Memorial Day.

Memorial Day IS NOT about getting an extra day off from work, having a picnic with family and friends, or taking advantage of the many sales that will be offered. Unfortunately, many Americans don’t know what Memorial Day is all about.

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formally known as Decoration Day and commemorates all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day and it is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season.

Let us Remember those who paid for our Freedom. It is more than just eating Bar-B-Que Baked Beans and Beef Rib tips.

Happy Memorial Day Folks! 

- Renix Graham, III
"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - Henry David Thoreau
Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Calories

Calories are needed to provide energy so the body functions properly. The number of calories in a food depends on the amount of every the food provides. The number of calories a person needs depends on age, height, weight, gender, and activity level. People who consume more calories than they burn off in normal daily activity / exercise are more likely to be overweight.

- Renix Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man."  -Henry David Thoreau  

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

The Hypocrisy of Fast Food

Many times fast food advertising companies find different ways to mislead customers. Many would claim these advertisers are using false advertising to sell their products. Not many people are aware or understand the meaning of false advertising. The legal definition of false advertising is the act of knowingly advertising a product or service that does not exist or does not function as represented. What is not understood by the general public is that false advertising is a crime that can be punishable if proven guilty.

What fast food advertising actually does in their ads is they deceive you. By this I mean they mislead by false appearance or statement. Now that sounds like the ads you see on television. You would think just something as simple as the size of burgers in ads and the size they actually are is the only thing that is misleading. There are several different ways in which fast food deceives you. The purpose of this blog is to show the many different ways fast food misleads or deceives its customers. I will focus on how the food is prepared when it is filmed for commercials, how the message they portray is never what the employees at these restaurants trained to do and how even certain fast food chains mislead with their nutritional facts.

One of the biggest ways fast food corporations deceive their consumers is through visual false advertisement. Most people would agree that the pictures of food that are shown in television advertisements look infinitely more delicious than the food that is actually served looks. When watching a commercial for a big, meaty, juicy cheeseburger, with the ketchup and mustard oozing out in just the right amount, one’s mouth starts watering just looking at the picture on the television screen. However, when you go to the restaurant to buy that same cheeseburger, it is usually small, thin, and just thrown together pell-mell. Although the fact that pictures of the food are deceiving is common knowledge, what is not common knowledge is how much work goes into making the food look so irresistible on television. 

There are people known as food makeup artists or food stylists, and their job is to make the food look absolutely scrumptious for the television advertisements. Shooting food is one of the hardest tasks for a photographer - hot food will cool, frozen food will melt (even more quickly than normal under the hot lights), moist food will become dry, fruit will become brown, and vegetables will wilt. To rise to these challenges, food artists use many different tools to ensure the look of delectability during the entire shoot. 

Some of the tools include motor oil, a blow torch, glycerin, detergent, cotton balls, spray deodorant, hairy spray, spray fabric protector, toothpicks, safety pins, tweezers, a large syringe, brown shoe polish, incense sticks, white glue, paper towels, and sturdy cardboard. Each of these tools has a special way of tricking the naked eye. For example, motor oil is used as a shooting alternative for un-photogenic syrups. Cotton balls are used to created the illusion of steaming hot food after being soaked and nuked in the microwave. Spray fabric protector is used to stop the motor oil from soaking into the pancakes, which have blueberries strategically safety-pinned to them. Toothpicks and safety pins are also used to hold the ingredients together in those tall, fluffy burgers and sandwiches that we salivate over so often. The large syringe is used to create the busty meat look it squirts mashed potatoes under the skin of the poultry, which is then torch cooked.Detergent is used to make bubbles when shooting beverages. The cardboard is cut up into small squares to lay between the bun and hamburger so the grease and juices do not soak into the bread, making it soggy after the sesame seeds have been glued on. Wowzers!!!  The Hypocrisy of Fast Food.

-Renix Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at:  www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Kangen Water

The water is named Kangen and that actually has a meaning; Kangen is the Japanese word for “return to origin”. Like many Japanese words (symbols), it has a dual meaning: one is that water is returned to the way it was originally available when the planet was young and secondly that the body returns to the healthy way it used to be before suffering the toxic and debilitating stresses of aging. Five facts about Kangen Water; 1. Increase hydration 2. Balance your pH (neutralize toxic acids in the blood) 3. Increase Blood Oxygenation  4. Neutralize Free Radicals NATURALLY  5. Detoxification. Kangen Water has been used for more than 30 years in over 100 Japanese hospitals because of its scientifically documented health benefits.  +Linda Moore 

Kangen water is created by a special process that was developed originally by the Russians in the 1800’s to create alkaline and acid water for the industry.  But in the recent past, highly innovative Japanese technologists figured out a way of using medical grade ionizing machinery that make it safe for long term human drinking and other uses.. That’s been going on for more than 40 years, but it’s application to animals is a recent adjunct of its uses for humans. So far, although much more research is yet to be done, it is showing great promise by many users for pets and larger animals. 

