LegendaryLife.com Blog

Drug addicts all seem to develop specific physical and habitual characteristics as they spiral down into the hole of addition; Meth addicts seem to show these traits in an especially ugly form! I believe knowledge is power, I may dedicate my life towards my passion but I also try to educate myself about those who dedicate theirs towards self-destruction. Why? If you don’t know how bad things can become, they you cannot fully appreciate the gift of not living that type of life can be!

What is Meth?

Meth is a nervous system stimulant which gives its users an instant rush of energy, they feel like they are 10ft tall and can do anything. It is also goes by the name “ice”, “crystal” and “glass” for its smokable forms while the pill forms go by “billy whizz”, “speed”, “sulphate”, “fast”, “uppers”, “powder” and “crank”. It is made up of mix of commonly available, hazardous chemicals, as such it can be mass produced relatively easily and requires no importation such as other hard drugs.

How is Meth taken?

Meth can be taken in various forms such as powder, pill, injectables and I am sure there are other creative ways addicts have found in order to receive a high from this awful drug.

Why do people take Meth?

When the dangerous mix of peer pressure, low self-esteem and easy availability come together, the perfect storm begins. I can easily say that these are the same pressures that create many other types of addicts from nicotine to alcoholics.

What happens after a user stops use?

Well, the reason they took the drugs was to feel 10ft tall, once off, they receive the opposite effect and feel like they belong 6ft under. With prolonged use, Meth addicts become extremely paranoid and develop a host of traits that would make a schizophrenic appear normal. Like other drugs, there is also an adaptation that the body does to cope, meaning more regular and higher doses are required to achieve the same effect.

What do meth addicts look like?

These aren’t pretty pictures, it shows you what drugs can do to you in their extremes. Note that cigarettes and alcohol have the same effects but they are to a lesser extreme and more internalized.

Governments “War on Drugs” commercials: The Montana Meth Project Ads

I may be wrong, but I believe these commercials where actually produced by a concerned individual who had enough with seeing the government do little in the face of the Meth epidemic that was happening in his city. Hopefully these scare the shit out of you… if they don’t, you have deeper problems.

The ugly physical effects of Meth

Like other hard drugs, Meth has a profound effect on the physical body. As the substance is completely toxic to the body, it tries to excrete these substances through the skin’s pores, which tend to get infected. This specific trait seems to be specific to Meth users. In addition, many Meth users end up with mouths that would make even the local dentist freak-out! The internal organs are also taxed beyond recovery most of the time with prolonged use, which means that you don’t only age much faster, but you are really screwing yourself internally as well. Any type of drug use leads to malnutrition, lack of exercise and the usual culprits that don’t have any positive impact on living a long, healthy life.

The Bottom Line

Drugs, of any kind, produce nothing of any positive value to a life.

Buzvia: Documentary Review -> The Meth Epidemic, Amphetamines/Methamphetamines on myfoodcount.com drug listing

I got a comment today from a reader of the article I wrote titled LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski in which I stated that although bodybuilding has seen huge strives in physique, the same gains in strength in the power lifting world haven’t been achieved. This is the answer I would have given to my younger self knowing what I know now.

Question from Australia:

What I like to know is that these people (as you had mentioned) are from a specific gene pool. Is it possible for a person who does not have the genetics such as theres to achieve strength and fitness not to their level but close to it?

Answer:

Let me be the first to tell you I am not a doctor, sports physician nor expert in the fields of genetics or optimal training so my answer is based off the discussions I have with athletes of all ages, 15 years of studies in the field and personal experiences. Nobody wants to be “second strongest man” so I will re-phrase your question. “Even with bad genetics, can I become the world’s strongest man?” My answer to you is both yes and no. Take this advice at your own risk and don’t even consider following any of it until you understand the WHY behind it.

Yes, you can

Let me be the first to tell you that genetics play a large role in how much strength you can achieve but what is a far bigger factor is your personal ambition to achieve this goal. Some of the most gifted people genetically can amount to absolutely nothing simply due to a lack of desire. If you think you can become the strongest man in the world, then you have a heck of a shot better chance then the average person with achieving this goal. The more important question I have to ask is are you willing to do what it takes? I have met more then my fair share of bodybuilders, gifted athletes and just freaking huge gym rats, by the age of 35 have shot their joints to hell. You see, muscles are capable of growing bigger and stronger up to a certain point far faster then your joins or ligaments can. There are guys who take steroids who can double their strength within six months but let me be the first to tell you that you wouldn’t want to spend one day in those bodies a decade later. Read up on past sports heroes, pro-wrestlers and even great power lifters, what you will find out usually isn’t anything to brag about. Many need hormone replacement therapy the rest of their lives due to steroid abuse, they need a constant stream of sleeping pills and pain killers just to get through the day and their personal lives are a mess. The body can only take so much abuse before it begins to shut off, hence why steroids, growth hormone and a host of other drugs including pain killers must be used on a regular basis just to keep the momentum going or gains from fading. There are exceptions to every rule, but if you really push yourself beyond your physical limits, you will pay a price one way or another.

Ron Coleman for instance looks like the healthiest person in the world, he is HUGE, POWERFUL and quite intelligent but he is completely dependent on “supplements” the rest of his life. He is the result of fantastic genetics meeting incredible determination with lots of help. He is like the 0.1% cream of the crop with an extremely gifted body but he has also been working out most of his life, just look at the photos of him as he progressed in bodybuilding and you will see a slow progression from well built into HULK over an extended period of time. He has earned, in every sense of the word, the body he has but I wouldn’t want to be in his body if he ever reaches the age of 80.

Remember that only in this century was the 5 minute mile broken, somebody had the will to make what others said was impossible, the next day many others achieved exactly the same goal… moral of this story is if you truly believe you can do it, it will happen.

