Archive for Cancer
The Cure For Cancer
Posted by: | Comments[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]
Cancer sucks.
Think that’s a naughty thing to say?
Consider this:
I was speaking at a conference last week when I glanced out into the audience. I saw a muscular dude with a t-shirt that said, in huge letters no-less…
“F – - K CANCER.”
There were NO dashes in his version… that was added by me for your sake.
I mentioned from the stage that I loved his shirt. Sure, it was profane, but I hate cancer so much I didn’t care.
Afterwards we struck up a friendship. He was an Aussie rugby player and one super-nice guy. We hit the gym together and managed to come to agreement on the fact that American football is superior. (A bit of levity in an otherwise somber article never hurts, right?)
What perfect timing… his t-shirt, that is.
This week, it is ALL happening.
An unreal number of fitness professionals, including myself, are donating their time and energies into whacking this thing called cancer into submission.
We have put together some incredible gifts for you just for helping us out.
Go see what’s up…
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
Notice the “.org” … that’s because this is 100% for charity. Not one dime is kept. Proceeds all go to the American Cancer Society.
My good friend Scott Colby started this fundraiser when his uncle was battling for his life with the “C-word”… a battle, I’m sad to say, he lost last week. Our thoughts are with him.
But his fight was not in vain. His fight spurred this movement and my contribution, however silly or meaningless it may in fact be.
So here we go:
I have discovered the CURE for cancer.
CURE as in C.U.R.E.
“C” is the most important.
“C” is for CASH.
If we spent 1/10th of the money we spend on war and started dumping CASH into cancer rather than crude oil into the Gulf, we’d cure cancer in about as much time as it took me to write this article.
That was overly optimistic… but who cares. It’s the point that counts.
Let me lay it on the line for you… and if I lose subscribers for this, too freakin’ bad.
Right now Americans spend billions of dollars on pure junk food… and you Brits are not that far behind. British kids are gaining fat at nearly twice the rate of American kids, and our children are among the most obese in the history of HISTORY.
Fat kids usually, but not always, means fat parents… or lazy parents. Or both.
Again, shoot me. It’s the brutal truth.
Why does this matter?
It matters because the math, unlike the seriousness of this problem, is crystal clear. Americans alone spend $25 more per month on food than they need, and this was from a study done in 2009. The recent data is not even out yet.
$25 more than is necessary to sustain and nourish the bodies and minds of every member of a household of four.
And that $25 is spent entirely on junk food.
Note that this does not take into account eating out, something the average family does at least four times per week.
Let’s just be conservative and say we only waste $25 per family of four on food we do not need. Fair?
The population of The United States is a tad over 300,000,000.
Divide that by four.
That’s 75,000,000.
To be fair, this is not a perfect equation. I’ll deduct a reasonable percent from our total for a fudge (pun) factor.
Let’s run with 50,000,000. Nice, round, nifty number.
Multiply that by $25.
Total: $1,250,000,000 dollars.
PER MONTH.
Folks, that’s $15 BILLION dollars per year that could, in a perfect world, go to fight cancer. Or AIDS. Or education…
But let’s stick to cancer.
Want to know what we currently spend on cancer?
No, you really don’t. It’s not even close to that.
Now for the real sticker shock: Due to cancer-related illness, medical costs, insurance premiums, and loss of labor, cancer costs us $150 BILLION per year in economic loss.
QUICK: Name one company who is led by a human with a single brain cell who would NOT spend $15 billion to save $150 billion.
I’ll wait…
That’s what I thought.
Yep, the cure for cancer starts with CASH.
You can donate some here:
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
Let’s continue on…
“U” = UNDERSTANDING.
You have to understand your enemy in order to win a war.
Do me a favor: Go into a public place.
Look around.
One person in five that you see will die from cancer, and that’s if they’re lucky. The updated numbers are more like 1.3 in five, given our dietary and environmental decline.
If there was a terrorist threat that was announced on the news that threatened the lives about 50,000,000 Americans, how seriously would you take it?
