Arthritis

I’ve been experiencing a lot of pain the last year. It started with feeling a lot of aching around my hips and lower back. Sometimes, it was around my upper back. Then I also started to have it in the mid-back section. The last couple months I’ve been waking up with in agonizing pain in my hip, thighs, mid and lower back areas. In the mornings my hands and feet would be so swollen that it hurt. They would swell up until it hurt whenever I go for walks or exercise.

At first, I thought I was caused be over-strenuous activities in the yard, swinging 100lb picks and carrying rocks and bags too heavy for me. Not the type to sit around, I blamed it on age catching up on me and needing to slow down a little. So I’ve been easier on myself and leaving the heavy duty things for Elton to do. This week, my back is not as stiff and sore anymore. But my hands still swell up when I went for a walk. It was so agonizing I went online and did a little research on my symptoms a couple days ago. It looks like I may be in the beginning stages of arthritis. Yup. Arthritis in my thirties. Reading that one in three adults have it made me feel just a tad better. But it was a bitter pill to swallow, being someone who likes being on my feet. The bad news is, there is no cure for arthritis. The good news, keeping fit and exercising will help. Maintaining flexibility in my joints and strong muscles will keep my joints from getting aggravated. No sense in moping around I guess. On the brighter side, I'm more eager to get up and go for my morning exercise nowadays. Besides making me look better, I'll feel better. And that's worth a million bucks. 

Lemonade Diet

Elton and I have been on the Lemonade diet or what is also called the Master Cleanser cleanse your intestinal tract. Since I was on the track of becoming a raw foodist earlier in the year, I've read two books that say that we should do a detoxification of our bodies about 4 times a year for about 10-14 days to clean out our intestines from all the junk that gets built up from all the food we eat. So when Elton suggested we try going on a 10 day lemonade diet, I eagerly said yes. I figured fad or not, a good detox is always good for the long run of my health. And did I forget to mention this is the first time I've ever dieted in my life? Yes, I love food that much.

the only utensils, cutlery and dishware we've used for the last 10 days

Basically, it's taking 6-10 8oz glasses of lemonade everyday. That's it. The lemonade recipe is 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and a dash of cayenne pepper. To maintain all its quality, the lemon juice must be freshly squeezed and not premixed or prepared earlier. More maple syrup can be added for those to want to maintain their weight. I drank a cup approximately every 2-3 hours. Elton had his with an extra tablespoon of maple syrup. There's also a whole process of coming off the diet so as ease our system back into eating cooked foods again or you could hurt your digestive system.

Our breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner and supper 'meal' for the last 10 days

The 'Lemonade diet' Master Cleanser

In addition to the diet, we had to take a laxative tea at night before bed and salt water mix of 2 teaspoon of non-iodized salt to a quart of water to flush out our system. That gave us both diarrhea and I must say that was the only real part of the liquid fast that we were not too fond of, especially after the 3rd day when there's really nothing else in our bodies but continuous liquid flushing through us. Not to mention feeling the pinch of the cayenne pepper spice coming out the other way each time!


I enjoyed the first few days of the fast and looked forward to every meal because I honestly thought it was delicious! It was nice not to have to think about what to cook for every meal and to spend all that time preparing the food or going somewhere to get food everyday. My days suddenly increase by about 3 hours more each day. I could do so much more with my time! In that sense, it was ironically freeing. After the 7th day, we both felt a deeper level of clarity somehow. It's hard to explain. We really began to see the real things we're addicted to and see through the actual things that bother us. Call it reaching higher self awareness or something. In retrospect, this diet would have benefited us more in a psychological sense had we planned to go beyond 10 days. Perhaps we will do that next time. It's pretty mind blowing.


The hardest day was perhaps the 7th day. Elton and I had a similar process. We started craving for something to munch on in the afternoon. It didn't matter if it was sweet or savory. We just really missed biting on food and chewing. Later that night, we decided perhaps we can continue living a better lifestyle by eating better like going vegetarian. But we didn't want to compromise tastiness in our food. So we started looking at Indian recipes we could learn to make. This is when we really started craving eating tasty food again. It was torture. But it wasn't because we were hungry! I know. Weird. Like I said, you learn things about yourself.