No, you can’t

Now for the cold hearted reality, if you are unwilling to take the drugs, unable to handle the mental stress of lifting huge amounts of weights and don’t have the muscular or bone structure that is capable of supporting massive amounts of pressure then you will never become the strongest man in the world nor anywhere close to it. You may be an incredible one in a 10 million man exception but odds are that you are not. We are all limited by our genetics, sure, drugs allow us to somewhat morph from one body type into another but the underlying structure that supports everything cannot change enough to turn an extreme ectomorph (skinny, has trouble building and maintaining muscles, long arms and legs) into an extreme mesomorph (muscular, builds muscle very easily and athletic build). Your body type is a birthright given by your ancestors, hence why I believe the next revolution in augmenting body types must come at the genetic level BEFORE the body has had time to form itself fully, soon after conception in a petri dish.

Here is my advice to you

I don’t believe in hiding the facts from anybody but before you do anything, learn to eat, train and build goals for yourself to make your dream of being almost as strong as the Bill Kazmaiers of this world a probability. I am assuming your in your teenage years, so don’t even consider taking steroids, growth hormone or any other supplements as they will screw you up big time (protein and creatine are fine). Your body is swimming in testosterone, this is THE TIME to take full advantage of this, eat and train like a madman, strive for 10 pounds of muscle PER YEAR. Work on your foundation, hit the gym and read all you can about bodybuilding and improving your health. After a few years of doing this and once you have stopped growing (your growth plates have sealed), if you still want to be the worlds strongest man, then additional supplementation is a must. I know it isn’t politically correct to say this but you don’t become a 280 pound man with huge muscles by just eating oatmeal every morning. Be warned though, once you take this path there is NO going back. You will have the body of a God for maybe 10-15 years if things are done well but expect a future of erectile dysfunctions beginning after your first cycle even with post cycle therapy (clomid, nolva etc.). Expect to become addicted to pain killers and don’t expect to be in any kind of healthy shape, if your body doesn’t pop beforehand, in your senior years. From one guy to another, to be blunt, if you have the body of a God but can’t do anything with a woman you are deeply attracted to in bed, it will tear your mind apart and crying like a little boy.

My goal is to live to 150 years old, as such, steroids, growth hormones and many other supplements are in my future but I won’t even consider the possibility until I am mid to post manopause (male version of menopause) in my early 40s… even then, these will be maintenance levels of maybe 80-100 mg a week of testosterone, nowhere near abuse levels that are exponentially higher. Sure I will end up with size 18 shoes and cranium the size of a basketball by the time I die but this will be my choice to make. It’s your body and your choice but I would advise you heavily not to even touch drugs of any kind until you have reached at least 200 pounds in bodyweight with a single digit body fat percentage in your early 20s, naturally being the strongest guy in the biggest gym in your town. If you cannot achieve this, then I am sorry but you simply don’t have the genetics to be THE strongest man in the world, you will become strong, no doubt about it… but not THE strongest, becoming instead, best friends with your neighborhood dialysis machine by the time you hit 30 if not sooner with no cute girlfriend or wife to soak up your tears after realizing you just threw away your life.

Where the need for male strength all began

I believe that men, at some primal level, are attracted to being the biggest in the land. For instance, I am slightly taller then Mariusz Pudzianowski but he outweighs me by 100 pounds of pure muscle. If we met in a jungle and had to fight for the last woman on Earth, unless I had a gun, I wouldn’t stand a chance in hell even if I had a baseball bat. Since the dawn of time, animals (including us) have fought for reproductive opportunities for that one incredible, one in a million, female… before wealth came into the picture, which provides security in our modern age, physical prowess was the deciding factor. Women want a man that can protect her and her child from danger. For instance, if you where in a jungle full of tigers, would you want to have a child with Woody Allen or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

The Bottom Line

I know I probably swamped you with more information then you can probably comprehend, I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Your job now is NOT to follow my advice blindly but understand the WHY behind my response. This isn’t even touching the surface of what you need to know, the answers are out there, it’s your job is to find them. Best of luck!

Check out Big Ron Coleman’s Website to get some inspiration as to what IS possible, he IS the strongest bodybuilder out there right now and I think his body looks better then Bill Kazmaier’s or Mariusz Pudzianowski’s for that matter.

See also: LegendaryLife Profile: Bill Kazmaier, LegendaryLife Profile: Sergio “The Myth” Oliva and LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski

In the world of strong men where there are is strong and followed by STRONG… Mariusz Pudzianowski is FREAKISHLY “Bill Kazmaier” STRONG. What I find most interesting of all, even with all the advances in drugs, nutrition and lifting techniques, he isn’t leaps and bounds over what Bill Kazmaier was able to achieve decades earlier.

Mariusz Pudzianowski’s early years

Mariusz Pudzianowski was born on February 7th, 1977 in Biala Rawska (Poland) in a family that was not adverse to weight lifting as his father was a famous weight lifter. Mariusz began training to be the strongest man in the world at the age of 13 and with the guidance of his father quickly excelled in developing his incredible strength and abilities to competition levels.

Mariusz Pudzianowski’s brute strength achievements

Mariusz Pudzianowski is incredible, at around six feet tall (depending on the source) and weighting in just under 300 pounds, this guy is HUGE by any definition. He entered his first strongmen competition in Poland and finished a very respectable fourth. He returned in competition in 2002 and won that years events hands down and blew away his competition in 2003. He was then kicked out for a year due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2004 but returned to win his third title in 2005. He narrowly missed first place standing in 2006 but took back the first place finish in 2007. He is one of only two other strongmen to have ever achieved first place four times. Mariusz Pudzianowski has a personal best bench press of a little over 600 pounds (275kg), squat of just under 800 pounds (360kg) and is capable of deadlifting 900 pounds (410kg), still not surpassing what Bill Kazmaier was able to do in competition but astonishing never the less.

