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5 Ways to Beat the Cold Weather Blues | Weekly Wakeup

I am a cold weather person, my wife however, isn't. So over the years I have put together some items that has helped her, and should help you through the tough months of winter. Yes, they do work, I promise. I have shortened the details of this list for your reading. However, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me. You might get a 16 hour lecture, but you will be informed!!!

 

Finding Sunshine

Look, I know this seems obvious and quite ridiculous considering it will be grey for a couple of months. Oddly there are things you can do to consume light, one of them being hiking in the wilderness. Every storm we have there is often a bright spot, the clouds disappear and there is usually some light to be had. Seriously go outside, hike, walk, climb and find more of it. Setting on your couch and you will not get the benefits of photon phase energy from the sun that chemically shifts vitamin D into making you happy!

Read Here if you don't believe me.

 

Limiting Excessive Holiday Cheer

Look, I know, this is common sense. But seriously, just know that the combination of not being active and then drinking too much will get you sick and depressed. In the winter months this can take a toll on the immune system no matter how much you think it warms you up, it does not.

 

Comfort Foods Made Healthier

I know I am opinionated, but this one should be an alarm bell for those of you that 'diet'. There is no such relationship between a foods' calorie and how your body consumes that said food as fuel. I am serious; It is the worst, saddest, marketing joke ever played on humans. Now, you see why I hide and try to not be as 'social' as other people. I get very, sad and frustrated with people that don't use logic. So here is some logic. A calorie is: "The energy needed to increase the temperature of a given mass of water by 1 °C depends on the atmospheric pressure and the starting temperature".

That has nothing to do with how your body enzymatically processes your food - ever. The only relationship it will have is social hysteria. Just don't eat crap food and a lot of it. If you have a metabolic issue, then you should address it. Under no circumstances you should use calories as some emotional marker for your success, or your weight for that matter. It will get you into a psychological tailspin that will create more depression in the winter months. Agreed eating less 'calories' will allow to loose weight, however that is not the way to do it and you know it.

Now, that being said, do the simple stuff. Eat good meats, vegetables, cook them in crock pots ovens. Make sure to eat the fat. Consider soups for leftovers from the previous days meals. Consider drinking way more water and taking some base minerals to boot. I will get off that horse before it becomes a treatise.

 

Wake Up, Exercise & Cold Showers.

Waking up and exercising and following it up with cold showers. Yes, I said it, no joke. Both in combination, have been proven to produce 'brown fat' which literally burns itself. Yes, fat that burns itself, so do it. Calories, what a joke.

You can even loose weight in winter doing this. Imagine a world where you lose weight by eating fatty tasty things but you just have to take a warm shower followed by a cold shower and work out for 30 min. Well, it is real, and it is the one you're living.

Read more here if your curious.

 

Limit Social Media & Get Out There

Just stop it, get out and enjoy yourself. Find the sunshine. Share your love for being happy with others that don't know how to break out of the cycle.

Nutrition Facts | Weekly Wakeup | Sport Drinks

A recent research article comparing chocolate milk and sport drinks for post exercise recovery has shown that chocolate milk is the winner, by far. Yes, listen boys and girls to the basic facts: Drinking chocolate milk while exercising and after any decent workout should allow your body to recover just as quickly, if not more than expensive, specialized, sport drinks [1].

Mind you, most studies asses recovery drinks through the comparison of carbohydrates, electrolytes, and proteins through assumed absorption rates and subjective values; So take it with a grain of salt. That being said, please think about your options as consumers. Rule number one: Drink quality, organic if possible, full fat milk, lets say from your local cow milk manufacturer! Rule number two: Use real chocolate dark powder in specific usually 70% or greater I like Dagoba Unsweetened Drinking Chocolate Powder. Rule number three: Use as little sugar as possible, if you use any.

Let me put things into perspective. My brother after football practice would be thirsty and hungry, we were poor and my mothers only real option was full fat milk. For the record he was 6'4" and 270 pounds and he drank a gallon after practice and a gallon throughout the day. The best part of it, is that back in the 80s that only amounted to about $5 / day. Pretty cost efficient I'd say and honestly I do think that it would translate into todays economy as well.

For those that may be a little argumentative about the basics and logic let me man-splain, I will ignore the caloric measurements cause we all know that is bunk. Here is a list of actual nutritional items from a grass / hay fed cow that produces actual milk vs. commercially raised milk food product. When I say 'commercially raised milk food product' I mean to say; milk that has had a specific solution injected from blood derived proteins (precipitated blood albumin to increase protein the content so they can add more water making more money per gallon): Seriously they do that. No wonder people don't 'like' milk.

May I make a recommendation?

Here is what I have as a post workout drink, values of proteins and other recovery items will very greatly with workout scheme, goals, body type, size and sex. That being said, the basics are very important not the values. Remember each person and situation is very different. If you have any questions just call my office and I will give you some feedback.

Dr. Borgardt's  Milk Chocolate work out recovery drink or Sport Drink:

  • Organic milk
  • Dagoba dark chocolate powder
  • Banana
  • N-Acetylcysteine
  • Creatine
  • Protein powder
  • Chia seeds (soaked in water for 8-16 hours)

Blend. Drink. I also take in pill form during this time:

  • phosphatidylcholine
  • Vitamin B (complex)
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C

Go back to work.

