Some useful health tips

Some things are worth repeating, since apparently the first messages didn’t sink in.

Our community has some pretty serious health issues. Number one is obesity, and this needs to be addressed since being fat leads to other, more serious, conditions and complications.

A fat, or even overweight, person is more likely to develop Type II diabetes than a slender person. This is also true of young people.

A fat person is more likely to develop heart problems, since the heart has to work much harder to get the blood through all the flab.

Although there may not be a direct correlation between obesity and cancer, there are some connections; and sugar is the main culprit.

If you are fat and want to slim down, simply eat less at mealtime, and avoid sugar as much as possible.

I wrote previously about something called “intermittent fasting.” I have been practicing this since Typhoon Soudelor smashed our home and we couldn’t use our kitchen.

As a result I went on a regimen of one meal per day. At the time I was pretty chubby, around 186 lbs. Today I am 165, which is about right, considering my size and age. (I intend to lose more, but it’s hard—as you know).

Save your own life
First, don’t eat any meat from a can. You know what I’m talking about; it’s not only in every store, it’s a staple for many of our local citizens, along with white rice.

But if you eat it, you’re rolling the dice with your health, especially if you eat it more than once a month.

Here’s how I think the meat-in-a-can became popular here. It’s just my opinion but I believe it’s correct.

When the U.S. soldiers were here during the Battle of Saipan, they were each issued a few cans of this canned meat. The idea was to help them stay alive if they were pinned down on the battlefield and couldn’t get back to the mess tent for meals.

But, fortunately, the U.S. Armed Forces had mess tents and pretty good food, so the soldiers didn’t need to eat the canned meat.

What I believe they did was to give these cans of meat to the locals, many who were still in Camp Susupe. This canned meat was a wonder. It was tasty, convenient and ready-to-eat. The locals didn’t have to go fishing or try to chase down a wild pig. Just open the can, slice it up, and dig in.

Were it not for the generosity of the American soldiers, the locals wouldn’t have even known about canned meat. That is when the problems started.

The canned meat won’t kill you, but if you eat a lot of it, the chemicals (mostly nitrites and nitrates) can, over time, give you cancer. That is because they form nitrosamines in the gut, and these chemicals are carcinogenic.

The other deadly food, which I have written about constantly, is sugar. It is especially prevalent in soft drinks, but of course it’s in just about everything else—even ketchup.

If you can cut way back on your intake of sugar, you are doing a great thing for your health. Your body doesn’t need it. Sugar depresses the immune system, so your chances of getting sick will increase.

Here’s a simple rule, and I want you to remember it: if God made it, it’s safe to eat. If man made it, be careful. Instead of eating canned meat, eat fresh fish, eggs, chicken, vegetables and fruits.

I hate the word “lifestyle,” but that’s what I am talking about.

If you (and your kids, especially) are to be healthy, you have to change many things in your life. These changes are not easy because old habits die hard and people get used to eating junk—even if the junk will kill them with diabetes, heart disease, or cancer (generally known as NCD’s). It’s suicide on the installment plan.

One thing you can do to improve your health immediately is to drink a glass of water in which you have stirred ½ teaspoon of baking soda (Arm & Hammer, Western Family, or other brand).

This drink is alkalizing and will help to prevent disease— almost all disease. Here’s why:

Most diseases, including cancer, thrive in an acidic environment. Baking soda in water is alkaline, and will neutralize the acidity in your body.

If you drink the baking soda mixture, do so on an empty stomach—not after a meal. If you can do this every day, you cut your risk of illness significantly.

Every year the Commonwealth Cancer Society has a “walk” at the Hopwood school. The purpose is to raise money for cancer research.

It would be far wiser to use the money to buy every family a box of baking soda. The money for research is basically throwing it away. Tell you why.

Cancer will never be cured in our lifetimes, not so long as the FDA and the big pharmaceutical companies are running the show. No, cancer is “managed” but never cured.

However, an Italian physician, Dr. Simoncini, claims to have cured cancer with baking soda. He has made several interesting YouTube videos, and you are free to watch them. In fact, there are many “baking soda cures” videos. If you would be healthy, then watch a few.

Glorious sunshine
A scientist made an interesting discovery: that people who lived near the equator (we’re not far from it) had fewer incidents of heart disease.

The reason is simple: we have sunshine almost every day, and people get outdoors more here than, say, in Norway or Latvia. And, with exposure to direct sunlight, you are getting a pretty good dose of vitamin D—“The Sunshine Vitamin.”

Most people are deficient in vitamin D, so that is why it’s a good idea to go to your favorite beach at least once a week.

You need not stay outdoors all day—30 minutes is a good amount. And, because vitamin D is stored in the body (it’s a fat-soluble vitamin) visiting the beach once a week will give you a healthy dose of D, and this is preferable to taking vitamin D3 gel-caps.

I hope you will consider these health tips. There is nothing in this for me, personally. I don’t have a book to sell, or a video, or anything else. I just want everyone in our beautiful islands to have long, healthy, and happy, lives.

It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. (Russ Mason)