Pursuing Health: My Journey

Coconut Oil and Mono

2011-10-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, mononucleosis is horrible. Not only does the inflicted person feel like death, but he feels like death for a long time. Just to give you an idea how ill Husband was, he lost 20 pounds in the first three weeks. I thought about bottling his saliva for a new weight loss product...nah, too many side effects.

I wrote in the last post that we were trying coconut oil to help fight the mono. There were many anectodotal reports of having mono for weeks and even months and finally the desperate people would try coconut oil and within a few days had remarkable turnarounds. The amounts seemed to vary, but I saw most often 2 tablespoons twice daily. So we started last Tuesday night. Wednesday, Husband actually felt better somewhat, a few levels better, whereas priorly, he had been very gradually feeling a tiny bit better, like his fevers were creeping down to only 101 instead 103 degrees.

I was ready to throw the jar of coconut oil away Thursday though because Husband felt much worse. It was a good thing we continued with this unusual therapy because Friday he felt MUCH better. And more so Saturday and Sunday, and is still continuing to improve. He is also taking Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, milk thistle, garlic, and a combo echinecea/goldenseal. I figured the former would kill the bad guys while the latter would stimulate the immune system to help out.

The interesting thing about coconut oil and the part that was really compelling for me was that it contains lauric acid. Lauric acid is only found in coconut oil and breast milk. Lauric acid breaks down the protective lipid membrane that coats and protects viruses thereby killing it. Not only is coconut oil good for mononucleosis, but also other viruses such as HIV, meningitis, influenza, herpes, and hepatitis. It is also an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and anti-candida.

Who is keeping this stuff from us???

Other benefits of consuming, well, let me digress for a minute. Some people liberally cook with it, others spread it on toast or stir it in applesauce or just ate spoonfuls out of the jar. We did the applesauce thing. And if you, no, when you buy some, (because you are not crazy are you?) look for the organic, unrefined, expeller pressed virgin coconut oil which costs about $6.99 for a 14oz. jar. At Whole Foods it is in the same section as all of the other oils.

Okay, now other health benefits. It has thyroid stimulating effects. In the 1940's farmers tried to fatten their cows with it, but found instead that it made them lean, more active, and increased their appetites. So, after some diddling around with other substances switched to feeding them corn and soy because those grains had the same anti-thyroid effect as an anti-thyroid drug. What is wrong with this picture!

Coconut oil also lowers cholesterol, they think because it stimulates the thyroid which in turn converts LDL cholesterol via enzymatic processess to anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone, and DHEA. These substances prevent heart disease, dementia, obesity, cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.

It also increases metabolism, helps absorption of other nutrients, helps prevent and treat diabetes, helps improves bone density and dental health due to facillitating calcium and magnesium absorption, and boosts energy levels and endurance.

Fast facts: Coconut oil is a saturated fat. (But don't let that scare you. However, that would require a lengthy explanation.) It is liquid at 76 degrees F or higher, solid at temperatures lower than that. It has a long shelf life; after one year at room temperatures there have been no evidence of rancidity. It also is a safe oil to cook with, staying stable at higher temperatures. It can be used topically as well.

There is this one sight on the Internet where lots of people sing their praises to the coconut oil health savior. I will include some smatterings: “my mom rubbed it on her liver spot for 2 weeks and it flaked right off”, another stated that the age spots on her face and hands were almost gone and her hair shines and is thickened, as well as arthritic pain is almost gone after 4 months of use, and the weirdest one, a lady's “chihuahua stopped licking her butt” after giving it to her a couple of times a day. It also has been proported to improve sleep, cure chronic bladder problems, helps with irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux, and gets rid of eczema, toenail fungus, and athletes foot. And much, much morel.
So what is stopping you? Quick, go get some. I am trying it for my digestive problems. Let me know if you or any of your animals benefit.

The Demon called Mono

2011-09-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Did you know...
...that an estimated 95% of adults over age 30 have had mononucleosis? Many of them had such a mild case they didn't know it.

...that you are intermittenly contagious for the rest of your life?

...that at any given moment 1 out of 4 adults you come in contact with will be contagious?

...that older adults present with the illness differently than children or teenagers?

...that consuming 2 tablespoons of coconut oil twice daily will reportedly effect a quicker recovery? (This one we started testing out today. So we shall see.)

...that your biggest defense against infection is keeping your “terrain” healthy and strong? Things that weaken are not enough sleep, poor food quality, stress, environmental toxins, and a sedentary lifestyle.

...that the virus is mostly transmitted via saliva, i.e. kissing, sharing cups and utensils, and standing to close to a person while talking. Note to self: Especially watch out for the person who sprays when they talk. And no more of those sloppy, wet kisses! (At least one member of my family will know what that is.)

…that it can take weeks, to months, sometimes a year, to recover. The acute illness usually lasts 2-4 weeks, but then the weakness and fatigue much longer.

Just about everyone who knows us knows that the “flu” we thought Husband was having a couple of weeks ago has turned out to be mononucleosis. Darn, we would take the flu any day. Mono is horrible!

So I am doing what I can to keep my "terrain" strong as well as frequent hand washing, praying, and walking around with cloves of garlic strung around my neck, periodically applying leeches, throwing salt over my shoulder, carrying a rabbits foot in my scrubs, not walking under any ladders, nor breaking any mirrors, nor looking at any black cats...

Just kidding about the last part.

Primal in Kodiak

2011-09-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here I am on Kodiak, a huge island that is part of Alaska. I had been looking forward to primalness: lots of hiking, fishing, and exploring upper North American wilderness. It was going to be the first part of my 30 Day Challenge with Mark's Daily Apple which the latter I have mentioned before, and the former started yesterday. The only thing I worried about were the bears...instead I should have been more concerned about something much, much smaller. The flu virus. No, I didn't get it. Husband did.

We arrived Saturday night. He felt a little "funny". Then the fever started Sunday, 103 degrees. One sick puppy. Today is Tuesday and he appears to be turning the corner today. There may be some adventure yet. So far we have been hanging around daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Ryan's home, eating healthy food, reading, and watching a couple of movies. And we have been taking a lot of Vitamin C & D.

A couple of interesting tidbits to share. One is that Lindsay and Ryan had colds when we arrived. We were very concerned about exposing them to this horrible flu and were considering going to a hotel. Husband looked on the internet if you can have a cold and a flu at the same time. He found that it is very rare because your body has already mounted an attack on viruses. But I have been wiping everything down nonetheless, and Husband has been careful as well.

The one thing that makes this a little more tolerable is that is poured Sunday night, all day yesterday, and this morning. In fact, all week it is supposed to rain, but I have a gut feeling it will clear up for me. I say the rain has made it more tolerable not because it wouldn't be pleasant slogging it out in the mud because I do have boots and a rain jacket, but because if it were nice and sunny it would be more difficult being stuck indoors.

This is a stupid post because all of that above is the intro and intro's are supposed to be shorter than the actual content. Not so with this one. About all else I plan to say is that yesterday I and a bunch of others, most of whom I do not know, started the 30 Day Challenge with Mark Sisson which is all about eating good meat, good fats, lots of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and exercising, playing, getting enough sleep, and few other healthy things. The one thing I really need to focus on is the fitness part because I have incorporated the other elements pretty successfully so far. Yesterday, since I was housebound, I did some pushups, squats, sit-ups and calf exercises. I am even sore now. Today may be the day I rest. Then tomorrow? Who knows, but it will be as primal as I can make it.
Ya gotta be flexible.

Eat This, Not That

2011-08-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

I was going to write about the importance of sleep in this blog; then it was sleep and mold, both being on my mind. Then it segued into and mushrooms (because they are fungus which is sort of like mold); then olives were added because well...

Yesterday I got home from work at 1:30pm starving just as my sister Paula called. I grabbed the first thing I could find: a can of black olives. The next thing I knew I was telling Paula I had just eaten a whole can of olives for lunch. I wondered what would happen to me. She laughed. So we looked at the can. Well I looked and relayed the information. A serving size is 3 olives. Hahaha. Twelve servings in a can. So then the geniuses that Paula and I are, we started doing the math: Whole can equals 300 calories, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 0 protein, 30 grams of monosaturated fat (the good kind).

But wait. I didn't want to talk about olives first. However, I just decided that sleep will have to wait. The sleep blog, that is. By the way, before I really start, I just discovered a delicious new way to eat cauliflower. Cook until tender in some salted water (after cutting out the little moldy spots if any), then add bacon grease instead of butter. I happened to have some saved bacon grease in the fridge for such occasions as this and I wasn't disappointed at my spontaneous decision to substitute it for olive oil or Earth Balance “Buttery” Spread. Delicious! You have got to try it.

Anyway, I am really concerned. I buy these raspberries and blueberries and cauliflower and peaches that either have a little mold or develop it soon after. So I am wondering if it really is unhealthy and bad to eat mold. Or are they just trying to scare us? All this food fear that people are propagating. I want to be afraid of things that are really scary. So I looked into mold this morning and was convinced that it is prudent not to consume it or be exposed to it.

Molds vary. Some are very toxic, some are safe, while others are not problematic if you don't eat them very often. Well, I don't even like to hear that. That is why I don't eat things with nitrates and nitrites any more because “they can be carcinogenic therefore you should only eat them once a week”. Why would I ever want to eat something carcinogenic?

Anyway, I found that certain molds can cause allergic symptoms, gastrointestinal upset, and can be cancer causing. Incidentally, grain and legume molds are especially toxic. So I found out that if something is moldy like cheese you have to cut away an inch portion in all directions avoiding contaminating the knife. You can do this with potatoes and cauliflower as well. If it a peach, throw the whole thing out. Raspberries and blueberries, throw out the moldy ones right away if there are only a couple and wash and eat the rest soon. There are more specifics for various foods, but know this: be wary of mold.

Hmmm, I think I am going to put mushrooms on hold and just finish up on olives.

It turns out that olives are antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, prevents cancer, helps with hot flashes, prevents heart disease, and reduces the severity of asthma and arthritis. They are a good source of fiber, iron, copper, good fat, and vitamin E. Sounds like something I want to be putting into my body. Now the one thing I found that had mixed opinions on the healthyness of olives was how the olive was cured. There are three way: with brine, with water, and with lye. Right away one would think “oh I would never want to eat an olive cured with lye”, but that is what is used with a lot if not all of the canned black olives like the Lindsay brand. I am a little suspicious though about lye-cured olives. I need to dig more before I make a conclusion.

But overall, do you know what I keep finding in everything I research? Eat lots of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, good protein, good fat. Those are healthy. So, good -bye Twinkies and Pop Tarts.

The Baby Aspirin Decision

2011-08-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered if you should be taking a baby aspirin prophylactically? I have, but never made up my mind about it which is difficult to do if you don't look into the thing you are trying to decide on. This means I have not yet added it to my daily regimen. I just came across some information which makes me glad that I didn't.
I got this information from a study done by the New York University School of Medicine. The study assessed the effect of aspirin on preventing cardiovascular events in people who hadn't yet shown evidence of cardiovascular disease. Involved in the trials were 102,621 patients: 52,145 took aspirin while 50,476 took the placebo. After approximately seven years these patients were followed up. It was found that for every 1,000 patients treated with aspirin over a five year period , aspirin would prevent 2.9 major cardiovascular event and cause 2.8 major bleeds. Interesting. That makes my mind up on that one.

Then I saw another study done to see if adherence to a healthy lifestyle would lower the risk of sudden cardiac death among women. Healthy lifestyle, or low-risk lifestyle, was defined as moderate alcohol intake, not smoking, a BMI of less than 25%, daily exercise of about 30 minutes, and eating a Mediterranean-type diet. After a 26 year follow up the conclusion was and I quote, “Adherence to a low-risk lifestyle is associated with a low risk of sudden cardiac death”. Good grief. Like, duh.

My Friend the "Cancer Marker"

2011-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

I have this little lesion on my left forearm which I fondly call my “cancer marker”. Last October my dermatologist wrote me a prescription to have it biopsied because she thought it was squamous cell carcinoma. Now, I had had this said lesion for about a year already, but recently it had started getting worse after it had been getting better. I had thought it was getting better due to the 2-4 cups of green tea I had been drinking, and I theorized that it was getting worse again that October because my consumption of green tea over the summer had dramatically fallen. I just don't like to drink hot things as much in the summer. Anyway, in my standard non-compliant with conventional-advice-from-the-medical-profession, I did not run out to quickly get it biopsied. I thought I would start drinking lots of green tea again and see what happens.

Before I go further, I would like to explain why I call this lesion my “cancer marker”. You might remember reading in a previous post that due to undiagnosed celiac disease I had more than my fair share of radiation in the form of CT scan's. So much in fact, that it is the same as some people with the lower end of exposure after the bomb in Hiroshima. So I consider myself at a higher risk to develop cancer. Add to this risk is my family history: three grandparents have died from cancer and my dad, still living, had had a form of leukemia. Not good. To make matters worse, having celiac disease increases my risk for cancer; it is thought perhaps due to malabsorbtion of nutrients. Anyway, there is just a higher incidence than the normal population. I feel like a freak again.

Are you still with me? So armed with the scientific knowledge that we all probably have rogue cancer cells roaming around our bodies but not all people develop cancer, or if we do develop a tiny little tumor the body might be able to effectively deal with it and either keep it at bay or eradicate it, I decided that this nice little lesion on the outside, which I can easily monitor, could give me an indication what is possibly going on in the inside.

Alright. Back to the little lesion. Immediately after that dermatologist appointment I upped my consumption of green tea. Maybe I should describe it to you. No, not the tea, the thing on my arm. It was raised, shiny, dark rose colored, oval-shaped and about the size of, hmmm, wait, I have to go look in my cupboard. A piece of rice, the fatter kind, not the long kind. Or maybe a lentil.

An important caveat needs to be added. I would not have taken this approach had it been suspicious of melanoma. I am not quite sure what I would have done; definitely something more aggressive, but I felt with squamous cell I had some time.

Well, it didn't take long before it started fading and shrinking. I felt like I was on the right track.

I had to get a physical from a new physician (because I got a new job last October with new insurance) which I finally got around to in April. I showed it to my new doc, Dr. "O", told him my plan, that I didn't want it biopsied because I believed that the body sometimes encapsulates tumors and a biopsy just messes with this, possibly unleashing the evil cancer cells. To my surprise he agreed with me! Then he went on to say we can just watch it and let him know if I need a referral to a dermatologist.

This would be a good point to tell why I chose him for my new primary care physician out of all the ones I had to choose from, and there a some really good ones to choose from at Kaiser. Dr. “O” was walking up with his large mug to the hot water dispenser at work as I was filling my thermos-type coffee cup to make my standard green tea. He boasted that he drinks four cups of green tea daily, and that it is really healthy, which I replied that I do much the same. Anyway, I thought, this is a man after my own heart. I'll go to him. He might understand my alternative medicine tendencies more than the others. Incidentally, he recently showed me the inside of his cup. “Look Vanessa. Look what I have in here”. Lo and behold, a lemon slice. “It potentiates the effects of the green tea by four times”, stated Dr. “O” triumphantly. You have to read his quotes with a Russian accent to get the full effect because he is from the Ukraine, has a thick accent, and is very intense. Okay, so I went home and looked on the internet to see if I could substantiate his claim and what I found is that it potentiates the tea's antioxidative power by five times. I am trying to implement this addition but I don't like the taste as much. And it is a little more trouble.

Bringing this in for a landing, I just noticed yesterday that my little “cancer marker” friend is barely visible. In addition to the green tea I have also been eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and way less carbs and sugar, which by the way, cancer loves to feed on sugar and thrives in high insulin levels. Another thing I started just two months ago is Aminocare cream which I think has made a difference. But that is another post.

I want to shout hooray for the amazing body that has a propensity to heal itself if given the chance. And especially to the God who created it!

Doing Stuff

2011-08-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to start living instead of watching other people live on TV. So Husband bought tickets to four concerts this year. I can sense your curiosity so...

The first concert we went to was Buffalo Springfield at the Santa Barbara Bowl. I wasn't too excited about seeing him; I couldn't even name one song he had sung. I just figured that maybe he was Dusty Springfield's brother. Hearing that Neil Young was going to play that night sweetened the deal a bit, me being a long time fan of him. I kept asking questions like how many songs do you think Neil is going to do, like two? and Husband kept answering me, "no, more than two", but we just weren't connecting mentally somehow. This went on for weeks until I think the night of the concert. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Buffalo Springfield was a band, not a man, and that Neil Young was one of the founding members, and played the whole concert. He was amazing. You could just feel audience relish each song with immense enjoyment.

Next was Allison Kraus and her band at the Greek Theatre. It wasn't really my kind of music, but it was very enjoyable in the night air under the stars listening to great musicians.

