PPP - another bijou rant-ette.

Blame it on the hot weather and screaming kids! :-D

PPP stands for Piss Poor Parenting.

Why, oh why, oh why do parents allow children to dictate their own diets? As if children know what's good for them! At an event I attended recently, "Johnny*" was given a plate of chicken drummers (mechanically-recovered chicken formed into the approximate shape of chicken drumsticks and coated with breadcrumbs) and oven chips. I asked Johnny if he would like a beefburger, sausage or pork steak. He replied. "I don't like them". He only wanted manufactured shite. Seriously, WTF?

When I was a lad, I was given the same food as my parents. If I didn't eat it, I went without. I ate it!
Nowadays, "children's menus" in restaurants (I'm being quite generous in the use of the word restaurant) consist of lots of manufactured shite that children like. Unlike veggies & fruit, this shite contains very little fibre/fiber or magnesium.

Is it any wonder that childhood constipation is a problem? Why are children being given PEG or even Lactulose, when there's a much better solution - Epsom Salts (which contains magnesium). The gut needs magnesium to function properly. See You're free, and a testimonial.

The brain needs magnesium to remain cool, calm and collected i.e. function properly. The brain also needs DHA and Vitamin D3 to function properly. Many kids don't like oily fish so they won't/don't eat it. It's not rocket science to purée some wild red salmon with some Bolognese/Sweet chilli/w.h.y. sauce so that they won't notice it. Many kids play indoors or are smothered in sunblock when they do go outdoors. Is it any wonder that childhood ADD/ADHD is much more common? Medication and psychotherapy? Seriously, WTF?

When I was a lad, there were a couple of show-offs in my class at school, but nobody behaved like "Jimmy*" (physically and mentally hyperactive with bad behaviour, screaming and shouting). Johnny was also badly behaved, but not as bad as Jimmy. The parents at the event seemed content that, every day, their children had to be given "uppers" (e.g. Ritalin) to help them concentrate during the day and "downers" to help them sleep at night. Seriously, WTF?

I will now take a deep breath and count to twenty. There, that's better!

*Names changed.

You're free, and a testimonial.

First, the music video.


I have to admit that I'm not exactly what you'd call "exciting". Apart from driving my yellow MX-5 very fast in the middle of the night when there's nobody around, I'm not an adrenaline junkie. My mother used to throw herself out of light aircraft with a parachute on her back. There were occasions where her main 'chute either failed to open or it became tangled and had to be "cut away" before deploying the reserve.

I'll fly through the air when I've grown a pair of wings. I'll swim when I've grown a set of gills. I'll climb up the side of a mountain when I've grown two extra legs and have the strength & balance of a goat.

In some ways, I'm lucky to have slightly defective hearing & vision. I'm happy with the sound quality of inexpensive stereos and I don't need HDTV. I get my kicks from singing and from helping people to improve their health. I believe that health is number one priority as, without it, you can't properly do or enjoy things in life.

So, you're free to do what you want to do. Also, you're free to take or leave my advice! Anyway...

Somebody who I've known for about 14 years had been suffering from fairly obvious signs of magnesium deficiency (anxiety, poor sleep, cramps, spasms etc) for quite a while, so I virtually frog-marched him to the pharmacy at Tesco on bank holiday Monday and got him to buy a pot of Epsom Salts and add some to a smoothie.

He wishes to remain anonymous, but last night he informed me that he's feeling much better and is now pooing normally for the first time in 20 years. That's probably how long he's been deficient in magnesium. I've also given him 14 Vitamin D3 5,000iu mini gelcaps to try, as he suffers from low moods and rarely gets any sun on his skin.

Our bodies work so much better when they have all the nutrients that they need.

Move More: You are NOT going to believe this! Part 2.

At mum's care home on Wednesday, the activities ladies held a tai-chi session for the residents, as movement is good for their muscles and well-being. They roped me in as well. Mum was reading a Henley-on-Thames leaflet so she didn't join-in.

Tai-chi is harder than it looks! Mum noticed that I was waving my arms about in a graceful manner and stopped reading the leaflet. She looked slightly bemused (as would you if you saw what I was doing) and started smiling.

It was also somebody's birthday, so we all sang "Happy birthday to you" to him and gave him three "hip-hip hoorays" followed by a round of applause.

To the astonishment of the activities ladies, mum started to clap her hands. 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3 + me being chatty, For The Win!

The nurse on duty also had a chat with me about the best way to give mum 10ml/day of fish oil and 2.5ml/day of Epsom Salts. She later told me that mum swallowed the fish oil without any problems (mum loves smoked salmon) and swallowed the Epsom Salts dissolved in a cup of juice without any problems either.

In other news, I now have a Blackberry 8900. This blog looks rather different when displayed on a tiny screen.

EDIT: I now ache all over!

Magnesium: Just as important as Calcium.

Suffering from anger/aggression/anxiety? Can't sleep properly? Suffering from night cramps, restless legs, menstrual cramps, muscle spasms? You're probably deficient in magnesium. See A case of oesophageal spasm, and the ‘unproven’ treatment that helped it and Around the Web; and Menstrual Cramp Remedy.

After Vitamin D and Omega-3 fats, magnesium is the third thing that people are most likely to be deficient in. Processed foods are low in magnesium. Diets low in vegetables are low in magnesium. For a list of the 999 richest sources of magnesium per 100g serving, see http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000120000000000000000-w.html. Too much calcium can result in a relative magnesium deficiency.

An optimum intake of magnesium is approximately 50% of your calcium intake. Other sources of magnesium are Milk of Magnesia (hydroxide) and Epsom Salts (sulphate heptahydrate). Excessive intake of magnesium salts acts as an osmotic laxative and gives you loose bowels, but it takes quite a lot to do this. Half a level teaspoonful (~2.5g) of Epsom Salts gives you ~250mg of magnesium and is as cheap as chips (200g costs £1.25 at Boots).

Magnesium is also available as a dietary supplement. Magnesium oxide (Magnesia) isn't as well-absorbed as Citrate/Amino Acid Chelate forms, so take extra if using oxide. See Magnesium bioavailability from magnesium citrate and magnesium oxide. Magnesium can be absorbed through the skin, so adding Epsom Salts or Magnesium Chloride to your bathwater is another option.