.

Dr Alan Dangour concluded by saying "Consumers will decide for themselves."

We sure will Al, and I for one will continue to eat organically whenever I can and will be telling my clients this aswell.

Thanks for the advice though. = >

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments section below. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about this latest science report.

3 Secrets To Achieving Optimum Health & Fatloss

I'm always raving on about going back to basics with our diet and to eat the way mother nature intended us to eat so at the start of the week I decided to put my money where my mouth us and pay a visit to one of the local organic farm shops in my area.

I usually shop in a different farm shop and I had no idea this place existed until one of my clients told me about it so I decided to check it out.

I had around 3 hours left on my eatstopeat fast which was going real well. Thought that shopping for food whilst fasting may not have been the best idea in the world but it didn't prove to be a problem (I actually didn't think about being hungry at all).

When I got there it was great. As I walked in, there seemed to be a good buzz about the place. Busy aswell which is always a good sign. I think more of us should support our local farm shop instead of the big food store chains but hey...that's just me.

I stocked up with loads of berries, nuts, fresh fruit, vegetables and I couldn't resist a visit to the meat counter where I picked up some great looking sirloin steaks. I usually have 2 or 3 steaks in the week. (Can really taste the difference between organic and non-organic meat).

I filmed this when I got back from my shopping trip and thought it might reinforce my message about my nutritional philosophy.




There you go, probably the simplest nutrition advice you're ever going to hear but if you can do those 3 things then you'll be well on the way to achieving optimum health and getting your body back.

Let me know what you think about organic food shopping in the comments section below:

Train hard and be strong,

Sam Winkworth CPT,SPN

PS - The 3 points I give in the video above are taken from my free report "9 Powerful Secrets To Losing Bodyfat." It's completely FREE and you can start using them straight away.

Click here to get the other secrets

You’ll Never Guess What Came Through My Letterbox Yesterday!!!

Hi, sorry to hit your inbox over the weekend, but I just HAD to let you know about something that came through my letterbox only yesterday!

You know last week I was telling you how we need to eat organically to help beat the credit crunch and I gave you a few ideas on how to get hold of organic fruit and vegetables quickly and easily?

Well through my letter box yesterday came a leaflet advertising an organic company that delivers fruit boxes, veg boxes, even meat boxes right to your door! It seems that I’m not the only one trying to get the organic message out there!

The company is called Riverford and it looks as though they deliver to your door for free and you don’t even have to be in to receive your order. If you’re anything like me I’m so busy travelling from one clients house to another that I barely have time to go shopping!

Oh yeah, I best give you the link that was on the leaflet:

And I’m in no way affiliated with them whatsoever. I genuinely had no idea these guys existed until yesterday but there’s no doubt that I’ll be using them more now and I’ll be telling my paying clients about them.

Its www.riverford.co.uk I’ve already ordered my first veg box with them!

Ok, I’ll leave you in peace now I promise!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll catch yah later,

Sam : )
Your Fatloss Coach
www.evolutionfitnessandnutrition.com