Peter Frampton, at the Greek Theatre also, celebrating his 35th anniversary of something or other, I think his live album, was the third concert. Now Peter Frampton is a quite a good entertainer and showman. That was a positive. The background was a video of goofy kaleidoscope images and photo album-type pictures of Peter. That was a negative. His son came out and played an awesome song with him. Positive. Many of the other songs were dated and the concert lasted too long. Negative. After about two thirds through I was ready to go home and finish living there, but it was still fun.

Last night was the last of the four, again at the Greek Theatre. Totally awesome. It was like the perfect storm except in a wonderful way. My favorite kind of music (rock and roll), my favorite kind of people with us (my sister Leslie and her family from Albuquerque, two of my children, and one of their friends), one of Husband's and my all time favorite music artist, Dave Mason, who played my all time favorite song, All Along the Watchtower, and a few other very entertaining musicians who played mostly recognizable songs from the late 60's and early 70's, Rick Deringer,Young Rascals, and Mark Farner. It was called, I don't know how accurately, HippyFest. Everywhere you looked there was tie dye. I was going to wear a leather jacket with fringes going down the sleeves but I never found one which isn't surprising because I rarely go shopping. But I digress. Anyway, just when one would think it couldn't get any better it did. Sherry and her friend (they had the cuteness factor) came back from getting a drink with two backstage passes which they generously gave to me and Husband.

Tomorrow we are going to do some more living. We are going to the beach. Just part of pursuing health. Really living instead of watching other people live interesting lives on TV.

One last comment. Tonight I did something stupid and something healthy. First, the stupid thing is that I spent a long time writing this blog only to find that when I published it it wasn't there. Gone. GONE. The healthy thing I did was excruciatingly wrote it all over again instead of curling up in a profound state of depression. I can only imagine how deep down those neurons had to reach and dig trying to retrieve the previously constructed, painstakingly crafted work. They did a pretty good job, but the result is a little wooden compared to the first draft. Oh well.

Three Credos We Try to Live By

2011-07-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well these Three Credos are in addition to what is in the Bible of course. Not like they are on par with the Bible, but just little phrases of wisdom that we have found useful to guide us in living more simply and comfortably. I thought I could share them with you so that you can start living better lives as well. Or at least try to.

Credo 1: If it isn't lovely or useful get rid of it. There are potentially many things in a house that this would apply to, and this has helped Husband and me determine what to keep around and what to purge. I actually read that sentence in a book about twenty years ago, thought it brilliant, and started applying it then. My apologies to the author as I now have no idea who came up with it. When in doubt throw it out also is helpful with "stuff". We are on an anti-stuff kick, dejunking for the umpteenth time, and having our last garage sale on Saturday. I dread it, but am looking forward to simplicity and a garage I can park my car in again.

Junk and too much stuff is unhealthy. Just sayin' in case you are wondering why this has a place on my blog.

Credo 2: "Do you want to be living in Hemet in a trailer when we are older?" I am stepping on dangerous ground here. I didn't realize that when I started writing this that I would have to apologize. But here I need to again...to all the people who live in Hemet and/or a trailer. Do I have to say it is a little tongue-in-cheek? Anyway, I didn't come up with it; Husband did. So, let me explain when to use this saying. Husband uses it when I come home with two bags of groceries that cost $149.86 at Whole Foods. Or when I pay $8 at Zuma Beach to park in the beach parking lot instead of on (dangerous) Pacific Coast Hwy. Or when I have the air conditioner set below 80 degrees. (Well, now I can have it at 77 degrees because one time I told my sweet Mom about the 80 degree thing and she said, "That's criminal!", so I told Husband and it hurt his feelings, so now our house is cooler.)

The whole Hemet thing is probably an empty threat, but I keep it in the back of my mind anyway. It useful for deciding how to spend money...usually. In fact, I even shared it with a co-worker a week or two ago. Imagine my surprise and amusement when he told me last night that he had the "Hemet Talk" with his wife the night before! He figures if they start being more careful with their money, and she stops impulsively shopping, and they work hard they could be out of debt in one year, then be able to start saving for the future. He said she said she would go along with it...

And lack of money is stressful, and stress is unhealthy so...that is why...oh forget it, I digress.

Credo 3: "Do we want to look like we just walked out of Five Guys or Whole Foods?" Five Guys, for those of you who don't have one nearby is a fast food hamburger chain. So, here I go again. I want to apologize to them for insinuating that they are making everybody fat. Not so. People are making themselves fat. However, it was very striking a few weeks ago when Husband and I went there for dinner to see the average massive girth of those walking in and out, contrasted with where we went right afterward, Whole Foods across the street. The people walking in and out of there didn't have the "double cheeseburger, large fry, diet coke" waddle. In general, of course. It was remarkable; we both noticed it.

Unfortunately, this is another one of Husband's originals. Yep, he thought it up. Unfortunate because I wanted to go to Five Guys a few nights ago, but I got Credo 3 fired back at me. I had had a hard day at work and was really craving a truckload of fries dunked in mayonaise. I would have a protein style hamburger on the side as well though. And an unsweetened ice tea. Nope, he wouldn't budge.

Fortunate, however, on the other hand, because now we have a little mental image to help shape and curtail our eating habits. So, next year when you see us all energetic, glowing with vibrancy, fit and trim, you'll know where we have been spending more time.

Back Again

2011-07-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my half birthday so I decided to try blogging again. The plan is to post at least weekly until my birthday in January, then evaluate if I want to continue. A few months ago I had pretty much decided not to blog anymore but I have missed it so...here goes. (I can almost hear you saying, "I'll believe that when I see it". That's okay. I deserve that.

At this very moment I am trying a new recipe called "Meatza". The crust is now in the oven baking as I type. Meatza, in case you haven't heard of it is the primal version of pizza. (Primal is basically hunter/gatherer type eating)

The Meatza crust is kind of meatloafish with Italian type seasoning, spread out on a cookie sheet with rims. When it is cooked you skim off the fat, top it with sauce and toppings of choice, then put it under the broiler for a few minutes. Husbands will be pepperoni, onions, and mozzarella; mine will be black olive, organic baby spinach, pepperoni, onion, and daiya. Yep, I like things decadent.

By the way, if you are wondering what the heck daiya is it is a non-dairy, non-rice, non-soy "cheese". I had it once at my new favorite restaurant, Hugo's, and just found it for the first time today at Whole Foods. But don't tell my husband that I was there again; I already spent a fortune there two days ago. The daiya at Hugo's was melted on top on the Shepherd's Pie I ordered and was pretty tasty.

So, I am not really liking the look of my blog, so I will be changing it up soon. Like as soon as I figure out how.

~span of time just lapsed~ Here I am back again, having just eaten the Meatza. There are a few changes I would make, but overall it was a very simple, quick meal to prepare that was also quite satisfying. Clean up was very easy as well. I could have added a salad, but didn't and it wasn't really missed. Next time I will make the "crust" thinner by spreading it out further, season it a bit differently, and put MORE toppings on. And the daiya was delicious!

Here is husband's, then the next picture is mine, ready to eat! Delish!

2011-05-02T14:47:00.001-07:00

Pretty much there is nowhere to go but up right now. I have been feeling rotten again. I have noticed that my body is very intolerant to fudging things. If I stay on the right track eating only real food, staying away from any foods that I don't tolerate well, getting enough sleep, exercise, and down time, take my supplements, and avoid colds and flu's then I feel energetic, strong, and healthy. But if I become even a little slack I am finding that my body is not very forgiving and I pay for it.

Last week I went to my naturopathic doctor, Dr. Melissa, because I felt like I was starting to unravel. I had just had labs done and my primary care physician was quite pleased with them. All of the levels fell within the normal range. But I knew Dr. Melissa holds a different view on this so that is why I went to her. For instance MD's have been trained to think a normal range for Vitamin B12 levels is 200-910. Mine is currently 425, but Dr. Melissa says that is way too low and that I would feel better energy, hormonally, and digestively-wise at closer to 900.

Then there is ferritin, which reflects iron stores. You might start out the day feeling pretty energetic then run out of gas later in the day because your body doesn't have much to dip into. I know from experience this is true. At one point my ferritin level was up to 90 after being really low, I think 15. Normal range: 13-150. We happened to go to Mammoth during that time and I was surprised how well I tolerated the altitude. However, now I am back to 20. But at least it is something I can easily do something about. Take iron supplements.

Other numbers you should have checked: Vitamin D3. Shoot for at least 50, but 60-80 would be better. You can take huge doses for a couple of days (like 100,000IU's) if you feel a cold coming on.

Both iron and ferritin levels should be at least around 90. And a new one to me: Total Iron Binding Capacity. Mine was 413. Normal Range: 250-420. I thought surely this one is good. Until Dr. Melissa told me that the 413 number reflects all of the empty places that could be holding iron.

To Be Squished or Not To Be Squished...

2011-04-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

To say that I have been reluctant to get another mammogram is an understatement. The last one was in 2007. I had a phyisical a couple of weeks ago and my new primary care physician urged me to get one. I explained to him why I did not want to get one (the Hiroshima levels of radiation that I have already gotten from CT scans) and asked about an alternative that my naturopathic doctor had recommended, a thermogram. He replied that maybe I could get an ultrasound of the breast but added that he was not sure whether my new insurance would pay for it.

Well it turns out they would, and so I had one done last week. The radiologist who performed it said everything was fine. I didn't really breathe a sigh of relief or anything because I thought everything was fine anyway; I was merely being compliant. If I was superstitious I would knock on wood right now saying this, but breast cancer has never been a big worry to me and I guess the reason is is that I am a pretty low risk for it. Other cancers I worry about, but not this one.

Then I asked the radiologist what was more sensitive, the mammogram or ultrasound for detecting breast cancer. Her answer: the mammogram. I pressed further. How about the thermogram? No, she replied, "I would not recommend those at all. They don't detect tumors reliably". She went on to say that for me she wants me to get a mammogram next year and then alternate between mammograms and ultrasounds every year after that.

We will see.

Consistently Inconsistent

2011-03-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

Oh I had such high hopes for The Plan which I started on a Monday and then came down with a bad flu on Friday evening. NOT FAIR!!!

I had pretty much been a sitting duck all winter being a nurse in an urgent care setting being coughed all over. I don't ususally get colds and flu's so I was quite surprised when I succumbed. I spent a lot of time analyzing where the chink in my armor was. A couple of things I discovered were: alcohol, like Vodka and Gin (but not wine) lower your immune system, and adequate amounts of Vitamin D could be the ticket to keeping your terrain strong enough to fight off the flu virus. What is interesting is the week prior I had consumed more Gin and Tonics instead of my usual red wine, AND, for the last couple of months had significantly decreased my Vitamin D3 supplementation (I had been taking 5000 IU's at MD recommendation because I had been low) mostly because I am so darn inconsistent.

While sick with the flu I was thinking that I needed to rethink my position on the flu shot which has been not to get one. In fact, Friday, the very day I came down with the flu, I had signed and turned in to my supervisor my declination of it. On the next Monday, it turns out that seven of us called in sick, and when a few of us compared notes we all had the same exact symptoms. One guy got symptoms about 3 hours before I did and he and I share the same computer; he uses it in the day, then I use it when I work the evening shift. Most of the seven that called in sick work in the same little area of the clinic. And at least one of the people I talked to had even gotten the flu shot. I keep forgetting to ask the rest.

However, when I got back to work I asked one of the doctors who seems more in tune with, oh, should I say, natural type health rememdies, only because I know that he makes it a point to drink 4 cups of green tea daily, if he got the flu shot. He emphatically declared that he did, his wife did, his kids did, his neighbors did, everyone he tells to get it. He's this great guy from Russia, so picture him saying it with an accent. He saw my look of skepticism then stated that the flu shot has a little bit of risk, but the flu itself has huge risks. Dang! I was hoping that he would pull me aside and whisper how evil flu shots were and I could continue with my flu shot evasion with some secret ammo and assurance that I was doing the right thing.

Then I read a report that Dr. Mercola posted that said four years, I think they were 2003, 2004, 2005, and I forget the last one, but each of those years the flu that everyone was getting was not even the same flu's that that years flu shot targeted. (Each flu shot usually targets 3 flu viruses that they are guessing will be the troublesome ones for the following winter.) They compared that figure to the number of people who got the flu other years and it was pretty much the same; the conclusion being that the flu shot is not effective anyway. So why inject another foreign substance into your body?

Some people will want to get the flu shot. If you do here are my recommendations to try to avoid some problems: If it is a multi-dose vial have the clinician open a new one and have them shake the vial before drawing up, or if it is mostly full that would probably be okay but have them shake it. The problematic preservative sinks to the bottom so this makes sure you are not getting more preservative than you are supposed to. Another thing you can do is request the preservative-free one. They should be able to obtain it. If it is a single dose vial still make sure it is shaken.

Anyway, all that when I was only starting to say why I have been so inconsistent lately. But I am getting back on track. I was going to tell you about my taste adventure with pemmican, but alas, I need to start getting ready for work, the evening shift, the urgent care, the germ land mine, the virus zone. So the pemmican will have to wait until tomorrow...

More Energy

2011-02-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

What do you call something made with beef, cherries, honey, and celtic sea salt? Answer at the bottom of the post.

I am sipping almond milk cocoa at the moment feeling quite energetic. Hmmm, could The Plan be working? I have been 100% following it since, um, Monday, but have been implementling some elements of it in sputtering fits and starts since sometime in January. Insert sheepish look here. Well, it took awhile before The Plan came together.

It has been raining off and on today. Earlier when the sun came out around late morning I went out to look for a rainbow which is something I usually do when it rains. I pretended to be checking the mail so the neighbors wouldn't think I am crazy. They see me standing in the driveway enough appearing to do nothing, when I am actually looking at the sunset. Rainbows and sunsets, God's little gifts.

Anyway, the day was so beautiful I had a sudden urge to go on a walk. Kevin had stopped in briefly to grab something to eat so I asked him to go with me. I hadn't been in a long time by myself due to my fear of dogs. He said no, giving some lame excuse like he had appointments scheduled for work that he needed to get to. So, gathering my courage and walking stick (to kill the pit bull that wants to maul me) I went by myself. During the walk, I even threw in three brief sprints of about 50 feet each. Gosh, what will the neighbors think about that??? However, it started raining again so I went back in the house and did my Fab4 workout. But get this, I wanted to, that is the amazing thing. It gets old and dreadful cajoling myself to exercise.

So, the grass fed beef was wonderful. The sirloin steaks anyway. Tonight we will try the ground beef. Kevin said he will make meatloaf when he gets home from "work". Me, I will probably have it for breakfast because I am leaving for work soon and I am really trying not to eat at 10pm when I get home. It is sabotaging my weight loss efforts and I think digestively probably not the best idea either.

Pemmican. The answer to the above. I ordered it along with my grass fed beef order. It kind of looks like a long, really thick speckley slice of bacon, vacuumed packed, frozen. Indians used to make some version of it. It is supposed to kind of be like a nutritional bar. It is sitting in my freezer. I read you have to acquire a taste for it. I think it is made out of beef tallow. I am not quite sure when I will be in the mood to try that. Excuse me, grass fed beef tallow.

The Plan, Part 2, And Grass Fed Beef

2011-02-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

So I made a list of my most troublesome health symptoms and decided to rank them in order of importance to me and pick the top three to address and focus on now.

1. Allergies, especially to foods. Many, maybe most foods cause my nose to run. This is putting a strain on my body, like the adrenal and thyroid glands, having to deal with this. Plus it is extremely annoying and uncomfortable. Currently I am reading a book on how to get Allergy Free, which is incidentally the name of it, written by Konrad Kail, N.D.

2. Brain stuff like foggy thinking, poor memory, moods, etc.

3. Overall fatigue and lack of stamina.

This is what I plan to do:

Food- Eat Primally, Green Tea 2-3 Cups daily, stop eating food immediately if it causes symptoms, eat more vegetables and grass fed meat, try to identify food allergies then avoid those items.

Exercise-Start something--build. Sprint, weights, cardio (move more), stretch, play, rest, Fab Four. I will kind of follow Mark Sisson's plan for implementing those. Goal is to do something 6 days a week.

Other-Reduce stress, use nasal rinse daily, lose 15 lbs. by June 1, play guitar every day, use appropriate supplements, learn new things, exercise brain with crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, etc.

********************************************************************************
Have you ever heard of CLA? It is conjugated linoleic acid. So what??? Well, it has anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory properties, can reduce high blood pressure, high cholesterol/triglycerides, supports immune system, preserves muscle tissue and may increase metabolic rate, among some of its benefits.

Grass fed beef is a much richer source of this compared to grain fed beef.

I received my first shipment this morning. Ordered two days ago, sent all the way from Missouri, FedExed overnight. Arrived frozen. It's pricey, but I bought the hamburger which is on sale, which ended up being half the price of grass fed hamburger at Whole Foods. We also got a few top sirloin steaks. And 2 bars of pemmican. Now that is a different blog!

Grass fed beef is supposed to taste a little different. I cannot wait to try it out. I heard that the flavor may take some getting used to, but it is healthier, and the beef comes from cows who were treated nicely. Check out http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/ .

