Went hiking(really it is just a walk) on Heart Mountain Trail near Exshaw yesterday. It is a short hike, a kilometer or two in at best. It is nice at the end – a bench you can sit and listen to the waterfall. You can’t really see it – hidden by rocks unless you climb a bit. There is a steep path on the left across the stream that you can climb to the top if you like. It is steep and parts are a bit of a scramble but nice views at the top if you don’t mind a little exercise. We were a bit shocked though. Last time we had done this trail it was mostly through the woods. A lot of the ‘woods’ are now gone! The flooding last spring affected more than Calgary and High River. As you can see below the water and likely the rocks took out huge swathes of trees. Some open spaces where there once was not. Some of the pictures below show you how high the water must have been going through there – quite amazing.
Year: 2013
The Liver and Diet Soda
Years ago when this whole ‘fat free’ thing started I did my research and found that going on this type of ‘diet’ was more dangerous to one’s health. Around that time when my children were young I told them not to drink diet soda(we did very little regular soda either) as at the time there was very little research but I told them to go with the ‘known evil’: sugar as opposed to the unknown evil: aspartame.
The years have proven me right. Diet soda is much more dangerous to one’s health than regular soda(ie.: pop, soft drinks, soda pop, etc.). If only from the aspect of obesity one should stay very far away from these drinks.
Per Sharon Fowler, M.P.H of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio:
I sell a very good skin cream online and at trade shows. As a result I speak to a lot of people about their skin. I do lots of research on causes of skin problems. One of the things I ‘discovered’ – not news to many, is that the liver affects the skin. Generally, if you have a healthy liver your skin will be healthier. I suggest to people at trade shows when I am selling the skin cream that have a problem with eczema or psoriasis to do some research on liver cleanses as part of their program to improve their skin. This has worked for many that I have talked to. And more generally, a healthy liver is vital to a healthy body. If you read my review in an earlier post on Dr. Eric Berg’s book you will find that the liver can have a lot to do with weight gain/loss as well.
So, what does diet soda have to do with the liver?
One of the chemicals that gets produced in the liver as a result of taking in aspartame, the sweetener in diet sodas, is formaldehyde. If you can read the scientific mumbo-jumbo here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9714421,
you can see the damage that can be created. There is evidence that the accumulation of formaldehyde can cause permanent/long term damage. There other damages that aspartame can cause but this one is plenty enough for me to stay away.
Another ingredient that is in most sodas, not just diet soda is sodium benzoate. It is added to soft drinks to prevent mold and can cause damage to the mitochondria of the DNA which can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver.
This from: Liversupport.com
So, if you do a very little bit of research you can find dozens of reasons not to drink diet soda.
A couple of things that most people don’t do very well: observing what is in front of them and realizing if something isn’t working, change it. (Hey, I often miss the obvious, myself.) When I actually look at people drinking diet sodas, most are overweight. They have been drinking this type of beverage for years in most cases and tend to gain more than lose weight! And that leads into the second – if you have been doing ‘Activity A’ to fix something for some time and it is not working, try something else!!!
Dr Eric Berg and ‘The 7 Principles of Fat Burning’ – Book Review
Driving back to Calgary through the Fraser Valley
Coming back from Vancouver, BC this year a friend suggested that I might like to drive up through the Fraser Valley. Slower but prettier. It did take a good hour more but it was so beautiful. There are some great spots earlier in the trip but I’ll leave those for the next drive through. These were taken further north before turning west toward Kamloops. It is all a beautiful drive but I think desertscapes photograph well. Here are a few to give you a feel of the area:
Millarville Rodeo August 2013
About 30 minutes or so south of Calgary(for me anyway) – I guess it depends on where in Calgary you live… is Millarville. Same place as the Market. The Market runs until 2 PM when the rodeo starts so you can go and do a bit of shopping and then take in the rodeo if you want. The parking lot gets pretty full when the Market is not finished and Rodeo is about to start. But said parking is only a couple of dollars.
This year the ground was pretty wet and muddy and a little overcast. The overcast was good because the sun can get pretty intense standing in it all day taking pictures. Plus I wore a hat this time. If you haven’t been driving out in the country this time of year it is totally worth it with the canola in bloom. Do a search in Google images for ‘canola fields in alberta’ and you will see what I mean.
Here are a few pictures from the rodeo: