Empowering people to live a longer and healthier life through diet, exercise, and spiritual practice.
I’m enjoying the holidays. My warmest wishes for you.
I am with the family, in a place of gratitude, Colorado.
According to Forks over Knives, the average American gains 5 to 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Please remember to get your walk daily and eat vegetables first.
Live well, I am in the middle of 3 health topic books, and I will share science-based information with you In January.
In the spirit, be healthy,
Coach Brown
“Healthy eating refers to consuming a variety of foods that provide the nutrients your body needs to maintain overall health, feel good, and have energy. It involves making informed choices about what and how much you eat, with an emphasis on:
This sounds great but it does not tell you what to eat. “AI”, while correct, seems very generic with its answer. I’m not sharing a plan either because each person needs to go through the process of building an eating plan for themselves at each stage of life. In another blog I read, the author tells us that he eats 80 to 90 percent vegetables. Then he goes on to list his no-nos and his go-to’s. What are you eating and when are you eating it? What are your no-nos and go-tos? We know our nutrition needs change as we age, so our eating habits need to change with us.
I didn’t get in any golf this month. I hiked 4 trails: Le Madre Springs Trail, Kraft Trail, Kyle Road Path, and White Owl Canyon. I saw the springs of Le Madre, it is beautiful this time of year. I saw the beautiful dry gulch of the Calico Basin area. On the Kyle Road Path, among the desert terrain, I saw wild burros. Traveling to White Owl Canyon with a friend, I saw a Big-horn sheep. This is outdoor time. Golf will be later, my friends are hard at it. Here are some pictures from the hikes:
There are 3 burros in the photo above. Enlarge to find them.
Kraft area
At the Springs
Enjoying White Owl Canyon
From “Aging as a Spiritual Practice”:
As each of us grows older, may we be kind to ourselves;
As each of us grows older, may we accept joy and sorrow;
As each of us grows older, may we be happy and at peace.
In the spirit, be healthy,
Coach Brown
I am writing this on the 25th anniversary of my mother’s passing, so I am mentally in that space.
left: Bill Brown (my brother), Bernard Brown (Dad), and me. The next four or five years would change our lives in the early 1960s our future unknown.
My brother would be a Green Baret doing 3 or 4 tours in Viet Nan.
My dad died at 49 of a coronary occlusion.
I would be a runaway juvenile delinquent and budding athlete who found sport, surfing, and 2 lifelong friends in Keith and Ed.
Dad and Mom doing what they do.
How do these Family Facts fit into this Fitness Blog? The pictures speak.
Las Vegas this time of year beckons you to outside activity of any kind. I bought an electric scooter to enjoy the area. I crashed it right out of the Amazon box. I have been nursing my ego and body back into shape ever since then.
Practice then crash
I also fell off my diet too. As a direct result of poor eating, I had a major gout flair-up, driving me back to the veggies that I should have been eating.
Hopefully, you have watched the new limited series on Netflix or on the internet from the “Blue Zone”. There is some review, but lots of new stuff Dan Buettner is working on to bring us a healthy lifestyle. Here is what I want to concentrate on for now: Keiro no-Hi. This is a Japanese holiday that is Blue Zone friendly.
By Karen Yoshitomi
Keiro no Hi (Respect for the Aged Day) is a public holiday celebrated in Japan each year on the third Monday of September. Originally known as Toshiyori no Hi (Elderly People’s Day), the celebration was first organized by Masao Kadowaki, mayor of a small village called Nomadani-mura (Taka-cho today) located in the Hyogo Prefecture in 1947, a few years after the end of World War II. The mayor believed that the young villagers should show their gratitude and respect for their elders, by seeking their wisdom and guidance in the aftermath of the chaos and hardship of the war. The young were invited to gather together — to listen and learn from the older adults. This gathering called Toshiyori no Hi spread to other villages across the country, and the newly renamed Keiro no Hi became a national holiday in 1966.
