Trainland: A Horror and Dark Fantasy Thriller
Washes of acoustic guitars and piano are the prominent instrumentation, songs coloured with warm brass, tinkling autoharp, ghostly clarinet, woozy slide guitar, and touches of electronic effects, all punctuated by both live percussion and processed beats. The textures of each song have been impeccably crafted, the overall effect stunningly beautiful. It is, perhaps, a little too precise in its construction. You just wish McMorrow would let loose a little and offer something less restrained and more emotionally raw, even if the minimalist production is incredibly exposing.
Only the title track dares to beef up the sound. Tirso de Molina and Lope de Vega. What follows is an intricate and entangled web of lies and deceit full of cross-dressing, mistaken identities and manipulation — a world in which the women have power. The cast are wonderfully expressive, though their cartoonish behaviour does sometimes border on over-the-top, with some modernisms creeping in. The plot of Henry V is relatively simple, the play essentially forming a character study of kingship, what it means to be a good leader, or a hero.
Law deals with the pressure as admirably as the king himself. Despite his slender frame and graceful movement across the stage, his Henry is a charismatic leader — charming during court scenes, yet equally commanding and inspirational in battle. His is a ruthless king, angry at those who defy him yet mournful of those who die in battle.
Law certainly lives up to his star-billing. Yet, whilst Grandage has teased some superb, colourful performances from his cast, visually the production is bare and a little dreary. As Chorus implores in his opening Prologue, the audience are required to use their imagination — something this production takes too literally. The lighting and ambient music Adam Cork certainly provide atmosphere, but the production feels too static, the actors either stood still or running from scene to scene. It makes you wish Grandage had taken a few more creative risks rather than relying on his star cast.
Henry V is the final play in the Grandage Season and runs until 15th February. Wednesday, 15 January Scandi-pop update. Some of the best music from the past few years has come from Scandinavia and that trend is set to continue well into So whether you're looking for music from new artists or eagerly awaiting the return of some star names, here are some of the biggest Scandinavian acts to look out for in the coming months Another Swedish singer on the rise is XOV.
As with many hip-hop inspired artists, he grew up in a ghetto Tensta, with the highest crime rates in Stockholm yet found solace in music. What sets him apart is his dark subject matter and mentoring from Swedish songwriting god Max Martin in LA last year.
Lucifer is taken from his EP 'Boys Don't Cry' that's being released in two parts - a stripped down effort and a full studio offering. The minimal, haunting production and hip-hop beats are paired with a pop sensibility, with XOV expressing regret over his past "I used to kick it with Lucifer and he still lingers in the dark". If this is what he's capable of with just a synth and a drum machine, just imagine what he'll do with a full studio at his disposal - he's currently recording his debut album due later this year.
See a Problem?
Ola Svensson is already a huge name in Sweden. Since winning Swedish Idol in he's released three albums and had a number of hits in his native country, but hasn't quite found that same traction in the UK. That said, his most recent single, Tonight I'm Yours , proves why he's such a star. Following a sweeping string-based intro, the song evolves into a synthy banger with plenty of euphoric appeal. It's the kind of Europop that Swedish artists do so well, but could easily appeal across the globe. Could be the year that Ola goes truly international?
That's right, the Neneh Cherry returns this year with her first album in eighteen years, entitled 'Blank Project'. It's clear from latest track Everything that this latest work will be far more experimental - seven minutes of sparse beats, odd vocal samples, and nary a soulful chorus in earshot. If you haven't watched these yet, be sure to check them out. I laugh throughout the entire thing. Music to Write By 2. Great tracks to inspire a creative mood. See below for a description of the book and links to where you can order it. Or click the picture below to go to Amazon.
When the virus decimated the human species, Kip and his family lost everything except each other. Then Kip's mother got infected and perished, and now Kip's father is sick with sepsis - curable, but only with antibiotics they no lo. Music to Write By: Here are two of my favorite songs off the Gravity soundtrack. Those of you looking for good tracks to listen to while writing or doing whatever you do, check them out. Movies with trailers that I can't wait for. Which one's your favorite, fellow nerds? The 4 Bad Guy Types: How to Create the Right Villain.