The Plan

2011-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean to keep ya hanging, but frankly, I was having trouble coming up with the plan I mentioned in my last post. I have pretty much decided to go back to eating Primal again (grainless), and a couple of weeks ago I had figured out the supplements I thought would be the most helpful as well as minimal as possible, but the exercise part has been the hardest because I have found it very difficult to get in a good habit with that.I have a gym membership, but I almost never go. I actually like exercise, after I am done doing it. I wanted to come up with some amazing exercise plan, however that just ain't comin' together. Sooooo....now the plan is to start small and vague. Vague is an easy target to hit. Then I am hoping something more distinct will develop and come into focus.

However, I invented one exercise routine that I kind of like to do. I call it the Fab Four. I go to YouTube music. Then I dance, run, march, move to 4 songs with good beats interspersing somewhere in there 4 exercises that targets the major muscle groups, well, more or less. They are: pushups, squats, jumping jacks, and situps. All these I do at least 25 of. Then usually I turn on a slower song and do stretches.

By the way, lately my favorite song to get me going is Runaround Sue by Dion. Great beat. It would be hard to sit still to that one.

How about some inspiration. Check this out!!!
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-unconquerable-dave/

Blogging takes time. And right now I don't have much. I need to go to work. So here is an unpolished blog. It took a fraction of the time and it shows, but oh well, I needed to get something out.

Journaling the Journey

2011-01-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging lately, mostly because my pursuing health kind of came to a stall. It is so hard to form good habits and so easy for them to erode if you don't stick to the road.

So here I sit here like a car with its wheels stuck in the mud, today my birthday, assessing things, deciding where I want to be by the time the next birthday rolls around. I had my husband take a "before" picture like they have in those Jenny Craig commercials yesterday, except I fixed my hair and smiled. But no one gets to see it unless there is a dramatic "after" picture. Because, you see, you would be shocked. I don't look that fat and lumpy with clothes on because I am a small person, but peel away the layers of cotton, usually flannel or Gap's Favorite T, and it is obvious that someone with tiny bones is covered with ample, excess bulgy stuff.

I haven't been feeling that great, nor that bad. However, I have a deep, very deep belief that I can feel tremendously, significantly better, so I want to chronolog the process this next year. Let's call it, "One Year in the Life of Vanessa", like that one classic by that Russian author, but I can't remember his name. My memory... But it can improve; I know it can.

I think that there are many facets to health In evaluating last year, I would say the biggest health change that occurred was spiritually. I grew in my love, faith, and appreciation for God, And for that I am so grateful. This is so much more important to me than physical health, although I didn't really plan it that way. The Lord just kind of stepped in. I made some progress in other areas and I am looking forward to building on those as well.

I plan to have a plan by Saturday.

McDonald Malarky

2010-11-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

Oops, I was spelling it wrong; just looked the word malarky up in the dictionary thinking it would be fun to know the exact meaning before using it my blog. Lo and behold, it is M-A-L-A-R-K-E-Y, and it means nonsense. Can you guess where I am going with this?

I had heard that McDonald's french fries and hamburger don't readily decompose; that they are so riddled with preservatives and chemicals that they can stay indefinitely on a shelf and not go bad. That just stretched the boundaries of believability in my mind and I had to see it for myself. So nine days ago I bought a cheeseburger (plain) Happy Meal. After letting it cool I played with the toy then set the burger and fries on a plate under a glass bowl.

(I have heard that McDonald's defends itself saying their food will decompose "given enough time". But what does that mean? And did they really say that? Not much of a defense.)

ANYWAY:

I wasn't really paying close attention to the above displayed items because I heard one lady has had them for 12 years and they still look the same. So I wasn't really expecting any mold or decomp activity yet. My scientific model is pretty sad, lacking in structure and precision, and well yes, a few other things to be really scientificky. But on about the 5th or 6th day I saw fuzzy little somethings growing on a few of the fries. The burger looked and smelled fine, but felt a little stale.

Day 8 I checked my Experiment again. The bun had bloomed. I had to go to work though so that was that for that day.

So now we are on Day 9 when I had more time to focus on this. The bun and fries proved themselves to be very capable sustainers of certain kinds of life. But what about the meat and the cheese. I couldn't easily pry the bun away from the patty and the cheese to clearly assess, however from a cursory inspection they appeared to both not yet be in a state of decompositon. This is when I used my handy heavily relied on words of wisdom, "Good Enough", had the Experiment photographed by a family photographer, and threw it away.

I feel sorry for McDonald's being so viciously attacked. It is obvious that they are being falsely maligned. Now the truth is out. It is perfectly healthy to eat. If you are a spore.

The Good Guys

2010-11-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

So I got home from Whole Foods the other day with a new container of Solaray Multidophilus which is basically acidophilus and some of its friends. I had mindfully protected the vulnerable little good bacteria (which is supposed to be refrigerated) with a bag of frozen brussel sprouts while I shopped. When I got home I was in a hurry; had to put the food away; had to eat a quick bite before going to work.

The next day about 24 hours later, I discovered that I had accidentally put the Multidophilus in the vitamin cupboard. Filled with dismay, because I had just spent $15 buying it, I called Solaray to ask if I needed to throw it out now. Fortunately our house probably maintained temperatures in between 68-72 degrees during that time.

Happily, the Solaray rep informed me that the manufacturer puts in more bacteria than is stated to "insure adequate amounts after transport and other handling, so my product should be fine". Whew! But it also answered other questions. Like can you take a probiotic capsule with a swig of hot coffee? Can you leave one on a napkin for a few minutes before ingesting? Obviously the answers would be that those are pretty safe risks deducted from the above info.

Here is a quick primer in probiotics. They are a friendly bacteria for the gut, balancing agents. Studies have shown that they are useful for/aid in:
*digestion
*immune function
*nutrient absorption
*improving diarrhea from rotavirus
*restoring balance of microflora in urogenital tracts
*preventing/managing eczema in children
*reducing negative effects antibiotics
*reducing lactose intolerance
*reducing incidences of yeast infections
*promoting anti-tumor and anti-cancer activity in the body
*preventing and treating urinary tract infections

Side effects are nil to minimal. I have read that they can cause mild gas or bloating, but I have never noticed anything adverse and I have used them for years. However, individuals with immunosuppression or who have been taking immunosuppressants medications should consult their doctor before taking.

Incidentally, about a year ago my doctor had my stool, um, I hope you are not eating right now, tested for a bunch of things like parasites, presence of undigested food, bile production, bacteria, etc. This test showed that I had very little acidophilus in my gut, probably due to antibiotic use, so I was urged to supplement with it every day.

Anyway, that is low down on probiotics. From what I have gathered, most people could benefit from them. Happy bacteria consumption!

Stay tuned for the next post: McDonald's Malarky.

Odds and Ends

2010-10-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

A True Baby Blog
I got to spend some precious time with Baby Thomas a few days ago. The little man is not looking like a newborn any more, and although still small is feeling a lot more solid and less flimsy. I have ambivalent feelings about it. On one hand I want him to stay tiny forever while on the other hand I can't wait for him to run up to my house with his little blue suitcase and sit on the floor playing Brio. He's quite the happy little guy, readily smiling and "talking". It is apparent that his parents give him lots of love and attention.

Those Luscious Bad Grains
I started sneaking in bits of rice products about 10 days ago mostly in the form of gluten-free bread. I experienced mild allergic reactions such as runny nose, increased nighttime congestion,and increased balancing problems. Then I slipped in a little corn in the form of corn starch on GF chicken nuggets and then went hog wild with GF corn flakes two days ago so that I could indulge on Kevin's out-of-this-world Chicken Littles. My skin is itchy and burning all over, I feel like I have a cold, gastric reflux symptoms returned, I need more sleep, and I wake up feeling groggy and drugged. Totally drag city.

So I am back to eliminating rice and corn.

The Job

I love my new job. I was going to post more about it but I just looked at the time and I really need to be getting ready soon. I will almost always work Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4:30 til about 9:30 or 10pm. Then I will also work some daytime shifts of 4-8 hours depending on the need. Sometimes I will be scheduled from 1pm to 9pm, for a total of 20-30 hours a week.

Okay, I know this was a blah post. I will blame it on the rice and corn. It made my mind dull. What can I say.

Baby Blog: Grungy Sponges

2010-10-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Quick tip in dealing with those gross bacteria ridden kitchen sponges. You might have already heard of this, but I personally tested it and marvel at the efficacy of it.

If you recall, I started using one of those sponge-at-the-end-of-a-dish-detergent-filled-wand doolibobs almost a year ago to avoid coming in contact with the soap while doing dishes. Running it in the dishwasher didn't seem to clean it effectively (it was still smelly), throwing it in the washer with laundry didn't seem like a good idea because of the hard plastic on it, and replacing it every day is in no way practical. To further exacerbate the problem I have family members who take no measures to maintain the doolibobs clean state.

The remedy is quite quick and easy. Slip it off the wand, put it in the microwave for something like 60 seconds. Voila! No more smell, no more bacteria problems.

The only caviat is not leaving in it the microwave too long because it will catch on fire. So experiment a little.

I try to do this daily now. I know, one more thing, but it really only does take about a minute.

Radiation Diatribe Part 2

2010-10-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, not to be a total downer or anything, but I thought I would add some scientific data to my last post after doing a little research.

First of all, millisievert (mSv) is the name of the scientific unit of measurement for a radiation dose. Incidentally, on average, depending on where a person lives and the altitude and other factors, a person in the U.S. is exposed to approximately 3 mSv from naturally occurring radiation and cosmic radiation annually.

A coast to coast round trip flight on a commercial airplane would expose you to 0.03 mSv.
Dental x-ray (bitewing) 0.04 mSv
Dental x-ray (full-mouth) 0.150 mSv
Chest x-ray 0.1 mSv
Mammogram 0.7 mSv
CT of Abdomen/Pelvis 10 mSv
Vanessa's estimated CT total dose 120 mSv
Hiroshima survivors average dose 200 mSv (exposure varied based on far away from the hypocenter)

The biggest risks from radiation are for developing leukemia or solid tumor cancers of the breast, thyroid, and lung. Exposure to 100 mSv puts one at a 1 per 1,000 risk whereas exposure to 30 mSv puts one at a 1 per 10,000 risk.

I hope this info helps to put everything radiation-wise in context and helps you to make good decisions about your radiation exposure. Like I said before, I am not going to worry about my exposure. I don't lose sleep over it, but it does factor into other decisions I make, like whether to smoke a cigar or not, to increase antioxidant consumption, avoid nitrates/nitrites, etc.

Knowledge is power; power on, people!

Radiation Diatribe

2010-09-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is one subject that I have been saving to write about. I wanted to hugely research it, but, since I don't think that time will come soon, I will touch on it today.

If you ever want to make me instantly fume just mention "CT Scan". A few years ago I was having some medical issues that some MD's thought it would be good idea to give me a CT Scan of the abdomen, then another, and another, and another...I think I have had six total, all with and without the iodine contrast.

At the time, after about the second or third one I asked, "Is this okay to be getting another one?". After all I was one of those who didn't even like to get dental xrays. I was told something like, "Oh, we get some car accident patients in here that have to get many, and they are fine". Stupid me, I was so easily acquiesced. The logic behind that makes me question my logic.

Anyway, so it was "necessary" for me to get a few more, according to the doctor.

Now hold onto your chair. Sometime later I read somewhere (a newsletter by Julian Whitaker, MD)that one CT Scan is the equivalent of 400 xrays. To say that I was stunned is an understatement.

I happened to ask my primary care physician (he was not the one who ordered all of these) if that was true; squirming, he said yes. Next question: soooo, if I had CT Scans with and without contrast, does that mean 400 and 400? Yes, was the answer, much to my dismay.

Further research indicated to me that I have received as much radiation as some of the lower exposed Hiroshima victims.

My comfort in this knowledge is the deep down conviction that God is sovereign and that He is not up in heaven wringing His hands over this, fretting. But I do want to warn others. There are many times when an MRI can be ordered instead that will provide the needed information. They are much safer. Ask for one of those. Also, really question if a CT Scan is really necessary.

Now that my normally low blood pressure has risen to about a gazillion, I will take a deep breath and return to focusing on what I have been focousing on: trusting God, doing what I can to be healthy, and leaving it in His hands.

And avoid any more radiation exposure. Am I glowing?

Hi

2010-09-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say something, because I said I would post more often, but my brain is totally fried. I have a couple of good items to write about, however, it would take mental energy to compose it and mine is all used up. I started a new job last week, and have been in training for the past nine days, at least eight hours a day; mostly stuff that one has to be concentrating on the whole time.

So, just an exercise update: We rode our bikes to get groceries the other day. Um, what else...oh, I used a rubber orange to do hand exercises with every night for the last few days. And I used stairs at the hospital every day instead of the elevator.

No, actually, I am not making great progress in the exercise department. I plan to work on that. Soon.

Grainless At Least

2010-09-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

I got home at around six tonight, very tired from the last four long days of training at my new job. Naturally it was more appealing to go out for dinner, but my "primal" thinking kicked in. After a brief rest on the patio with a glass of wine, husband and I set off to Whole Foods to forage for our dinner with cash and reusable bags in hand, not spears. One the way home he made me carry the "carcass" part of the way. We only ended up buying one bag of groceries; but it was one heavy bag. We ended up eating quite late but it was satisfying.

Not much formal exercise has been going on the last few days, but I have made it a point to use the stairs, not the elevator, at the hospital, and other bits of activity that will end up adding muscle and reducing fat. Of course, eating no grains has been the easy part for me on this Primal Blueprint diet.

I want to emphasize, mostly because it is still surprising to me, that I feel fine eating pretty low carb. It does not even seem weird to me anymore. For breakfast I had my leftover dinner: Grilled salmon and sauteed broccoli and spinach. I felt great and energetic all morning.

Super Freak

2010-09-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

I start training for my new job tomorrow with Kaiser Permanente at the Pasadena Convention Center. They are providing a continental breakfast, and lunch, which is a bonus to most people, but I will be bringing my own food due to the sketchiness of what I may be served. I thought about fasting but I need my brain to work; anyway I would still have to explain that. Same goes if I play stupid, "Oh, I thought we needed to bring our lunch...". Sheesh.

Kevin and I went on a short hike today, only about 40 minutes. But I am proud to say that for the first time in the thirty years that I have been hiking at Wildwood Park, at Kevin's prodding, I walked across a 12 inch in diameter 30ish foot metal pipeline spanning across a deep gully. Had I fallen off I would have plunged at least five or six feet. I almost started panicking about halfway across, but I gritted my primal teeth, avoided looking down, and ignoring the wooziness, made it across without mishap.

Going Green

2010-09-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am trying it, started yesterday, but not in way that you would typically think. I recently heard about the many health benefits of chlorella, which is a single-celled green algae. So, I decided to try it.

Here is the scoop. These well researched little green tablets are a food, so it is said to be safe even in high doses. Chlorella is a powerful detoxifier of heavy metals and pesticides such as PCB's, and strengthens the immune system. It helps carry oxygen to the brain, boosts the growth of beneficial flora in the intestinal tract, accelerates wound healing, supports digestion, increases energy and overall health, is helpful in fighting cancer, and can eliminate chronic bad breath.

Chlorella is also alkaline; therefore it helps improve the body's pH. Junk foods, soda, processed and overcooked foods are very acidic. Since most diseases prefer an acidic environment, alkalinity is a very good thing.

Furthermore, chlorella tends to normalize blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

When first taking chlorella you might experience a "healing crisis" which could involve gas, cramping, constipation or diarrhea, but you can try to avoid these symptoms by starting slowly. Three grams is a good dose, but with 5-7 grams you should notice significant changes in digestion and energy. Both of these are important to me; I am the person who is tempted almost daily to remove all of my digestive tract. Of course I don't because I would die immediately, but when something gives you grief drastic measures naturally come to mind.

In case this is compelling you to buy some keep a few things in mind. One is that it is important to look for a brand that has "broken cell walls" or else it will be ineffective for detoxing. I am not sure if it would be ineffective for everything else as well, but the detoxing is important to me so I will just go with that.

Further info: You can take it any time of day but is best with food. Oh, but, just don't take right before or after drinking coffee. Children can take 1/4 to 1/2 of the adult dose. And plan on taking it for 3-6 months for it to do its magic on removing heavy metals. I bought mine at Whole Foods, but afterward I found it less expensive ordering through Dr. Mercola. It is roughly $10 for a month supply.

So, I tried 600mg. yesterday, and all I noticed is that my gut felt a little funny, but what else is new. Today, daring me, took 600mg in the a.m. and 600mg just now. I think tomorrow I will take 2 grams (2000mg) which on my box is a daily dose. However, remember I said earlier 3-7 grams is more the target to shoot for.