The main reported health benefit is derived by drinking the alkaline water that is produced through ionization, typically in the 8.5pH to 9.5pH range. Both humans and pets can use it safely, subject to certain commonsense usage (e.g., if a cat is showing elevated levels of alkalinity in the kidneys, high alkaline water is undoubtedly not a good direction in that specific instance unless and until that situation is straightened out). Potential users should keep in mind that the alkalinity increases are caused by virtue of electrical action, as explained below, as opposed to chemical and mineral additives that “store brought” bottled high alkaline waters typically contain.

So how does Kangen Water get produced from an Enagic machine? In a word: electrolysis.

The filter tap water comes in contact with medical grade titanium plates that have been dipped in medical grade platinum that is electrified by 230 watts of power, charging the high alkaline drinking water, (just push a button to select levels of 8.5pH, 9.0pH or 9.5pH) and creating three significant attributes: higher alkalinity, negative ionic charge (antioxidant) while breaking up globules of water molecules to create smaller clusters of water molecules which allow them to better penetrate the cell wall. The latter increases the level of hydration at a cellular level that simply cannot be attained with large cluster of tap water molecules. 

Thought I’d shared some brief knowledge of what Kangen (Alkaline) Water is about!

-Renix Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." -Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

The Monster...

Last week, I was driving on my way to a meeting with my colleagues, taking my normal route passing through Hollywood. I’ve reached a crossroad intersection called Wilshire Boulevard and turned left onto Wilshire. I drove nearly a mile down Wilshire until I’ve reached Crenshaw Boulevard. I was only five cars away from the actual intersection to make a right turn. There was also a city bus two cars behind me, getting set to approach the bus stop. As I sat there,  I notice a man walking at a very fast pace, headed for the bus stop. He was moving as quickly as he could. In his right hand he was carrying a can of Monster Energy Beverage. In his left hand he carried two bags that looked like groceries. A few feet from the bus stop, the man paused, dropped his bags that were in his left hand and he put his hand over his own forehead as though he seemed a bit dizzy. The can of Monster energy had fell out of his hand. With his right hand, he grabbed a hold of his chest and fell to his knees. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. I was under the impression he had suffered a heart attack. Immediately, someone from the bus stop dialed 911. I was praying to God that we would be ok. He laid there for a while surrounded by people who began to work on him. As the people worked on him, I was looking at that can of Monster Energy drink he was holding. I watched the can roll off onto the curbside of the street. More and more energy liquid was pouring out of the can. 

For the past 5 minutes, people were doing what they could to help the man. Fortunately, the man sat up and was slowly rising upon his feet. I am very sure that that Monster Drink had a lot to do with his dramatic episode. At first he held his head as though he was dizzy. Dizziness is a common side effects for taking energy drinks. Monster Energy Drinks contain up to 240mg of Caffeine. Caffeine tolerance varies between individuals, but for most people a dose of over 200-300mg may produce some initial symptoms: restlessness, increase heartbeat, dizziness, insomnia. Some people can become tired after consumption of caffeine. This is a symptom of adrenal fatigue where the body’s adrenalin system has become overtaxed by constant high caffeine intake. The answer is not to increase caffeine even more - but to reduce, detox, and get the adrenal glands back to a healthy state. Remember it’s hard to pinpoint a safe dose because it varies from person to person and according to a person’s tolerance. Between 500 milligrams to 1000 milligrams in a 24 hr. period it will probably lead to some of the more severe side effects. 

When dealing with poor health include adding synthetic energy liquid consisting caffeine to your body, causes improper functionality in the body which leads to negative episodes like the one I’ve witnessed briefly last week. Before I went to my meeting I ran by albertsons grocery store to buy me a few items. I asked one of the employees where the particular items are located. He told me to check either aisle 10 or 11. I walked down aisle 10 and as I walk down the grocery aisle, I ran into a pack of Monster Drinks on the shelve located to my left. All I could do is shake my head. Monster looks like Death in a can, awaiting for the next customer to drink and it’s over. 