The most bizarre day was the 8th day when we just totally lost our liking for lemonade. Unlike the earlier days where we looked forward to our liquid breakfast, lunch and dinner, we lost our appetite for lemonade all together. It's a weird feeling to feel hungry but not have an appetite. Still, we plugged along with our lemonade every 2 or 3 hours to keep up with the detoxification.

Day 9 was very trying. We were both cranky and just wanted this fast to be over. Interesting enough, it wasn't because we were hungry. We just really missed eating! Having something in our mouths; biting into something instead of just drinking. And that put us in a bad mood. We discovered we were addicted to eating! It's not about wanting junk food, it's about wanting to enjoy the pleasures of tasting food. Mine was worse than Elton's. He helped me deal with it better by talking me through the fact that I was fighting my addiction to food! I'd never have known it if I never attempted this diet. The bizarre thing is that his craving for smoking this entire time had completely dissipated. This was in fact one of the advantages spoken about this diet. The fact that alcoholics, smokers and other addicts (soda, tea, coffee drinkers etc) will benefit from the chemical changes the body goes through on this diet as it cleanses. Thus the desire for unnatural types of stimulants and depressants disappears. 


Today is our last day and I have to say, I am so happy it's almost over. Over the last 10 days, I've lost 6lbs. That is nice but it wasn't really my main purpose for the diet. I wanted a good inner cleansing. Despite what critics may say, I swear I haven't felt tired or fatigued at all during the entire liquid fast. I can't even believe it myself. If anything, my energy level was heightened. I didn't feel what I call the 'food coma'  I usually suffer from after each meal. But more importantly, I have a new appreciation for the pure taste of foods in their most natural form. It's like my taste buds have gone through a refresh kick start. I've craved the pure taste of a boiled sweet potato. Or just to bite into a raw bell pepper and taste the sweet juices in its purest flavor when biting into a tomato. One thing I will not miss is the salt water purge. For the next three days, we have to eat only certain foods before we can eat normally again. Still, I'm looking forward to regular food again. Will definitely be doing this liquid diet again in a couple months though. It's an education in health. One of those things in life where you would rather not attempt but after that, you're glad you did and learnt so another life secret you never thought you would. I highly recommend getting this book if you're ready to do this diet: The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs. 

Judd and Nuuanu Trail hike

My adventurous side kicked in again today and I needed another break from routine so I decided to get out into the wild again and explore another part of O'ahu. This time, I tried to find the trail head to the Nu'uanu trail. One thing about the trails and surf spots in Hawaii is they're quite non-descript and low key. Unless you have some access to some local, you could pass it and never know it was there. The trails are often not well marked. Again, I referred to my trusty favorite Hiking trail guide online. Apparently this trail is quite a hard one to do but I was ready for the challenge. The last couple days had been pouring rain all day and I was itching out get out for some fresh air. There's two ways to get to the Nu'uanu trail but it is really elusive. I decided to take the Judd trail, a trail that goes in a circle but connects to the Nu'uanu trail.

Judd trail starts here but I had to cross over these river rocks first

Thankfully the rocks weren't as slippery as they looked and the water level was just below the rocks. The journey begins. The Judd trail started with a beautiful bed of bamboo which knocked against each other as the wind blew. I kept looking around, thinking someone was coming through the trees.  I've never heard knocking like that before in a forest.

Bamboo forest

Not sure what trees these are but good light and non mosquito infested as the tropical forest deeper in

stairwell of roots on Judd trail

I drove out to Pali Nuuanu Drive. After quite a while, I found the trail head which started at an unassuming concrete bridge. No signs. I soon found a sign which said Judd trail. Then I passed through a patch covered in Norfolk Pines. Felt like I went from China to the Midwest woodlands. It was a soothing and easy trail. 