How does Voldemort embody the "Cult Leader" archetype? I argued in that post that all superheroes fall into one of four categories: The 4 Good Guy Types: How to Create the Right Hero. There are four types of heroes, and four types of villains. Here are the four hero archetypes and t. Popularity Popularity Featured Price: Low to High Price: High to Low Avg. The bill seems to be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act as it limits freedom of expression in a way that cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
The fact that redrafting and brokering is going on amongst political parties as to changes that will be promoted by the Government at the same time as submissions are being sought, excludes public participation and is an anathema to the Select Committee process. It would be inappropriate to repair such a measure with a complex, negotiated Supplementary Order Paper even if this were referred to a Select Committee. This is particularly important given that the opinion on Bill of Rights Act consistency given by the Crown Law Office in relation to the present bill does not seem to engage with the points raised in this submission.
In a matter as integral to our system of government as regulation of the democratic process, it is highly desirable that reform receives a high level of support and is subject to debate and comment by the public and interest groups as well as politicians. Withdrawing the bill and starting again would enable a Regulatory Impact Statement and a list of those consulted to be added to the Explanatory Note. Both are notably absent from this bill. Spending and Restricted Period The current electoral regulations impose electoral advertising spending limits on parties and candidates in the 3 months prior to polling day.
The Bill seeks to: Extend advertising spending restrictions to all persons; and increase the period of restriction to the entire year in which the election is held if the election is in a designated election year. The quantum of spending limits for parties and candidates has not changed. Given the historical tendency in New Zealand to hold elections late in the year, the period of regulation will in most cases be extended, resulting in an effective increase in restrictions. For reasons described in this and the next two paragraphs, the bill creates an unjustifiable electoral advantage for incumbents.
The incumbent government gains a substantial advantage from a longer restricted period. During a restricted period a government is able to advertise and promote government services and initiatives outside advertising restrictions. Many of these initiatives will be creatures of party policy and the dissemination of such information to the electorate realistically encourages the re-election of the incumbent government.
Informing people about the services available to them from their government is a necessary, important and proper function of government. But the pernicious nature of the Electoral Finance Bill means its opponents won't even be able to hold responsible those who impose it on us. This is so even if used in good faith, though the advantage is easily amenable to abuse.
This will have the effect of: The Society submits that by: These problems are exacerbated by the third party registration regime and the restrictions on issue advertising discussed later. The overly technical nature of the regime can be illustrated by a hypothetical example: Somewhat aware of electoral regulation and that a local candidate may have taken a position on this issue, they attempt to be cautious and record the name and address of one of their members on the banner and on each flyer.
They proceed to display the banner and distribute the flyers at the market. If the bill were enacted, the group above would have breached the law and may have incurred an unauthorised election expense on behalf of a candidate whose name they did not even know. In the first instance, the group member who allowed their name and address to be used on the flyer is apparently deemed both promoter and publisher of an electoral advertisement and has broken the law by failing to issue themselves with a declaration under the Oaths and Declarations Act to the effect that the cost of the advertisements published during the regulated period will not be more than the maximum amount.
Of more concern is the fact that the banner and flyer may be a candidate advertisement. This example serves to illustrate the complexity of the disclosure regime. It was submitted earlier that the spending limits comprised in the bill were too low. However, the major concern rests on the rules regarding registration as a third party. The effect of the bill is such that any person or entity that cannot register as a third party is effectively excluded from the political communications component of the democratic process — such a gravely serious effect warrants careful consideration.
The first matter is the timing restriction on registration. As of writ day in an election year any person not registered as a third party is effectively silenced. This could have serious effects as illustrated by the following hypothetical example:. In the election, election day is set for 13 September and writ day for 13 August. On 14 August a major political party releases a bold new health policy. Buried in the minutiae of the voluminous policy document is a statement that planned funding for new radiology equipment in public oncology units will be deferred.
This aspect of the policy is noted by the Cancer Society, which advocated strongly for the funding and believes the equipment will significantly increase the success rates for radiotherapy treatment. However, the Cancer Society has not registered as a third party and it is too late for them to do so.
This example illustrates how the timing restriction on registrations as a third party can lead to undesirable outcomes. The second concern relates to restrictions on who may register as a third party. The restrictions in clause 14 1 on third party registration will exclude a large number of people who should have the right to participate in New Zealand elections. Of particular concern is that unincorporated bodies may not be third parties unless all their members are registered electors.