-Renix Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Family Day at John's Incredible Pizza

Saturday April 13, 2013 my wife and I spent quality family time with our cousins, friends and primarily our God-children. It was such a wonderful day to have us all come together and have wonderful fellowship. This past event took place at John’s Incredible Pizza in San Diego, Ca. This place I would consider it to be 20 times greater than Chuck - E- Cheese. There were buffets with varieties of pizzas, salads, pasta dishes, ice cream and many other desserts in addition to the play land area for all of the kids.  The kids were excited to go eat and play, eat some more and play some more. To see their expression of enthusiasm, it has brought nothing but joy to our hearts.

As the kids sat at the table to eat their foods, my wife and I advised our adult friends about our endeavors, elaborating on what’s going to take place in our lives. We (wife and I) has received nothing support from our friends and loved ones. We were very grateful for it. 

I’m sitting at the table eating my slice of pizza and salad, washing my food down with alkaline water. I happen to take a glance at my little niece/cousin. I see her drinking some fruit juice or soda. I’m not sure which drink she was drinking but I’m 100% sure it was a beverage that contains a sugar substance. My God-kids who’s a bit older than my niece were drinking juices/sodas as well. I’m going to assume that my niece is between 2 or 3 yrs old. What raised my level of curiosity was the drink she was drinking. The questions that ran through my mind was, “What is the best age to present our children with sweet juice that contains sugar?” Once sugar is revealed to our kids, they will NEVER look back to similac, milk and water. If you were to do an exhibit display with a child, one cup holds milk and the other cup holds juice/soda, the child has to decide between the two, without a doubt we all know what the child's choice of preference would be. It would be juice. 

I would like to hear some opinions from you all. I love to learn. Teach me something.

When my wife and I have children, we would like to give our kids juice as well but we don't want to wait till our children is 8 to 10 yrs of age to start giving them juice. (And I know some people who has done that. Not saying it's right or wrong either. But Dang!!! LOL)

At what age do you give a child juice? 

-Renix L. Graham, III

“Water is the only drink for a wise man.” - Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Solution for Pollution is Dillution

My wife DeAnn Graham and I, we’re two hard working individuals in our own endemic frame work of expertise. DeAnn is a Real Estate Officer (REO) for an International Bank in the Mortgage Industry. Her daily assignment is managing properties, selling foreclosed homes and also works with non-profit organizations. My occupation, I am an Independent Distributor & Molecular Hydration Specialist for Enagic Inc. My daily assignment is to help educate the community about Health & Wellness involving Kangen/Alkaline/Ionized Water. I demonstrate the difference on what is Acidic (unhealthy) and what is Alkaline (healthy). After exhibiting water for people, I deliver Alkaline water to people’s homes. My wife and I take pride in what we enjoy doing daily. There is a major event that will be taking place these next couple of weeks that causes us both to work a little more harder. We both have acknowledged that after reaching this upcoming milestone in our lives, we will be taking a nice vacation. There are many vicinities we would like to select from but we can only take one trip. My desire is to travel back to either Hawaii or Alaska. My wife would like to travel out to either Bora Bora, Fiji islands or the Caribbean’s. 

Yesterday on Mother’s Day, I was talking with a friend of mine about how beautiful Hawaii was. My wife and I enjoyed the luau festivals, snorkeling, volcano visits, eating at nice exquisite 5 star dining restaurants etc. He explained his experience when he took a two week cruise vacation out to Hawaii. When the cruise ship went out to set sail, the ocean waters was clear, beautiful, turquoise, indigo blue, sparkling beautiful water. The next morning the ship was out near the center of the pacific ocean. My friend went up top of the ship to have breakfast. He walked around the opened dining area to find preferred seating near a window to enjoy the view as he ate. While looking out the window, he told me that he seen  a whole bunch of white floating material. A lot of people went outside of the dining area to view all of the white floating materials. My friend elaborated, “Man! Renix, there was so much plastic bags all over the ocean. You could look around and see so much floating rubbish  around the entire ocean. It was in 360 degree view.”  Other than plastic bags, there were floating empty soda bottles, all types of contrasting floatable plastic uncleaned collateral.  My friend told me the captain made an announcement to all of the customers on board that what they’re seeing is called ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’ He apologized for the unpleasant image of our ocean. I’m pretty sure there were some unhappy passengers on board who’ve paid a pretty penny to ride the cruise ship. But HEY!!!, you can’t blame the Cruising Company about the trash in the ocean. They have NO control over the situation. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stuck with my thoughts all day. So I’ve decided to look for an article that explained more details about this Garbage patch in the pacific ocean. It was quite interesting and surprising. 