Good. Now we understand the serious nature of this, one of nature’s most efficient and vile terrorists.
“R” = RESEARCH.
Cash alone is not going to cut it. Cash has to be funneled directly into research and not into some bureaucrat’s back pocket. The only way this is going to happen is when every single one of us gets pissed off enough to complain about it.
Remember, we still hold the power of the vote.
Vote smart, then stay on their ass… make them follow through.
Make your donation mean something by helping to ensure the organizations you donate follow through.
Finally…
“E” is for EMPATHY.
Empathy and sympathy are cousins, but they’re really not the kissing kind. One is visceral; the other emotional. To truly empathize with someone is a gift if you yourself do not have the problem or challenge the other is facing.
If you’re a victim, empathy comes easy.
For guys like me, one who has never truly faced this demon from the 7th Circle of Hell called “cancer”, empathy is difficult.
But I’m learning.
Really.
So can you.
I’m asking for your help today, but I’m giving you something valuable in return.
Please go see what we’ve done to make empathy a lot easier…
www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
My thoughts are with each of you who have struggled with this disease and/or lost loved ones to it.
My dreams are firmly fixed on a CURE within my lifetime.
And by CURE I mean the real thing… not just a pithy little acronym scribbled by a fitness author while listening to Guns-n-Roses a bit too loud.
I jest… GnR can never be too loud.
Let’s get to the cure, folks.
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
The Cure For Cancer
Posted by: | Comments[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]
Cancer sucks.
Think that’s a naughty thing to say?
Consider this:
I was speaking at a conference last week when I glanced out into the audience. I saw a muscular dude with a t-shirt that said, in huge letters no-less…
“F – - K CANCER.”
There were NO dashes in his version… that was added by me for your sake.
I mentioned from the stage that I loved his shirt. Sure, it was profane, but I hate cancer so much I didn’t care.
Afterwards we struck up a friendship. He was an Aussie rugby player and one super-nice guy. We hit the gym together and managed to come to agreement on the fact that American football is superior. (A bit of levity in an otherwise somber article never hurts, right?)
What perfect timing… his t-shirt, that is.
This week, it is ALL happening.
An unreal number of fitness professionals, including myself, are donating their time and energies into whacking this thing called cancer into submission.
We have put together some incredible gifts for you just for helping us out.
Go see what’s up…
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
Notice the “.org” … that’s because this is 100% for charity. Not one dime is kept. Proceeds all go to the American Cancer Society.
My good friend Scott Colby started this fundraiser when his uncle was battling for his life with the “C-word”… a battle, I’m sad to say, he lost last week. Our thoughts are with him.
But his fight was not in vain. His fight spurred this movement and my contribution, however silly or meaningless it may in fact be.
So here we go:
I have discovered the CURE for cancer.
CURE as in C.U.R.E.
“C” is the most important.
“C” is for CASH.
If we spent 1/10th of the money we spend on war and started dumping CASH into cancer rather than crude oil into the Gulf, we’d cure cancer in about as much time as it took me to write this article.
That was overly optimistic… but who cares. It’s the point that counts.
Let me lay it on the line for you… and if I lose subscribers for this, too freakin’ bad.
Right now Americans spend billions of dollars on pure junk food… and you Brits are not that far behind. British kids are gaining fat at nearly twice the rate of American kids, and our children are among the most obese in the history of HISTORY.
Fat kids usually, but not always, means fat parents… or lazy parents. Or both.
Again, shoot me. It’s the brutal truth.
Why does this matter?
It matters because the math, unlike the seriousness of this problem, is crystal clear. Americans alone spend $25 more per month on food than they need, and this was from a study done in 2009. The recent data is not even out yet.
$25 more than is necessary to sustain and nourish the bodies and minds of every member of a household of four.
And that $25 is spent entirely on junk food.
Note that this does not take into account eating out, something the average family does at least four times per week.
Let’s just be conservative and say we only waste $25 per family of four on food we do not need. Fair?
The population of The United States is a tad over 300,000,000.
Divide that by four.
That’s 75,000,000.