Today, Keiro no Hi is celebrated as a way to honor older adults and express appreciation and gratitude for their contributions to society. During this holiday, the hustle and bustle of everyday life slows down in order to give rise to the opportunity to reflect on how the older generations have paved the way for those that would follow. It’s also an opportunity to gain some wisdom and insight that comes from many years of life experiences.
Honorees can be family members, people in the community, or just older adults in general. This year, Keiro no Hi will be September 18th. In observance of this day, consider sending a handwritten note or card to an older adult. Let them know you are thinking about them. Call or spend time with them. Keiro no Hi is a day to reflect on the life we enjoy today and how the knowledge and life experience of those who came before, helps us live better lives today.
Children writing messages for Keiro no Hi, at 2023’s Kodomo no Hi festival.
You can view more photos from 2023’s Kodomo no Hi by using the button below.
JAPANESE CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY CENTER OF WASHINGTON SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
IN THE SPIRIT, BE HEALTHY
Coach Brown
1. The Big Three
18 minute interveiw with Dr. Attia:
This is Lewis Howes’ interview in-depth with Dr.Attia 1hr 29 min.
2. Colorado and Camping
The weather was bipolar this year. At my daughter’s house in Colorado and anywhere we went, the weather held on to its insanity. We had two camping trips. The first trip was to Taylor Lake. This reservoir is in a valley at 9300 feet. It was a 4-hour drive to southern Colorado to meet friends. The camping is on an alluvial plain with snow-covered mountains all around. The days were long and fun-filled in the 70-degree range; at night the temperature dipped into the low 20s. I felt the chill. One morning, as I was warming in the first light, a black cloud came in with rocket speed and dumped a brief snow flurry on me. I was not ready and I had to sit in the car to get warm. However, the beauty of the “high country” area provides a “free pass” for any discomfort. I was invited by friends to go with them in their off-road vehicle “RZR” to Mirror Lake. This is a classically beautiful place. They fished, and I hiked. It is over 10,400 feet and is the gateway to the Continental Divide.
More bipolar weather waited for us on our second trip. This was Family camping for a week at Lake Mccaugnhy. My son and a friend joined us. This was a three-hour trip to Ogallala, Nebraska in the heart of cowboy history. This reservoir is on the North Platte River. The camping is like at the beach with sand and some trees. Day-time temperatures to the 80 and 90s with a night dip in the 60’s. Perfect for camping, right? This place is some kind of weather funnel. The first night, after we set up, the wind came with high-powered gusts and made its’ own arrangement of everything and even buried some stuff in the sand. The next day was sunny and we had a boat to play with, great time. Then rain, then sun, then wind. We went to bed to not deal with the weather. In the morning, we again played. Then the text came, tornado warning. We anchored almost everything. I sat in my tent through the 60-mile-an-hour wind. When it was over sand was in everything, everywhere, all the time. In the Biplor spirit, it was followed by a double rainbow.
The wind and rain started to howl that night after our rainbow event. Early in the morning, I stuck my head out of the tent, like a turtle looking for a meal. The rest of the family was about packed and waiting for me. We enjoyed this place, but it was an adventure.
