Mind Your Own Wellness: Turning Thoughts Into Reality

By Alex Ong

"...I strongly recommend Mind Your Own Wellness to all who care about their health. It is easy to read and to use as a reference book. It should be on the bookshelves of every parent. The greatest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0980155665
• ISBN13: 9780980155662
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: OCL Publishing, Inc.
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Wellness Explained

Mind Your Wellness by Alex Ong OCL Publishers 2008, 2009 Reviewed by: Dr. Joseph S. Maresca The author begins by describing the poor health of Americans. A full 105MM people have elevated cholesterol. In my own experience, substituting yogurts, salads and water for junk food , soda and candy will go a long way toward losing the first 25 pounds of excess weight. After that, exercise, 8 hours of nightly sleep, no eating after 8PM and de-stressing will help to lose the remainder. A beauty of the work is that healthful foods are cited. For instance, brocolli, kale, squash, celery, soybeans and dried figs are good sources of calcium. Animal protein increases saturated fat. Transfats are increased by consuming deep fried foods, peanut butter, potato chips and frozen foods. Sugar will turn to fat if not burned off right away. Consumption of MSG excites nerve cells, causes abdominal discomfort, angina and panic attacks in some patients. MSG may be found in canned foods, sausage, flavored potato chips and processed foods. Natural fruits and veggies are sources of fiber, super-nutrients, and immune system boosters. These foods have marvelous anti-aging properties in addition to the aforementioned benefits. The author explains that reduced salt intake helps to control blood pressure. This is true in my own experience. In addition, reduction of caffeine accomplishes a similar feat and benefits the gastro-intestinal tract. As we grow older, diverticular pockets grow larger and more prone to inflammation from foods like coffee, heavy creams and spicy sauces. In short, unhealthful foods = pain. The book criticizes aspartame in sugar-free candy, diet soda and other foods. I've found that water is the best soft drink to consume- particularly water with a higher pH value. Consumption of ice may cause injuries to languish longer than normal. Organic apple cider has many beneficial effects. i.e. removal of arterial plaque, body toxins, fat accumulation, viruses and bacteria. In addition, organic apple cider can help to normalize pH levels in the urine and relieve sore throats. I experienced positive effects from consumption of organic apple cider. A section of the book encourages readers to breathe deeply and exercise. The USA needs to reintroduce gymnastics in grammar school, high school, college and the workplace. We need at least 8 hours of sleep each night. In addition, eating beyond 8PM can be detrimental because our digestive system needs to slow down. Night binges interfere with the bodily digestive system getting a badly needed respite from periodic eating over the previous 12 hours or more. The book has many good references. I would add to these the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet at [...] Overall, the acquisition would be an excellent supplement to any personal library. I would like the manufacturers of candy, soda and cake to add less sugar to their products and search for natural or herbal substitutes for white sug

The Path to Long Lasting Results

This is not a book for quick fixes and rapid weight loss, that invariably leads to the yo-yo syndrome, causing harm to your health and your self-esteem. It's a book that leads to lasting results and a healthier "You." The person you were meant to feel and look like. Author Alex Ong spent 20 years as a "fatty," so he has been there, and done that. Ong knows all the pitfalls of listening to your "Inner Junky Voice," and also knows the way out of that pleasure/pain cycle, and how the gradual strengthening of your "Inner Healthy Voice" can bring about vibrant health and a slender body. Page 99 has an easy to use BMI chart (no more adding and multiplying with a calculator) to find out exactly where you are in the battle of the bulge (I have found the BMI index very helpful in determining my goals). The section on breathing is excellent (Chapter 12) and something we so often forget how to do correctly...something as simple as breathing! If you choose to, there is also a 1 day a week "break" from your healthy way of eating, where you can observe how you feel, when eating according to your past habits. How you tolerate that "over full" feeling, if you are tired the following day, etc. I especially like Ong's asking us to observe our plates after we have eaten, after baked/steamed food, or deep fried and cheesy stuff. Ong has an eye-opening way to really prove the difference of the substances left on the plates on pg. 93. There are 5 levels, or a "Color Belt" formula, which ranges from White Belt (10% healthy food, 90% junky food) to Black Belt (80% healthy, 20% junky). Menus and suggestions are given for every level, and what makes them easy to apply is that there is nothing drastic, nothing that is unrealistic to follow no matter what your lifestyle or work schedule. The key is moderation. There are no "food police" in "Mind Your Own Wellness," and the key word Ong uses often is "Minimize." Minimize the junk food gradually and you will see those lasting results. You will feel better, look better (and stop having a "Fat Closet" and a "Thin Closet," not to mention those hours we ladies spend trying on everything we own to find something we "don't look so fat in"). Ong is a great motivational writer, and has a charming and unique way of expressing himself, with an enthusiasm that is contagious, and he is an expert in how to lose weight naturally. Though I no longer need to lose weight, I'm still learning about health and diet issues; I learned a lot from "Mind Your Own Wellness," and think you will too.