The following hypothetical example illustrates: A rugby club who uses the park for fixtures and training multiple times every week decides to register as. Their application is rejected on the grounds that some of their members are not registered electors. There are many reasons why a person may not be a registered elector and not all justify total removal from the democratic process. The third party regime unduly restricts participation in elections.
If participation of those not directly standing for election is to be regulated it should be done carefully and to the least degree practicable to achieve the desired outcomes. It is noted that much of the consternation regarding third party conduct in the general election is assuaged by a simple disclosure regime provided it is enforced — the identity of the person who is advocating something is likely to be more relevant to its persuasive effect than how loudly they are advocating it.
Clause 5 I of election advertisement Clause 5 1 iii causes particular concern. The concept is vague and will likely be difficult to apply. However, this is not the major problem with the issue advertising provision. Accordingly, regulation of issues for debate is highly unorthodox and not supported by principle. The primary issue with this restriction is the potential for it to be used as a weapon for shutting down debate. Bizarrely, the regime seems to mean that the best way to take an issue off the table is to take a position on it.
The net effect is a stifling of debate on important issues. The net effect is a stifling of political debate. The general objectives of the bill do not warrant the regulation of such a huge range of possible speech. The regulation of issues may have other unforeseen consequences. The following is a hypothetical example: A power generation company seeks to build a wind farm in an area of New Zealand and commences the resource consent process.
A party issues a statement to the effect that it opposes the development of new wind farms anywhere. This illustrates how regulation of issue advertising has far reaching consequences. Moreover, in the above example there is an argument to be made that preparation for and advocacy at a resource consent hearing could be an election advertisement where a candidate or party has taken a position on the development in question — the Society notes that there is no exemption for official proceedings in what may amount to election advertising that could be a problem if issues are to be regulated.
Conclusion The broad purposes of the bill may well be admirable. However, it appears that its operative provisions have been formulated in a manner so divorced from these purposes that the bill will have the opposite effect to that which is intended. In this case a political compromise has resulted in a compromise of principles and this cannot be accepted in an area as important as regulation of the democratic process. The Society considers that the bill goes no way towards increasing transparency or accountability in the democratic process.
Conversely, it risks encouraging large anonymous donations to political parties and candidates in preference to open participation in public debate. In this way it promotes rather than prevents the undue influence of wealth. The rules regarding registration, disclosure, spending limits and related offences are so complex, vague and uncertain as to make participation in our parliamentary democracy an arduous and perhaps even legally dangerous undertaking for ordinary New Zealanders. These considerations are additional to the fact that an overly long restricted period, unduly low spending limits and unfair third party regime, all place an unacceptable restriction on free speech.
That term is best reserved to describe the practice of courts in other jurisdictions who, acting under supreme-law constitutions and faced with legal challenges made after legislation has been enacted, choose to respect legislative choices that, while perhaps limiting rights a little more than necessary, do not seriously infringe them. The Society is inclined to see the concept of a margin of appreciation as being inapt when the issue is whether a proposed law should be enacted in the first place.
In any event, this reservation is unimportant in the present context, given the submission that this bill is inconsistent with s14 by a wide margin. In conclusion, there is no one part of the bill that is problematic. Rather, the bill in its current form is a flawed attempt to achieve a legitimate social objective. Its cumulative defects make it irredeemable: Hence the bill ought not to proceed.
Instead, the issue should be approached afresh, as suggested in paragraph 8 above. Use speech recognition to create letters, instant messages, and surf the web! More accurate than ever before. Dragon NaturallySpeaking never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more you use it! That means you can create letters and emails about three times faster with Dragon NaturallySpeaking! No script reading to get started. We even include a full set of on-screen tutorials, and a Nuanceapproved free noise-cancelling microphone.
Dragon Naturally Speaking can also be used wirelessly with Nuance-approved Bluetooth headsets. Easier and more accurate than ever before! Fast, easy and amazingly accurate. You can even surf the web just by speaking! A Nuanceapproved noise-cancelling microphone is included.
No other product delivers the same proven accuracy, performance and ease of use! Toss your keyboard away! Replace typing with the simplicity of using your voice. Create email, documents and spreadsheets more than three times faster than typing… simply by speaking.
- Investigate, November by Investigate Magazine - Issuu.