So, Thursday I dragged myself to the gym. I did a 6 minute treadmill warm-up, (I am warning you, this is going to be boring, but you are keeping me accountable, right?) then I did some upper body stuff with weights, and finished up with 15 excruciatingly long minutes of cardio (eliptical). I was aghast at how weak and tired I felt. It was a huge wakeup call. I have got to turn this ship around. I was so motivated that the next day I did nothing. But today, I did like 6 hours of housework only sitting down to eat lunch. All that laundry folding and vacuuming is hard work. I am sure it is equivalent to, maybe, one hour of real exercise. But that is not all. Kevin and I played frisbee in the backyard for about 15 minutes, and I am not very good at it so it required a lot of running around chasing the missed frisbee.

Okay, you know that I am a wimp, but before you think that I am delusional consider this. Its something to build on, most definitely. And after the chlorella kicks in who knows what will happen!

True To My Word

2010-09-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here I am again. It has only been one day since the last post. Shocking isn't it!

Well, today is first day of the Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge. Mark Sisson is gaving away prizes every day, but that is not why I am doing it. I am doing it because I believe that following his plan will help me achieve health goals that I desire, and have fun and support doing it.

There are 10 components to the challenge. Some of them concern food. After my last blog I realized that eating-wise I don't need to make an awful lot of changes; just tighten things up a bit. Where I am really lacking is in the exercise department. I am consistently inconsistent. Therefore no dramatic results. (Or hardly any results.)

I don't really like to exercise. Well, that is not exactly true. For instance, I cannot recall ever regretting doing a hike or a workout at the gym once I am done. The real problem is getting me to DO IT. I have trouble fitting it into my busy or non-busy schedule. Both. Either one. It also doesn't appeal to me when I am having a good hair day, or maybe just a clean hair day or semi-clean hair day. I don't really like getting sweaty. And, it is hard for me to exert a lot of effort when I don't see instant results.

I am stuck in the state of inertia. Hopefully this 30 Day Challenge will start an avalanche and you won't even recognize me.

Broken Record

2010-09-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

August was pathetic blog-wise. One time. C'est tout. Solamente. Whether I have any readers left or not, I pledge to blog several times per week in the future.

Now that is not the broken record part. This is: Tomorrow I am starting Primal Blueprint's 30 Day Challenge. Did I hear you sigh in disgust? Or did you roll your eyes? I understand. For one thing you think I have been doing it all along, so what is there to start, right? Well, pretty much I have, only I have been letting little bits of rice and corn slip in my meals since, oh, for about five weeks on and off. With bad results.

I have found out that those two foods have to be off my list for now. Why, I hear you asking. Well, even with very small amounts I develop a fine, pink,lacy, very itchy, burny rash, plus sinus congestion, rapid heartbeat, acid reflux and runny nose. I really miss eating foods with these ingredients, but the last few weeks have been eye-0pening to how sensitive I am to these.

Of course, it followed the similar pattern that I have been observing with other problematic foods. 1)You stop eating the offending food, 2)your body lets down its defenses because you have stopped assaulting it on a daily basis, 3)you reintroduce the suspected food, 4)your body whigs out with an over-the-top reaction like you have never experienced with that food before.

Naturally one would ask, then why cut out any foods if your reaction only becomes worse. A good question which I have repeatedly asked myself. Do I look stupid? This is the answer: Because by continuing to eat it you are continually causing damage and taxing your body unnecessarily, not ever feeling optimal, and possibly putting yourself at grave risk for further problems.

Tonight, scrounging around for dinner after the long foodfest Labor Day weekend, I ate a gluten-free hot dog dipped in mustard with leftover grilled eggplant. I ate the eggplant first. Fine and delicious. I ate the hot dog. Runny nose. Looking at the mustard container in front of me I see no suspicious ingredients. So I get the package of hot dogs out of the fridge. Lo and behold! CORN syrup.

I am going grainless tomorrow again. I am going towards health and fun. Join me. Look it up on: www.marksdailyapple.com

The Grain Thing

2010-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am not very happy about it. I had been off of all grains for over 30 days, but had a little at the end of my trip to Seattle in mid-July. Corn. Didn't do well with the reintroduction. It confirmed a suspicion that I was allergic to it. I was forced to leave my comfy place of denial. Felt a huge histamine reaction and in general felt cruddy for a few days. So I went back off grains. My thinking had been to take a tiny vacation from the no-grains anyway while actually on vacation. I even really wonder if that was the whole cause of the left leg thing that I blogged about last month.

Not to be a quick learner I ate a couple of sandwiches using rice this past week, and I am still feeling the negative effects. I think it is the rices fault, but it may be the yeast. I don't know. Those tuna sandwiches sure tasted decadent and delicious although the trade off was not worth it. I had been feeling a lot better allergy, energy, and abdominal pain-wise the last couple of months being off grains.

And I mostly wasn't minding it. There are other things to eat after all. To prove my point, in Seattle at one little cafe, while some of the family members were having typical pancakes, bacon, fruit, and eggs for breakfast, Paula and I were enjoying braised octupus, with our eggs and fruit of course. Little treats like that keep me going.

Other times my patience with my diet restrictions are sorely tasked. Like one night after going to the movies with two other couples, we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant afterward. I asked the waitress what would be safe gluten-free, dairy-free menu item choices out of the 734 menu items offered. After checking with the chef she came back with ~2~ options. One was chicken with some boring something or other, and the other was the hummus appetizer, but I could only have one of the three hummus', and cucumbers and tomatoes to dip, no pita triangles of course. I asked if they could substitute the pita with some broccoli to dip in. I was accommodated, thankfully.

I would rather eat at home. Last night the family had pasta with Italian sausages and marinara sauce. So I made regular pasta for gluten eaters, then rice pasta for a non-gluten family member, and grain-free kelp noodles for me. In case you don't know, kelp noodles are kelp, but they look like squiggly, um, I guess, angel hair. ($2.99 in the tofu and fake cheese section at Whole Foods) Now you might balk at kelp, but it is rather quite satisfying to be able to put sauce on something, and know you will not feel sick shortly afterwards. Restaurants need to be giving us some creative options. I know, I am in dreamland.

So, anyway, I will be grain-free for awhile longer. I am hoping by steering completely clear of it for three to six to twelve months that I will be able to again introduce it back into my diet, that my body will not recognize it as an enemy.

So what can I eat? Everything...except gluten, dairy, corn, rice, soy, strawberries, some fishes like halibut, cod and tilapia, and other grains. And who know what else. The list keeps growing.

Happily, there is heaven to look forward to and a new body.

Afraid to Shave Ever Again

2010-07-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

If you had been at my house the last couple of days you would have seen me elevating my left leg with a slice of aloe vera from my yard plastered above my ankle, intermittent warm compresses, smelling like tea tree oil.

The night I got back from Seattle I noticed a painful little spot no bigger than a dime. I figured it was a bug bite or a small allergic rash. The next day it was twice as big. And the next day it had doubled in size again and was very painful. I also had been feeling like I had the flu. I self-diagnosed myself with cellulitis, which can be a very serious infection. I started treating it various supplements and tea tree oil. That evening I went as usual to the free clinic that I volunteer at. I showed "the lesion" to one of the doctors there, and he agreed: Cellulitis. And you NEED antibiotics, a strong one. You probably got it from a tiny nick while shaving. Yeah, maybe. While travelling I had shaved with one of those cheapo disposable razors and ripped my legs to shreds. But why did I get the infection?

Now, I am rather upset that my body isn't cooperating with me so well. I feel like Nancy Kerrigan screaming, "Wwhhyyyyyy...". I would like an easy, downhill journey to health, thank you. And I do not like taking antibiotics. No, I HATE taking antibiotics. This one makes me feel very tired and nauseated and no appetite.

I happened to talk to my medical consultant (my sister Paula!) today, and she suggested oil of oregano both orally and topically. I will add that to my arsenal because I want to avoid another week of antibiotics which I will have to do if this thing is not completely gone in two more days.

I also pulled out my juicer this morning and started that up again with some cucumber, apple, celery, spinach, and carrot concoction. Pretty tasty, pretty nutrient dense. That is a whole nuther :>) blog topic though.

As a footnote, let this be a warning to you. Intact skin is an important barrier to infection. Guard this. Be really careful if there is a break, a crack, a cut, a scrape. Even dry skin can leave microscopic entrances for the bad guys to get into. Think twice, no, ten times, about getting manicures/pedicures at salons. Make sure that they are clean, clean, clean. And don't shave 24 hours before going there. You could be exposed to all kinds of things: warts, hepatitis, MRSA, staph, strep, just to name a few.

By the way, on Friday, my blog design disappeared, and I need to redo. Stay tuned for a fabulous new look soon.

First 30 Days Report/60 More Days

2010-07-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, okay, so I am a week late for my 30 Day Experiment report. Whatev. Yeah, I am in one of those moods. Alright, the low down is I lost three pounds, one and a half inches (1/2 inch on each of the 3 places I measured: waist, hips, right upper thigh), felt more energetic, less allergy-ee, had more fun, and pants felt loser. The results were definitely not as dramatic as I had planned and hoped. I was thinking 10 pounds at least, but at least I am moving in the right direction.

I am glad that I did it, and it was not that hard. One site I find very inspirational health and fitness-wise is www.marksdailyapple.com . LOTS of interesting stuff. A person could get sucked in for hours. Furthermore, that is where I got the Primal Blueprint (no grains) from. Again, because I think I have said it before, the author, Mark Sisson, is very evolutionistic, and I am not. So, I sift through all of the info, take the good, and ignore the cavemen stuff. Well, most of it anyways. Some of it is just plain fun.

The next leg of my grainless journey started yesterday. Sixty days this time because, remember, my naturopathic doctor advised me to continue for at least that length of time. However, Mark Sisson would argue in favor of doing it for the rest of ones life. I am not sold on that at all. And the logic he uses to come to that conclusion is based on, guess what, evolution!

One gi-normous benefit has been eating and enjoying more vegetables. My new favorite is grilled eggplant. If you want to fall in love with this strange plant try this recipe:

Grilled Eggplant

Cut the eggplant, any color or size (but I prefer working with the large ones) into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Stack in a collander or spread on a paper towel, salting all pieces (one side is good enough). Rinse after 15 to 20 minutes. Blot dry. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side. Tada! Deliciousness so easily created.

What Are We Exposing Ourselves To?

2010-07-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a great site that I am eager (eager is such a silly word) to share with you. It has many of the every day products we use and rates the level of "danger" or lack of, of using. What I am voluntarily exposing myself to is something I am increasingly concerned about. Just look in the obituaries. There are many, many youngish people dying from cancer. Think about something else. People needing to be on dialysis is increasing. Liver problems are increasing. Autoimmune diseases are increasing, as well as Alzheimers disease and many others. We need to be more aware of what we expose ourselves to.

God gave our bodies two wonderful filters: the kidneys and the liver. Without those we would die. The healthier they are, the healthier we are. The better they are functioning, the better we feel. They are constantly working to remove harmful substances, both naturally occuring ones, or nasty stuff that is introduced into our bodies one way or another. We need to take good care of these organs. You will love yourself for it.

Enough ranting and raving. But here is the site: www.cosmeticdatabase.com.
Grab some of your products and look them up. Every day I have been looking up a few more and throwing stuff away. Other stuff I am keeping around to use up and then never buy again.

Seriously, what are those chemists who create these products thinking?

30 Day Experiment Now 90 Day Experiment

2010-07-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I am as surprised as you are. I only had a few days left. But today I went to my naturopathic doctor who I hadn't seen for almost one and a half years. I wanted to address the hot flashes and annoying congestion as well as a couple of other issues. Which she did. She gave me great treatment plan and I feel very hopeful.

But when she asked how I was eating and I explainded the Primal Blueprint way, she was familiar with it, and wants me to continue for two more months. She expects that I will see greater results in that time. Weird. And here I had been thinking lately about what to do after the 30 Days. I was even contemplating another 30 Day Experiment: Vegan. Whew! I am so glad I am not going in that direction. I think it would have been a lot harder. And I actually am not minding eating the way I am now. Dr. Melissa does want me to tweak it a bit though. Like protein and vegetables only for breakfast, and no fruit until mid-afternoon. No biggie. I can do that.

As for the hot flashes, I have been getting a little relief from Black Cohosh taken with American Ginseng, the latter being an aduvant to the former. However, the new RX from Dr. Melissa: Triple the doses until relief, which should come fairly quickly. That is really good news. Maybe I will be able to sleep at night for more than two hours at a time soon.

Well, on Thursday, the 30th day of this initial experiment, I will give a summary of the Primal Blueprint's effects on my health and well-being. Stay tuned.

Benefits of Lemon Water

2010-07-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is Paula here: I've been reluctant to post anything since I've seen no weight loss results from eliminating grains. I don't think it is that drastic of a change from my normal diet. So, rather than dwell on the slightly disappointing, I've decided to pass on an easy, healthy living tip that has been promoted since the 1930's by Jethro Kloss. I haven't read his book yet, but you can't help to find excerpts of it on the internet when you google this subject.

The basic premise is to juice half of a fresh lemon into luke warm water and drink it first thing in the morning. This is reported to alkalize your body, aid in digestion and elimination, cleanse your liver and kidneys, and enhance your immune system. Some recommend that you drink this at night also, to support your body's natural cleansing work while you rest.

So, go buy a big bag of lemons and give it a try. I'm interested in knowing what you think.

Hot Flash 101

2010-07-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

You know those women in church that fan themselves when you are sitting there perfectly comfortable? I always thought, "What is their problem?", which was a big mistake, because it seems that whenever I do that, then that thing that I am so critical about happens to me. That's right. Hot flashes have become a part of my life; pretty much ruling it right now. But I am not just going to sit around suffering. No, I am going to be the victor.

So, to help you understand my suffering, because I need all the sympathy I can get, I am offering a blog course. I have been researching it; now I can just distill the info for you.

First, What Are Hot Flashes Like? Well, they can vary in duration, lasting 2-5 minutes, sometimes longer, and in intensity, feeling like anywhere from a warm flush to a human combustible unit that might explode. They start gradually, many times preceded with kind of a weird panicky feeling around the chest spreading up and outward. They reach a peak heat then it gradually fades. Sometimes afterward it leaves you feeling chilled. Hot flashes have friends that accompany them sometimes: Nausea, Headache, Dizzy, Panic, and Doom. The heart rate can go up considerably as well. It takes immense self-control when one hits to sit or stand there conversing with people pretending YOU ARE FINE and hoping they don't notice your face beading up and/or reddening.

What Causes Them? This is not well understood, but it is pretty well agreed upon that the body is confused due to a hormone imbalance. The hypothalamus is often blamed, which is our bodies temperature regulator. Many things can trigger a hot flash like falling asleep, waking up, (seriously, they are more abundant at those times!), drinking hot liquids, spicy foods, stress, and just thinking about one.

Who Gets Them? They are commomon among women experiencing hormone changes due to perimenopause or menopause or hysterectomies. Not everyone is plagued by them, they can last for years, and are more common in overweight women and smokers. There are much lower incidences in those same countries that have lower incidences of everything, read those who haven't adopted our junky way of eating and lifestyles.

What Can One Do About Them? There are some meds that Big Pharma offers. One is a psych med, the other a neuro med. Both have many side effects. Then there are hormone replacements, exercise, eating more vegetables, and various supplements like black cohosh, dong quai,and vitamin E, and even a homeopathic one called lachesis mutus.

Of course I am going the more natural route. All I have been successful in doing so far is to decrease the frequency and intensity somewhat, but nothing near to what I would call adequate relief. They are still too disruptive to my life. You might be interested to know that Kevin, laying in bed six inches away, can feel heat emanating from my body during a HF. This is not a mental thing; it is an actual physical phenomena.

Hot flashes are horrible. But to put things in perspective, the other day after a series of severe ones and a bad night, being woken up many times, I told the Lord, not in a disrespectful way, but more of a pleading way, "I am really suffering. Do you care?". And right away I felt His answer to me was, "I know about suffering. I suffered for you. Do you care?"

Laugh and Play More

2010-06-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Before you read the rest of this try to estimate a good guess on how many times you think you laugh each day. Then we will get back to that subject.

First, a 30 Day Experiment update: I have only lost about 3.5 lbs in the last 12 days, but clothes are fitting better, I feel good, I do not feel deprived, and I am having fun (although I hesitate to say that last one because I cringed every time one of the contestants on American Idol said that to the judges). The Primal Blueprint guy, Mark Sisson, says that everyone should incorporate play into their day whether it is working crossword puzzles or playing frisbee.

So, the other day I was trying to figure out something I could do that is play (besides Sudoku, crossword puzzles, etc. which I love and already do often); something more active. I found out that we had a soccer ball, and Patrick happened to be home, so I asked him what I could do with it, and he patiently showed me a few moves. Then he and I kicked the ball around the backyard for awhile and PLAYED. I love playing. You don't have to twist my arm. I just needed encouraging to do it more.

