Who's Behind This Website?

Hi! My name is Stan and this is my website.

The information here reflects the passion I've had for preventive health and nutrition for most of my adult life — I'll celebrate my 60th birthday this year, although I still feel much younger than that!

It seems that many people who into health and nutrition have some inspiring story to tell about how changing their diet and improving their nutrition cured some dreadful condition they had, and turned their lives around.

Gratefully, I have no miracle story to tell... I've had the good fortune to have always had excellent health. However, I came to a realization in my late twenties that there was no guarantee that I could count on that for the rest of my life. When my dad began to develop circulatory problems at the age of 55, I saw the possibility of that happening to me as well.

It was at that point that I got interested in discovering ways of preventing degenerative diseases through diet and nutrition. I found that books were (and still are) the best resources for advanced nutritional information, because they can push the envelope — challenge conventional points of view and explore controversial subjects in depth.

Since that time, I have consistently practiced the ideas that you'll find here. The results are that I enjoy exceptional health, with no lack of energy or physical problems. Aside from periodic visits to my chiropractor, I have never been treated by a doctor for any condition or taken a prescription drug. I've never had any use for aspirin or other pain killers, either.

At my age, about 70 percent of Americans are on at least one medication for a chronic health problem. The average American adult now takes close to 12 prescription drugs every year, and the average senior citizen typically fills over 30 prescriptions annually! Some people would call me blessed, but I prefer to think that my good fortune was due to something I did, that anyone else could, too — including you.

My Personal Nutritional Manifesto

These days, you're getting nutritional information from all directions — some good, some bad. Trying to understand nutrition can be confusing because of the seemingly infinite number of contradictions that exist.

How do you know which information to trust? I suggest that you not believe the first point of view that comes along — examine all sides of the issue (that includes anything you find on this website as well). And don't be swayed by "experts" just because they have a long list of credentials after their names. That's not necessarily a good indicator of how true their information is.

It's good to be skeptical, but keep an open mind. Many times, ideas that are considered absurd turn out to be anything but. This has been proven throughout history, and not just with nutritional science.

I'm going to give you a list of my own personal biases right here, so you can get a sense of where I'm coming from. I do try to stay objective most of the time, but, like I said, I get passionate sometimes. However, you certainly don't have to agree with any of my opinions in order for you to get value out of the information here.

1. Your long-term health is directly related to the quality of the food you eat, more than any other factor. I believe that the rising frequency of degenerative diseases we're seeing is primarily due to the poor quality of the food most people eat.

Your body needs better nutrition more today than ever to defend itself against increased stress from the environment. You live in a world chock full of toxins, everywhere you turn, and more are being created every day. Recently, the CDC measured an average of 212 different chemicals in a person’s blood or urine, seventy-five of which had never been measured in the U.S. population before. There are over 75,000 man made chemicals, toxins and pesticides that have been released into our food, water and air over the last seventy years.

2. It's very unlikely that you get all the nutrients you need for optimal health from your diet alone. Even if you routinely eat a varied diet composed mostly of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and the like, you can't on the nutritional content of your food to be as high as it was 50 years ago, due to factory-farming technology. Thus, you really don't know for sure if you're missing out on vital nutrients.

You also can't rely on the government RDA for nutritional requirements. These standards reflect the minimum amounts you need to avoid deficiencies — they won't give you optimal health. Countless studies have shown that nutritional intake far above these standards can provide profound benefits.

3. There's no one diet that's right for everyone. We're all unique individuals and no two people respond to any particular diet the same way. Find the one that you feel best with from among the many worthwhile ideas out there, and stay away from gimmicks. What's most important about any diet, though, is to get an abundance of antioxidants from raw fruits and vegetables and other minimally-processed foods.

4. Nutritional studies don't "prove" anything. Although these studies often reveal intriguing possibilities, you can't scientifically "prove" any of their conclusions. This is often used to discredit such studies, but to me, the conclusions are irrelevant.

Nutritional science is inherently complex and can't be broken down into separate bits — no one nutrient works in isolation. There are so many variables that can't be controlled in any kind of study, and so there's no way to establish a direct connection between a single nutrient and specific health benefits.

5. Many erroneous nutritional concepts are taught and promoted as "scientific fact." You would think that the information taught at our universities is the best and most accurate around, but the curriculum is under the influence of the giant food corporations who donate large sums of money to these schools. Many of the "certified nutritionists" that these schools produce go to work at these same corporations, where their job is to promote processed foods as healthy choices for consumers.

Much of the nutritional information you get comes in the way of advertising and public relations, and the messages almost always have some hidden agenda — profit. Always keep in mind that the food business is a for-profit industry — and there's a lot more money to be made by selling processed foods, not broccoli!