To be fair, this is not a perfect equation. I’ll deduct a reasonable percent from our total for a fudge (pun) factor.
Let’s run with 50,000,000. Nice, round, nifty number.
Multiply that by $25.
Total: $1,250,000,000 dollars.
PER MONTH.
Folks, that’s $15 BILLION dollars per year that could, in a perfect world, go to fight cancer. Or AIDS. Or education…
But let’s stick to cancer.
Want to know what we currently spend on cancer?
No, you really don’t. It’s not even close to that.
Now for the real sticker shock: Due to cancer-related illness, medical costs, insurance premiums, and loss of labor, cancer costs us $150 BILLION per year in economic loss.
QUICK: Name one company who is led by a human with a single brain cell who would NOT spend $15 billion to save $150 billion.
I’ll wait…
That’s what I thought.
Yep, the cure for cancer starts with CASH.
You can donate some here:
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
Let’s continue on…
“U” = UNDERSTANDING.
You have to understand your enemy in order to win a war.
Do me a favor: Go into a public place.
Look around.
One person in five that you see will die from cancer, and that’s if they’re lucky. The updated numbers are more like 1.3 in five, given our dietary and environmental decline.
If there was a terrorist threat that was announced on the news that threatened the lives about 50,000,000 Americans, how seriously would you take it?
Good. Now we understand the serious nature of this, one of nature’s most efficient and vile terrorists.
“R” = RESEARCH.
Cash alone is not going to cut it. Cash has to be funneled directly into research and not into some bureaucrat’s back pocket. The only way this is going to happen is when every single one of us gets pissed off enough to complain about it.
Remember, we still hold the power of the vote.
Vote smart, then stay on their ass… make them follow through.
Make your donation mean something by helping to ensure the organizations you donate follow through.
Finally…
“E” is for EMPATHY.
Empathy and sympathy are cousins, but they’re really not the kissing kind. One is visceral; the other emotional. To truly empathize with someone is a gift if you yourself do not have the problem or challenge the other is facing.
If you’re a victim, empathy comes easy.
For guys like me, one who has never truly faced this demon from the 7th Circle of Hell called “cancer”, empathy is difficult.
But I’m learning.
Really.
So can you.
I’m asking for your help today, but I’m giving you something valuable in return.
Please go see what we’ve done to make empathy a lot easier…
www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
My thoughts are with each of you who have struggled with this disease and/or lost loved ones to it.
My dreams are firmly fixed on a CURE within my lifetime.
And by CURE I mean the real thing… not just a pithy little acronym scribbled by a fitness author while listening to Guns-n-Roses a bit too loud.
I jest… GnR can never be too loud.
Let’s get to the cure, folks.
http://www.fitprosagainstcancer.org/ <--- go here by ALL means!
Are You at Risk for Disease?
Posted by: | CommentsWant to know what your real odds are of having a heart attack?
How about a stroke? Diabetes?
Okay, this isn’t sounding like a positive letter… but hang in there. It gets a lot better and more positive.
I was having lunch today with my CPA and my good friend Sherry Strong. Sherry’s upcoming book is a must-read. I will let you know when she’s ready to release it.
Since Sherry has been here visiting me in Dallas I have learned SO much about natural food preparation and what really causes disease.
Our conversation took a turn to “doctor’s tests.” I think most of them are worthless. Some are vital.
It’s important to know the difference.
I’m going to give you the three tests you absolutely must take if you want to help ensure your future health in a moment.
But first, let me give you Sherry’s argument to my third test.
Yes, we nutritionists argue sometimes. ; )
I’ll let you decide. But statically it’s far more accurate than any blood test… and get this:
You can do it at home for freee.
So far, are you with me? Good.
I’m going to go in reverse order, third test to last…
The third test is simply this:
Measure your waistline. Use a tape measure and do not pull it tight. Measure right below the navel.
Write down that number in inches.
Then measure your height out of shoes in inches. Write that down too.
If twice your waist in inches is more than your height you are FOUR TIMES more likely to have heart disease.