Norfolk Pines in every direction on Judd trail

About a half hour into the hike, I guessed I had stumbled onto the Nu'uanu trail when it started to turn into a ridge that got steeper and narrower. Interestingly, other hikers I passed couldn't tell if they were on the Nu'uanu or Judd trail either. There were no signs. It was a little nerve wrecking seeing little trails that branched off in different directions and sometimes, there was an arrow which pointed both to the left and right. I later discovered one was a shorter and steeper route while the other was more level and longer. Either way led up to an intersection before branch off again. The red soil was extremely slippery because it had been raining the last few days. I had to constantly get a good footing so as not to slip. This ridge was extremely steep. I guessed the edge was about a 20 degree angle all the way down. 

Nu'uanu trail forest - wet, thick and mosquito infested

it would be a steep fall down this narrow Nu'uanu trail

Still, the uphill hike of Nu'uanu trail gave me quite a sweat which was the workout I needed. The Nu'uanu waterfall was a little disappointing. It was about a 50 feet long and 25 feet high with water tricking down onto the trail. The thick tropical trees made it dark and moldy looking. Some parts of the trail was a little steep and there were ropes which were supposed to help with the hike but they were wet and moldy. 

Nu'uanu trail waterfall

Stony and slippery part of Nu'uanu Trail with the ropes

Rare glimpse of the mystical Pali valley through the heavily wooded trail

This tropical forest was swarming with mosquitoes. It was impossible to stop to enjoy the view and I kept wishing I brought my repellent. This trail wasn't among the prettiest I'd seen here so far. Nevertheless, I was happy to find my way home after about 4 hours of hiking and was relieved that I had not gotten lost through all the different trails.

Wa’ahila Ridge trail hike

Wa'ahila trail on O'ahu

It literally was a trail on top a ridge of the mountains with Manoa valley to the west and Palolo valley to the east. I had to keep from looking to the bottom too much because sometimes the howling of the wind made me wonder if I might just fall below and never be found! The beauty of the greenery around made me gasp in awe. It's the most beautiful forest playground, a trail passing through an ever-changing landscape from covered in pine trees to rocks, moss, grass and mud. It was freeing wandering deeper and deeper into this green wonderland stepping over roots of trees that had been there for hundreds of years and sometimes looking above through the trees to catch a glimpse of the deep blue sky above. 

Norfolk Pines in the park where the trail starts

the gorgeous ridge trail begins

feels like a walk through fairyland

most of the trail is hidden under thick shrubs shading the sun and wind off of hikers 

certain parts of the trails require some fun climb over large rocks 

a lovely staircase of roots on this ridge

The best part was that I was almost alone. I probably ran into less than 10 people in the 3 hours of hiking. The Wa'ahila trail came close to an end with the trees opening up to the blue sky and I could see Manoa Valley on the west and Palolo Valley to the east. I think living in China really made me appreciate natural beauty and fresh air more than I can ever imagine forever. I'm thankful to be in a place where the natural fauna are well protected with many 'sacred' areas that remain untouched. Sometimes, the best things in life are free and no amount of money can ever buy. And for some things, once it's gone, it's gone forever.

Ko'alau range and Waikki

The trail ends at the end of the ridge and continues into Kolowalu trail. The summit is prohibited because it's a restricted watershed area. It was beautiful to look at. After traversing 

through the last two hours of this forestry I wondered what more beauty that area had to offer.

Facing east: the hues of green in the Palolo Valley restricted watershed area was amazing to gaze upon

where Wa'ahila ridge trail and Kolowalu trail intersects

this mossy area was so cozy, I could've slept on it for hours

I went home today feeling oddly healed. Being surrounded by such stunning beauty in its purest forms made me come to terms with a lot - myself, my life, people in my life, my priorities. Being here by myself, this open space, the freedom to roam these mountains, fresh air, sunshine, big blue sky, wind blowing all around, beautiful trees flourishing all by themselves, it was freeing, it was so easy to see clearly. I was surrounded by nothing and yet it was everything. My heart felt like it was bursting with fullness and life. I was happy. It was easy to find peace here. Perhaps at this moment, I could see God. His beauty. His love. His magnificent work. It was wondrous.