I was reading a Dr. Weil internet post today about an MD, Dr. Madan Kataria from India, who is developing something called "Laughter Yoga". Dr. Weil stated that studies have shown that children on average laugh four hundred times a day, while adults do only fifteen times a day. So, what was your estimate? I think I definitely laugh more than the average adult, but varies considerably with who I am around. In fact, the concept of laughter being efficacious is not a new one. Remember the movie "Patch Adams" with Robin Williams as a doctor who dressed like a clown sometimes when visiting his pediatric patients in the hospital? And a few years ago when I was really sick I purposely surrounded myself with funny TV shows, movies, books, and pleasant things. I think it makes a big difference.

Here is the only joke I can remember. I know. My family is wincing, they have heard it so many times and don't think it is very funny. You be the judge.

What do you call an Irishman that stays out all night?

Patty O'Furniture. (Make sure you say it with the proper lilt!) (Patio Furniture, get it?)

Here's to laughing and playing!!!

You May Not Want To Have Me Over For Dinner

2010-06-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

If you thought I was difficult to have over for dinner before, now I am a nightmare, or rather, super freakish. Some friends invited us over for dinner on Saturday, and because she always tries very hard to make a GF dessert for me even though I tell her it is not important to me, (which then later needed to become dairy free too) I told her about my 30 Day Experiment and not to make any dessert for me because I am not eating any these days. But she accommodated me anyway. For dessert it was berries. What a friend! And dinner was steak, roasted vegetables, black bean salad, and I brought a big mixed green salad. It was all very delicious and satisfying.

Father's Day was great too. My wonderful son and his wonderful wife accommodated me as well with grilled chicken sausages, and grilled asparagus and zucchini. Then I added in grilled baby portabella mushrooms and another big mixed green salad with lots of good stuff in it.

Anyway, I don't feel deprived and am not suffering. In fact, today, Day 6, I am feeling very energetic. I put on working music to do housework. So Jumpin'Jack Flash helped empty a few fat cells, and I had fun as well.

I am a little amazed at how good I feel because the Primal diet is somewhat like Atkin's, which was pretty effective for me losing weight, but I felt all foggy-minded and sluggish on it. However, my stomach and intestines felt good for the first time in a long time doing Atkins, which is how I first discovered that I didn't feel so well eating wheat. I think the big difference between Atkin's and eating "Primally" is Atkins was more limiting with fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

I actually don't mind eating this way. I feel vibrant, I am also less congested these last few days, and my nose doesn't run anymore when I eat. Well, mostly not. AND~~~I have already lost 3 pounds, although I realize some of it is probably water. I don't care!!! My jeans feel looser.

28 More Days

2010-06-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a newbie to blogging, but not to following my big sis on her latest health fad. This one fits in well with my lifestyle since due to allergies and intolerances I have already eliminated gluten, dairy, yeast and MSG.

Oh, but I have a confession ...Day 2, I ate a few crackers. Not because I was craving them, I just simply forgot and habit took over. Otherwise, I find eating primally/grainless to be fairly easy. Especially when I take the time to prepare interesting and flavorful food. Last night's dinner was grilled Rosemary & Garlic Lambchops, Sauteed Shrimp with Garlic & Red Pepper flakes, Grilled Kohlrabi with Turmeric and Salad. The downside to having really tasty food to eat is that I tend to overeat; I need to work on that.

Day 3 is going well, having started it off with a salad and turkey. I don't think I have any crackers left, so I should be safe the rest of the day. Hunger's setting in and there aren't many grainless options here, so I'm off to the store now.

Guest Blogger Added

2010-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, I managed to drag one of my sisters (Paula) into doing this crazy experiment with me. On the day I started. At about noon. Impetuous is my middle name. Luckily she had been eating "appropriately" that day, so she just stepped right in. I thought it would be interesting to get a perspective from more than just me, so she will be joining this blog for the 30 Days.

This truly is an experiment. Some people advocate always eating like this (The Primal Blueprint way). But there is a huge divide on how to eat most healthily. And it goes from one extreme to another. One book I bought called The China Study espouses eating absolutely no animal products, and gives compelling data from studies as to why. It is supposed to be great for weight loss, preventing cancer, preventing and reversing diabetes and cardiac disease just to name a few. Hmmm. Okay. Then we have the other side. Eating ample protein from animal sources, and fat, and vegetables, is your ticket to health and weight loss, as well as a good rx for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. About the only things they both agree on is eat lots of vegetables and do not overeat.

Which leads me to wonder whether that is the key: Lots of VEGETABLES AND NO OVEREATING. And I have a sneaking suspicion that some grains and some animal products are okay. But for now, the 30 Day Experiment. After reading The China Study a couple of months ago, it seemed compelling enough, so I tried it, for about half a day then headed for some meat. I just feel better when I eat meat. I think.

Today I started off with a 2 egg omelet with ham, onions, and broccoli; followed by a cup of green tea of course. I am feeling mentally sharp and fairly energetic, and actually a little thinner esp. around that exasperating belly bulge.

Day 2 Grain Free

2010-06-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been so bad yet. I think it might be easier for me than for some people because I have gotten used to denying myself other foods. It also helps that I am expecting mighty results and that this expectation gives this grain-free diet a gamelike quality. And I love games.

Some people complain that when they first start eating this way they feel ill. I think they call it the "no-carb flu". The only thing unusual I noticed was being wakened by a headache in the wee hours of the morning. It felt similar to the headache I get when trying to go off caffeine. I think it maybe be my rice addiction. I do eat a lot of it in various forms being gluten-free: rice bread, rice crackers, cakes, ice cream, etc. A rice junky. How trashy I feel now.

30 Day Experiment

2010-06-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

In the last few months my weight has been creeping up, probably due to a combination of factors like activity level change, small dietary changes, and hormones. I have taken steps to turn this tide around with little to no avail. Also, I am constantly plagued with allergy symptoms and have suspected for quite awhile that I am allergic to rice and corn in addition to all things gluten and, probably most things dairy. Hence, my 30 Day Experiment.

Starting today, for the next 30 days I am fasting from all grains, sugar, and trans/hydrogenated fats.

What else is there to eat, you might be asking. Well, lots actually. Meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, good fats, maybe an occasional bit of dark chocolate. Sounds pretty healthy to me.

I have been looking at Mark's Daily Apple on the internet for awhile. He talks about his Primal Blueprint, how we should be eating and moving more as hunter/gatherers and such. Now, some of his thinking I don't subscribe to, as it is a bunch of evolution gobble-dee-goop. However, I don't think this way of eating will ruin my health; in fact, lots of people report to have great success losing weight while having huge boosts in energy levels, and it does eliminate junk food as well as some of my suspected allergens. I say that it is worth a try.

I had my body fat measured recently at the gym, weighed myself this morning, and took a few measurements so I can monitor progress. I might share those numbers once I have success.

Day 1 is about half over and I haven't died or even gotten sick yet. I feel fine. Chubby still, but fine.

I plan to be posting more often to chronolog this leg of the journey. Who knows where it will take me!

Progress Update: 27 Weeks

2010-05-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one who gets a kick out of those "verification words" that you have to copy when posting a comment on someone's blog or buying tickets over the internet? Words like sonsh, gulapi, havsjul, or moxbo. I confess, a couple of times I even copied the word wrong on purpose to see what word I would get next. I thinks it is just that I really like words and the sounds of words. How do you get that job of inventing those verification words? I want to apply for it.

Speaking of words, I love to read good writers because they have such amazing ways of stringing words together. Like this quote written by a well known British author, P.G. Wodehouse, "He was a tubby little chap who looked as if he had been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say when"!

This will just be a baby blog. The topic is really about my progress in pursuing health. I have been at this for 27 weeks now. I suppose there has been some progress, but not as much as I expected. Maybe it is due to lack of diligence. My method tends to be a little on the sputtering side. At least I can't be accused of being a health fanatic.

How does one measure health anyway? Here is what I came up with. Oops, I ended that sentence with a preposition. Here are my thoughts on measuring health. Is that better?

Energy Level
Presence or lack of symptoms
Memory and thinking ability
Appearance, esp. eyes and skin (like dullness or vibrancy)
Mood Stability
Muscular Strength
Quality of Sleep
Lab Values
Spiritual State
Weight

Where I have noticed the biggest improvements: my mind feels sharper, I sleep significantly better, my dreams are more positive, and I have a few symptoms that have improved. A number of people who I have run into lately that I haven't seen for awhile have said that I look more relaxed. I find it interesting that I have heard that repeatedly. Yay! I am the harried woman no longer. I also think that I am more healthy spiritually.

Okay, maybe this isn't a baby blog. It's a junior blog. My goals in the next six weeks are to substantially improve my body fat percentages and energy levels. I also would love to see congestion and allergy symptoms improve. Basically, these all will probably be accomplished by what I eat (I plan to eat WAY more vegetables and less junk), and exercising more (sigh). And more tenacity. Wish me luck. Or send me a few verification words.

The Freak Who Can't Eat Wheat

2010-05-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

You start feeling like a freak anyway.

You're driving around with family or friends trying to decide where to eat. Someone inevitably says, "Vanessa gets to decide. It has to be somewhere she feels is safe." The world-revolves-around-me freak.

Or, you sit down at a restaurant and tell the waiter that you need a "gluten-free" meal and sometimes you just get this blank look. So, you briefly explain it. Then he brings you your salad with croutons, or garlic bread perched on top of your entree. Then he is annoyed when you have to send it back. (Good idea: Call ahead and ask the restaurant if they can accommodate a GF meal. And we always tip more because it just all plain takes longer and it is a pain in the butt.) The annoying freak.

Sometimes the waiter comes back and says, "I talked to the chef and about all you can have is the salad without any dressing or flavor, the boring chicken plain without sauce, and the vegetables without the seasoning." (My interpretation anyway.) Okay, I'll take that.

One time my husband and I were visiting my daughter up in Folsom. She made a delicious GF meal for me the night before. The next day I was foraging around in her refrigerator looking for leftovers when my husband called to me that it was time to go visit some friends who live somewhat nearby. Knowing that he had not yet eaten and had In & Out Burgers on the mind, I told him that I was looking for something to eat. He replied that, "We need to get going. You can eat some cashews in the car." WELL, that made me crazy angry because that is what I mostly ate the day before on the drive up. "Then you are not allowed to get anything hot and nutritious!", I said with eyes blazing and nostrils flaring. Unfortunately, this has become a family joke. The hysterical freak.

I wish I could go back to the days where I could walk into any ole place and order what I want without drawing all of this attention to myself. I hate to be so bothersome. Life can be humbling. Sigh.

It doesn't end there, my woe-is-me saga, that is. Even in my own home I feel like a pariah. I am becoming more anti-wheat. After all, I read that as little as 20 parts per million of gluten can make someone who is sensitive sick. I am not sure what that looks like but wheat crumbs and a dusting of wheat flour on the counter makes me nervous. I have a GF toaster and GF cutting boards as well as NO DOUBLE DIPPING rules for things like mayo and peanut butter too. You have to, but I still feel like: The paranoid freak.

I am very thankful though that I finally have the diagnosis, that I know that I cannot eat gluten. Before that my health was really spiraling down. That was two years ago, and my health has greatly improved although things are still healing. I just need to learn to be more content with my gluten deficit and find joy in it. The thankful freak.

Progress or Lack Of: Twenty Weeks

2010-04-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

First, here is a question to stimulate your brain cells. Can you think of a word with four Z's in it? The answer will be given later. Yes, there is one. I recently used it and was struck by that peculiarity. Okay, now down to business.

Very recently I have been feeling significantly better, like the last few days. I am not sure what exactly to attribute it to since last week I both stepped up the exercise and way increased vegetable consumption, and continued other healthful additions and unhealthy omissions that I have been doing more and more for the past twenty weeks, so I will just give credit all around. It actually probably is really due to the accumulative result of everything. I can just picture myself someday up there on that podium accepting the Glowing With Health Award, all choked up, chest swollen with pride, saying, "I'd like to thank Walking and Zumba dancing, and Chard and Broccoli and all of the many Vegetables that helped out. And I don't want to forget Good Breathing and Laughter, all of those vitamins and supplements-you know who you are, and Flowers and Birds and Nature. And a special thanks to my husband and family and friends who put up with me and assisted me during this project...I love you all".

I am compelled to share another recipe. Because it is just so darned good. And healthy.

Sauteed Chard
A bunch of chard, red or green kind, but Patrick and I preferred the subtle difference in taste of the red, and it is prettier. Yes, I bought both because it was on sale, and cooked them at the same time but separately.

Wash, cut into about 1 inch strips, cutting off the real thick stalky part at the ends that run down the middle.

Saute a couple cloves of chopped garlic with some red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 30 seconds, add the chard and saute for about 5 minutes til tender. Add a little water if necessary. Then eat! Yum!

This is one of my new favorites.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, birds have finally signed up for the Marsden's Winged Welfare Program. They did not discover the new birdfeeder until Friday afternoon, six days after installation! Those bird brains.

I have pictures for my post but I do not know how to add them. Maybe I will learn and then this blog will have more pizzazz!

Broccoli Bounty, Breathing Better, & Baffling Birds

2010-03-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

On Dr. Weil's 8 Weeks to Optimum Health plan (which is taking me more like eight-teen) you are supposed to start eating broccoli twice a week starting Week One. I don't really have a problem doing that assignment because I like it a lot, one of my favorite vegetables. So I am glad to learn that cancers hate it. It is also high in vitamin B2 (calming), vitamin K (blood clotting), and vitamin C (good for immune system, energy, and wound healing) as well as calcium. Of course that only skims the surface of beautiful broccoli.

I recently tried one of Dr. Weil's broccoli recipes. I usually do the same boring thing: boil it in salted water and add olive oil or non-dairy "butter" after draining. That's good, but try this for great:

Oven Roasted Broccoli
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut broccoli crowns into little trees. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Single layer it on a Pam'd cookie sheet. Roast for 10-12 minutes until it is a little tender and a little black in places.

Next "B" thing. I don't feel like going in order so I won't. What is the deal with my new bird feeder we installed on Saturday. No birds are going near it. We had a couple of bird feeders hung on the rim of our patio a couple of years ago, but took them down because it drew too much activity and the resulting mess, bird p**p everywhere. So, we hung the new ones (because we couldn't find the old ones, probably gave them away in one of our de-junking frenzies) away from the house. Question. Have the birds not discovered them yet? Are the bird feeders in a bad location? Are the new ones a kind that birds hate? Have all the birds died in our neighborhood? Is there a secret conspiracy to prevent us from enjoying bird watching in our backyard? Or are the birds sneaking when we aren't looking? (If so, they must be taking only one seed at a time, because the amount missing isn't noticable.)

Moving right along. Breathing better is not about getting rid of a stuffy nose. And I actually find the topic boring. But, Dr. Weil considers it to be one of the most important things you can do to improve health and healing. Beginning with Week One on his plan he starts you off with one breathing exercise that you are supposed to do for 5 minutes every day. Sitting comfortably with your back straight focus on inhaling and exhaling, when one changes into the other. Just follow this breathing in and out. I haven't gotten very into this one, but there are two others that I like better and am much more compliant.

One is just Slow Deep Counting Breathing (I named that myself); you just count the breaths while you fall asleep. The way I learned it you are supposed to count to 4 on your back, roll to your right side and count to 8, roll to your back and count to 16, to your left side and count to 32, etc. This is pretty effective for insomnia. However, I found that it works pretty well just lying in one place.

The next one, called Relaxing Breath, which I first heard about elsewhere, is supposed to be very good for the health of your organs, circulation, blood pressure, anxiety, and you are only supposed to do four cycles at first, twice a day, then build up slowly to eight cycles. Here is how one cycle is done. Put your tongue on the back of your upper front teeth and slide it back just to the soft tissue ridge right behind your teeth. Keep it there. I mean it. The whole time. Start with an exhale, mouth open making a whoosh sound. Close your mouth and inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, exhale slowly with open mouth making whoosh sound on a count of 8. That is one cyle. Do this four times, then breathe normally. The benefits of this particular one is supposed to be gradual and cumulative. I think we should be call that one the 4~7~8 Relaxing Breathing just for clarity. Anyway, that is just an introduction to better breathing. It would be interesting to hear if you try any of them and find it helpful.

Sounding Like a Broken Record

2010-03-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

In all the health books and websites that I have been reading in the last few months there are two things that I keep coming across over and over as SO important to health. Therefore I just want to reemphasize it here. Can you guess what the two things are?

Exercise and vegetables. Which is no surprise to anyone. But what is surprising to me are the many newly learned benefits of both. Neither can be underestimated, and I think more studies and research will just serve to unveil the "magic" and efficacy of both.

For those who like simplicity: get up in the morning with the mindset to move more and eat more vegetables, pretty much the more the better. We don't even know all of the crazy ways our bodies will benefit if we do.