Here is the article link that caught me by surprise:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/11/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-poses-new-threat-to-marine-life/

-Renix Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Why is our Ocean so Salty?

You may know that the oceans cover about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, and that about 97 percent of all water on and in the Earth is saline, there’s a lot of salty water on our planet. By some estimates, if the salt in the ocean could be removed and spread evenly over the Earth’s land surface it would form a layer more than 500 feet (166 meters) thick, about the height of a 40 story office building. But, where did all this salt come from? If you get into folk stories and mythology you will see that almost every culture has a story explaining how the oceans became salty. The answer is really very simple. Salt in the ocean comes from rocks on land. Here’s how it works: 

  

  Rivers and surface runoff are not the only source of dissolved salts. Hydrothermal vents are recently discovered features on the crest of oceanic ridges that contribute dissolved minerals to the oceans. These vents are the exit point on the ocean floor from which seas water that has seeped into the rocks of the oceanic crust has become hotter, has dissolved some of the minerals from the crust, and then flows back into the ocean. With the hot water comes large amounts of dissolved minerals. Estimates of the amount of hydrothermal fluids now flowing from these vents indicate that the entire volume of the oceans could seep through the oceanic crust in about 10 million years. Thus, this process has a very important effect on salinity. The reactions between seawater and oceanic basalt, the rock of ocean crust, are not one-way, however, some of the dissolved salts react with the rock and are removed from seawater

A final process that provides salts to the oceans is submarine volcanism, the eruption of volcanoes under water. This is similar to the previous process in that seawater is reacting with hot rock and dissolving some of the mineral constituents. 

- Renix L. Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - Henry David Thoreau

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Where does Rain come from?

In my neighborhood in the last few days we had received some rain. It would sprinkle from time to time. On a Sunday afternoon I was chillin in my backyard, relaxing as I sat in my lounge chair after a long day at church. The weather was very cloudy. Every part of the sky was covered with dark rain clouds. It began to sprinkle outside and I remained out side enjoying the sprinkles hitting my skin. I was gazing at the sky, marveled at how wet rain drops proceeding from the clouds in the sky down to the grass in my backyard. I’ve heard a lot of my friends say “Oh No! It’s Raining.... Dang!” I’m sure most of us don’t like rainy days but I was taught that we need the rain to amplify our green vegetation. If everyday were to be sunny, our land would become a dry desert. 

I do recall some of the things I was taught in high school that Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a vapor. The Sun’s energy warms water droplets until the water becomes a vapor and rises into the air. When water vapor (or droplets) come together in the sky, they form clouds. Condensation is the process by which water vapor cools and becomes a liquid again. Precipitation is the process by which condensed water builds up in clouds and falls to the ground as rain, sleet, snow, or hail. And that is how rain is formed and where it’s came from. I’m surprised I still remember that.

- Renix L. Graham, III

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - David Henry Thoreau

Get your FREE healthy water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

The Sepulveda Dam

Ever since I’ve lived here in Los Angeles, I would commute back and forth on the 101 freeway on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. When driving westbound on the 101, less than 0.2 miles passing the 405 freeway, I would take a quick glance to my right. I would always see this uncommon type of bridge sitting on these thick cemented A-frame panels. I couldn’t see the entire bridge from top to bottom due to the distance of where I was driving. So I would assume that there must’ve been a humongous lake or some kind of man made beach in San Fernando Valley. 


Yesterday afternoon after leaving church, I took the nearest exit towards the unique bridge. I parked my car and took a long walk over to the gate. I made my way as close to the bridge as possible. I was able to see the whole bridge in it’s entirety. I did not see any water resting at the bottom of the bridge. There was this massive humongous field of concrete throughout the entire area. For a minute I thought, this is some kind of dried up ancient man-made river where water no longer runs anymore. There was a guy taking a jog. Once he stopped, he walked over to the gate, stood there and took a glance at the bridge as well. I asked him out of curiosity, “What is this place?” He explained to me that this particular place is known as the Sepulveda Dam. His name is Dan. He has resided in Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley) for the past 28 years. Dan disclosed plenty of stories about the Sepulveda Dam and the purpose of why the Dam was built.