Mariusz Pudzianowski vs Bill Kazmaier

It’s a very badly kept secret that the world of strongmen, no matter what has done to “clean-up” the sport, that these guys are about as natural as flying elephants, both of these guys will require a lifetime supply of hormone replacement therapy. Bill Kazmaier won the strongmen competition three times while Mariusz Pudzianowski has done this feat four times and he is young enough to achieve this goal a few more times as well! Their strength is super human to begin with, they come from a very gifted genetic pool which they have chosen to supplement in order to become the absolute best at what they do. I have nothing but respect for both of these guys… they screw convention and do whatever is necessary to achieve their goals. What I do find fascinating is that Bill Kazmaier, for all his strength, seems to have a very different body type then Mariusz Pudzianowski. At least to my eyes, Bill Kazmaier is an extreme endomorph with his wide bone structure and higher bodyfat percentage while Mariusz Pudzianowski seems like an extreme mesomorph with his low bodyfat percentage and great defined musculature. I am unsure how much anabolic supplementation plays into this but I do know that reaching over two grams a week changes the body into an extreme fat burning machine while at the same time, extreme mass accumulator. The only caveat is if you can stand hearing your liver frying and the incredibly high blood pressure long enough to feel this benefit. Another thing I find interesting is that the strong men of the previous generation where never shredded during competition… they where big like a fridge. The guys you see in today’s competitions are actually rather well defined in comparison, gone are the bear bellies and beards, replaced with shaved bodies and defined abs. You see this change in bodybuilding as well, compare Arnold Schwarzenegger to Ron Coleman physique wise and it’s astounding the inroads that “supplementation” have achieved. Arnold looked amazing and huge at 220-230 pounds, Ron Coleman dwarfs him by a solid 50 pounds (if not more) in competition. They where both juiced, the techniques where simply not as honed as they are today. Ironically, these inroads haven’t been seen in the world of strongmen competitions regarding enormous advances in strength.

Have strongmen reached the outer limits of strength?

Many decades have come and gone now where records where constantly being broken thanks to supplementation of all types but in the past 20 years, although improvements have been done, I don’t see the monumental leaps that these sports and others use to have. I am willing to state that the Mariusz Pudzianowskis and Ron Colemans of this world are showing us that our bodies do have limits which even they are unable to surpass. Consider this, the heart in an 18 year old, 120 pound man is the same as in a 30 year old man weighting 3 times that gives us a window at how amazing our bodies really are. Our bodies are able to adapt to incredible burdens placed upon them, I can’t helped but be astonished at this. The next step towards increasing our strength? It has to be through genetic manipulation. Steroids improve what is already there and nutrition, although anabolic in itself, has it’s limits as well… only by modifying the messages between cells can we surpass today’s feats of strengths by another huge bound. Where will that lead us? I really hope I live long enough to find out… and possibly benefit from as well. Will there be a day when soldiers are made up of 7ft tall men weighting 450 pounds that dwarf even the top physiques that these guys have achieved? I believe there will but it has to start at the moment of conception before genetically limiting information is passed on through the bodies cells. Morals and ethics may stop some, but not others.

Mariusz Pudzianowski training video

The Bottom Line

Pioneers come in all shapes and sizes but regardless of the methods chosen, you can’t help but be inspired by their achievements.

Buzvia: Mariusz Pudzianowski on Wikipedia, Mariusz Pudzianowski’s Official Website, Mariusz Pudzianowski’s on MySpace

See also: LegendaryLife Profile: Bill Kazmaier and LegendaryLife Profile: Sergio “The Myth” Oliva

I love weight training, it’s one of those things that no matter how your day is going… it will always be there to give you the ultimate challenge… the one against yourself!

Weight Training: the natural drug (dopamine)

If you don’t follow a weight training regimen, you are missing out on the best natural drug in the world called dopamine. Unlike alcohol, alcohol or other poisons people use to get over their life’s hurdles, those produced by the body as you reach and beat new challenges only provide benefits to your life. It costs nothing to get a rush of adrenaline right before you attempt your first 300 lbs squat or the sense of achievement once you complete your first 20 consecutive chin-ups after having lots of trouble completing only one a few weeks earlier. Dopamine is what is released when Cocaine or other hard drugs are used… so you can imagine the invincibility and absolute power that you feel after an intense yet very rewarding workout.

What does Weight Training Provide?

Weight training helps every aspect of your life!

Self-Esteem

It feels great walking next to a mirror and seeing the body that many WISH they had, there is nothing wrong with vanity when you work so hard on diet and training to achieve the body you want. It also boosts self-esteem when people stare at your arms or a lover comments at how much they enjoy the sight of your body. I am by no means a mass monster but walking into a gym with mass monsters and holding your own, sharing mutual respect feels amazing to me!

Central Nervous System Optimization

Weight training increases the efficiency of your Central Nervous System, making everything you do in life that much more enjoyable. From improving the quality of sleep to being able to eat twice the amount of anybody else around you without having the gut to show feels great! The ability from all these internal efficiencies also allow you to run up a mountain without running out of breath, improve all the senses within your body and, ultimately, get more out of every experience!

Business Relationships

Weight training improves both your mental and physical projection that comes in very handy during any type of business related activities. Nothing shows strength like the ability to give a vice-like grip when shaking hands… there is nothing worse then giving a limp handshake! Sadly, most business people have a gut to match their wealth, when you walk into a meeting with a solid body and mind… you have a large psychological advantage over your client when tough negotiations are needed. People want to be around success and nothing says this as strongly as a powerful physical presence with a mind to match.

Dangers of Weight Training

If you are following an intense, multi-faceted regimen, over training and injury can pop-up anytime. I guess in this way, I am very lucky as I have never been injured in any way during the almost decade and a half I have been working out. Pushing your body to it’s limit just doesn’t cut it if you are trying to go beyond old plateaus, you need to go BEYOND them on a regular basis. The wear and tear on a body caused by this constant progression towards harder and more intense activity requires regular breaks and changes in exercise philosophy, otherwise you end up going backwards instead of forward on the road of health.

