Welcome to “The Weekly Thread”

BY SETH KNAPP

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This weekly newsletter combines ancestral wisdom with modern science, and focuses on our four core tenets of wellness: nutrition, movement, lifestyle, and spirit. 

QUICK NOTE: Any products, services, or supplements I recommend in “The Weekly Thread” are products I use, or have used personally. Any news, research, books, or podcasts I recommend, are all media I’ve personally consumed, and find noteworthy enough to share. Finally, any fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle tips I share, are all things I’ve personally researched, and have personally applied and implemented in my life with success. I‘m no expert, just a guy obsessed with learning more about this wonderfully complex organism we’ve been blessed with known as the human body, and how to live more optimally through a better understanding of how it works. Take it for what it’s worth to you, and I hope you enjoy! 

FLASKA: YOUR PORTABLE NATURAL SPRING

I am highly critical of the water I consume. It’s also a subject matter I geek out on, as we’re really just now starting to understand the true role it plays in the survival, and ideally, thrival, of the human body. 

60% of our body is water. 

It’s the second most critical molecule for survival outside of oxygen. 

Certainly more critical than food.

Yet, information on water, and the importance of drinking quality water, seems to take a backseat to content and research related to the food we eat. 

Don’t get me wrong, learning more about proper nutrition, food quality, and all matters related to it, is super important, and I’m not trying to downplay its importance, rather, I’m trying to play up the importance of being critical of the water we consume. 

We know the importance of eating organic, whole foods, versus inorganic, processed foods devoid of nutritional value that the human body can recognize. 

However, most, to all of the water we typically drink has been treated, processed multiple times over, and is far…far from its natural, organic state. 

This is where I get highly critical of the water I drink. At all costs, I’m either drinking water I’ve personally collected from a local spring, or my two “go-to’s” for high quality, third party tested for purity, natural spring water, are Liquid Death and San Pellegrino. 

Real spring water comes straight from the Earth, from a natural spring, untouched, unprocessed, in its natural, organic state, the way it was meant to be consumed. 

The fact is, our tap water, and even pretty much all of the expensive bottled water we drink, has been treated and processed in some way, meaning it’s no longer in its natural, organic state. 

This is actually something they can photograph, as they can take images of the individual water crystals of both natural, organic spring water, and those of treated, processed water. 

I also carry a Flaska with me everywhere I go for those times when I don’t have my own natural spring water with me. Basically, if I’m in a position where I’m drinking water from the tap, a water cooler, or can’t find real spring water. 

A Flaska is a glass water bottle that is programmed using TPS Technology, which is a method of imprinting the glass in a way that changes its vibrational frequency. 

I know, this may sound a bit “woo woo”, however, bear with me, as there’s real science here. (Remember, this can all be photographed.)

When you fill a Flaska water bottle that has been programmed with this TPS Technology, with treated, processed, inorganic (essentially dead) water, the vibrational frequency of the bottle will literally restructure each individual crystal of water back into its natural, organic state, as if this water was collected by hand, directly from a natural spring. 

Think about how AMAZING this is!

Imagine if we could take processed, inorganic foods, and turn them back into natural, whole foods. 

Now, this may all sound like magic, and a bit unbelievable, however, they’ve known for some time now, that water has the ability to be “restructured” back into its natural state. 

Here are a couple ways to accomplish this:

• Place your drinking water in a glass container, add trace minerals or natural sea salt, and let it sit in the sun for 24 hours. 

• You can also buy expensive infrared lights and shine them on your drinking water for at least 24 hours. Also in glass. 

The magic of the Flaska is its ability to restructure your water back into its natural state in as little as 5 minutes; truly making it a “portable natural spring”. 

And as I’ve mentioned, this has been photographed, and by a third party. See below the image on the top is of a water “crystal” from Tokyo tap water. On the bottom, is an image taken of a water crystal from the same Tokyo tap water, after sitting in a Flaska. 

Just like when eating real, organic,whole foods, versus inorganic, processed foods, when your water is back to its natural, crystalline state, your body knows how to use it more efficiently to more effectively hydrate yout body, just like how organic, whole foods will more effectively nourish your body. 

And the glass bottles are sturdy, come with a protective sleep, so they last, and are very inexpensive with respect to the overall benefit they provide. To check Flaska out, CLICK HERE. 

If you’d like to read more on the true role water plays in the body, and why it’s even more important than we originally thought, check out my FREE online PDF “The Human Body is a Battery”.

EAT WITH INTENTION

Much of our digestive issues result from, and begin with eating in a high stress, “fight or flight” state. 

The good news?

This is easily remedied with a bit of accountability, and is 100% in your control. 

Let’s unpack this a bit more. 

First, your autonomic nervous system, (the part of your central nervous system that controls involuntary activities) has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system, and the parasympathetic nervous system. 

The sympathetic nervous system is the part of your autonomic nervous system that controls your “fight or flight” state. Essentially, it’s the part of your autonomic nervous system that activates to combat stress. 