Author Shows How Health is Like Wealth

This may be the most relaxing book I've read. Alex Ong's tone is supremely authoritative yet as patient as a caring father. The result is magic. In Mind Your Own Wellness, Ong accumulated an immeasurable quantity and quality of information regarding nutrition, psychology and human nature, biology, disease and aging, the food industry in the U.S., stress, wellness, self-esteem and wealth. He shaped this information and presented it in the most positive and accessible manner imaginable. In doing so, Ong has given us a great gift that far exceeds the price of the book. No short cuts to increased energy and confidence were provided. Perhaps none exists but that is probably for the good since we're prone to stress ourselves attempting to find solutions using shortcuts. The focus is on the way we think coupled with solid information about food and the world we inhabit. Lessons from this book make us like quarry that escapes the prey (debilitating diseases and painful conditions) because we've learned to run (eat the healthy foods and avoid the truly unhealthy foods). The brilliance of this book is in its approach. Ong uses his background in martial arts and philosophy to direct us to change in positive ways. He teaches us to see pain in junk food, for example, using these techniques. Imagine seeing pain in unhealthy foods. That's something this book did for or even to me through its descriptions of how junk food affects the body and ends up causing physical and psychological pain. Ong decodes messages of food industry advertisements in a way that greatly reduces their power to influence the mind, what he calls junky food voices. Two inner voices are revealed, the healthy food voice and the junky food voice. These inner voices are always in conflict as they compete to influence our choices and behavior. Once we understand these voices, we can begin to deal with them in a calm and far-sighted manner. Mind Your Own Wellness is organized in a way that makes it a page-turner yet touches all the bases in the quest to live a better life with a focus on the effects of all types of foods on the human condition. Many thought processes in this book, which seem packaged to get into long-term memory with the least resistance, are life-changing even in isolation. Instructions on how to drink water include temperature, timing, quantity, association with other variables, and type were profound. Protein sources and their affect on calcium contradicted my cherished beliefs. Breathing fundamentals increased my awareness of my current stress levels. Organic apple cider vinegar was a big surprise. The section on labels got me immediately looking at labels of food items in the house and made me understand that food labeling, while extraordinarily valuable, is a political construct. "No trans fat per serving" means there may be trans fat if you have more than one serving, for example. The financial gearing within simple food choices took me wel

No Nonsense Approach to Addressing a Worldwide Problem: Obesity etc

Alex Ong has published what feels like a personal letter to those of us who care about our health - but MIND YOUR OWN WELLNESS is instead a book that will gather a flock of readers who want a simple manner to address and change not only the burgeoning obesity tendency but also the seemingly simple steps to taking control of our minds and bodies in general. His writing style is natural, homespun, and free of preaching, yet in this little book he offers more information for the layman about the truth of organic foods, the importance of watching labels of the things we put into our systems in haste to keep up a pace of living that is in itself a deleterious, and makes common sense out of 'dieting'. Ong is not a Nutritionist selling a product line or a doctor looking to increase a following. He is instead an 'ex-fatty' who got serious about his weight and his mental activity and it is this journey he shares. His various color Color Belts for gradually altering eating habits are sound and easy to follow. This is a simple, lighthearted book that could very well help those who border on being overweight fight that battle successfully. Reading MIND YOUR OWN WELLNESS makes the reader want to sit down and learn more from this practical health guru. Highly recommended reading for all age groups - including chubby youngsters! Grady Harp, February 10

A Blueprint for Good Health

Ong, Alex. "Mind Your Own Wellness", OCL Publishing, 2009. A Blueprint for Good Health Amos Lassen I suppose I am lucky that I have never had to diet but I have so many friends that do have to and sometimes I feel like I am on a diet myself. Alex Ong gives us a way to feel better about ourselves and to accomplish dieting with good health. Alex Ong had been obese for 20 years and he managed to lose weight and gain self respect naturally. Now he helps us do the same. When Ong was 25 his cholesterol was high and he had had enough so he developed a diet to get rid of all the weight that he did not want. He wrote down what he discovered and as he wrote he was reminded that he also had a wife and children to stay healthy for. It is his goal for all of us live a healthy life and for those of you who do not know where to start doing so, this book is the best thing around. The book is really a collection of ideas and tips on how to get weight back on track and to live a healthier life. The book is simple and easy to follow and it shows you how and when to eat and gain more energy. Ong has tried the methods here and he is sure that they work as are several others who have used his ideas. If you care about yourself and your health this is the book for you. We all know how important good nutrition is yet how many of us really adhere to that? Here you can start slowly and gradually build up healthy habits and you are sure to feel better, Looking good goes hand in hand with feeling good and if you follow Alex Ong you will do both.