Another danger, one not discussed too often, is the simple addiction to very tough physical activity that forms within the mind, at least in my case. Whether your body is capable or not, the mind is a strange being that can temporarily suspend the reality you live within. Your mind says “that’s only 20 extra kg… you can do it!” but your body is yelling “what the heck are you doing to me!”. The problem is when your mind says to the body “you’re right” in the middle of a rep, the power you thought you had evaporates right away and you are screwed if you don’t have spotters. This has happened a few times to me over the years but I always use supports and spotters so no big deal. If you cannot do an exercise safely, don’t do it! Also, I can’t walk next to any type of chin-up bar or exercise related equipment without wanting to jump right on it to see how much weight or reps I can crank out!

I would say the third danger is also psychological, you begin to develop a mentality that you are better then other people (especially those who don’t workout). My entrepreneurial line of work only helps augment these feelings and sometimes my God complex gets the most of me but I must often remind myself that others didn’t have the same opportunities as me, the same will power for achievement or simply have other goals in life then my own.

Bipolarity of Weight Training Challenges

There are two distinct aspects of weight training that seem at odds to one another sometimes start to appear only after years of hitting the weights.

Psychological

Every once in a while, I hit a psychological barrier in my training, sometimes adding just 2 more kg to a bench press feels like I threw on 10x that amount of weight. The mind just cannot fathom lifting anything more then the body had just accomplished. These are tough sometimes, physically, the body has no problem accomplishing these tasks but the mind just gets in the way. Anybody who tells you that the body is stronger then the mind hasn’t pushed themselves hard enough.

Physical

This is the opposite problem of the psychological one. Sometimes, the mind says “no problem” but body just cannot bring itself to find the necessary resources to make the task at hand happen. The bodies engine has run out of gas and there is nothing you can do about it but give in to its demands. These happen more often then the psychological barriers that get set-up within your mind but are just as devastating, sometimes they go away during the next workout, other times, they stay for weeks if not months.

I have found changing your routine when hitting a rut is the best way to blow away these limitations, a new frame of mind and changes in diet will do wonders!

The Bottom Line

The body is a tool of the mind, separating the two is simply impossible.

There are two types of lies in this world, those you tell yourself and those you tell others… smokers seem to be experts in both! Caring about their health while smoking is one of the biggest.

Drug addicts are all the same

So far, I have talked to smokers from Canada, United States, Australia, Malaysia, Japan and Korea over an extended period of time and the excuses are all the same. They seem to relish describing how “addicted” or “hardcore” they are. I was talking to one addict yesterday and they where quite proud to say their breath smelled like that of an ash tray… interesting, another from Australia told me exactly the same thing while I was in that country! Here are some fantastically delusional lies you can expect to hear from a smoker (feel free to add more):

I can quit anytime

If this where true, they could quit right now but just try to get enough guts and throw their pack away in front of them… they will run like a squirrel right into the bin to get them. I know… I have done this several times with the same results.

I don’t smoke that much

Sadly, the effects of smoking both primary and second (onto non-smokers) is cumulative. You won’t die right away from emphysema or COD but I wouldn’t want to be a lung in a smokers body after a few decades of continual self-poisoning.

I feel fine

Next time a drug addict tells you that they feel fine, ask them to join you for a hike up a sizable hill… their tune will change guaranteed. The reason they feel fine is because they are use to living in a marginalized body, not because they are actually “fine”.

It helps me keep my shape (slim)

There are two ways to keep your body in shape, one is to exercise and the other is to under-feed it. Sure, smoking is keeping you slim, but guess what, you can accomplish far more by working out and quitting smoking then otherwise. What you are doing is actually starving your body, making it waste resources trying to clean the crap out of the air you take in instead of improving or optimizing it.

My father/mother/uncle smoked till they where 90 years old!

George Burns also smoked a cigar until he hit 100 years old, sure, there are some people out there with wonder genetics but odds are, you don’t have them. Imagine if George Burns never smoked, he might still be alive today! Regardless of how you cut it, smoking WILL reduce not only your lifespan but the quality of the live you live dramatically with time.

Smokers Facing Death

I had a grandfather who I wish everyday never smoked because he died a painful death over several years, his body was fine but his lungs where shot from a live addicted to cigarettes. Now, this week, I got news that one of my uncles, one who saw what my grandfather went through his final years, has been diagnosed with lunch cancer caused by smoking. My grandfather openly admitted that if he ever got a lung transplant that the first thing he would to is smoke and oddly, my uncle, even while at hospital surrounded by smokers slowly fading away, still had the conscience to go… you guessed it right… smoke in hiding! Each and every smokers has to face up to the fact that one day, guaranteed, they will face their maker far sooner then anticipated due to a slow, selfish, purposeful self-poisoning of the very body they inhabit.

Unfunny Joke

Here is an unfunny joke I seem to repeat to myself just about every time I see somebody smoking. What is the difference between a smoker and a junkie? One uses a legal substance. Sad isn’t it… mentally, a junkie is in the same place as a smoker.

How do I treat smokers?

I take my health very seriously, to the point that if I find out a friend smokes, they are no longer somebody I associate myself with. I would honestly prefer to be alone the rest of my life then to spend it with somebody hell bent on destroying their health. There is no sugar coating things, smokers have a death wish but are too much of a coward to get it over with, instead, they drag the emotions of those around them into the hole they inhabit. My only exception to this “banish them from my sight” rule is family but then I try to spend my time outdoors with them as much as possible, limiting exposure to second-hand smoke. Would I ever hire somebody who smoked? Nope, politically correct or not, why the hell would I want to invest my time and resources into somebody who doesn’t give a damn about themselves?