The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of your autonomic nervous system known as the “rest & digest” state. Essentially, it’s the part of your autonomic nervous system that activates when you need to rest, recover, repair, and digest food. 

Ideally. 

From over exposure to artificial light (primarily from all the screens we interact with), to chemicals and toxic compounds in our food and environment, and of course, the overall “busy-ness” and stress of our daily lives, many of us live the majority of our everyday lives in this sympathetic driven, fight or flight state. 

Which means, many of us then eat in this sympathetic driven, fight or flight state. 

In short, how in the heck is your body supposed to properly digest your food, if you’re in a sympathetic driven state!?

Regardless of how stressful your day is, or life in general is, meaning you are more likely to be living in a sympathetic driven state, you have complete control over switching this off, with a bit of self awareness and accountability. 

Just a few minutes of time and a bit of self awareness before eating, can switch you out of that sympathetic driven state, and into a parasympathetic, or state of proper digestion, which can result in less gut and intestinal inflammation, less bloating, healthier bowel movements, and better nutrient uptake and assimilation. 

Here are some tips to better manage stress as a whole, and to make that switch into a “rest & digest” state before eating: 

1. Breathwork. A little bit of breathwork has been researched and shown to switch you out of a sympathetic state, and into a parasympathetic state in just a few minutes. I do the 4-7-8 Breathing Technique in the AM, before bed, and before eating as often as I remember.
2. Say “Grace”. Prayers of gratitude, (they can be religious or not) have been shown to instantly activate your parasympathetic nervous system. The combo of 4-7-8 breathing, followed by saying “Grace” for the food you are about to eat, is a super effective 1-2 digestion punch.
3. Don’t eat while driving. When driving, you need to be on alert and your brain knows this, as you are essentially a speeding death mobile, interacting with other speeding death mobiles, making it very difficult to snap out of a sympathetic state. 
4. Chew your food well. We’ve all heard this, and it’s so true. Chewing more slowly, with more intent, not only breaks your food down more, but also engages digestion that much more. Ideally 20-40 times per bite.

THE POWER OF GINGER

Ginger for Healthy Aging; A Systematic Review on Current Evidence of Its Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anticancer Properties. 

Many of us are aware that ginger is great for easing nausea, and is a great immune booster, however, much of the current research shows that ginger is a true anti-aging powerhouse, with a plethora of potential health benefits that could help you live longer, and healthier. 

An article published on PubMed titled, Ginger for Healthy Aging; A Systematic Review on Current Evidence of Its Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anticancer Properties. , links to various articles citing previous research, graphs, and other references, outline the growing research on all the potential health benefits of Ginger. 

From the article on PubMed: “Ginger, a well known natural product, has been demonstrated to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anti microbial properties, as well as an outstanding antiviral activity due to a high concentration of antiviral compounds.”

I personally consume and use many different plants for specific therapeutic and preventive medicinal purposes, such as mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Reishi, and Maitake, and herbs like turmeric, garlic, beetroot, and yes, ginger.

I typically consume these plants in supplement form, or by juicing. 

Ginger is a root I typically juice and consume 3-4 times per week, and after reviewing some of the current research, believe even more in its potential benefits as a therapeutic plant, and as preventive medicine. 

There are various ways to consume ginger from using fresh ginger more often in cooking, juicing it and drinking it straight as a shot (this is my preferred method of consumption), or with other fruits, veggies, and herbs in a cold pressed juice, or in an encapsulated supplement form. 

If you’d be interested in growing your own ginger at home, apparently it’s pretty easy. Here’s an Instagram Reel that shows you how to grow your own ginger at home. 

MEDITATIONS

Peace and happiness are skills. 

As with pretty much all things in life, if you want to achieve something, you have to work at it. 

Peace and happiness are no different. 

Last week, I discussed the adoption of the perspective on life that “most things don’t matter”. If you haven’t read last week’s “Weekly Thread”, CLICK HERE to check it out. 

This perspective is something that you must work at to truly adopt, if you so decide, and is also an example of this idea that peace and happiness are skills. And it’s working on, and improving these smaller areas of life, that when compounded, over time, will help you achieve more inner peace, and greater happiness. 

If you want to achieve true peace and happiness in life, you must treat it like a skill that you work at, and hone. 

Just keep chipping away at it. 

It doesn’t come to you overnight. It requires time, focused attention, and personal accountability. 

If you’re reading this, and you feel like you’re already there, like you achieved true peace and happiness in life, you know the effort and focus you put into achieving it. 

But most likely, for all of us, (myself included) it’s a life-long skill that we continue to cultivate over time, and is never ending. 

That said, with the right focus, accountability, and ensuring you’re taking the time to hone this skill, you can achieve more peace, and greater happiness, more quickly in life. 

GOT QUESTIONS?

I’m thinking about introducing a new “Q&A” segment that I will feature from time to time in future editions of “The Weekly Tread”, In this “Q&A” section, I’ll post a question received from a reader, and answer it. 

If you have any questions relating to any of our core tenets of wellness; nutrition, movement, lifestyle, and spirit, email them to seth@nonanutrition.com.