For my birthday in 1991 my brother gave me what is without doubt one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Step In The Arena by Gang Starr. In fact this album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Hip Hop Albums in 1998 and in 2007, it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by IGN.com. My reason for talking about this album is actually a sample used at the beginning of the song “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight”.

“Knowledge is power, and knowledge can be the difference between life or death…you should know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

So here is some knowledge:

• America is the fattest nation in the world. Over 100 million Americans are overweight or obese. 60% of all US adults are overweight or obese.
• Around half of British adults are overweight, and 17 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women are obese.
• More people are dying in Britain due to being overweight or obese than anywhere else in Europe.
• Around one in every 11 deaths in the UK is now linked to carrying excess fat.

In the film “Super Size Me”, Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonalds for 30 days to understand the impact this would have on his body. So what happened to Morgan Spurlock as a result of his 30 day experiment eating nothing but McDonald’s?

After 30 days:

• He gained 24.5 pounds (nearly 2 stone!).
• His liver turned to fat
• His cholesterol shot up 65 points.
• He had an 11-15% body fat increase.
• He nearly doubled his risk of coronary heart disease.
• He became depressed and exhausted
• His sex life was non-existent
• He had bad mood swings
• He had massive cravings and massive headaches.

Let’s compare this with the experience of Phil Staples, the morbidly obese truck driver featured in the film “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”. When he first featured in the film Phil Staples weighed in at 429 lbs (30 Stone 9 lbs); a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. In “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” Phil Staples went on a juice fast. I personally started juicing back in 2010 and have many debates since then with people concerned that juicing is dangerous or unhealthy. So what happened to Phil Staples as a result of his juice fast?

After 30 days:

• He lost 61 pounds in weight (over 4 stone!)
• His blood pressure went from 160 over 84 (high blood pressure) to 136 over 70 (normal blood pressure)
• His triglycerides, which measure fats in the body went from 216 to 161. 161 is almost in the normal range.
• He also was able to lower the medication he was taking for urticaria, a skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps.

Phil Staples continued his juice fast for 60 days, after which he has mainly eaten a plant based diet with the occasional treat. His urticaria is in remission and he’s no longer taking any medication for it. After just 10 months, Phil had lost 202 lbs and was down to a much healthier weight of 227 lbs (16 Stone 3 lbs). Remember, before he started the juice fast, Phil weighed 429 lbs (30 Stone 9 lbs).

For more knowledge I strongly recommend watching both of these films. The knowledge you gain might inspire you to make some choices that really could be the difference between life and death.

Super Size Me Trailer

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead Trailer

For those of you looking to support my Year Without Beer, here are a couple of options…

To donate to Cancer Research UK please click here to visit my just giving page or donate by text – send AYWB66 and the amount to 70070. For example, texting “AYWB66 £5″ will donate £5.

To donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust please click here to visit my just giving page or donate by text – send AYWB55 and the amount to 70070. For example, texting “AYWB55 £5″ will donate £5.