Spiders on Drugs

To some, alright, many out there, this may seem kinda harsh but I live my life by many simple rules, at the top of my list is that if you don’t care about yourself, then I don’t care about you. I do have a very well developed sense of humor so here is something to lighten up the mood on a serious topic. The effect of drugs on spiders! If you can’t laugh at even the worst of things, then the thoughts that follow them have no way out of your head.

The Bottom Line

Reversing a denial is the first step towards a successful life.

The entire “wellness” industry has been on its BS binge for quite some time now, although herbs have been used for many millennia to “cure” conditions, it doesn’t mean they are effective beyond a placebo. Sure, there are exceptions but when you pit a pharmaceutical drug vs one sourced from “natural ingredients”, the pharmaceutical version is more often then not far more potent.

What are Herbal Remedies?

I haven’t heard anybody give me a definition for what exactly “Herbal Remedies” actually are? I visit trade shows and it seems everybody has their own self-serving definition of what a Herbal Remedy is and why their product is better then any pharmaceutical grade medications out there. As a result, here is my unbiased definition

Herbal Remedy: product sourced from many natural ingredients whose origins are dubious, it’s effectiveness relies heavily on both the placebo effect and on generational trust (it’s been used for thousands of years, so it must work safely). Often promoted as a supplement in modern times without any double blind clinically based studies to backup incredibly exaggerated marketing claims. Herbal Remedies are sold in a variety of formats, from homemade bags to pharmaceutical looking packaging at various price points that aren’t related to effectiveness nor quality. Some are effective but the vast majority are not, relying on a shotgun approach verses a laser one by the pharmaceuticals.

Natural cures for EVERYTHING!

The “wellness industry” likes to promote the reason why their “natural cures” aren’t widely available is due to pharmaceutical companies trying to protect their turf and corrupt government agencies getting in the way of healthy alternatives. I am sure there is some elements of that but while the pharmaceuticals must spend billions proving their product works before reaching the marketplace, the wellness industry is hell bent on not spending a dime on studies that would prove (more likely disprove) their effectiveness. Instead, they rely on pharmaceutical sounding words, testimonials, slick marketing and promises that they must know are over-the-top. Among the most successful out there is Mannatech but there are many more out there as well.

The Wellness Industry Circumventing a Paradox

I believe the entire “wellness industry” is in sort of a paradox, it cannot prove their product work in a clinical setting yet they cannot gain acceptance by the medical field without proving their product works. How to circumvent this seemingly endless paradox? Well, keep telling people they work, if you say something often enough, the general populous will eventually believe it’s a fact. Open any health magazine (Muscle & Fitness, Cosmopolitan, Runners World, Flex etc… ) and you will see this effort in full force, listen to the radio and you will hear the same, watch television and commercials are pushing useless herbal remedies as well.

Times article about potential dangers of herbal remedies

Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote an interesting piece for Time which outlines the “wellness industry” in rather stark terms, here is a summary:

• use of herbal supplements by the general public has jumped 83% in the past decade and is now worth 22.3 billion dollars a year!
• most common mistake herbal remedy users make is believing the product actually works
• 19% of herbal remedy users are trying to treat specific conditions, not general wellness and wellbeing
• 2/3 of herbal preparations have never been clinically proven for effectiveness
• 2002, the FDA put out a warning against the dangers of supplements using kava root due to its potential to cause liver damage
• 2004, FDA banned ephedra after it was linked directly to over 100 deaths
• Ayurvedic supplements (Indian and South Asian preparations) may be laced with heavy metals such as mercury and lead
• Saint-John’s-wort has an anti-depressive effect but also interferes with some HIV medications and heart drugs like warfarin and digoxin

What to do?

Well, before you spend another dime on naturally sourced supplements, be sure to visit a doctor and share your concerns. He or she knows far more about health then either of us and can lead you in the right direction. Secondly, tell your doctor each and every medication you are taking, some herbals that do work interfere with pharmaceuticals. Thirdly, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is, save your money.

The Bottom Line

Effective herbals may have their place in overall health but should never be taken in replacement or in conjunction with pharmaceuticals unless cleared by your health practitioner.

Buzzvia
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625175,00.html

Canada, like many of the worlds countries, suffers from a substance abuse problem among a certain subset of its population. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry recently published a paper based off the research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

The Results

• About 11% of Canadians have a problem with drug and alcohol abuse, this represents over three million people is equivalent to the entire population of the GTA!
• Substance abuse is more prevalent in mid-sized cities then rural or larger cities
• substances included in this study are alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack, speed, ecstasy, hallucinogens, glue, gasoline or solvents, heroin and steroids.
• Study benefited from a 77% response rate for a total sampling size of just under 37 thousand households
• British Columbia, Alberta had a substance abuse rate of about 13%
• Saskatchewan had a substance abuse rate of just over 14%
• Manitoba had a substance abuse rate of 13.5%
• Ontario had a substance abuse rate of just over 10%
• Quebec had a substance abuse rate of just over 9%
• New Brunswick had a substance abuse rate of just over 12%
• Nova Scotia had a substance abuse rate of just under 14%
• PEI (Prince Edward Island) had a substance abuse rate just under 10%
• Newfoundland/Labrador had a substance abuse rate of just under 13%

What does this all mean?

Statistically, considering the sample size, I would say these results are within a +/- range of a few percentage points, which essentially nullifies province by province comparisons. Generally, 11% of us Crazy Canucks enjoy a range of substances from alcohol to heroin to get us through yet another mind numbing day. I have lost both of my sisters to substance abuse and from that experience, I can easily say that those who take drugs are in deep denial to say the least (this includes tobacco users). Put another way, I doubt the foundations of this study if they simply relied on honest answers. You cannot expect an honest answer from a crook relative to how many items they stole anymore then you can expect an honest answer from a drug abuser high on self-denial.

The Bottom Line

Don’t drink, don’t smoke and don’t inject substances not given to you by a medical professional, otherwise, you WILL get more then you bargained for.

