Health health health

With everyone more and more health conscious it is hard to know where to start.  Everyone knows the basics; eat fruit and veg, avoid fried foods, drink lots of water throughout the day etc.  Keeping healthy is more than just that, although, that is a good start. 

The key thing to bear in mind when you want to lose weight is that it is more to do with your nutrition than it is to do with your exercise regime (for the right exercise see earlier blog from 2010).  One must keep a healthy balanced diet to achieve healthy weight loss which will stay off.  This means YOU NEED FATS IN YOUR DIET!  One must look out for the quality of fats to eat though.  Poly unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, sun flower oil and cottage cheese are the best fats you can have in your diet.  They are extremely important for cholesterol control.  That is not to say you eat shit loads of it as it is still in the fat category and calorific but, you should by no means avoid a whole macronutrient. 

Metabolism is something which you hear a lot about.  There are certain things you can do and foods you can eat to accelerate your metabolism.  Eating 6 small balanced meals in a day is actually better for you as your metabolism is employed more often throughout the day.  The perfect six meals to eat in a day, believe it or not, is

1. Salmon and steamed broccoli (salmon is high in protein and omega 3 fatty acids which is very good for the heart.)
2. Around 3 hours later - a healthy dollop of peanut butter on thick wholemeal bread.  A common misconception about peanut butter is that it is bad for you.  It is not.  VERY high in protein which will keep you fuller for longer allowing you to have a later lunch.   It is suggested you eat 25% less calories in your next meal thanks to research done at the University of Illinois.  Also, you get the fibre in your diet from the wholemeal bread. 
3. Lunch: Any meat – I prefer white meat like chicken or turkey or tuna – in a wholemeal baguette.  I used to season avocado VERY well as it is, in my humble opinion, quite flavourless. 
4. Cottage cheese with pesto.  What a way for your body to excrete fat.  Cottage cheese is great for that. 
5. Dinner: Turkey chilli: Minced turkey breast with onion, tomatoes and jalapenos, chickpeas, kidney beans and a dash of cumin.  Chillies boost your metabolism; the rest is so high in protein that you will probably not want to eat a thing after. 
6. An evening snack of a banana, apple and orange usually did it for me. 

Throughout the day you should also keep well hydrated.  Water, fresh orange juice, teas (especially green tea) are all very good for you. Drinking 16oz (around a pint) of chilled water first thing in the morning boosts metabolism by 24% for up to 90 minutes!  Get a good start to the day.  Oat granola is a very good snack as well with raisins and yoghurt or milk. 

One of the most important things to bear in mind when you consider eating well is the old ticker.  The heart is not so sensitive when you are young but take care of it in your youth and it will remain healthy throughout life.  For a mighty heart, it was foun that those who eat Marmite, or any other yeast based spread on toast is great for cardiovascular function.  It is due to the very high levels of benfotiamine (an amino acid) which is very beneficial for the heart. 

There are also another 15 things which I have learned during the year so far….

1. Sweetcorn – Packed with chromium which lowers the incidence of ticker problems.
2. Kiwi fruit – This reduces platelet clumping by 18%! It means that there is less chance of heart attack and stroke thanks to those delicious little fruit. 
3. Drinking at least 60ml of Pomegranate juice every day lowers blood pressure by around 21%. 
4. Healthy bones, healthy heart.  You are 60% more likely to have a heart attack if you are diagnosed with arthritis so keep the calcium levels up!
5. During winter your blood pressure rises due to the cold as does the risk of clots.  1^ﻩC drop in temperature was associated with a cumulative 2% increase of heart attack so, although obvious, wrap up warm!
6. A glass of red wine a day.  Red wine is rich in anti-oxidants which have a positive effect on cholesterol.
7. It was found people who eat 6 small meals a day have 5% lower cholesterol. 
8. High vitamins in the diet helps.  Even if you take vitamin supplements – it prolongs their effect if your refrigerate them. 
9. Believe it or not, chocolate milkshakes reduces heart attack risks thanks to the cocoa’s anti-inflammatory benefits which reduce the onset of atherosclerosis (build up of cholesterol in the arteries)
10. Bacon rashers contain nitrates.  These nitrates help reduce cardiovascular disease altogether….in moderation of course!
11. Spending 5 bouts of 20 minutes in the sunshine a day.  The vitamin D benefits and generally is you are doing light to moderate work it helps reduce heart disease by 26%.
12. Brushing your teeth!! Fighting the bacteria in your mouth that causes inflammation reduces heart disease by 70%
13. Vanilla yoghurt helps you avoid heart disease as vanilla has essential anti-oxidants which help reduce inflammation.
14. 3 half hour naps a day? Too good to be true?  Well according to research in the archives of internal medicine, napping for half an hour 3 times a day can decrease the risk of heart disease by 30%.
15. A glass of milk a day keeps hypertension at bay.  Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the main cause of stroke and heart attack. 

I hope this has been helpful!

Much love,

Jackson L.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Yeah...thanks!

I feel as though my weekend was completely wasted doing something I really wish I did not have to do.  It was on Saturday as well so it was pretty much the only stress free day of the whole weekend, unless of course you have Monday off.  This incident really got me thinking more about certain things and I have come to realise that there are certain people who are total cunts.  Even those who are very close to you.  I may be being a little too over dramatic but this incident has had me thinking over the last few days and had it been much worse, I would have well and truly been fucked! Fucked!!

What had happened was completely my fault.  It takes a measure of a man to admit when they are wrong or have done something wrong and I am completely liable. 