  1. Chocolate milk for recovery from exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2018)
  2. Phospholipids and sports performance: J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007; 4: 5

 

 

 

Biltong Recipe

Recipe | Biltong | Weekly Wakeup

Making your own biltong is extremely easy and very rewarding. Here are some reasons why you should just buy some basic ingredients and get it done.
  • It is the best snack ever.
  • There becomes a moment when you realize that you are using chemistry as your ancestors did, allowing you to create a food product that is extremely healthy and safe to travel with.
  • That sudden appreciation for the moment when you need more because it's so delicious and its all gone.
The history of biltong is really about how we humans learned how to survive in conditions where we did not have the ability to refrigerate food. I think it is important to learn these basic food preparation techniques for several reasons, most of which, we live in a region that often allows us to travel, hike, or camp in places without the latest food storage techniques. On a personal note, I think what makes this recipe special, is that it comes from South Africa, an area of the world that was the center of travel, allowing many cultures to intertwine and create something really special.  

Ingredients

  • A - Supply chunk of cow, lamb, elk, or venison meat. Preferably a cheeper cut if you're going to be being it as honestly it makes the toughest meat tender as a ribeye steak.
  • A - Supply of rock sea salt
  • A - Supply of fine ground sea salt
  • A - Supply of whole coriander seeds
  • A - Supply of whole black pepper seeds
  • A - Supply of malt vinegar

Please note: Above when I listed an about as 'A - Supply' I am referring too the fact that there will be a ratio of each of these items and there are no real measurements, just guidelines. Yes, I said it you're going to be curing meat without a measurement, deal with it. That being said, it is safe as long as you go by these two basic guidelines:

  1. The use of salt, vinegar, coriander, and black pepper is not about tase, as much as it is about allowing the meat to dehydrate chemically at the same time of being able to resist the growth of pathogens.
  2. People have been curing meat with salt for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Regionally, there are some variants especially considering any regionally grown anti-bacterial or fungal herbs. However they have one main ingredient; Salt.
 

Instructions

  1. Take the chunk of meat, in this case it is a 'rancher steak' out on the counter and observe how you can cut in into as many 1 inch thick 6 inches long slices. Here is an example of what I just bought for $30.
    • Once you have the slices cut you will notice that there will be some that are smaller slices, that is quite all right. The only goal is to make sure that you have them to an even thickness as shown in [Step 1B photo].
  2. Place slices of meat in a bowl with enough fine salt, malt vinegar, hand ground coriander & black pepper (you can do this in a spice grinder or a hand grinder as shown), covering all surfaces. This example to the right I placed the following ratio:
    • 2 - Heaping table spoons of fine sea salt
    • 1/2 - Cup of malt vinegar
    • 2 - Heaping table spoons of ground coriander
    • 1 Heaping table spoons of ground black pepper
  3. Place meat strips close together in a flat glass or food grade plastic bin as in the next photo for 24-48 hours [4].
    • You don't have to cover the meat while it is in the fridge, if you don't however you will just have a fridge that smells like coriander and malt vinegar.
  4. Take meat strips out of plastic container, wash them down in the sink with the malt vinegar
    • The goal here is to just make sure you are washing again anything that has even thought about growing off of the meat that includes some of the fine salt and some of the ground coriander.
  5. Take each strip set it on a clean flat pan or cookie sheet, douse it with the rock sea salt and ground coriander, don't use the black pepper.
    • You can use the same container as the previous for the next step just wash it out and dry it off.
    • The amount of rock salt and coriander will be comparable to the ratio above however remember rock salt is more salt per granule. I prefer to just use a lot, cause I like salt.
    • Remember this is the last real stage that you will be handling the meat, just focus on the fact that it should look like the photo here [5]. Please note that as long as you used a lot of salt in the first part and you follow the basic guidelines here after you should have a great product. You will get the hang of it in regards to the ratio of ingredients - everyone is different. I have had super, super salty biltong and I ok with it. Others thought that it was the best they have every had. It is all up to you!
  6. Hang the meat strips with a bacteriostatic hanging method (food grade plastic or a stainless steel hanger or wood that has been treated) in a location where you can clean the floor as the meat will drip for 24 hours or so.
    • Notice in the photo I have of my pieces of hanging biltong over my kitchen counter for draining purposes.
    • I am using non-food grade plastic paperclips and I am ok with it because I would know the signs of mold or other issues from experience.
    • Traditionally biltong boxes are used to solve both issues I have pointed out above. However, if your just starting out you do not have to use one. Place a fan on low pointing in the general direction or place a light below witch produces airflow through something called a 'stack effect'.
    • I have never seen mold or fungus growing in any piece of biltong. You will quickly know it from how it looks, grey or white, fury or flat growths. That usually happens because there is
      • No air flow
      • Biltong pieces are touching
  7. Wait until it is firm to the touch. Some like it a bit 'wet', some like it dry. I honestly am just a bit too impatient to wait a full 7 days for standard conditions. Every situation is different but I have had biltong cure in 4 days with thin cuts and a lot of salt in the summer time.

Done.

Rancher Steak
Step 1A
Step 1B
Step 2
Step 3
Step 6

Coffee Update | Reducing the Risk of Strokes

Coffee is healthy, and it reduces the risk of strokes. There, I said it.

The consumption of coffee has now been associated with a 25% reduction in having a stroke. Thats right, a healthy cup of coffee. To think, nutrition does play a role in your life. [1]

The study specifies that the consumption is 1-6 cups of coffee a day, not a triple breve latte with two extra shots of huckleberry syrup. So please, don't take this as an excuse to give yourself diabetes.

On a personal note: I would like to thank everyone at Colter Coffee for knowing how to make it, knowing how to serve it, yet most of all just being the basic coffee snob. It makes me feel not so alone in the world.

1. Coffee consumption and risk of stroke in women. Stroke. 2011 Apr;42(4):908-12. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.603787. Epub 2011 Mar 10.