Buzzvia
http://www.camh.net/News_events/News_releases_and_media_advisories_and_backgrounders/addiction_geographical_rates.html

Sadly, some people just don’t get it and resort to less then honorable means to get some. The spiked drug detector hopes to even the playing field between the predator and his/her prey.

Why is spiking?

Spiking a drink in the traditional sense involves adding a little liquor to an non-alcoholic drink but in the modern sense, spiking refers to adding a date rape drug such as GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid) to a drink in order to instantly have your way with a person. Date rape drugs have no smell nor color with little taste.

How would the detector work?

Simply put, the detector would compare the electrical signal produced by different drugs within a drink and give a “present or absent” for the drug in question. Although still in the patent stage, this does hold promise for other applications in the medical and environmental field.

Buzzvia
http://www.medlaunches.com/gadgets/device_to_detect_spike_drinkin.php

Buzzedvia
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/invention/2007/08/spiked-drink-detector.html

Let’s face it, AIDS is going to be with us for at least the next half century if not more. The reason that HIV Disease has been such a successful virus around the world is because it exploits all the human weaknesses that make up our various civilizations. Each year, there are new promises made by scientists regarding eradication of this deadly virus but this simply leads to more knowledge being acquired regarding the complexity of this virus.

Summary: Part 1

I encourage you to view this program online but if you don’t have time, here is an extensive summary.

• by the time HIV Disease was diagnosed in the United States, over 250 thousand people where infected, by the time it was diagnosed in Africa, millions where already infected
• the AIDS virus is 150 times smaller than the size of the blood cell it attacks and eventually kills, progressively over several years, the body dies from an infection due to an overwhelmed (now severely compromised) immune system without anymore t-cells to combat infection
• originally, most patients died within a few months upon diagnosis
• June 1981, CDC reports in the MMWR the occurrence of a mysterious disease which will soon be labeled as AIDS
• originally, infections where among healthy gay men who had a number of recreational drugs and sexual partners so the point of infection was very difficult to track down
• infection diagnosis then spread through the Haitian community, the CDC couldn’t figure out the connection between the gay men in large cities and the Haitian Community in Florida
• in Europe, infections began to show up in heterosexual couples who where not from Haitian backgrounds nor homosexual ones
• November 1981, three drug users where diagnosed in New York with AIDS which later lead to an epidemic of AIDS within the drug communities
• diagnosis of AIDS leads to becoming a social outcast within their peers, as this was mostly hitting the gay and drug communities, they where not a priority by the government (they didn’t care)
• government didn’t want public tax dollars going towards helping people who deserved to die based on actions against the Laws of God
• CDC warns that AIDS has entered the blood supply after a child becomes infected with AIDS
• Hemophiliacs are the next group to be infected with AIDS en mass, CDC then realized that AIDS had to be a virus spread through sharing of bodily fluids
• blood banks refuse to admit that AIDS could be spread from blood transfusions, even when faced with evidence by the CDC, it took two years before they began screening procedures, leading to 35 thousand confirmed new AIDS cases
• President Reagan comes into power and institutes a 25% cut in funding to the CDC, leading to two years of stagnation in the AIDS epidemic
• scientists had trouble finding the original source of AIDS, leads lead to the Congo
• once scientists visit the Congo, they realize that woman can also be infected with AIDS, once this is reported to high ranking government officials, they still cannot put two and two together as the gay and drug user biased is systemic throughout the administration
• Haitians where contracted by the now independent Congo once the Belgians left in the 1980s to teach the Congonese population, once they return, they infected many Haitians (the connection is now made)
• many gay men would travel to Haiti for cheap sex, then returning to the United States, leading to further infections within the gay community
• AIDS spread quickly through the closed and impoverished Haiti population
• bathhouses in the gay community became huge points of infection among the population, government officials debated the impact
• 1983, AIDS was a political disease even in the face of overwhelming evidence that it didn’t discriminate against host (sexual orientation, race or background)
• in the summer of 1983, HIV Virus was isolated by the French but scientists in the United States couldn’t wrap their head around more then one retro-virus existing
• HIV is thought to come from Chimpanzees that carried SIV hunted by humans in Central Africa sometime in the 1930s
• 1959 was the first confirmed case of somebody dying of AIDS
• one infection from a Chimpanzee to one Human lead to the current AIDS epidemic
• in May of 1984, the first AIDS blood test was developed and work on a vaccine is promised within two years
• AIDS blood test reveals that somebody can be HIV positive but completely healthy for decades before symptoms become apparent, leading to exponential infection rates
• in 1985, the gay community was going through an incredible challenge as people where dying daily, half of hemophiliacs died from AIDS as well
• during the second term of Reagan’s administration, AIDS was still not acknowledged and still seen as a mainly a gay problem
• Rock Hudson was a gifted Hollywood actor, known for his looks and ability with the woman, the personification of a perfect male, was the first major figure diagnosed with AIDS
• Rock Hudson’s death lead to AIDS becoming mainstream with widespread public fear, discrimination and paranoia spread across the country
• Ryan White, a 14 year old hemophiliac infected with AIDS is forced to quit coming to school due to unfounded fears and ignorance
• in September 1985, the Reagan’s administration re-enforces stigma that AIDS can be spread by casual contact, which is then denied by the scientific community which says AIDS is spread by exchanges in bodily fluids
• AIDS hides itself behind the bodies own sugars that essentially make it invisible to the human immune system
• in 1985, two million people where infected (mostly in Africa) and over 500 thousand Americans
• sex and homosexuality are taboo subjects in Africa which lead to exponential infection rates
• Jonathan Mann encountered AIDS in Zaire in 1984 during a study for the CDC and lead a WHO global program across the world, breaking taboos and forcing the issues behind AIDS into the public
• Irine Kaliba lead the development of the first AIDS support organization in Uganda after her husband died from AIDS caused by a blood transfusion, promoting education and hope to stop the AIDS infection growth rates (leading to a decrease)
• in 1985, heroin and the sex industry caused an explosion in new AIDS cases within Thailand
• 1 in 10 new army recruits where found in Thailand to be infected with AIDS, the government acted quickly to promote the use of condoms among sex workers while neglecting the drug users who had infections rates of up to 40%
• in Britain, AIDS was primarily spreading through the Heroin community from 0% to 56% within an 18 month period, in response, the government sets-up needle exchanges across the UK
• in 1987, United States Senator Jesse Helms was insulted by publications spreading knowledge about AIDS prevention and pushed for a ban against homosexual materials which is still on the books today, this was seen as a blow to the AIDS fight
• AZT was a cancer drug from the 1950s that caused immune system regeneration in AIDS patients, it was a public funded drug whose patent was given to a private company by the United States government at the price of 10 000$US a year
• mass demonstrations against the slow process of AIDS drug approval and extremely high drug prices
• AZT doesn’t totally knock out the AIDS virus, as a result, it adapted and became drug resistant to the once promising drug
• in 1987, the AIDS memorial quilt is displayed in Washington, over 40 thousand Americans had already died from AIDS
• on May 31st, 1987, president Reagan finally speaks-out about AIDS, while pushing for education, he also took steps that would be counter-productive such as testing new immigrants and not promoting condom use
• by 1990, a million Americans are infected with AIDS, equivalent to 1 on every 250 people across the United States population
• Ryan White Care Act is passed by Washington to begin putting a wedge in the exponential global increase in AIDS infections
• Jonathan Mann departs the WHO because of personality conflicts, his high profile work lead to conflicts with his boss who was jealous of Jonathan’s success on the AIDS front