- Arms Out, Palms Open: Conflict, Reconciliation, and Gay Inclusion.
- Similar authors to follow;
- Haiku and other Poetry?
- Sexual Empowerment: How Erotic Capital Attracts Wealth And Power?
- Tweaked;
Plus, you can use your voice to control your PC. Start programs, use menus and surf the web by voice. The age of speech recognition has arrived, and Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 9 gives you everything you need to get started in minutes, including a high-quality headset microphone with noise-cancelling technology.
The Nuance Communications product range is available through your usual computer software dealer. At the heart of the controversy is the inclusion of the new vaccine, Prevenar, to tackle pneumococcal meningitis, a rare form of meningitis. Is it used in other countries?
Trainland by Richard Denoncourt
The study, prepared by a market researcher from Jigsaw named Nicole Inglis, endorsed some of the methods doctors and health professionals should use to intimidate mothers into supporting vaccines: Researcher Nicole Inglis then highlights the terrible situation of a midwife endeavouring to ensure that new mothers get access to both sides of the immunization debate.
This, then, is the research that was tabled at the stakeholder meeting and later emailed to them on 24 August. The recipients of the email were also asked to forward the attachments to their networks further compounding the issues of misinformation. The information was disturbing for a number of reasons. This raises the seriously vexing question of conflict of interest when there is significant financial gain to be made by the drug company concerned. Information giving in a way that is readable, appropriate, understandable and unbiased is a statutory right for patients and this does include parents regardless of how the nurses and GPs involved in this survey regard alternative parental views.
When a vaccine or any other intervention is safe and effective it should be able to stand up to promotion without subterfuge, innuendo, omission of detail or undermining other health practitioners and health services. In fact, honesty and perseverance with the facts will be the only way that will garner the long term results required. This approach is out of line with normal health promotion principles.
To attribute the comments of 12 nurses to nurses en masse is also concerning. I am sure it is not something the nursing profession would support but you may like to seek a view from the profession itself before distributing such advice. No midwives were interviewed. It is galling that this is constantly ignored by the Well Child services and the immunisation services who apparently prefer to believe the mythology and prejudice they so vociferously accuse midwives of.
If the information about their practice is being so badly distorted what of the immunisation message itself? And so cynicism is born. A formal letter of apology to you from the Ministry of Health will follow shortly. It was intended to encourage discussion and to assist in our own planning to promote the upcoming National Immunisation Schedule change.
The Ministry acknowledges the pivotal role midwives and members of the nursing. Exploring the networks disclosed in the documents is also important. NOT all babies are at risk: There is also no question that drug companies are heavily funding supposed consumer organizations like the Meningitis Trust, raising questions about whether ringing endorsements about the need for vaccination, and the safety of vaccines, are compromised by financial conflicts of interest.
The Observer newspaper in London tackled a similar issue seven years ago in a special investigation of its own: Darbyshire is professor of epidemiology at London University and director of the Medical Research Council. In a letter to The Observer, published today, Professor Liam Donaldson insists information on reactions to vaccinations is sent, on request, to members of the public, health professionals or MPs by the Medicines Control Agency. It says there have been 16, reported adverse reactions from 7, patients, and 12 deaths.
It reiterates that none of the deaths reported by GPs was found to be connected to the vaccine. There is no suggestion that this vaccine has led to any deaths. We strongly recommend that those due for vaccination should receive meningitis C vaccine. And in children under one year old, there was only one case reported in this period, compared with 19 in She said the agency employee had told her: A third caller eventually managed to get a copy of the letter sent to GPs.
This seeks reports of suspected adverse reactions to drugs from health professionals. They are requested to submit reports of reactions whether or not it is clear that a drug or vaccine caused it. The 12 deaths reported under this scheme may be an underestimation, since only around 15 per cent of GPs and healthcare professionals use the yellow card scheme. The Department of Health believes that the reporting rate is higher where a new drug is involved. He said last night: There must be enough independent people around to give advice without turning to those who clearly have a conflict of interests.
I am not questioning their academic credentials, but with the best will in the world their judgments must be looked at in that context. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation also recommended the vaccine. In a statement, Chief Executive Philip Kirby said: There can be no doubts of the links between the British organization and the New Zealand Meningitis Trust either — the NZ phone phone number diverts to the London office at various times of the day, and the NZ website refers to its parent organization in Britain. What about Fiona Colbert?
