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SEPTEMBER 2018 TABLEHOPPING ARTICLE

Failure…biggest loser… double failure if you want to be technically accurate. I don’t think I brag about my successes ( maybe I just haven’t had that many ) but I am not afraid to share my failures. If you are looking for some hard core medical advice …skip this column..this is an article about my recent experiences. I share them for one reason , if you get to know me better you may actually start to trust my advice . I take some alternative views to dairy, vaccines, statins, and in general our medication oriented practice of medicine. . Of course I don’t really want you to trust me…I want to serve as an instigation into your own research. Its your health, it’s your life…don’t you want to make informed choices? Well here’s two recent examples of my personal failure . Know me better and perhaps believe me more when I write about something medical I have researched.

Failure #1.

I practice brazilian jiu jitsu and of course recommend it as great exercise, great mental discipline and fun. I work out at Inner circle BJJ in solvay with a great group. I did karate for years but when this style became available there was nothing else for me. I have taken classes for years but being a beginner in this sport is really not easy and it takes a while to really start to get good at it…at least for me. Once the dojo moved closer to me my attendance and therefore my understanding improved. BJJ has been described as wrestling and chess mixed together. I have no illusions , I am a 60 year old blue belt ….most other people would have long ago quit or have gotten better and received their black belt. Well, I was buoyed by a recent win at a tournament in New Jersey and signed up for the Worlds Masters BJJ tournament in Las Vegas . A weekend in Vegas is never a bad deal but i was way too nervous to enjoy anything at all until after my competition. The long and short of it is I lost in my first bout. Specifically I started a standing guillotine choke ..we transitioned to the ground with my opponent in a better position. It took me a while to slowly reverse and come out on top but I got caught in a triangle choke. I had to tap out. Now you could say, I spent a lot of time and money and energy doing this sport for years and years and we come all the way out to Vegas for me to lose so quickly. Thats not me. Sure I was pissed about losing especially in front of my wife but how long can you pick at that sore before moving on. I went back to the dojo where Professor Walt had already seen my video and we started working on my deficiencies..and there remain plenty but I am just starting now as a blue belt to conceptualize the positions and then of course to use the right move and the right timing . I guess I didn’t take that loss too personally because I get beat all the time by my teammates …It’s just that most of them are half my age and I hoped going up against some other 60 year old guy would be easier.

Not so , it turns out. My sweet Debbie tried to console me…..”Look honey, how many men are there out there that are doing this kind of stuff…and how many are doing it at your age..you should be proud.” I couldn’t hear her because I was muttering loser city, loserooni, loser , failure, loser. But after all it’s Vegas and we were soon distracted.

That’s failure number one. Much time and effort went into this endeavor only to result in failure. Doesn’t faze me. I will learn from my failure.

Failure #2 is another insight into where I am coming from. Again, if you know me a little you might be that much more motivated to instead of just reading my recommendations.. to actually take action…. look into the sources I reference repeatedly. Drs Gundry, Attia, McDougal, Patrick, Mercola, Sinatra etc. Will my sharing my failures translate into you taking me more seriously or less?

Well, failure #2 involves a recent climbing trip in the North Cascade range in the state of Washington. It was climbing with the Haswell boys again. Another long weekend…another peak attempt. We have a great history of what were for me in many senses of the words breathtaking escapades…You have to be in very good shape to take on a Haswell hike and you can be guaranteed to be brought to your physical limit and don’t get me going about facing my fear of heights. We attempted Prophets peak…not a 14,000 or 13,000 foot peak like we have focused on in the past…so the lower elevation should have made the climb easier but the complication was the greater than 5000 foot elevation gain to do in one day. This is one day after the 10 mile hike up 1600 foot elevation with full packs on to base camp. This area isn’t like your local parks with well marked trails …the guidebook says …go uphill after the stream…there is no path just find your own path of least resistance. Ok ..sounds kind of zen like but in actuality it’s going straight up a 30 degree slope covered in huge fallen trees and scrubby brush….3000 feet of this to get to a class 4 pitch ( my translation..no technical equipment needed but if you miss a foot or hand hold you could get badly hurt or die. ) After this , a talus field of stone for a thousand more feet..again…straight up. I made it 4000 feet up this 5000 footer and just couldn’t keep going. . ..I gassed. I bonked. I could go no further . Five hours of continuous climbing in the Haswell manner (non-stop) and I was done. I had been soaked in sweat for hours and had probably done more elevation than on any other trip but I was still over 1000 feet from the summit. The Haswell boys pressed on to the greater glory and summiteed a peak reportedly rarely done . I waited on the mountain side below and we retraced our steps back to camp. We started at 730 am and got back to camp at 730 pm…They summited. I did not. They succeeded I failed. Failure again. For the second time in a month. I thought my conditioning was pretty good but it obviously wasn’t Haswell quality. If I cant talk myself out of another grueling trip next year I am going to really work on my conditioning. I am not usually the limiting factor in our climbs but I sure was this time.

As I sat there in the meadow , waiting for them to climb down to me after peaking I was cursing Pete for leaving me the smoked cheese instead of the cheddar..who does that ! As I waited shivering a little from dehydration, I looked out across the valley at a vista of peak after peak with glaciers …old growth forests and clouds just above..wildflowers and wild little blueberry bushes with berries all around me Yes, this is failure but look where I am.! Agian how many other people are even doing this. I guess the sporting slogan is “you’re still in the game” .

So you know I preach about you addressing your diet and exercise,sleep and stress in my medical pulpit in my office, on the radio show and in these articles. Hopefully this article gave you a glimpse that I practice what I preach. Its your health, it’s your healthcare dont sit back and be passive. Take control of your health by focusing on diet and exercise, sleep and stress…make a plan with your doctor / life coach /trainer and meet frequently enough to monitor your progress and achieve your goals. You have to be proactive. Your doctor is adept at managing illness ..that’s how we were trained…you must manage your wellness….and this you know begins with your diet. Your health is tremendously affected by your diet. You all know that but you ignore it until the illness sets in and you focus on that. Focus on more salad and less processed food and turn your health around. Don’t look for improved health from any pill…look to your dinner plate.

Until next month…. get well stay well