Summary: Part 2

• Africans migrate en mass to South African in search of jobs
• next to the hostels where the men live are brothels where AIDS is spread through the population
• when Mandela is released from Jail, 1% of the South African population had been infected with AIDS but the government did very little to combat the growing epidemic over the following four years
• in 1984, Mandela saw his job being mostly that of reconciliation and led his vice president to take the helm of the AIDS fight
• during the five years that president Mandela was in office, he rarely discussed AIDS as infections where doubling on a yearly basis within his country
• Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992 promising to take the lead in the AIDS fight, in stark contrast to Reagan
• HIV was thought to be dormant for several years before infection but scientists found out that it replicated by the billions on a daily basis starting on the first day of infection, it just took a long time before these actions progressed to compromise the immune system
• replication of HIV isn’t a perfect process, as such, drug resistance is a given
• in 1996, the triple cocktail developed by the team working under Dr. David Ho shows incredible promise against the AIDS virus, the cost was 16 thousand dollars a year
• by 1996, 20 million Africans where infected with HIV with no way of affording the cost of treatment, which lead to an enormous moral question being asked
• AIDS patients in the United States with health care could afford the drugs but not those without it while in Brazil the triple cocktail is freely available to anybody who needs it, yet it’s banned in South Africa
• Brazil had 500 thousand infected AIDS patients in the 1990s, the government built the AIDS clinics in poor neighborhoods but it wasn’t until a patient brought the government to court did they provide the triple cocktail to their population
• AZT can prevent transmission between mother and child
• President Mbeki continues to see that AIDS is an environmental and social disease, infection rates are now to 20% within the population which was completely preventable
• infection rates within the black communities skyrocketed while they stabilized in the rest of the American population
• 40% of new AIDS infections come from IV drug users within the United States
• AIDS becomes a global pandemic which is met with absolute ignorance many governments around the world who deny its existence
• 20 million people died by the end of the 1990s by HIV/AIDS infections while most of the international community still looked the other way
• in the late 1990s, President Mbeki repeats his denials about AIDS, saying it’s caused by poverty, not a virus during the first AIDS conference in Africa
• the pharmaceutical industry stand behind their intellectual property rights behind the AIDS drugs they had developed at the cost of poor peoples lives
• George Bush creates a 15 billion dollar PEPFAR fund to help provide free AIDS drugs to Africans dying of AIDS to sidestep the UN Global Fund pushed by Kofi Annan
• United States leadership still think that AIDS was a consequence of sinful behavior, as a result, not their problem, hence funds where released with strings attached in 2002
• Christians see AIDS as an opportunity to spread the word of God to dying patients around the world
• UN Global Fund against AIDS targeted over 160 countries while the Bush plan concentrated on mostly African countries
• SARS in China affected the global community to open transparency about health problems
• disease, for the first time, seen as a situation that can affect economic and national security of a country
• triple cocktail needs to be taken for life as the infection returns afterwards, HIV never go away from a persons body, you can suppress it but not eradicate it
• Bush’s AIDS plan relies on prevention, where 20% of funds are allocated and shies away from direct sexual talk such as condom use
• prostitution, homosexuality and condom distribution are no-nos regarding receiving funds from the Bush administration
• the challenges posed by AIDS are far and wide with the implications of an entire global community relying on a constant supply these life saving drugs
• triple cocktail users live up to 8 years longer on the drugs but the costs take up a large portion of government health care budgets
• in 2008, both the UN and US funds against AIDS run out
• 95% of new infections take place in poor countries with 40 million in new infections over the next several years
• drugs and treatment programs cannot keep-up with infection rates
• India already has 5 million infections
• HIV spreads among mostly heterosexual populations now
• 5 million new cases per year, no cure and no vaccine exists
• current generation don’t know the face or challenges with AIDS, they tend to think it’s a manageable disease with little consequences, which is false
• AIDS fight is now towards mitigation, not beating it as too many have died and are being infected daily
• Nelson Mandela’s son has died from AIDS
• AIDS shows how interconnected we really are

The Bottom Line

HIV/AIDS is a condition that will be with us for at least the next generation if not more but prevention is always a more effective mechanism to control the spread then treatment.