My Personal Nutritional Plan

I don't intend for the dietary information on my website to be a prescription for anyone. Trust your body to tell you what works best, and enjoy what you eat! Although some extreme diets have been shown to extend longevity, living longer isn't worth it if you have to make yourself miserable to accomplish that goal.

For those of you who are are curious about what my diet looks like, here's a typical day for me:

Breakfast is almost always a big green smoothie. I start with my homemade almond milk (the recipe is on most of my smoothie pages). A frozen banana adds the right amount of sweetness to it and thickens it up; I'll add a second fruit sometimes just for variety. A heaping teaspoon of my special spice mix — cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, turmeric and black pepper — makes my smoothie an antioxidant powerhouse. To this base, I'll add chlorella or spirulina, raw organic eggs or hemp protein powder and a handful of basil, cilantro and/or parsley. The end result tastes nothing like green vegetables.

My smoothie usually keeps me full for quite a while, so I won't feel like eating much until mid-afternoon.

Lunch is usually a very large chopped salad, with as many different vegetables as possible mixed together, garnished with sliced raw almonds or sunflower seeds and a homemade olive oil & apple cider vinegar dressing.

The Rest of my Eating Plan. I don't usually eat dinner anymore. When I do, it can include some naturally-raised chicken, wild Alaskan salmon, beans, a cooked vegetable, or sometimes a grain like brown rice or quinoa. Although I like to eat as much raw food as possible, there are times when cooked food feels really good, especially in the winter months.

I like to snack throughout the day on raw nuts, goat yogurt, fruit, goji berries, and raw chocolate.

I do have some guilty pleasures — crusty white bread, lightly toasted is one. Yum! I also love strong coffee with half-and-half — my favorite dessert! Ever since I went off sugar 30 years ago, I really don't care for anything too sweet — unless there's dark chocolate in there! That changes the whole ball game!

Foods I generally avoid: red meat and most fish (too many toxins), milk or cheese (except for half-and-half in my coffee), any type of processed food (for sure), flour products and sugar.

My Personal Supplement Plan

I'm a real believer in supplementing a good diet with superfoods and supplements; I've been doing this for over 30 years now, and I give them a lot of the credit for my good health.

There are several good reasons why I think this way. First, anyone's diet is going to have gaps in it that will result in their not getting certain nutrients, regardless of how healthy the diet is.

For example, I don't often eat cooked tomatoes. Now, cooked tomatoes (and perhaps watermelon) happen to be the only excellent food source of lycopene, a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant. So I take lycopene capsules instead.

I also don't care too much for dark green leafy vegetables, so I simply use a green superfood powder like spirulina or chlorella that will give me the equivalent of 3 servings of spinach in just one tablespoon. I can add this to my smoothies and easily disguise the taste.

I don't really like green tea, but it does have some very powerful benefits. I can get these by using green tea extracts in capsules instead.

In addition to the omissions in your diet, some valuable antioxidants can't be gotten in significant amounts from any food. Astaxanthin, coenzyme Q-10, resveratrol and several others fall into this category. Supplements are the only way to get the benefits that these antioxidants offer.

Once you learn about all the different nutrients there are, and what foods have them, you'll be able to analyze your own diet for potential gaps like these. You can then can modify it so that you cover as many bases as possible — then supplement for the nutrients you aren't getting enough of from your food.

On any given day, I take most of the following nutritional supplements: vitamin B complex, vitamin C with bioflavonoids, vitamin E complex, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, coenzyme-Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, fish oil, astaxanthin, lycopene, ginkgo, green tea extract, probiotics, garlic and milk thistle.

Throughout my website, you'll find recommended superfoods and supplements. Although I make a small commission on these, I want to assure you that I've chosen only the finest quality products and supplements, and offer them at the lowest prices available. I also prefer to recommend companies that support sustainable, organic agriculture and that strive to make the most nutritious products possible.

My Invitation to You

As you can see, I'm very passionate about the subject of nutrition. To me, great health is the greatest gift you can give yourself — it will stay with you for a lifetime! Whatever your age, I invite you to use the information on my website to start improving your health — right now. Not only will you feel better immediately, but you'll also be taking effective steps to prevent the onset of degenerative diseases.

If you'd like to drop me a line, use my contact page here: Contact Me

If you want to hear the story of how I came to build this website — and how you can do it, too, check out my story here: Learn to Build a Website

You Can Have a Website Just Like this One!

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Do You Have a Question
for the Antioxidant Man?

If you have a question about health and nutrition, why don't you give me a try at providing an answer? If I don't know it, I can usually direct you to a trustworthy and reliable source that does.

If you've done any amount of research into nutrition, you know that it's not always easy to tell good information from bad. I'm here to help, and no question is too lame. A lot of other visitors are probably in a similar place as you are, and would appreciate your asking!