These days a lot of people ask me what I think about the much talked about coming flu season that is predicted to disrupt society.

Almost daily I’m asked if I am going to be vaccinated against H1N1 or the seasonal flu.

More than daily I receive emails warning about some grand conspiracy purporting to use the flu vaccine to spread disease, not prevent it.

Let me start by telling you what I think about all the hype around H1N1. Its a flu. Some type of flu virus moves throughout communities every year … always has … probably always will. Some years are worse than others. These days our community is global, so there are a lot more people who could potentially be carriers of the virus.

Am I going to be vaccinated against H1N1 and/or the seasonal flu? No. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. I believe vaccinations are a personal decision based on personal circumstances and beliefs.

There are risks with any decision. Do your own research. Check in with your own inner knowing. And don’t let anyone bully you to get, or not get, any vaccine.

And please do me a favour. Once you have made your decision, don’t go around bullying other people to make the same decision you’ve made.

What about all those conspiracy theories that are floating around? In my opinion they are about as amusing as all the mainstream media hype. I don’t forward those emails.

Only time will tell if my beliefs, my immune system, my lifestyle choices and my efforts to reduce stress in my life, will protect me from this winter’s flu.

Whatever happens, I am fully committed to continuing my exploration of a low crap lifestyle, and will dedicate the next few weeks to talking about how a low crap diet can shore up your immune system and increase your chances of enjoying a comfortable, flu-free winter.

To get started check out these past posts:
Ten ways to clean up your diet 
Eating clean
What’s so bad about junk food?
Carrot Ginger Garlic Soup
7+ servings of fresh produce … no fork required
Fresh Ginger Root Tea

Warning:  Be aware that embracing a low crap diet may change your life as well life on earth.

A low crap diet may result in feelings of good health, happiness and self-love. A low crap diet may also affect your environment in unexpected ways, and could result in clean water, fresh air, fertile soil and fewer landfills.

Seriously though, use common sense. If you have severe food allergies, and/or you suffer from any condition that requires specialized attention to what you eat, please check with your health care provider first. Do not stop taking any medications or specially prescribed foods without proper medical supervision.

Yes.

Low Crap Diet is especially appropriate for anyone that cares about their health and the health of our earth.

If you are suffering from a chronic or acute health condition, please seek advice from your doctor or health care provider before eliminating crap from your diet. [sheesh … I can’t believe I just said that!]

Do not stop any medications or specially prescribed foods without proper medical supervision.

(This particular question is dedicated to my dear friend who really thought I was developing a diet that cut down on toilet time.)

No. You won’t poop less on a Low Crap Diet. In fact you may even poop more, because a Low Crap Diet is low in constipation-causing-crap and high in real food based fiber … good news for my bunged up buddies.

And if you are one of those people who have intermittent unexplained excess pooping, your bathroom time may become regulated because you will no longer be eating crap that your body tries to get rid of as fast as possible.

Before we leave this question alone, there is one other thing to think about. The poop that drops in the toilet can be quickly recycled by the earth. If that wasn’t true, whenever we go for a walk in the woods, we would be up to our knees in animal droppings. Now consider what you throw in the trash bin as also being a type of poop. Unfortunately this land fill poop is much more troublesome as the earth is not able to recycle it anytime soon.

So a valid answer to “Will I poop less when I eat a Low Crap Diet?” could be “Yes”. Meaning, you will be responsible for less unrecyclable poop (aka crap) filling up our landfills.

Crap is a slang word referring to garbage, junk, and litter. It can also be used to describe exaggeration and propaganda.

You’ve probably used the word to express how you’re feeling the morning after a big party or to describe all the stuff in your garage. You may have even used the word to refer to a redundant project your boss has asked you to work on. The word can communicate a feeling of overwhelm when life’s details are closing in on you. And it’s a great word to use when you feel you have been treated unfairly. 

Our world is full of crap: unusable products (aka garbage); bad ideas (aka good intentions with unforeseen consequences); lack of respect for each other (aka poor manners); lack of respect for our earth (aka ignorance).

At first glance, you may think that Low Crap Diet is all about what we eat. And this is true. A main focus of Low Crap Diet examines the relationship between what we eat and our health. But Low Crap Diet also takes a grander look at how our diet affects so much more than just our personal health.

So, ‘crap’, according to Low Crap Diet refers to anything that creates havoc in our bodies and/or our environment. This includes not only what we eat, but also our thoughts and actions and how we choose live in the world.

Eating a Low Crap Diet will automatically lessen the crap in our world. So if you truly want to make a difference both in your own health and the health of our earth, consider the crap in all areas of your life. It is only by healing ourselves that we will be able to heal our world.