 big old roots providing a safe walkway along this steep ridge

back at the trail head

Koko Head Crater hike

Koko Head Crater trail all the way to the top

Koko Head Crater at 642ft (196m) is the last active volcano that occured in O'Ahu 10,000 years ago. Its tuff ring is the tallest in Hawaii measuring 1,207ft (367m) in height. I stumbled upon this great hiking trails website last week so I decided to try this one today. I had seen it from the Kalanianaole Highway on my way to the east coast a couple weeks ago. Another website had mentioned that this was a very difficult trail to climb as it was basically climbing steps all the way up to the top with no shade or level paths. I had a bit of trouble finding the park head even with my Garmin GPS. Haven't been having much exercise the last couple days so I was eager to burn some calories and break a sweat. It was already 11:30am so I got my water bottle and quickly started up the stairs. 

The first 100 feet was fine but after that, the 20 degree angle got steeper. The steps of this old railway track that led up to the world war two  bunkers that were lookouts to the south of O'Ahu. As the afternoon sun seared my shoulders, I regretted not putting on any sunscreen. Not even halfway up, I began to understand why they called this the "stairmaster from hell". My legs soon started shaking like jello. The wide distance between the railways logs wasn't forgiving to people with short legs like myself! I had the hardest time breathing and had to stop for a series of long time outs to catch my breath. About halfway up, the scariest part unveiled. The tracks went over a part about 25 feet long like a bridge over the ground about 25 meters below. There was a detour to the side for the faint of heart. I decided I was brave enough to take the main route. Turned out it wasn't as hard as I expected but coming down was definitely a little harder since the downward angle of the tracks almost felt like gravity was pulling me down between the cracks. The trick was not to think about it. Once you stopped to think, you just feel like falling in.  The websites weren't kidding about this being an extremely difficult climb for the very fit. The trail just kept getting steeper and steeper towards the end that I had to stop to catch my breath every 30 steps or so!

the 'Bridge' 

the main route of the bridge and the alternate route off to the side

After an hour and a half of sweating from head to toe, I finally reached the top. Don't remember a time I was more grateful for my bottle of water. Thankfully it only ran out the last 25 feet of the trail. The view of Makapu'U was breathtaking. It was such a clear day, I could see the islands of Molokai and Maui on the horizon. I sat on top of the old World War 2 bunkers overlooking the southern edge of the island for a long long time. 

Koko Crater facing east towards Makapu'U Bay

old world war two bunker

the edges of Koko Crater with Molokai and Maui on the horizon looking southeast

facing west over the slopes of Hahalone Valley, Kuliouou Kalani'iki, Niu and Wailupe Valley towards Waikiki

looking southwest at Hanauma Bay towards Waikiki

facing north towards Kamilo Iki neighborhood nestled between the mountains

Great Aloha Run

I ran an 8mile (13K) Great Aloha Run today together with over 23,000 people. It was fun running beside people of all ages, color and size, though I had not trained for it. There were even people with wheelchairs, baby strollers and walkers. The left side were all for the different military divisions. I'd never seen so many military men. I keep forgetting Hawaii is a strategic military post for its location. It was cool hearing their low toned chants as they ran in unison. The best was watching the mothers pushing twin strollers or fathers running alongside their sons. I liked passing those with T-shirts which wrote Pain is Weakness leaving the Body. As much as I think that is not true, it pushed me onwards towards that elusive finish line! For some reason, running among a pack of people all heading towards a finish line felt empowering even though my feet felt like they were on fire after the 4th mile. Something about being with a bunch of people with a common goal. Makes the activity less burdensome somehow...and much more enjoyable. I think when pain is shared, it feels less painful and pushes one's body to go beyond itself...albeit for the moment. Loved gorging on all the free bananas and sugar drinks afterwards. They could learn lot from all the freebies, sports giveaways and even free beer booths we have in Chicago though...    