The Sepulveda Dam was built in the 1940s by Engineers of the U.S. Army. The Army’s intention of building the dam is to constrain water floods in the winter. The Sepulveda Dam located in San Fernando Valley was built after the floods in 1938 on the Los Angeles River. 144 people were killed during the time of the Los Angeles River flood before the Dam was erected. In mid 1938, the city decided to call in the Army Corps of Engineers to channelize the dam off the Los Angeles River. 1941, the Sepulveda Dam was completed. The flood took place shortly before World War II.  After the Los Angeles River flood in 1914, the City of Los Angeles decided to start a project to create a series of small dams along the Los Angeles River and it’s stream. The Sepulveda Dam did it’s job without incident for the 28 years until 1969 when the L.A. River jump it’s banks causing millions of dollars in damage. In 1988 the L.A. River’s banks were raised to avoid another incident. In 94’ a hundred year flood occured in the Los Angeles River. The flood caused the deaths of 3 people and damaged the Sepulveda Dam. The dam was recovered and went without incident for another 11 years until the L.A. River jumped it’s banks in 2005. Since 2005 there has been no flooding in the Los Angeles metro area.


I’m glad I finally was able to receive a little bit of knowledge about the Sepulveda Dam. Dan also mentioned to me that plenty of movie reels has been shot and recorded there, movies you are familiar with like; ‘The Fast and Furious’, 'Iron man 2’, ‘The Italian Job’ etc. It’s an interesting place to visit. Recreational parks are there along with jogging trails & bike trails. If you’re ever in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, the Sepulveda Dam is a pretty descent place to sight see.

-Renix Graham, III
www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Filthy Footspas causing skin infections

Recently California Health Officials received complaints about a large outbreak of skin boils, which were traced back to a single nail salon in which footbaths had not been properly cleaned. The bacteria had been introduced through the municipal tap water and then flourished in the footspas, a nutrient rich environment fed by hair and skins debris that collected behind inlet suction screens. The infections, which orginated deep in the hair follicles, were most common in women who had shaved their legs before receiving pedicures and who received an oil massage of their feet and calves after the footbath.

Skin boils usually start out looking like a spider bite that gradually grows in size and eventually produces pus. Boils sometimes becomes opened wounds and may leave scars.  These infections are caused by mycobacterium fortuitum and other related mycobacteria. We come into contact with this type of bacteria everyday as it is found normally in water and soil.

These types of infections are relatively rare. If salon whirlpool footbaths are cleaned and disinfected properly and in accordance with Washington State Cosmetology instructions that are given at time of inspection, the risk of these infections occurring in a salon setting is very small.

Washington State Department of Licensing currently hands out guidelines on the proper sanitizing and disinfection of the whirlpool spas. Inspectors also request a demonstration of how the salons clean and disinfect the spas at time of the inspection. The Department of licensing is in the process of amending the rules that regulate Cosmetologist, Manicurist, Barbers and Esthetician and will adopt standards for the sanitation and disinfection of the foot spas.

Footspas that are not regularly cleaned and disinfected can pose a health risk for consumers. Before using a footspa, the Cosmetology program for the Department of Licensing recommends that consumers take a few common sense precautions:

1. Make sure the shop owner and operator is currently licensed.
2. If you have, or suspect that you have, a skins infection, do not get a pedicure or utilize the footspa bath.
3. Do not shave your legs before your appointment. Shaving may result in nicks or cuts, which may be pathways for bacteria.
4. If you have broken skins or lesions, such as cuts or nicks, do not get a pedicure or whirlpool footbath treatment.
5. Take a look around the salon to determine  if it is clean, free of trash and set up with clean instruments.
6. There should be no standing water in the foot spa. If water is being drained from the footspa just when you arrive, ask that it be cleaned and disinfected before you use it.

- Renix Graham, III
"Water is the only drink for a wise man." - David Henry Thoreau
Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com

Suggested times for drinking water.

Here are some suggestions for those who may not drink more than eight glasses of water per day.

 I myself wasn't too thrilled about drinking lots and lots of water until I've realized how much of an effect it has on my health positively. Going from barely drinking a half a cup of water to drinking one gallon daily is a giant step for me. Drinking a gallon per day didn't just occur over night, it took time to gradually work my way to drink that amount of water. If I can do it, so can you.  

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." -David Henry Thoreau

- Renix Graham, III

Get your FREE Healthy Water eBook at: www.AbsoluteWater4theWise.com