Today, I ate leftover boiled cabbage and collards with my egg for breakfast. It was great. I had never cooked collards before, but Whole Foods had them on sale, so I thought I would figure out something to do with them. I just cut the collard leaves up into small pieces and threw them into some chicken broth I had just created by boiling some extra chicken I had; then just cooked it until it felt tender. Delicious! So now I have some extra super nutritious chicken/collard broth to make some soup out of. Which I need to do because now Sherry has the flu. Ugh. I hope, I hope, I hope that I do not get it.

Speaking of the flu, it just dawned on me an hour ago that I had stashed in my cupboards some Oscillococcinum for this very purpose. For those of you who don't know, it is a homeopathic medicine for the flu. I have never tried it before, but I have heard great things about it, and I have been using Sinusalia, another homeopathic med, for sinus problems and have been surprised how effective it is. So, I am new to homeopathy, although I had previously been very skeptical. As soon as I thought of it today I had Sherry take it (dissolve under tongue). It is supposed to "reduce duration and severity of flu-like symptoms". And it has no side effects, no drug interactions, non-drowsy. I will give full report on how it helps Sherry.

Still Here

2010-03-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Heck, it has been a long time since the last post. It was due mostly to the flold I had. I think it is called the Swine Cold; nastiest cold I have ever had in my life. It felt more like the flu except I don't think I had a fever. It had me in its grip for over two weeks.

Now this is not good, this is not right, for a person who is actively pursuing health to have more problems than she has had in a long time. If this is some kind of sick joke I am not laughing. I have been sick twice since November; compare that to one time all of last year and one time the four years before that. And a couple of other health issues in the last few months surprising me as well. Good grief.

But I am not throwing in the towel. I am too curious to see how much unhealthier I can get. Not really. But it is discouraging at times.

I have learned a lot about health though, and read a number of goods books on the topic and I feel confident that as I truly implement more I will see more results.

Currently I am reading a book called "Healing Through Exercise" by Jorg Blech. He cites study after study the benefits of exercise. I was not surprised that to read that exercise is very beneficial, but I marvel to learn the many commonly performed procedures and frequently prescribed medications can be replaced by a fairly simple exercise routine. For instance the was no difference in the outcomes of patients who had had open heart surgery and stents compared to those who were put on a exercise program. I recommend it. It is easy to read and full of researched information.

Really Delving Into Health

2010-02-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

I think in my very first post I mentioned Dr. Andrew Weil's book, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health. Being the stubborn person that I am, I did not think that I needed to follow his plan; I could just mine the nuggets and do my own thing. Which I did. And which has produced less than spectacular results. Hit and miss, willy nilly, flick my hair-in-the-wind actions don't usually produce great results. It's the steady purposeful plodding that does. Maybe it is pride or preferring lack of structure that kept me from wanting to follow Dr. Weil's plan before. However, I am ready now.

Technically, I started today, but I am going to consider yesterday as The Day because I am so down with this that I can easily shave one day off. Plus Monday is the beginning of the week. I don't know; it just fits better in my head that way.

Anybody else want to get healthy with me? To give you an idea what Week One involves: Eat broccoli at least two times and salmon one time this week, add a few supplements like Vitamin C, selenium, and Vitamin E. Walk for at least 10 minutes daily, go through cupboards and throw away bad fats and bad sugars, do a breathing exercise, and a few more things, but nothing outrageous. It almost sounds like not enough! Sheesh, I can do that. But, each week more things are ADDED. So by the end, substantial good things are happening. I will let you know how it goes. Or you could join me and follow along. Think about it. It could be fun comparing notes.

Eating More Vegetables

2010-02-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

You won't believe what I had for lunch yesterday. No really. Kelp noodles. Now I am not sure what they are, but they look strandy, like crinkley spaghetti, clearish though, texturally they are crunchy like biting into one of those large kelp things that wash up on the beach. The package states that it has a "neutral taste". They are made (?) from water, sodium, alginate, kelp, and organic green tea. Aw, you knew there was something that drew me to them. And they are supposedly "full of trace minerals". One package is 3 servings, each packing a gargantuan 12 calories, but I polished it off in two servings. The package had 3 recipes to try, but I kind of winged it, sauteeing it in garlic, olive oil and assorted chopped vegetables. It was odd, but I'd buy it again. Heck, 12 calories.

I am making a concerted effort starting this week to eat a lot more vegetables. After all, it is the one thing every health guru agrees on. No reason not to... except lack of habit, I don't know how to prepare many of them, the family will groan, I am a carbo/protein junkie, etc. Do you sense the Resistance here? Definitely will be an uphill, no, upmountain battle. In nursing they always say you have to have "measurable goals". So, the goal this week is FOUR servings a day, and next week, well, we will just see how it goes. Oh, and I will throw in ONE fruit per day also. Fruits are pretty important healthwise too, although some of the health gurus talk behind their backs. Too much sugar...Rule #17? Okay, bye.

Journey Progress: Twelve Weeks

2010-02-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

Before I delve in the matter of progress on the journey, allow me to first digress back to the song I have been writing. Well, after reading the book The War of Art, I finally made significant progress, which just about pleased the pants off my guitar teacher Chris. All of the words are now written, and approved by Chris. Wipe sweat from brow! Remember I told you before how he had said that some of my lines deserved penalty points, and made me rewrite them? Well, I had gotten that wrong. He actually said I should have been fined. I have to admit he was right and this was good for me. (Why do painful or uncomfortable things have to be good for you? I like comfort.) Anyway, now the song just needs some fine tuning in the melody, and music for the bridge composed. Ugh, I think I am breaking Rule #17 from Strunk & White's Elements of Style, which states something like "omit needless words". It is the only rule I remember from the book; I find it useful, usually.

All of that, maybe, was to let you know how efficacious reading The War of Art was. And some of you have asked about my song...

As for the journey, there has definitely been some progress and lasting healthy changes that I have made. I now drink 1-3 cups (usually 2) of green tea daily, no longer use antiperspirant with aluminum, I take 1-2 grams of fish oil daily, no longer use scratched teflon pans, reducing stress by dejunking and living on a budget, I use a soap-filled dish scrubber to avoid excessive contact with dishsoap, and I am learning how to fight Resistance, especially in the areas of creativity and exercise. There are other things I have made improvements on, but these are probably the most significant and consistent ones. And what, you may be asking, improvements do I see/feel in my health? The biggest one is that my hair is thicker, noticably; probably three times thicker, and has stopped falling out, mostly. I think it is from the fish oil. Yay! for fish oil.
And I am feeling more energetic, and like my mind is a little sharper, although those are harder to quantitate. I hope that is word. Nope, just looked. Let's change that to quantify.

Okay. So what I see coming up around the bend is a focus on identifying food allergies, eating lots more vegetables and fruit, and exercising more. Let's just see where THAT gets me.

You Have Got to Turn Pro

2010-02-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

Discussion on RESISTANCE: Part 2 (Yesterday was Part 1)

First of all, Steven Pressfield, please excuse me if I misrepresent what you are trying to say in your book, "The War of Art". I didn't study the contents, but gave it a cursory swallow so that I could more quickly embrace a solution to my creative and industrious blocks.

Secondly, I want to respond to a couple of comments from yesterday's blog. One big problem that is holding me back is that I view guitar playing and blogging, maybe even exercise, as indulgences which I can do only after I am finished with my work, which pretty much ain't gonna happen. I told this to my guitar teacher and his reply was that Resistance was telling me this. And loaned me this book to read. Sheesh.

Now, finally, what I gleaned last night from further reading The War of Art. This is hard to distill, but basically Pressfield says you have to turn pro. At least in your thinking. The amateur cannot accomplish what the professional does. Its a decision, you have to make a plan, you have to be tenacious, you have to withstand the critic, you have to learn from others who are better at the craft than you, you have to create order in your sphere, you have to smile in the face of fear. There are more, but you get the idea. Page 108 is my absolute favorite (although I still have one-third of the book left to read), the chapter called Approaching the Mystery. I am struggling to chew it up to regurgitate it for you, and am at a loss. Pressfield says it too perfectly. (Long pause) But the gist of it is that you have to start doing the thing, whatever it is, and when you do "a process is set into motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, heaven comes to our aid. Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose...When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete." I cannot wait to read further. He has such a way with words.

Bringing this in for a landing, one reason I write this blog is to chronicle what I am doing as I am pursuing health. There are several reasons for this. I can refer back to ideas that were shaping my thinking at the time, I have a brief record of what I have learned from research; it is a diary of sorts; it is a frame for what I am attempting to accomplish; it reveals progress and lack of; it makes the journey more concrete, something real, something to keep me from giving up or turning back. I knew deep down that Resistance existed even though I didn't know its name, and I knew pursuing health would be a battle.

It just dawned on me: I think my blog is a weapon against the Resistance as well as a creative endeavor that Resistance wants to kill.

Resisting Resistance

2010-02-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

The song that I started two months ago is not progressing, much to my guitar teacher's chagrin. And my own too, although I am getting more apathetic about it as the time goes by. Thus he gave me an assignment to read a book called, "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. A very engaging book that describes a phenonemon that all humans experience: RESISTANCE. To ultra condense it Resistance is the opposition you get when to attempt to do something worthwhile, something creative, something good. You don't get Resistance when you lay on the couch and watch TV for four hours, but start thinking about getting up to take a walk or visit someone in the hospital or write a poem, and the body and the mind immediately take up weapons and wide stances.

It really explains a lot. Like why have I gained six pounds since I started pursuing my journey toward health, why I have been eating worse, exercising less. I need to turn this ship around fast, but I have just barely gotten to the part in the book on how you can win this war against Resistance. About the only thing that sticks in my head pertaining to that is you just have to do it, do the thing that Resistance is keeping you from. Like the Nike slogan: "Just do it". I am quite hopeful, though, that the author has something more to say that would be useful in defeating the things that hold me back from greatness.

But anyway, this morning all I knew was "just do it", so I went out and exercised, so I ate a healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch, so I searched through kitchen cupboards again to see what else I could dejunk, so I sat down to write something new on my blog, and so I will, as soon as I am done with this post, work on my song. Oh I hope, I hope, I hope that Steven Pressfield has some very substantially useful suggestions that I will read tonight and put to use tomorrow. If so, I will post again tomorrow and let you know.

The Stuff Which Makes One Miserable

2010-01-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

Part of pursuing health is getting rid of stressors in ones life. Too much stuff has been a big stressor for us, although we have been working on it for some time and slowly chipping away at it. Just goes to show how much extra stuff we have accummulated. So yesterday I needed to ~find~ something, some important papers I needed to renew my nursing license soon. I was on the verge of getting panicky. I eventually found it, rather husband did. But it motivated us to part with some more stuff last night, make some more give-away and throw-away piles. It was very cathartic. I went to bed feeling hopeful, even a little exhilerated. I plan on continuing today.

My motto is kind of like live with a "Motorhome Mentality". A few months ago in a parking lot on the Santa Barbara pier I saw a really cool Euro-looking little motor home and I thought it would be wonderful to have so few possessions and to live in one of those, travelling around. There is a strange dichotomy though because I keep clinging onto all these things I deem so necessary, and, ludicrously, keep buying more.

So, I took a break from writing todays blog and used the time to sort through some more items. Obviously I am back now. It really was tortuous to throw away class notes I had taken and papers I had written in nursing school. Some textbooks too. I might need these I reasoned. But then I countered that they wouldn't fit in my motorhome unless I took out something necessary like pans or dishes. It was agonizing, but I made the decision that the dishes get to stay in my motorhome. The one I am going to buy. Someday. Well, anyway, it is a useful pie-in-the-sky philosophy to help define what one really wants and is important.

Making Slow Progress

2010-01-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

So last week I started exercising but with no particular plan. I kept planning to formulate one, however nothing was jelling. I was forced to just start doing something, trusting that a plan would form. Pretty much I told myself to do something, and then do something again tomorrow. I ended up at the gym on a treadmill on Monday, then either walking in my neighborhood or hiking with a friend on four other days. (Also, I have been stretching daily.) Then an inkling of a plan flashed in my brain. It's not much: I took a small calendar, devoted it to tracking my exercise, and wrote down what I had done so far in the month of January. It didn't take long. So my plan so far is do something exercisish and record it. Do you get the impression that I am avoiding commitment and balk at quantifying and qualifying, setting myself up for failure? I am taking baby steps right now. Plato (died in 347 B.C.) once said, and I like this a lot, "Never discourage someone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow". The whole goal on this journey is to lay down new, good, healthly habits that move towards health.

Since Monday it has been dark and rainy here, unusual for Southern California. Cold+Cloudy+Rain=Need Cocoa. Fortunately I found a dairy-free cocoa recipe that is very satisfying.

Vegan Cocoa

Heat Almond Milk
Add Cocoa Powder (organic if possible)
Sweeten with Stevia, Sugar, or Agave Nectar to taste
Stir and enjoy.

Speaking of dairy-free, not only do I have to eat gluten-free (GF), but also casein-free (CF). Casein is the main protein found in dairy products. Fifty percent of gluten intolerant individuals also cannot tolerate casein. It is thought that this is due to a leaky gut syndrome from gluten damaging the small intestine, and that perhaps in some cases the person can tolerate casein again if it is avoided for 3-6 months. I tried casein again around Christmas, and didn't do well. I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck, achy all over, and I had acid indigestion. In the past my hair starts falling out, I get little blisters on my eyelids, and a rash, particularly on my face, among other things. Tests have shown that I form IgA antibodies to casein.

Naming Stuff

2010-01-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

I have definitely been aware for quite some time that it is a bad a idea to "write" or prewrite something in your head like while taking a shower, lying in bed, or out on a walk. The trouble is that the brilliancy created can never be recaptured. It is almost like that creativity is used up, never to appear again. You only remember the gist of the thing; when you try to put the words down on paper later they are so wooden and dull. I should think of a name for this phenomenon...Or am I the only one this happens to.

If you know my family you know that we like naming things and making up new words. Take for instance the "Bing Principle". You all know what it is, you just didn't know it had a name. It is what happens when, for instance, you are sitting there thinking "I am going to take out the trash in a minute" and you really feel quite willing and good about it, and then someone asks you to take out the trash. All of the sudden you feel this bristling, this rising up inside *BING* I-don't-want-to-do-it-anymore attitude. That is the Bing Principle.

Then there are two words invented by my little Annaka. The first one was SARPEE. That one means sorry when you don't really mean it, but are just being forced to say it by a grown-up, or you are a grown-up and you want to be a little sassy or to look halfway reasonable. The second one is plabo (pronounced with the a like a in cat). This one means darn, bummer, what a drag, etc. and actually comes in quite handy when you get tired of using all of the other worn out adjectives.

Daughter Christine even created a new language and named it Sauna Mo Sauna language. Of course, she was only about five, and it was a pretty crude language, but another daughter Lindsay could interpret it.

All of this was prompted because earlier today I was out on a walk in the neighborhood. Yep, you can marvel. Three days in a row of exercise. Well, today I was lamenting that my abs felt more like jello jigglers than a six pack. And I composed a whole blog on it ~in my head-out on a walk-no paper-no computer~, but just as I had it almost finished I suddenly remembered that that would be that blogs death knell. The madness of prewriting!

E is for Exercise...

2010-01-11T17:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, I finally decided that I had better add the all important component of EXERCISE. Not that I had totally forsaken it, but it just has been a haphazard occurrence since my "journey" started, a few hikes mostly. Not exactly what I had planned, but the lazy, unmotivated part of me has been in charge. Until today. I just can't put it off any longer. I didn't even start with 75% of the country on January 1st. Every muscle fiber in my body was rebelling several hours ago when I forced myself into the car to go to the gym. Then they were whining the entire twenty-five minutes that I was on the treadmill. However,they will see who is boss.

I was reading in that Anti-Cancer book last night. (BTW, Costco has it now for $15 or $16, hardcover.) Some of the benefits of exercise that the author cited is it improves the immune system, detoxes, improves hormone balances, relieves depression, and relieves fatigue from diseases and cancer treatments. Cancer itself can cause extreme fatigue; add to that chemotherapy and radiation, and one feels hopelessly debilitated. Research has found that exercise even benefits this deep fatigue, and the cancer patients have a better overall prognosis by helping the body fight the cancer. You may ask: Why is Vanessa reading THAT book? Does she have cancer? No, but the Anti-Cancer book has great, well-researched, cutting-edge advice for anyone wanting to live healthier.

I don't exactly have an exercise plan yet. Right now all I will commit to is doing it again tomorrow, and making it a bigger focus for the rest of the journey.

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

My only stated goal this year is to stay on "the journey", moving forward, no matter how snail pace it may sometimes appear. There might be a few more goals floating around in my brain, so you just never know what kind of improvements might take place over the next twelve months.