Four times. That’s more predictive than cholesterol tests by far.
And a lot less expensive to boot.
Don’t just read about this test — DO IT. I’ll give you something you can do ABOUT it if you fail this test in a second.
The great news is that this is one factor that is totally within your control.
Test number two: Know your SED rate. This is an inflammatory marker in the blood.
Test number one: Know your hsCRP and LP(a) levels. Both of these can be done as one test usually. Both are inflammatory markers as well as key indicators of heart health.
Go to your doctor and ask for these three blood tests. Usually they can be done all at once. Sometimes they are separate, but they are all crucial.
If you are thin and look healthy, listen to this:
You too can be Lance Armstrong or Jim Fixx….and not know it.
Lance and Jim looked like two of the healthiest men on the planet. Lance beat testicular cancer but came within an inch of his life. Jim died after a short jog of a heart attack very young in life.
Looks can be deceiving.
This is Sherry’s argument — and she’s totally correct.
That’s why I give you THREE (well, actually four) TESTS.
You see, it’s virtually impossible to have a normal SED rate, a normal hs-CRP level and a normal LP(a) level and be at imminent risk for any of these killer diseases.
Possible, perhaps — but almost not.
So, if you look healthy and feel like a bazillion bucks, you still need to know your levels of these inflammatory markers.
If you are overweight or obese, you totally absolutely MUST do the waist/height test as well as the others.
You see, it goes both ways.
Some obese folks test out okay at the doc’s office. Their cholesterol, blood pressure, and all typical readings are okay. Rarely does a doc run an hsCRP or LP(a). And rarely do they run a SED rate.
See the importance here?
Both the fit and the unfit can be at dire risk and not even know it.
Now, here’s the solution:
A low-inflammatory nutrition and training plan, along with plenty of stress-free time.
I can help you with the first two things.
The third thing — de-stressing — is up to you. You may want to spend 30 minutes a day doing yoga, walking, meditating, praying, or whatever calms your MIND and BODY down.
Check it out:
Lance and Jim were both doing insane amounts of exercise… so much that they demanded insane amounts of high-inflammatory foods. Foods like processed carbohydrates for example.
And they both got sick. One of them died.
My good friend Dr. Steven Chase believes that 85% of cancer is preventable.
Re-read that: 85%. And he’s an oncologist — a cancer doctor.
And you know heart disease is 95% preventable… or did you?
But all of these killers, especially diabetes, demand a low-insulin, low-inflammatory nutrition and exercise plan.
Lance and Jim had sky-high inflammatory levels from all that exercise. It was literally TOO much exercise.
That’s why so many marathoners die of heart attacks. They eat inflammatory foods and engage in high-stress exercise for too long of a time.
So, what’s the answer?
1. Short workouts that are intense, effective, and enjoyable. Weights and cardio both, or in-home resistance workouts will work fine.
2. Longer “soft” workouts like brisk walking that helps de-stress the body and burn more bodyfat.
3. A nutrition plan that allows for your favorite foods at the RIGHT TIME of the day but also helps you burn bodyfat without activating your body’s stress-producing hormones like cortisol…cool.
Most nutrition plans are stressful. Big mistake. Stress can cause you to hold on to bodyfat. Plus stress causes inflammation.
Most workout plans are either too easy or too intense for too long a period of time. My System is super-short (7-14 minutes a day, plus walks when you can.) This is enough to build all the muscle you need plus burn bodyfat when combined with the nutrition plan.
My System’s nutrition plan is ideal if you are willing to “diet” for a day or two, then enjoy a day of eating “normal” foods.
Hey, no one is perfect. Anyone who has half a brain should know that not very many people (myself included) are willing to do without their favorite foods forever.
That’s silly — and it’s not necessary to burn bodyfat.
In fact, my System ‘demands’ that you eat these foods at certain times TO BURN MORE BODYFAT!
Wild, isn’t it?
It’s the System I’ve used for years.