With financial and practical support from the Meningitis Trust in the UK, the NZ Meningitis Trust was immediately able to supply quality educational and support materials. Also very quickly we were able to ascertain relevant service to best support those affected by meningitis and meningococcal disease. We embarked on a meningitis campaign to raise awareness on pneumococcal meningitis. This was supported by a number of families and individuals whose lives have been tragically affected by pneumococcal meningitis. Trust may as well be a sub-unit of the Ministry of Health and the vaccine industry.
The confidential MoH email obtained by Investigate is also good enough to reveal how the Ministry intends selling the new immunization campaign to the public. The memo lists strongly pro-immunisation paediatricians who can be used to front media interviews about the need for the new Prevenar shots. And here in New Zealand doctors and health clinics cannot escape the endless promotions from vaccine manufacturers.
Never heard of rotavirus? GSK is offering to cut the waiting time and the whole natural immunity process by convincing parents they should immunize their kids against rotavirus at the same time as they get shots for the other eight major diseases. As always, there are many cases where immunization may be appropriate, particularly in high risk areas or among high risk groups, but, Hilary Butler argues, the key issue for parents is informed consent, not PR spin. Up until then his compulsory service in the Israeli Defence Force had been routine.
He had just returned from eight months patrolling the northern border, but suddenly the boy who grew up in Blockhouse Bay found himself being sent to war. I just went and packed my bags and waited for my officer to call me. We spent the weekend at the base, getting ready, preparing for real … war. During this time Kiwi-born Silver was on the frontlines, commanding over men in a war that left more than dead. Fifteen years after his family emigrated to Israel, Silver returned to New Zealand in August to spend time with friends and family and to share his experience of war.
While many New Zealanders will never fight for their country, this tall, tanned young man has a maturity about him that could only come from his time at war. Just after his 18th birthday in , Silver received a letter informing him that he had been called to his mandatory military service for three years. Men have to give up three years to serve in the IDF and women have to give up two.
Dark Fantasy Thriller
Silver calls being an year-old in Israel a weird experience. He says just as you start to get some independence, being able to drive and buy alcohol, all of sudden you go into an environment of dictated control. After a year he was selected to begin officers training which meant he would have to spend an extra year in the army. Three years after he began his service he held the rank of Lieutenant and by the time the war began, he was Deputy Company Commander.
In three years and eight months of service, Silver had never fired his gun outside the rifle range. And then the war began. This was a battle in which many Israeli soldiers died. Up until that point he had never been shot at. Every step I took, every inch I moved forward, I had these thought in the back of my head.
Is this going to be my last? Is there a charge where I am stepping? Is there a sniper who has his cross on me? Patriotic to the point that he says he would have been willing to give up his life if he needed to. I knew God was protecting me and that nothing would happen. My dad had a good job, we had a brand new house and I had my own room. Then suddenly we were in an immigrant absorption centre, in a house with two rooms and a kitchen, where the sofas in the living room doubled as beds for me and my brother. After only a month in the country he started at an Israeli public school.
He says the language was fairly easy to learn for him and his younger brother Jordan, but much harder for his parents. Despite this, Silver still has a Kiwi accent. He has a soft spot for golf and says that in Israel the sport is not that big. He came with his father to speak at churches about his experience of war.
He is staunchly Jewish, but also Christian. He says being Christian is not really an issue in the predominantly Jewish nation. Some people see it as strange, but most are pretty accepting. He says it was extremely hard seeing young men, only 18 or 19, being sent home wrapped up in white sheets. The idea of going to war is not an easy thing for anyone. Because of its history, Israel is a nation of great significance for any Christian or Jew.
Silver says the fact he was fighting for Israel made it seem even more important. Hizbollah is a militant organisation in Lebanon. Under the UN resolution which ended the war they were meant to disarm, but that has failed to happen. Hizbollah also has a political arm, which likes to promote the fact they build schools and help out the community.
Silver says although it may look good, Hizbollah building schools, but when you look at what is taught in the schools, their agenda is obvious. It is written in their text books that Jews are pigs and Christians are monkeys and that they all need either to convert to Islam or die. Most people need to break loose and find their freedom before settling down. He is about to start university, studying management and economics. He is unsure of what he wants to do in the future, but is pretty certain his future is in Israel.