I thought I dropped my keys in the car after having come back home from a quiet night out in Edgware road on Friday night.  I was searching for them and I could not see a thing, so I switched on the lights in the car and did not find them.  I later found my keys in my left coat pocket and locked the car and made my way back to the flat.  Unfortunately, I realized the next morning that I had left the lights on in the car, draining the battery.  The car engine would not start due to the dead battery.  This caused a crazy ripple that crippled my whole day.  Who would have thought it?  Something so easy to fix – jump start the car – and it took me nearly 6+ hours to do as no one was willing to help.  I had already had plans to see more of London, visit the museums (Imperial War museum and Natural History museum) as well as an Art Gallery (The National Gallery) and maybe get a spot of shopping done.  Thanks to all those who really do exhibit community spirit(!) I was unable to do any of these things. 

I tried everything. 

My first, and most obvious port of call was the local mechanic.  To say this mechanic’s garage was local would be a catastrophic under statement.  It is literally a 30 second walk from the flat.  We went there explaining that our car battery was dead and needed simple jump start.  Even if they could just supply us with the necessary equipment – jump leads – to connect the battery of our car and a car with a functional battery.  After a ten minute or so wait the manager came out and gave tremendously cuntish excuses like we don’t do jump starts, we are under staffed, we don’t have a car to take around to your street, I have a tiny knob. 

You will later understand my frustration as to why these guys really should have delivered.  It was just pathetic of them not to be able to do the decent thing to help us out a little.  We were even willing to pay!  What a father-fucking bag of shit eating faggot!

My next bright idea was to go and visit our neighbours to see if they were able to help.  The first people we went to I know would have helped had they had a set of those elusive jump leads but, unfortunately, they, like us, did not.  The rest of our neighbours did not help much either.  At least our first neighbours gave us suggestions but, the rest were just plain dismissive.  Well, thanks for your neighbourhood fortitude!  Bastards.

I then sent a text message to a family member.  They live fairly local to us.  Just a town away and we have always been quick to help them out when they are in a rut; from baby sitting to keeping their mail in order and more.  They still use our freaking garage! I also remember them saying that if we ever needed anything, they were just a call away.  Calling them on phones that just rang out as well as sending texts which have STILL not received a response!  Yeah.  Way to help us. 

We decided it was rather futile having waited for over an hour so we tried one more thing.  Our plumber.  A total stranger who had been into our home once or twice.  When I was calling him, hearing the ring ring of the telephone line and waiting for him to pick up I had the feeling of false optimism.  A feeble hope that he may be able to do something.  He picked up.  I explained the situation.  He responded with “I will be there within half an hour.  I just need to find some jump leads.”  Fucking jump leads!! 

This total hero plumber, almost as good a Mario, arrived 20 minutes later, even sooner than we expected.  He connected the car batteries and turned the ignition and literally a split second later our car battery was working and the engine was working!  He made a 20 minute journey to us for a split second and refused payment saying “Hey, shit happens!” and a mechanic could not take about 2 minutes, actually just 2 minutes, out of his day to do the decent thing!  We thanked him for his time and he said if we ever needed anything at all to call him.  What a legend!

By this point it was deep into Saturday evening and the whole day was wasted. 

It got me thinking a lot about man’s attitude to their fellow man.  It got me thinking that most people are cunts and that decent, upstanding people who do go out of their way to help others are few and far between and it is just depressing!  I was thinking that all those assholes that did not help me when I needed them do not deserve my time when they need me.  But, then I would be one of those people who just ignore those who are in need of aid, an asshole.  I was raised better than that.  I was also raised to rise above it. 

I had always, in my heart of hearts, had very little faith in humanity as, as aforementioned, this situation could have been something more threatening and I feel I would not have received any help.  This incident reaffirmed my thoughts but, I had always been quietly optimistic in that people will always find the right decorum in a given situation.  The plumber has given me hope, albeit very little. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

Nodol Ni Emit Remmus

The sun is shining the weather is sweet, yeah!

I can smell it!  It is so close now.  I was driving around London pretty much all day yesterday and the weather was just sweet.  It was so good to see the sun out.  I was actually in a tight T! Yeah, I smell a very familiar and welcome smell of summer.  I know you may think it is miles away, but, is it really?  We are already coming towards the close of February.   There really is not much left until we are back into the summer months and life is even sweeter! 

I can’t wait for the summer.  It will be my first proper summer in London.  It reminds me of the Chilis song ‘Emit Remmus'.  There is something really rather majestic about London in the summer.  Everything just seems so much more overwhelming.  The sights look even more regal in the sunshine.  Sights like Big Ben with the flag humbly blowing in the wind.  The smells are more intense, for example the smell throughout the London underground.  It just smells of being on holiday the whole time.  Other attractions such as the markets in Camden Town become more lively, bohemian and energetic as everyone is out enjoying the great weather.  The atmosphere in Camden is grand during the summer time.  Walks in Hyde Park during the day and night time can be spent walking up and down London Bridge to see all of London’s lights. 

Oxford Street

,

Regent Street

,

Leicester Square

, Piccadilly Circus,

Trafalgar Square

during the day is amassed with hordes of people. As is Harrods, but Harrods is like that all year round.   

Park Lane

and Mayfair and South Kensington are just beautiful at night.  Excellent night life in these areas….who cares about expense when its THAT good??  Women wear less, like summer is a natural aphrodisiac.  Other nights spent smoking shish for a sweet taste of various fruit. 

It is also the season of music festivals.  British music festivals are on the rise and there are so many people going.  It is one of the many ways to sit back during the summer with a group of friends with banter flying around, and think “I love this.” And its even better at night with a cigar. 

There is so much more to do! I have barely even scratched the surface!

One of the things I am most relishing is when my friend Brian Fox comes down to visit.  We are going to do EVERYTHING. 

Fucking love the summer!!!

Much love,

Jackson L.