It’s the combination of two books:
7 Minute Muscle + Every Other Day Diet
Get them both for one low price…
Go here:
http://www.7minutemuscle.com/aff/vitallywel/oto <— Helps you pass the tests
Any of my three Upgrade Kits come with both books, a full year of support from me on the Every Other Day Diet group Forum, and so many bonuses I can’t list them all.
This combo is something I am so very proud to share with you.
It’s the ultimate System for lowering bodyfat, increasing lean muscle, lowering insulin, lowering inflammation, and ensuring your health.
Whether you are in shape or obese, this System is one that will work for you.
Beat Disease <— Helps you pass the tests
A Candle In A Dark Week; Defeating Inflammation
Posted by: | Comments[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]
A Candle In A Dark Week
Unless you hitched a ride on NASA’s Lunar Orbiter, you’ve heard the news.
In a single day, we lost two people that almost everyone in this country, if not this world, felt as if they knew personally.
In the same week, there was a candle flickering in the darkness.
A candle fueled by science. By research.
By hope.
We lost Farrah Fawcett to cancer. But this week a promising new cancer drug has a large number of folks highly optimistic.
And of course we lost Michael Jackson. We don’t know why yet. I wonder if we ever will.
But still, the candle burns.
The light here is a light of reckoning. A light that says, “You are but dust in the wind.” To dust, we return.
In a sense, at least.
You are also the stuff of stars.
I’m not talking about movie stars — I mean literal stars.
The inspiration for this article comes from one of my personal heroes, Carl Sagan. In his brilliant book, A Demon-Haunted World, Carl brings is wit, intelligence and sobriety to bear on the candle in the dark — science.
Science has helped liberate us from the dark ages, literally.
Science has cured more people in a single generation than all the wars in “history” have taken. Can you believe it?
During this dark week, science enabled us to launch the most sophisticated lunar probe in history to the moon.
And science will eventually find a cure for that monster we call cancer.
But science may never find a cure for what killed the King of Pop.
You see, I don’t think it is as simple as it seems. It may be. Who knows. But I think Jackson died of loneliness and self-abuse.
It just took time.
That, combined with stress (the number-one killer in the world) is enough to do anyone in.
The candle in the dark? Managing your health is really under your control… more than you think. That includes your mind.
Not totally, but in a few years, who knows.
That’s a candle that burns bright to me.
Brighter than the sun.
A bit of honesty:
My first thought upon hearing Jackson died was, “Wow. Too young. How?”
I’ve always recognized his contribution to music, but I’ve never been “attached” as a fan per-se.
When Kurt Cobain died, I cried. When Gene Roddenberry died, I cried. I cry every time I watch the end of “Contact” that just says, “For Carl.”
When Michael died, I shook my head in disbelief, skepticism, and reflection.
My candle was burning at both ends, I suppose.
How fragile we are. Yet, like Sagan loved to say, we are all “starstuff.” Literally.
Every atom in your body with the exception of hydrogen can be traced to a red star, billions of years old.
That makes me hang my head in utter awe. How beautiful, yet how chaotic our universe and our lives seem to be.
The reason I do what I do is not to try and extend “just years” to your life — it’s to help you make your life the best it can be.
To extend the healthy, happy, joyful aspects of your life.
To give you the candle in the dark called “self-management”.
Your time can come in a snap of a finger. In a breath, your light can go out.
But until then, I urge you to fight the good fight.
And keep your candle lit for all the world to see.
Fit Bits: This Will Kill You. Really.
Inflammation.
That’s the ticket. That’s the answer.
That’s what you must address if you want to live a longer and more productive, healthy life. No ifs, ands or buts.
Inflammation is caused by insulin resistance, among other things.
I’ve decided to share this week’s Fit Bits with you in an entertaining video I made called “Low Carb Lunacy.”
Get ready for the facts like you’ve never seen them before…
Please press the Play button to start the video. Thanks!
P.S. For those of you who really want to take charge of your health, I do encourage you to adopt a dietary plan you can live with. The best I know of is found below.
The Every Other Day Diet 
Lose Weight. Lower Inflammation!
