daily
[day-lee]
adjective
1. of, done, occurring, or issued each day or each weekday:
2. computed or measured by the day:
brainstorm
[breyn-stawrm]
noun
1. a. a sudden impulse, idea, etc.
b. a fit of mental confusion or excitement.
“Daily Brainstorms” comes from my personal journey through life and the thoughts I continuously acquire. From beginning my career as a professional BMX athlete to being diagnosed, treated and recovering from 3 brain tumors as I entered my twenties, I have compiled a plethora of thoughts.
I became a certified holistic health coach on my never-ending quest to find the perfect way of eating for my body–and my brain. While on this journey I have learned a lot and I have gained an immense passion for sharing what I have learned with others.
The vast majority of information out there regarding nutrition and health can be very overwhelming and make our heads spin. I want to not only clear up the confusion, but I want to give you the tools to free your mind of old myths, misconceptions, and ways of eating and living.
This website is my way of giving back by sharing all the information I can with you in efforts to improve the health, functionality, protection, and longevity of your brain and overall health. My goal with this website is to empower you to take charge of the health and functionality of your brain and share it with your loved ones.
“The great topmost sheet of the mass, that where hardly a light had twinkled or moved, becomes now a sparkling field of rhythmic flashing points with trains of traveling sparks hurrying hither and thither. The brain is waking and with it the mind is returning. It is as if the Milky Way entered upon some cosmic dance. Swiftly the head mass becomes an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a meaningful pattern though never an abiding one; a shifting harmony of subpatterns.”
—Sherrington, 1942, Man on his Nature
You may see posts involving BMX bicycle riding and wonder, “what does this have to do with nutrition, the brain, and of all things….health”? Well, BMX has played one of the biggest roles in my life over the past 13 years, leading me to where I am today.
If it wasn’t for that bicycle of mine, I truly believe I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t have had the physical and mental courage or strength to overcome the 3 brain tumors, I wouldn’t have found my new love and passion for nutrition, and you wouldn’t be here reading this.
Before I was diagnosed, I was the dude saying, “I am in shape, active, young, and healthy. I can eat/ drink whatever I want and I won’t get sick, as long as I ride my bike every day and don’t get fat”. I learned the hard way that our physical appearance doesn’t determine if we are healthy or not. What we decide to put in our mouths, and what’s going on inside our body and minds, is what determines or health’s future or, lack thereof. We may think we are healthy now but that doesn’t mean we can do what we want forever with no consequences.
Daily Brainstorms- U.S. Food Consumption percentage based on calories.
We live in a society today that tends to think our genes are our destiny, we’re going to get a specific disease because “it runs in the family”, and we have no control over it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Although some genes we have no control over (i.e. hair color, height, eye color, etc.), the other genes, that are responsible for about 70% of disease in this country, are in our control with each decision we make.
These genes are either activated or suppressed based on our lifestyle habits. These habits being what we put on the end of our forks, what beverages we decide to drink, and what stressors we allow and accept in our lives. Despite the US food pyramid being a guide to disease, there are people like myself out there that won’t accept that to be a reality and want to make and see a change in our country.
I hope you enjoy the information provided on this website and that you take away something valuable from my story and experiences. If you haven’t read my story yet, you can here: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.
If there are specific questions you have or things you’d like to learn more about, please feel free to comment and I will do my best to write about them if I have not already planned to do so.
If there is any one thing I want you to take away from this site it’s to foster a beginners mindset and to open up to new information, new foods, new forms of physical activity, and to make small alterations to old habits and routines. Some of the tips supporting the information provided can be life changing for you and your loved ones as it has been for my family, my friends, and myself.
-Josh P.