I started putting away all of the Christmas decorations today. And, I have come to the conclusion that it is definitely not a healthy thing to do. Too much stress. I have eleven containers devoted to storing Christmas things, which are presently sprawled out all over my living room, dining room, kitchen, and entry way. Well, ten of them anyway. C-4 (C is for Christmas, 4 is one of the eleven) is still in the garage because all it contains is outside decorations. Makes sense. So the plan is to write down what exactly is in each container so that next year I can just get out the one with, say, the kitchen decorations, and Christmastize the kitchen whenever I have a few spare minutes next late November. Last year I was short on time putting up the decorations so everything was chaotically packed. Not gonna do that this year. I may need a gimlet to continue as I am feeling a bit tense from all of the container-filling decisions.

Speaking of gimlets, I am in a Gimlet phase. Usually I just have a glass of red wine and occasionally a mixed drink when we go out. I have been going through cocktail phases. First it was the Harvey Wallbanger phase. But hardly any bartender knows what that is. So I moved on to my Cosmo phase, followed by the Mojito phase. Now it is hard to get a well made Mojito, so my fickle taste buds started straying. Aha, Gimlets! Never heard of them before, but they came to my attention after I started this blog, which led a friend of mine to encourage me to read a book about somebody else who blogged, (Julie and Julia), which led to me trying the drink Julie drank with her husband about every night when they were making the daily new Julia Childs recipes.

Anyway, here's to your health and a wonderful New Year. Cheers!

Trials: Part of My Journey

2009-12-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Health, or absence of, is not limited to the physical body. The other big two, equally important components are the psychological and spiritual aspects. One thing that attacks both psychological and spiritual health is discontent and lack of thankfulness. And one thing that can threaten contentedness and thankfulness are trials. I actually wrote this little thing about trials on November 4 of this year, but did not post til today. In August I told my husband I couldn't take any more sorrow. Little did I know that two months later I would be saying goodbye to my sweet mom for the last time. This year has been a particularly difficult one for a number of reasons, but it has not been without abundant blessings as well.

Trials Pondered

A trial is anything unwanted. It can chisel away or drop bombs on thankfulness and contentedness. It is uncomfortable, and unpleasant. It can be micro or mountainous. It can last seconds or years. But not forever-for those who are in Christ.

Trials require patience. They are to be endured without sin, bringing glory to God with behavior and attitude. How many times I have thought back that I was disappointed in myself for not enduring better. I gave in to the temptations to complain, be despairing, irritable, unloving, self-pitying, and depressed.

Trials require trust, faith, and believing in the goodness of God. God's Word is my anchor, my life vest, my lighthouse in the ocean of trials. In those God-breathed and unequalled-literarily pages I am generously offered wisdom, comfort, guidance and hope. I need to dig into that vast provision, mine the truths, and then set my mind like rebar in concrete on them.

The Lord also sends encouragement during the hard times in a variety of ways: people, nature, music, humor, to name a few. He is always present, ever-ready to hear our prayers.

God will not give me more than I can handle. It may be more than I want to handle or feel that I can handle. But that is okay because God is sovereign and full of lovingkindness.

I'm A Little More Enlightened

2009-12-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

I was really quite perplexed and angry that I got THE COLD. After all, I had been following a regimen that had proven to be successful in the past many times. And THE COLD didn't turn out to be so minor; it really pistol-whipped me for a number of days. I am still feeling its effects. The following article was sent to my email a few days ago which encouraged me because I think it may contain the reason why my body succumbed to THE COLD this time. Lack of sleep. For the last few weeks I have been very sleep deprived for a reason I won't go into now. Well, and exercising too. I have been remiss with that. Anyway, the article is a little long, but worth reading. I think you will benefit from it.

The following is from: Anticancerbook.com

Protection from viral infections Posted: 18 Nov 2009 01:11 AM PST

The H1N1 flu has now flared into an epidemic in many countries: almost 6000 deaths have been attributed to the virus around the world. This situation is worrying to many of us, and it's good to recall that several studies demonstrate the benefit of life-style changes, to permit the body to reinforce its 'terrain' and protect us from viral infections.

On his deathbed, Louis Pasteur, the man who discovered viruses and bacteria and who invented the first vaccine, is reported to have said, "Microbes are nothing - it's the terrain that counts!" What did he mean? Our "terrain" - our immune defenses, or antioxydant and anti-inflammatory capacity - is usually much stronger than viruses or bacteria. Currently we're being bombarded with information about swine flu: it's a good time to remember that essential message.

During the 1918 epidemic of so-called "Spanish Flu", some people resisted the virus much better than others. In his upcoming book on the subject (1), a French author, Thierry Souccar, recounts experiments that were made at the time (and which would be unthinkable today). Dr. Milton Rosneau, in Boston, reportedly infected more than 100 young US Navy recruits with secretions of patients who had fallen ill with the flu -- these secretions were directly injected into the nostrils, throats and eyes of the recruits. After ten days, none of them had developed flu! Their healthy "terrain" had vanquished the virus. Today, several studies demonstrate the importance of a number of factors that contribute to reinforcing the terrain against viral infections.

Sleep: Sleeping for eight hours or more every night decreases the risk of developing a cold following exposure to a virus to one-third of the risk encountered by persons who sleep seven hours or less (2). So if you can, sleep more - you'll benefit from it as if it were an antiviral medication.

Physical activity: moderate physical activity (for example, thirty minutes of walking, five days a week) stimulates the immune system and considerably increases resistance to infections (3).

Daily diet:

Reduce sugary foods and those based on white flour, as well as all fats. Prefer olive oil and canola oil.
Increase - by a factor of seven -- your daily rations of fruits and vegetables. "Anticancer" foods are also antivirals, for the same reasons (the presence of flavonoides and de polyphenols). Eat garlic, onions, and shallots - and remind yourself that during the First World War, smart soldiers ate two or three cloves or raw garlic every day to protect themselves from influenza.
Eat broccoli, cabbages and mushrooms (pleurotus, reishi, maitake, shitake, enokitake, crimini and portobello), which are employed as immune stimulants in Japanese hospitals.
Drink green tea -- three to six cups a day, if possible distant from meals, so as not to reduce absorption of iron. EGCG, the catechin of green tea, is very active against cancer and is also a powerful antiviral. An American study (4) has demonstrated that it reduced by one-third the risk of developing flu.
Add herbs and Mediterranean spices (oregano, thyme, turmeric) to your diet, in at least one meal every day, because of their antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect.

It's encouraging to note that the elements that reinforce our terrain are indiscriminately effective against all the diseases we seek to keep at bay, from influenza to cancer. Pasteur was indeed a genius, and his intuition was right -- it's the terrain that counts.

 1. "Protection and Cure of Influenza (Prévenir et guérir la grippe) by Thierry Souccar (Thierry Souccar Éditions, 2009). 
2. "Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold” by Sheldon Cohen et al., in Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009. 
3. "Current perspective on exercise immunology" de David C. Nieman, in Current Sports Medicine Reports, 2003. 
4. "Specific formulation of camellia sinensis prevents cold and flu symptoms and enhances gamma, delta T cell function" by Cheryl A. Rowe et al., in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2007.

It Got Me

2009-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well, Saturday night I came down with laryngitis, but I thought it was due to talking too much at our company Christmas party because I felt fine. Then yesterday I felt a little drippy and blah, worse by the evening, and today I had to face the truth that I have a cold. Figures, since I blogged about it. Yes, even with all I did to stave it off. BUT! It is just a wee nagging one. And, it will be over soon.

Right now I am drinking a Hot Toddy which not only warms the bod but also drives away the evil viral goblins. There are probably many versions; this is the one I made.

HOT TODDY

1-2 Tb. whiskey
1 Tb. honey
1/4 of a lemon (just the juice)
1 or 1 1/2 cups of freshly steeped tea

Coat the bottom of a mug with the honey. Add the lemon juice and whiskey. Pour in the tea and stir. Savor and enjoy!

Pairs nicely with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens which I am reading now.

Hammer It Hard

2009-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Or Saga Of A Viral Attack. Yesterday I awoke at about 3 a.m. with a screaming sore throat. As snug as I was in bed I forced myself to get up and get a Cold-Eeze (zinc lozenge) and suck on it, struggling to stay awake lest I choke to death, worrying the whole time that I would get a cavity leaving that sugary residue on my teeth til morning. I decided that I was NOT going to get sick; I would mount a fierce attack. At 5 a.m., something woke me up again, and to my surprise the sore throat was gone, but my throat felt swollen and clogged. As soon as I got up I took a dropperful of Echinecea tincture, ate some breakfast, took 1000 mg. of Vitamin C, a garlic capsule, drank a large cup of tea, and sucked on another Cold-Eeze. Feeling vaguely under the weather I knew a virus was still messing with me.

The way viruses work is they get in your system and start multiplying. So the best way to keep healthy is when the very first symptom signals a virus attacking, attack it back as fast as you can. They multiply kind of like that thing I am sure that you have heard where if you start off with one penny on January 1st and double the amount each day, by the end of the month you would have about a gazillion dollars. I really think that if I had waited until morning it might have been too late to stop the cold from becoming full blown. Only cold and flu viruses work much faster.

For lunch I had some homemade tomato soup with lots of onions, more Vitamin C, more echinecea, more Cold-Eeze, more hot tea. By early afternoon I felt fine. But I knew from experience not to let myself be declared the winner yet. In fact, a couple of hours later, I started feeling all drippy and sinusy and blah. I stayed on the defense and by the evening I felt 100% fine, and still do this morning. I am continuing some defensive supplements in case there a few little viruses hanging around ready, like Jason in those horror movies, to assault me just when I think I am safe.

I rarely get colds any more due to this kind of protocol. Trust me, it works. In case I feel a flu coming on I bought a homeopathic product called Oscillococcinum that I will add to my regimen. I hear is very effective. And I have used homeopathic products for sinus problems and found it to be surprisingly effective. I don't know much about homeopathy, just dabbling at this point, but I believe there is something really to it.

Anyway, this morning, I officially declared myself the victor.

Attacking Oncoming Virus Regimen:

Vitamin C: 1000 mg 3X daily
Echinecea: I have brewed my own in vodka before, but now I just have some tincture that I bought at Whole Foods. Hold it in your mouth for a couple of minutes. If it is effective stuff you should feel a tingling. This is good for the gums too.
Garlic: Raw, anyway you can get it in your body or capsules for the wimps
Cold-Eeze: According to package. This is important because the zinc is toxic to the virus and sucking on it bathes the virus in one of the places it is first hanging out: your throat
Oscillococcinum if flu-like symptoms
Lots of liquids, chicken soup, tea, etc.
Reduce stress, increase rest if you can
Mentally attack the virus and resolve not to give in
Sweating can be helpful, and hot baths

There are probably some other things too, but this will suffice for now.

Evaluating Journey

2009-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday I have been on the journey for three weeks. And I was ready to lay down in the road and quit. I was not feeling BETTER, a major purpose in this; the second week I started feeling WORSE, with the third week not as bad but not much better than the worse of the second week. I actually told my husband that I am just going to start eating gluten and dairy and everything else, then I could just die soon. To which he replied, "Okay, you can just change your blog to My Journey to Death." A little compelling, but after a little thought I decided that I am not really the morbid type. Not to mention that I really love life, and have things to look forward to, and that this would probably not be pleasing to God, and it would most likely be a slow miserable death anyways. Sometimes I just like to make outrageous statements when I am frustrated.

So, hmm, hmm, hmm, where do I go from here...

Keep moving forward.

That is why I am calling it a journey I guess. You cannot just plop down a plan, and do it. Everything is in flux. Do a little less of this, more of that, stop something, add another thing. It is rather nice writing about it; makes it seems more like something I should stick to. Questions to ask self and try to answer: What is the next step? Where is my destination, and how will I know when I get there?

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

2009-12-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

Darn, I live in Southern California.

I started decorating for Christmas today; only got about one-third done. It's exhausting even though each year I try to streamline it more. A cup of cocoa would taste good tonight as it is going to be really cold (but no snow forecasted) and the holiday spirit is settling in. I found a vegan cocoa recipe that I am looking forward to trying even though I am not vegan, just dairy-free.

Speaking of chocolate, I was surprised to learn recently that a few squares of dark chocolate have more antioxidants than a glass of red wine and almost as many as a cup of properly brewed green tea. Studies have also shown that it can lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It should contain at least 70% cocoa, although some references stated 65%. I bought some 73% dark chocolate with almonds, organic (of course,)at Trader Joes, that is quite good. I am thinking I should put myself out to bid as a salesperson for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I keep pushing their merch.

Detoxing

2009-12-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some research on detoxing the body and amazingly found out that it can pretty much detox itself if you step out of the way and stop stuffing it with more toxins. There are a few things you can do to aid the body, but one does not need to go out and buy the latest two-week kit or four-week kit, nor go on a fruit only, or juice only, or water only fast. God made our bodies to eliminate toxins through (and this is not an exhaustive list:

the lungs
the skin
the kidneys
the liver
the blood
the lymph system
the intestinal tract

They just all naturally do it without you even thinking about it. Things you can do to help your body detox are mostly pretty much common sense:

Eliminate/reduce exposure to and consumption of toxins
Drink plenty of good water
Exercise
Eat fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods
Reduce stress
Sweat
Get adequate rest and sleep
Deep breathing
Joy of living

Really, a chapter could be written on each of the above, but I will let the brevity suffice for now.

I will add though a couple of changes I plan on making soon. One is to replace the plastic shower curtain in the hall bathroom with a non-toxic one. I had never even thought of this before, but when the bathroom gets all hot and steamy the PCB's are released. Yuck.

Another thing I want to do is get a few more houseplants. Boston ferns, spider plants and English ivy are supposed to be very good for purifying the air in a home. I also just read that Areca palms are too, but what are they?

And lastly, I am going to change up my tuna buying habits. Usually we buy a huge amount of cellophaned-together-cans-of-tuna from Costco, which husband and I fondly refer to as Tuna Towers. However, it has come to my attention that big fish are bad (like shark & swordfish-they even sound bad), and tuna because most tuna we eat are big tuna's (like Jim from the Office!). And big fish are bad because they are so high on the food chain that they eat smaller fish that are chemical ridden who ate even smaller fish that are chemical ridden, and so forth. But, here's the good news, there is tongol tuna, a smaller tuna, which is safer. I checked out Whole Foods, and yep, they have it, and it is not too pricey, but more expensive than Tuna Towers. This may be a hard sell to husband, who at this point is starting to think that health=empty pocket.

"Let food be thy medicine..."

2009-12-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hippocrates (5th century BC ) stated, "Let food by thy medicine and thy medicine be food." I like that. So, I have been doing more chopping and cooking lately. I rarely watch Emeril but I happened to catch him the other night as he was making Tuscan Bean Soup. So I backed up the TVoe (I hope that is how you say it)to get it down on paper. I am looking forward to getting a delicious of pot of it simmering tonight. Bam!, it will be awesome medicine, all those onions, garlic, herbs, and tons of other good stuff.

I have added stretching lately to my growing items of daily healthful to-do's. I have been very diligent about it for about six days now. Dr. Weil, a great reference, I mentioned his book in an earlier blog, suggests at least five minutes of stretching daily. He thinks one can just make up their own regimen, but says that many experts think it is good to stretch muscles in the opposite way than they are normally used. My chiropractor Ben has been diligently telling me to diligently stretch for years. But this is what usually happens: I go see him about every six months, urgently, because I can barely walk or otherwise function. He fixes me, tells me I should come a little more often, like for maintenance, and do stretching every day. I leave, fully intending to diligently stretch compliantly. But now it is officially part of my journey, so I have to do it.

I Am Probably Going to Waste Away to Nothing

2009-12-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

My nose runs almost every time I eat which is most likely a sign that I am allergic to something. Since starting this journey I have omitted corn, dairy, bananas, strawberries, and sugar, although I allowed myself some sugar for Thanksgiving which actually ended up being Thanksgiving weekend, um, starting Wednesday. However, there are a few more I need to omit. Ohhh, I have been dreading this day, but I really need to do this. Rice. And I eat a lot of rice because of the necessity to avoid gluten, so it seems like everything I eat now has rice in it: rice bread, rice crackers, rice pasta, rice ice cream, rice milk, rice cereals, and good old plain rice. I am kind of begging for trouble here. So no more rice for awhile, and also no yeast, and no soy. Well, I will stop there for now although there are a few more suspect foods. Let's just see how this goes.

So, for breakfast I had leftover sauteed kale. Last night was the first time that I tried this; next time I will do it differently. The taste was great; I just chopped up some kale, and sauteed with a couple of cloves of minced garlic in olive oil. Only problem is that I needed the digestive system of a cow to get it properly down. So, breakfast was fun chewing and chewing and chewing. Then for lunch I had gluten-free oatmeal cooked with cinnamon and raisins and a little bit of honey. That was pretty good. For afternoon snack I had a big bowl of baby brussel sprouts in flaxseed oil. Dinner will be a beef and potato stew. Husband gets a piece of crusty bread thrown in.