Despite this, in many ways, Silver seems like a typical Kiwi young adult. Sure he may have fought in a war for Israel, but he still loves to eat sausage rolls covered in tomato sauce. He considers himself to be an Israeli-Kiwi. Silver and his younger brother Jordan loved to play war games when they were young. The only difference for them, was that once they moved to Israel, they realised that one day, they actually had to do it for real.
Can fat actually be good for you? With growing obesity levels and increasing food obsessions in the West, Melody Towns investigates the fat controversy by speaking to the fat guru himself, and author of Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus. There are obviously many issues surrounding fats and diet in the West today.
From too much to too little, what do you think is wrong with our obsession with food? To summarise all the issues on fats and diet in the West, you can basically put the problems down to two main things. Convenience and shelf life. As a society we want it now and we want it to last so that when we choose to eat it, all we have to do is open the packet.
By raising the standards for convenience and shelf life, the standards on health have to be lowered. Although there is a need for convenience and shelf life, health should always be the priority, and health should take precedence over keepability. Most of the health problems usually blamed on fats should be blamed on the destructive processing of fats, normally used to obtain longer shelf life and greater convenience for manufacturers and consumers.
Years ago we were all told that the best food advice to follow was the advice from government agencies and primarily the American food pyramid. We were all told to eat mostly carbohydrates and least of all fats. That was bad advice. As a result of this highly-followed food pyramid, obesity doubled, childhood obesity tripled mainly because it was taught in schools, diabetes doubled.
The American food pyramid focused on carbohydrates as the main source of food therefore starting a cycle of bad fat production. This is the beginning of a cycle that then puts your blood sugar levels up, leading to more cravings in which your will power goes out the window, you succumb and eat something like a doughnut or whatever, and then the cycle starts all over again. When you eat carbohydrates you either burn them or you wear them! By trying to get your carbohydrates from green vegetables instead of breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta, grains and even corn, you can lower your carbohydrate input without compromising on energy.
The only way to completely cure the growing obesity epidemic is to make that shift away from carbohydrates to good fats. So how do we make that shift without being obsessive and can fat ever be good?
There are so many. Atkins was highly criticized however he was right about one thing, carbohydrates. There is a huge difference between good and bad fats, and the health effects of eating a diet with high levels of bad fats can be disastrous. Frying food has been associated now for years with the hardening of the arteries, cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Yet the majority of the population still fries their food. Even wok frying, which is widely thought of as a healthier option has been proven to produce a higher rate of lung cancer, just by breathing in the changed molecules from the smoke. Basically, anything that you turn brown is toxic. So by overheating the oil to do your frying you are creating a toxic lubrication on your pan. Any oil that you overheat, no matter what it is will turn toxic.
So you not only need to stay away from the margarines and the hydrogenated fats but you need to not fry your food. Instead try steaming or dry frying your food in water. Junk fats, as what has been used in diets such as Atkins, are extremely toxic to our bodies. Hydrogenation, which is used to turn oils into margarine, shortening, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, produces trans- fatty acids, which are twisted molecules.
Twisted, their shape changes, and they lose their health benefits and acquire toxicity instead. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, trans-fatty acids double risk of heart attack, kill at least 30, Americans every year, and increase diabetes. Other research shows that they interfere with vision in children, lower intelligence, interfere with liver detoxification, make platelets more sticky, correlate with increased prostate and breast cancers, interfere with insulin function, and in animals interfere with reproduction.
There are actually good fats, that our bodies do need. Saturated fats or hard fats like butter, dairy fats, pork, beef, and lamb fats, and tropical fats are natural. All foods contain some. The body uses them for energy and in cells and tissues. These fats cause problems only if we do not get enough Essential Fatty Acids in our diet. What are essential fatty acids or good fats and how and where do we get them? Once we do eat them regularly can we reverse the toxic effects of bad fats in our bodies?
What I did that is different to Atkins is to focus in on the fats, but the good fats and not the junk fats. Good fats can be used as fuel instead of carbohydrates therefore reversing the cycle that is caused by recommendations from the American food pyramid that is literally causing obesity. Therefore you not only have more stamina and your appetite is suppressed but the benefits of eating good fats are quite simply amazing. Like I mentioned before, if you are eating enough EFAs then the saturated fat that you eat can actually be good for you. Saturated fat if eaten without enough essential fatty acids, can not only increase insulin resistance leading to diabetes but make palates more sticky leading to clogs in our arteries.