Nut and Seed Milk vs. Cow milk

When Jen introduced me to raw food, she taught me how to make nut milk as a substitute for cow's milk. One main element of being a raw foodist is to avoid any animal products. That includes animal milk. In today's globalized economy, it's harder and harder to know exactly where our food comes from and what kind of chemicals are in cow diets from which eventually goes into its milk which we consume. Nut milk is said to be far superior to animal's milk because it does not contain any cholesterol or lactose (a kind of sugar). In addition, it contains natural oils which are good for our bodies. This is one of my favorite chocolate shakes I like to make with my nut or seed milk. It's pumpkin and sunflower seed milk, banana, raw cacao powder and honey. Simple, delicious and good for me!

Sprouting buckwheat

I've recently learnt that sprouted buckwheat is a superfood packed with enzymes. Eating live (uncooked) enzymes are essential for helping speed up bodily functions like food digestion, our muscles, nerves and bones. Sprouted buckwheat is also rich in rutin which helps in preventing varicose veins or hardening of the arteries and lecithin. Lecithin soaks up “bad” cholesterol and prevents it from being absorbed. Since our brains are 28% lecithin, it may actually prevent anxiety, depression, brain fog, mental fatigue and generally make the brain sharper and clearer.

So I tried sprouting buckwheat and it was surprisingly easy. Within 2 days, I had sprouted buckwheat so I added them to my hemp granola and nut milk, sprinkled with honey, flaxseed and sesame seeds. Found it surprisingly delicious! 

Black Power

Someone once told me that white sesame seeds are good but black sesame is better. Black foods are always better. I wasn't quite sure why but today I just read this interesting article about black foods like japanese eggplant, black vinegar, black rice, silkie chicken (the one used for chinese herbal soups) shiitake mushrooms, blackberry, black tea and black sesame seems. Most of them contain antioxidants which help prevent cancer, coronary heart disease and altitude sickness. They're also rich in calcium, magnesium and iron which is good for the kidneys, blood circulation and bad cholesterol. Since I come from a family with many with high cholesterol, lost every grandparent to heart attack, and an aunt who has survived cancer twice and lost an uncle to cancer, I'll be trying to add these superfoods to my diet.

Going Raw

My friend Jennifer McClelland introduced me to raw foods in the last 4 months of my stay in Beijing just before coming to Hawaii.  Not only was she the first raw food chef I've met personally, she's also completely revolutionized my thinking about nutrition and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. I'm getting turned on to living food as the way to live.

A visit to the local Whole Foods Store downtown this weekend was a good start but I found the crowd to be a little overbearing. Yesterday, we went to this little store called Down To Earth just down the road. All their produce are fresh up to four days from farm to shelf and support 400 local farmers and growers. It's got pretty much everything I need to go on a raw food diet. Got my seeds and nuts for making nut milk, raspberry n' cream granola, hemp honey granola and my grains for my smoothies. Got my veggies in the local grocery store here which are the Safeway, Times or Sack n' Save chains. Total damage only came up to US$22. In Beijing, I would've had to spend at least three times more. Can't wait to make my chocolate smoothies! This time I got pumpkin, apricot,  sunflower, flax and white sesame.

In China, there's so many kinds of honey. I've learnt to read the KINDS of sources as well as read the labels for the contents because there's a lot of 'fake' honey where local farmers add sugars to the honey to cheat in cost savings. I love China but the fact is, you have to be a little more streetwise about cheating as it's a fact of life there, not a ethically moral issue. 

So it was a little funny when I was looking for the label of contents and was told that all the bottles here are stamped with the words 'Pure Honey'. Pure and simple. In Beijing, I would've had to search the entire supermarket shelf to weed out fruit honey (example loquat honey), flower honey (chrysanthemum honey, orange blossom honey), grain honey (buckwheat honey, jujube honey) etc. I got the Lehua Honey which comes from the flowers of a native hardwood tree called Ohi'a. Just for kicks, I found online that China is the world largest maker of honey - 256,000 tons followed by 100,000 tons in the US as of 2001.