Back to rice. I have been reading that rice can have very high arsenic levels, especially rice grown in the south (Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas) because many rice farms used to be cotton farms where they relied on arsenic pesticides. Brown rice is supposedly most toxic because the bran is where most of the toxin hangs out. What will they be telling us next? But when I start eating rice again I will buy from a California source (Sacramento area is a huge producer) or European or Asian which are both supposed to have lower arsenic levels. I have here in my possession two bags of rice: jasmine rice from Thailand, and white basmati rice from India. So I won't suffer guilt serving it to my family. Like they would care anyway.

True Confessions From Week Two

2009-11-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving jigsaw puzzle is almost done, 90%, I would say, and the weather is very nice today...alright, I am stallling.

I have been quite reluctant to admit that I have been feeling worse the past week. How about that for the second week of my journey to health. Was it opposite week? It started a week ago Saturday, just a vague kind of I-don't-feel-that-great. The next day was a little worse; rather achy, headachy, blahness. Monday the nausea and the unpleasant taste in my mouth kicked in. All of this continued more or less until yesterday, although the nausea and bad taste are lingering. I have been mainlining ginger just to keep going. (It is a very powerful anti-nausea remedy.) I am really quite baffled, but last Tuesday it occurred to me that maybe I was detoxing too fast. I know of no other explanation. So I have stopped juicing temporarily. Then because of Thanksgiving I fell off the wagon sugarwise, although I didn't get "drunk" on it. Too, I imbibed on the nonfood, chemical-ridden Cool Whip. I am sure that slowed down the detoxing.

Right now, as I write, to make us all feel better, like I am not throwing in the towel, flaming out, being a big quitter, I am drinking green tea and eating a bowl of baby brussel sprouts slathered with flaxseed oil. (Very tasty actually.) Thanksgiving Day is a hard thing to do when one has just started to make changes. All in all, I stayed mostly on track. But now looming ahead are ominous Christmas and New Year food-filled festivities, busyness, and stress. What was I thinking?

I guess this is part of the journey, learning to look for and avoid the potholes, the debris in the road, the misleading paths; to...is the tune to Impossible Dream reaching a crescendo in your head right about now?

I guess today might as well be Ginger Day too, since I touched on it. It is great for nausea/vomiting, motion sickness, a powerful antioxidant, good for the digestive tract and digestion, stimulates circulation, is an anti-inflammatory, and protects against cancer. You can buy capsules of dried ginger, or ginger tea, or use fresh ginger in cooking like grate some in a marinade, or in a stir fry, or to make a tea. One of my favorite juices to make with my juicer is carrot, apple, kale, ginger, using about an inch of the root.

Ready or not for week three. Got to keep on keepin' on.

Now Why Am I Doing This Or That?

2009-11-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

One reason I started this blog is so that in six months or a year when I wonder why I am taking or doing a particular thing I will have it in writing. Like, "Oh, those are the health benefits of CoQ10 enzyme; that is why I added it to my regimen". (I have some that I haven't taken for awhile, for what, I quite don't know. I do remember that it is good for oxygenating tissues and organs though.)

So, with that in mind, I want to revisit green tea. We hear it all of the time how good it is for you. That is mostly not enough for me, just some vague concept floating in my brain, especially since I am not that crazy about the taste. Usually I steep it with another bag of something like Country Peach tea. I think I mentioned before to steep 5-10 minutes, ten being better. Here are some compelling reasons to have this be a part of a daily regimen: Green tea is a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier that also has antiviral and antibacterial qualities. In additon, it lowers cholesterol, and works in several ways to protect against cancer. Of course there are more known health benefits and I am sure more to be discovered, but I think I mentioned the most significant ones. By the way, Japanese green tea has more EGCG's (epigallocatechin gallate-3, a polyphenol, one of the main reasons it is so healthy) than Chinese green tea. Nice to keep in mind when given the choice.

Going in a totally different direction, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Proverbs 17:22says that, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up bones". I plan to do a better job cultivating thankfulness, joy, and contentment. And, expel those broken-spirit-causing thoughts when they sneak in. So, six months from now when I am wondering, now why should I be joyous?, I can look back at this, and be reminded, oh yeah, it's good medicine. That is just a nibble; much could be said on the subject, but this will suffice for this blog's intent.

Happy Thanksgiving. Let the festivities begin!

One Week: So Far, So Good

2009-11-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

I have been on the "journey" one week now. Pretty much kept to what I said I would do except did not juice two of the days for whatever reasons. I also made a couple of other changes: I bought glass food storage containers at Costco and plan on phasing out most of the evil plastic ones as I give food away in them or they break or are used to put crayons in. I have a little bit of "green" in me that doesn't want to waste. Oh, and I bought organic coffee. Costco had some, preground, and it tastes pretty good. Being a purest, drinking my coffee black, the taste isn't masked with cream, so quality is important. Today, I bought some more at Trader Joes, so we can have a taste test. Trader Joe's organic coffee is a bit cheaper and whole bean, which we like.

You might be asking, "So, have you noticed any difference from the changes you have made"? Well, indeed I have, albeit minor, such as my facial skin feels silkier, and in some general way my face just looks better. I think it isn't as puffy. My sinuses are a little clearer, and my floaters aren't as annoying.

Simmering on the stove for dinner tonight is the most powerful anti-inflammatory. All this time we just thought it was an old family recipe. Chicken Curry. Curry's main ingredient is turmeric or curcumin which is one of the healthiest foods to eat. It has been used medicinally in China, India, and Tibet for thousands of years. It inhibits the growth of cancer cells, causes cancer cell destruction, lowers cholesterol, fights free radicals, and is good for arthritis, digestion,and the liver, among other things. In spite of high pollution conditions in India, there are a surprisingly lower incidence of many cancers. I have heard that if you put it on a cut it will rapidly stop the bleeding, however, the couple of times it has been needed at our house, nobody remembered this great spice even though I put a note on the spice cupboard door. Sheesh.

*************************************************************************************

Chicken Curry
1/3 cup diced onion and celery (but I use a lot more)
Saute in some olive oil
Add 2 cups chicken broth, simmer 30 minutes
Add 1 cup of tomato sauce, salt & pepper, & at least 2 tsp of curry powder
Add 4 cups of cooked, diced chicken, heat thoroughly.

Serve over rice. Feel the goodness. Serves 6-8.

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I am going to be looking for more ways to get this turmeric goodness into my food. One friend suggested sprinkling on the spinach I was sauteeing with garlic and olive oil. I did and it was good.

Well, on the subject of recipes I guess now is a good time to throw in my latest favorite meal. Very tasty, very easy, very healthy. It also comes with a quick and delicious leftover.

Roasted Chicken, Onion Rice, Broccoli

Roasted Chicken
I get a free range, hormone free whole chicken at Whole Foods. Rinse it, shake Lawry's Season Salt or some salt/herbs in the cavity and on entire bird, stick in lemon with a few knife slits in the cavity, and roast in oven at about 375 degrees for about 1 1/2 hrs. I adjust this a little according to need. It comes out moist and succulent. Many times I throw the carcass in a pot with an onion quartered, some garlic cloves, some celery stalks, carrots, maybe some parsley and kale, if I have it. Cover with water, simmer for a couple of hours for a great broth to use.

Onion Rice
Saute a chopped onion in olive oil in large skillet. Add 4 cups of chicken broth (from a previous dinner or a store bought carton), 2 cups of basmati rice, bring to a boil, turn down as low as possible. Cover with tight lid. Cook for 30 minutes.

Broccoli
Shame on me, I still boil my broccoli, in enough water to cover it. (So to assuage my guilt I replace some of the water in the broth with the broccoli liquid.) I cook it to fork tender, drain, add olive oil/margarine/butter/flaxseed oil (whatever suits) and gently shake in pan to coat.

Leftovers Asian Flair-Single Serving
Take a bowl, add some rice, cut up chicken, throw in some broccoli, and a little bit of soy sauce. Microwave til heated through. This stuff doesn't last long in our house.

Brain Challenges

2009-11-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, jigsaw puzzles are good for the brain, as well as Sudoku,crossword puzzles, games like Scrabble, Bridge, Trivial Pursuit, learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument. The new brain game I like is Numbrix. It was invented a few years ago by Marilyn Vos Savant who is considered to be the world's most intelligent person. You can find it in our town's Parade section of the Sunday newspaper. Or you can find on the internet: parade.com/numbrix daily. It is quick and easy to learn.

I am currently taking guitar lessons, and am in the process of writing a song. I was working on it yesterday with my guitar teacher Chris when he told me that I should almost receive penalty points for one of the lines in my song. Shocked, I asked, "What do you mean?". He replied that one of the night classes he gave or took, I am not sure which, the students were penalized for cliches or otherwise unforgivable lines. I thought this was hysterical because it is rather uncharacteristic of him. And, I knew I was guilty as charged, although I still liked the line. I was ready to scrap the whole song. Its creation, the first part, was easy, breezy, and effortless, but the rest difficult and laborious. I made noise to that effect, but Chris laughed it off, saying emphatically that I had to finish it, and it was going to be great. Where is my English-major-daugther Lindsay when I need her? She would have been right on that.

So, every day I will try to challenge my brain in some way to keep those neurons firing, to form new neuro connections, to stave off dementia, and to just plain live a more interesting life.

Christmas Trees, Fish Oil, & Puzzles

2009-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

This year I am not going to get a real Christmas tree due to allergies. Husband doesn't know this yet, but my son Patrick is on board. He stated, "That's alright with me-they make me feel sick". (Notice he "stated". That's medical jargon. Doctor states this, patient stated that. No one "says" stuff; everyone just states.)

I am sitting here drinking my second cup of green tea, pondering the health benefits of fish oil. I have used it sporadically before, am convinced of its efficaciousness, and hereby am starting today officially adding 2000 mg. of quality fish oil to my diet daily. I get the kind that needs to be refrigerated made by Spectrum. I trust that it is more pollutant-free than cheaper brands. When I take fish oil (rich source of omega-3) regularly I notice my hair stops falling out and I just feel better in general. It is touted as a great anti-inflammatory, and who wants to walk around all inflamed. Flaxseed oil is also a good omega-3 source. Wow, I just got both out to compare, and flaxseed oil actually has a lot more good going for it. So, I am modifying my protocol as we speak. Either one tablespoon of flaxseed oil or 2000 mg of fish oil. Flaxseed oil tastes great on a baked potato and on salads, and not too bad on toast and vegetables. It cannot be used to cook with due to its unstability, but can be put on hot foods after cooking. I have also been taking 1300 mg of Evening Primrose Oil for a couple of months because my sister Paula told me I should after telling her that I felt completely psycho. It helped; after a few days I knew myself again. It also virtually eliminated hot flashes/night sweats.

Uh oh, this is getting long. However, I am excited to announce that I bought a new puzzle for Thanksgiving. 1000 pieces. I was thinking today that it might be fun to challenge another group to do one Thanksgiving week too. Selling points: it is non-TV, non-Wii amusement, can be interactive, is neuron stimulating, relaxing, and inexpensive. Useful tip: Cut a rectangular piece from a large box, bigger than the puzzle dimensions to work the puzzle on. It can be stored under a bed when you want to get it out of the way. Any takers?

Beware of Sugar Spikes

2009-11-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Piggy-backing onto yesterday's blog, another change I am committing to is avoiding
eating/drinking sugars and high-glycemic foods by themselves. Many evenings I have a glass of wine while preparing dinner-on an empty stomach. No more of that. One glass of wine is beneficial, when consumed with a meal. Along the same lines is eating cookies and such in between meals. It is way more healthful to keep blood sugars more even by eating those higher sugar items with fats, proteins, whole grains, and vegetables to slow down absorption rate.

Thanks to special daughter Tara for my blog's new look. She is so creative.

Exercise: I started that yesterday, but no real plan in mind. I think the Anti-Cancer book has one, but I haven't gotten that far yet. So yesterday I danced to music for 4 songs, about 10 minutes, and today I walked for 40 minutes.

Finally, last night I had a dream that some anonymous person forwarded me a spell check for my blog. Sigh. I know, I should go back and start cleaning up previous postings. Well, maybe not. Maybe OCDness is not contributory to health.

Gluten Bores Me

2009-11-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

Maybe I was remiss in not discussing gluten and being gluten-free on Day One of my blog. My body dislikes it almost as much as arsenic, so I have been strictly avoiding it for the last eighteen months. I am convinced that it affected many of my body systems and is responsible for the overall yucky way I feel. Gluten, you stand condemned. Yes, my health has significantly improved in the last eighteen GF months, but still has a ways to go. Thus this current focus. I have also been mostly dairy-free for the same amount of time because my body also forms IgA antibodies to casein (a protein found in dairy). Some literature indicates that 50% of gluten-intolerant people also cannot tolerate casein. Gluten can also cause sensitivity/allergy/intolerance to other foods, chemicals, and substances. But I am rather bored of the whole topic of gluten. Though it hounds me daily it will not be the focus of this blog.

I know I do not do well with sugar, so starting today I will stay away from it as well, until Thanksgiving Day that is. I may need to eat some sweet potatoes made our special way with cinnamon and brown sugar with marshmallows toasted on top. Oh, and I almost forgot about Heavenly Hash: a cherry jello, Cool Whip, marshmallow, pineapple concoction that is a necessary family tradition.

On the topic of sugar, one of the most important things I learned from the Anticancer book was the role of sugar in poor health. You need to know this so that you will be cautious of sugar and its various forms too. When you ingest sugar or anything with a high glycemic index it spikes the insulin released which causes your body to release IGF (insulinlike growth factor). These actually stimulate the growth of cancer cells and allow them to invade surrounding tissue. Furthermore, it contributes to inflammation in the body, and causes acne. That barely scratches the surface of why to eat less sugar, so I encourage you to look into it further.

In closing, yesterday I bought one of those dish scrubber thingy's that you fill with liquid soap to minimize exposure to Palmolive. My kid's have been after me to get one for a long time. Kids, are you happy now?

A Little Structure to the Road I Am Travelling

2009-11-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

To the right I posted three lists which for now, in general, is what I am following or attempting to anyway. They will serve to guide me on my journey. They will probably change a little or be refined as I research and learn more.

The four books that I am starting off with are:

Anticancer: A New Way of Life
by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD

I have found this book to be most useful because the author is a doctor who got a brain tumor, and was successfully treated for it, but the tumor came back; so he did extensive research on how he could become and remain cancer-free. What he proposes is a healthful lifestyle whether one is trying to prevent cancer specifically or not. It is not an all or nothing approach; very doable.

The other three books are:

8 Weeks to Optimum Health
by Andrew Weil, MD

He has a lot of good information and ideas. His eight week plan is a little too gradual for me, but this is a useful resource.

The Seven Pillars of Health
by Don Colbert, MD

This a 50 day plan, which contains useful information, teaching you something new each day to implement. His seven pillars are water, sleep/rest, living food, exercise, detoxification, nutritional supplements, and coping with stress.

Power Aging
by Gary Null, PhD

The most interesting concept I learned from this book was the idea of not treating individual health problems, but instead general basic lifestyle changes supporting health. He did 18 month "Life Enhancement Protocols" with groups of people, not targeting any disease. At the end of that time, there was a dramatic improvement in appearance, improved vision, symptoms decreased or gone, weight and blood pressure down, etc. The downside of his program is that it requires large amounts of juicing, no animal protein or dairy, no caffeine, no alcohol, no chocolate, and no sugar among other things Who wants to live like that!

About the only new thing I am implementing today is juicing. I am starting off with one daily, and will increase to two at some point. I have read it is better to start off slowly as they are potent. Today's will be carrot, apple, ginger. About a 10-12 oz glass.

November 17, 2009 2:59 PM

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First Day of Journey

2009-11-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Actually, it really is not the first day. I have been interested in health for a long time. So let's just say it is the first day of a more serious quest for a substantial improvement in my health, and invariably my family's.

Let me jump right in. Since I tend to be black and white, all or nothing type of a person, I decided the only way this is going to be something I will actually stick with is for it to be a little gradual and evolving. I often remind myself of the wise words by Francis and Edith Schaeffer, "If you have to have perfect or nothing, you will get nothing every time".

So, starting today, I am going to drink 2 cups of organic green tea daily, brewed at least 5 minutes. I am switching from an antiperspirant with aluminum to one with lavender, baking soda, and lichen by Alba Botanica that I got at Whole Foods. So far so good with that, but it isn't very hot today. Also, I checked my teflon pans to make sure the coating is flawless. I was glad to see that they were because they are fairly new. In addition, all corn, strawberries, bananas, and dairy products are being eliminated for the time being to rule out allergies.

A few days ago, I compiled a list of nagging health deficits I have constantly or occasionally. I just counted them and am shocked: 55. Hmmm, this may be a long,difficult journey. I also wrote down a list of foods that I suspect I am allergic to. This totalled only 12. In addition, I went to the library and checked out 4 "how to be healthier" type books. I may list them tomorrow.