Yet by optimizing our EFAs we can make our palettes less sticky, therefore decreasing the risk of clogged arteries and decreasing our insulin resistance. The only way to balance saturated fats is to make sure that we are always having our maximum amount of Essential Fatty Acids. You have to make sure that your intake of EFAs is always winning the competition with saturated fats. They are required not only for your health and your life but for the normal function of every cell, tissue, gland and organ that you have. Taken through food or supplements, Essential Fatty Acids are as their name suggests essential and without them our bodies progressively deteriorate eventually leading to death.
And because they can only be found in fats, many people who avoid fats, more specifically good fats, are EFA deficient yet if you reintroduce essential fatty acids back into the body you can actually reverse the deficiency and return to a normal state of health. There are two essential types of fatty acids.
One is omega 3 and the other is omega 6. The best-known food sources to find these fats are in high fat, cold-water fish. My book, Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill provides a more comprehensive overview of how they work, but basically by introducing EFAs into your diet you can revolutionize your health. The best and richest source to find omega 3 is in flaxseed oil while omega 6 can also be found in sunflower and sesame seeds.
What I have done is combined these Essential Fatty Acids into an oil blend so that you can cut the confusion and make sure you are getting the correct amount. It contains the correct balance of EFAs and the benefits of taking this good fat are numerous. That is just amazing. If you think about it, that percentage could be the difference in whether or not an athlete leaves an event with a gold medal!
Athletes that took EFAs in a study done in Denmark could not only exercise longer before reaching exhaustion but recovered more quickly from fatigue, could exercise more often without over-training, healed quicker from injuries, built muscle faster, and had less joint pain. Not only do EFAs improve energy in athletes but an energy increase has also been seen in non-athletes and older people. Not only does your skin improve once you correct your amount of EFAs but also moisture is increased in hair and nails, sleep improves and stress decreases.
The effects are huge ranging from a decrease in cardiovascular disease, allergies, autoimmune conditions and reducing the risk of cancer. An increase in Omega 3 has been proven to improve every degenerative condition of our time; but taking a fish oil capsule is not enough. Fish oil is often damaged and contains toxins, which is why we recommend flaxseed oil. Because flax seed is five times more stable it creates a fantastic foundation for building upon with our other Essential Fatty Acids. What about diets that limit fat completely, or use a very low fat ratio?
There is such a huge market for low fat food but how much fat are we actually meant to be eating to maintain our health? I have a huge objection to low fat diets because we need some fats to live and to be healthy. If you remove all the fat from the diet, then you have nowhere to get the good fats from. As I mentioned before no cell, tissue, gland or organ can function without them. Therefore people that limit their fats to very small amounts or in some cases virtually cut them out completely can suffer from a whole range of problems including dry skin, constipation, low energy levels, brittle hair and hair loss, poor nail growth and ironically an increase in their risk of being overweight.
There is stunted growth in children, reproductive failure, nerve deterioration, learning difficulties, insulin resistance and the list just goes on and on. What you need to do is get the right amount of good fats instead. It has to be the right amount of fat and the right kind of fat that is rich in essential fatty acids. But the quality of fats you eat is much more important than the quantity. There are so many different diets to follow these days. From raw food diets, to diets that just focus in on one food group. Do you think that we need to stop obsessing about our food and instead look for more of a balanced dietary intake?
I would advise to try and live along the same lines as nature. Yet so many people have such different interpretations of what natural is and means. From eating only raw food to more grains, to more proteins, everyone is different. Various people need different diets. Of course athletes may need a different diet to a more sedentary person. I have developed three food pyramids based on this so that each person can try and eat in line with nature, while maximising their good fat intake and minimising their carbohydrate intake.
Basically my food pyramids are based around the same triangle shape with greens and non starchy vegetables being the greatest food source, followed by good fats and proteins found in seeds, fatty fish and nuts, then fuel from carbohydrates, fats and fruits, and finally white foods and burnt foods at the very top. To see the pyramids in more detail go to http: Eating whole, fresh, organic foods is always going to be your best option.