Buzzvia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/view/

Modifying kids behavior in order for them to fit inside of a “one size fits all” mold is never a good idea but sometimes, this is all that can be done because of lack of resources (financial, chronological and emotional).

Background

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and begins in childhood in which the child is difficult to control due to lack of attention, hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. ADD is simply the condition without the hyperactive aspect being expressed by the child. It is mostly treated with medication and neither the cause nor ways of preventing it are known.

Summary

I encourage you to view this video but here is a summary in the meantime:

• children failing preschool, being told they suffer from brain disorders and need psychiatric medications to control behavior in schools
• each class within a school in the United States have 2-3 kids consuming behavior modification drugs and this is only increasing
• 4x more psyciatric medication prescribed to Americans kids then what is prescribed around the world combined
• Family A
  • their child was misbehaving, impulsive, unfocused and to his teacher, he needed medication to “fit in”
  • 6 million school kids diagnosed with ADHD / ADD in the United States
  • diagnosis based on list of 28 multiple choice questions, child, which is three and a half, was diagnosed with ADHD by psychiatrist and being told he needed medication to calm him down
• Family B
  • child takes 3 tables in the morning, some more during lunch then later in the day to help child concentrate
  • parents told child needed medication based on teachers assessment, such as talking with others and being social during classes
  • Retalin is being sold as the safest medication to help a child get over ADHD
  • child approached parents to get on the medication to help develop focus in school
  • child went from failing to great achievement in school, helped athletic performance and had a dramatic difference in personality traits
  • in 7th grade, child had doubts as to effectiveness of taking Retalin and decided to stop medication against wishes of school, psychiatrist and family
  • teachers noticed changes in childs behavior during 7th grade even when they didn’t know she was diagnosed with ADD
  • after a month off Retalin, child returned onto drugs, making teacher happy that the student can once again focus
  • half way through 7th grade, Retalin was replaced with Adderall
• medication prescribed so child is within a normal range of behavior
• in the 50s and 60s there wasn’t a need to have 6 million children medicated for ADD / ADHD, so what changed?
• ADD / ADHD is considered a fraud by Scientologists and they pushed school boards to stop pushing for medication of their student population
• ADHD is a lifelong condition, neurological and inherited which can only be “cured” via medication
• ADHD drugs cannot be advertised directly to patients so “public talks” about ADHD used to open “awareness” about the problem and the drugs that can sure it
• ADD / ADHD is a billion dollar a year industry, diagnosis is a booming industry
• Shire Richwood, drug maker of ADHD drugs, advocates under the association CHADD
• CHADD pushed for children to be eligible under disability act, so they can have less homework, extra services and classes for their child paid by school
• in the 1980s ADD / ADHD incidences where stable but diagnosis boomed in the 1990s after the United States made this condition eligible under the disability act as parents found out about the advantages of such a program
• lawsuits flying all over the place that there is a conspiracy between Novaris (Retalin manufacturer), Shire Richwood (Adderall manufacturer) and CHADD to over-prescribe ADD / ADHD drugs to children to help their bottom line
• Family C
  • diagnosis of ADD / ADHD is complex as it co-exists with other psychological problems such as depression, self-esteem and other factors
  • child is very sensitive and depressed
  • child had problems hanging out with the wrong crowd, suffered from peers making fun of him due to weight and other insults
  • child became overly concerned about future (in negative way)
  • child brought to church where a therapist thought he suffered from suicidal tendencies
  • child attempted suicide after being put on medication for several months, was tired of his life no matter how much medication was prescribed
• ADHD linked with depression in 18% of cases, additional drugs prescribed which also helped him loose some weight (child is morbidly obese)
• scientists have a tough time finding out more about ADD / ADHD as to cause after close to 20 years of study
• stimulants (Retalin, Adderrall etc. ) are effective against ADD / ADHD, it’s seen as a disorder of efficiency which may be due to size of cerebellum (being smaller in ADD / ADHD vs normal child)
• CCHR, association funded by Scientologists, doesn’t recognize psychiatric industry, says medication for psychological conditions is nothing but witchcraft
• Family D
• child diagnosed with ADHD in grade two, put on Retalin and by the time child was in 6th grade, was on a host of drugs to control behavior but no drugs seemed to work
• parents got court order to put child on Adderrall against his wishes, his condition lead to breakup of family

My personal views about ADD / ADHD debate

I believe that ADD / ADHD in 95% of the cases is based on environment and diet, there is nothing wrong with a child who is inattentive nor hyperactive, we are all different.

Most people have an atrocious diet, this does nothing to help both mental and physical development. The main reason that medication is being pushed is to help teachers better perform their jobs, these children are simply BORED with where they are and methods being used to teach them. Kids (and adults) of course have no problem focusing on things they LOVE to do. I was bored in University and most of high school, I had a few exceptions when the teacher that taught had a real passion for their courses, others simply treated us like robots to memorize and spit out results. Of course, it’s always easier to simply prescribe medication for all involved (including parents) then to make a drastic change in environment. Maybe your kid isn’t meant to learn via school, throw them on a boat and travel around the world, I believe the symptoms you see would quickly disappear.

I also believe a steady diet of television in the formative years aggravates the condition. Think about it, your brain adapts to the environment around it, if you are watching television, your brain is being taught that something new and exciting is always but a few seconds away… that’s why it’s entertaining. Go from this to a static class room for up to 8 hours a day and no wonder the brain over-reacts (hyperactivity or depression). Think about it.

Of course, there is that 5% of cases where medication may be required, but treating children with drugs while the brain is still developing should be avoided at all costs. To summarize, I believe ADHD / ADD is very similar to cancer, in which environment and lifestyle choices play an enormous role in its development.

The Bottom Line

Real or not, ADHD is here to stay because the alternatives to medications are simply too much of a perceived burden.

References
http://www.myfoodcount.com/healthylife/whatis/adhd.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/watch/