3. Benefits of Walking after Meals
This is from Healthline:Nutrition 6/22/23
| MAIN COURSE |
| Is it worthwhile to walk after eating? |
| Walking after meals, especially after dinner, is a time-honored tradition that may offer many health benefits, including aiding digestion, building muscle, and enhancing circulation. It may even improve your mental well-being. |
| Now, a new review of research provides further support for this tradition. |
| The researchers found that exercising shortly after eating can lower postmeal blood sugar levels. Elevated blood sugar is linked to metabolic syndrome, which is thought to affect more than one-third of Americans. Here are some more key takeaways from this review: |
| •Exercising within 30 minutes after a meal was found to be the most beneficial (and more effective than exercising before eating). |
| •Multiple short bouts of exercise after eating may be more effective than one long session. |
| •In addition to burning calories, postmeal movement can shift your body’s energy source toward using up glucose supplied by a meal. |
 More benefits of postmeal exercise: |
| •The study found a beneficial effect in people with type 2 diabetes, though it was not as strong as in people without the condition. However, another study found that a 2-minute walk after meals can help lower type 2 diabetes risk. |
| •Regular postmeal activity may potentially reduce the risk of inflammation and cardiovascular disease in the long term. |
| Next step: After your next meal, consider lacing up your boots (or sneakers) and going for a stroll that’s at least 20 minutes long. It’s a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to energize your digestion and boost your overall health. As the authors of this review conclude, “After dinner walk a while, after supper walk again.” |
| Tell us: Do you like to go for a walk after eating? Is it something you do all the time, now and then, or never? Let us know at nutritionedition@healthline.com. (Please note that we may use your name and response in an upcoming newsletter!) |
Thanks to everyone who hosted me this summer. I return to Las Vegas renewed for the start of school in August. The old understand the young, better than the other way around.
In the spirit, be healthy,
Coach Brown
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London from the Train station on the Thames
This month’s adventures were amazing and educational. My middle daughter (yes, there are three) has lived worldwide. She settled in London 10 years ago. She travels back here to the States to visit, but this was my first trip to visit her and the U.K. I was joyously greeted by my daughter, who was to host me and act as my tour guide extraordinaire. My arrival in London was a week or so after the Coronation of King Charles III and the decorations were still in place. I saw and did almost everything. Palaces, parks, gardens, plays, and concerts. I have tons of pictures and keepsakes of all the events and places.
We took a side trip to the Yorkshire countryside to see the rural area and maybe find a DNA link or 2. We found no link but had fun on the hunt. We met lots of nice people. This is just a beautiful place.
York from the Wall.
Hiking The North English Moors
How does this fit into my Health and Fitness Blog? Every good vacation is going to have lots of activity. The U.K. is no exception. The people are very much Public Transportation oriented. Many people are using it to go everywhere. This also means they are walking, as we were, to each destinations. I averaged over 22,000 steps a day. This is more than double my recommended 10,000 steps per day. The unique thing is that almost everyone is walking. Old people and young people are all walking, a true nation in motion.
Veggie menu even here.
I wanted to eat planted based on this vacation, I thought it would be challenging. It was not. I had a planned exception for a traditional “fish and chips” meal and to try a “pasty”. To my revelation, every Diner, Hangout, and Food stand has a veggie or vegan option or both. The fish and chips were good and pasties come in veggie form everywhere. As we walked to catch a bus (double-decker, of course) in a Jamaican market area, I ask my daughter if we could get a Pasty. She said that those are good and pointed out a shop. A young lady came from the back and I ask if they have vegan or veggie pasties. She said, “Sure mon”, and pointed to a display case with several kinds. I ask which is best, and she pointed again. We bought 2 and ate the goodness on the bus to the inner part of London. Many restaurants specialize in vegetarian food. We ate at an Indian restaurant that was superior to anything that I have had before. They served dahl that had been simmered for 24 hours. That is a delicious and mouth-watering lintel dish. Everywhere had these types of choices. Even in the county, good restaurants had vegan and veggie options. Virgin Atlantic, the airline, had me set up ahead of time with vegan meals also.
Example of Veggie Restaurant
Example of choices at a food stand
Community Requires Cooperation
The English seem to be better at cooperation than we Americans. There are over 14 million people in London and they move and interact with very little conflict. The urban vs. rural issues do exist there, but they seem more committed to the common good than we do. There were transportation strikes while I was in London, and people had “workaround” plans. There were protests about world conditions, and the people were polite in allowing others to exercise free speech. We still have lessons to learn.
My daughter was a kind and generous host. I was able the stay healthy and have the best of vacations. I did return to the desert for a few days. Now I’m headed off to Colorada with my youngest daughter for the balance of my summer break.
Colorado cloud
In the spirit, be healthy,
Coach Brown
HEALTHY AT 120 