Tips for getting a correct approach to health

I've battled health complications in my lifetime, and, thank God, I have recovered my health in most circumstances. Right now, I am free of symptoms, except for excess weight, and feel the healthiest I have felt since I was 20 years old. I'm 54 and that's saying quite a bit.

Considering that health fact, I figured I'd document my approach, so that I can remember and be prepared in the case of dealing with future health challenges.

First of all, I've learned that many, many, many and many symptoms can be attributed to dehydration, and have determined to drink an appropriate amount of pure water, exclusive of other beverages. Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, of Watercure fame, recommends half your body weight in ounces every day. So if you weight 100 lbs., you should be drinking 50 ounces a day. His book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water, is an excellent beginning in understanding why many symptoms are indicative of dehydration.

In conjunction with the water, I have learned that mineral-rich sea salt is essential for the body to balance the body's water content. Therefore, I have eliminated, to the highest degree possible, all refined salt in my kitchen, and avoid it where I can in my foods. The curezone.com has a page about salt, http://www.curezone.com/foods/saltpage.asp which goes into extensive detail about the subject. Trust me, I helped myself stop retaining water and swelling by adhering to a salt and water intake regimen.

So far, the changes have been fundamental: lots of water, and unrefined sea salt instead of refined and iodized and processed salt. Pretty simple and straight-forward. With those 2 changes alone, one will be able to avoid many common complaints.

Next, avoid refined foods, boxed foods, packaged foods, canned foods and anything with preservatives and is over-processed, esp. with high heat, which denatures food. For example, corn flakes are corn mash extruded into the flake shape. The extrusion is done at high heat, which ultimately denatures the grain.

In order to explain how I came to be devoted to the no-refined-foods approach, I need to share Dr. Hyman's book, Ultrametabolism. A great discussion of reasons to avoid processed foods and explanation of nutrient-dense foods to emphasize in one's diet.

To go further into the unrefined foods approach, I submit Dr. Weston A. Price's book,
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration , which goes into detail about his investigations, in the 1930s, of indigenous people and their positive eating habits. He is called the Darwin of Nutrition and has a lot of good, common-sense connections between excellent health of non-modern diet eaters, and the poor health of modern diet eaters. Another source that supports Dr. Price's methods: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon. Both Hyman and Fallon could be considered proponents of "functional foods" and "functional medicine" although their approaches are different.

Be picky about your food, particularly looking for local foods and organic foods. Dr. Mercola offers tips for eating healthy without breaking the bank:

The following 14 tips are the best of the best to get high-quality food on a budget:
1. Choose local foods over organic foods. Often, locally grown foods are raised according to organic standards at a more affordable price.

2. If all that’s available or affordable is fresh, conventionally grown produce, buy it, wash it well at home, and eat it.

3. Look for local farms and food coops offering raw dairy products, eggs, produce, and grass-fed meat. This will allow you to cut out the middleman and save money. Buying in large quantities, such as a side of grass-fed beef, can also save you money in the long run as long as you have room to freeze it (and you consume it before it goes bad).

4. Skip prepared or pre-cut foods, which can cost up to double the amount as the unprepared versions.

5. Plan your meals ahead of time (including cooking large batches and freezing some for later) so you don’t splurge on expensive, unhealthy fast-food at the last minute.

6. Pass on junk foods like potato chips, soda, cookies, candy, and other snacks. These are a complete waste of money, even if they’re “organic.”

7. Buy lots of fresh veggies, they’re usually less expensive than canned versions (just make sure you use them before they go bad).

8. Only buy what you need. Keep track of what’s in your pantry so you don’t double-up on foods unnecessarily.

9. Clip coupons and use them when you can (but don’t buy something unhealthy just because it’s on sale).

10. Watch the register when you check out of the grocery store. They often ring up wrong prices, at your expense.

11. Shop with a calculator so you can determine if it’s really a better deal to buy something in bulk or in a larger size.

12. Watch weekly specials, and be aware of what’s really a good price. You can often find organic produce on sale for less than conventional produce if you know what prices to watch for.

13. If you have the space, grow your own fresh veggies such as greens, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, string beans, etc.

14. Remember this rule of thumb: Fresh food is always better than frozen, but frozen is better than canned. (from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/07/24/how-to-shop-for-organic-foods-without-breaking-your-budget.aspx ).

Last, I want to mention natural hygiene and natural food. Lots of info, including fasting with water and lots of veggies.

This is a basic overview, highlights only, of the fundamental and important ingredients to achieving pain-free, symptom-free living. If you find yourself in poor health, there is much more to know and to find out about your situation. This document does not exactly address that situation.

History has happened . . . write it down

Most important events since May : presidential campaign and elections; economic crisis; summer is over, school started; we're all healthy and well, thank you God!

One of these days, one of us will be sharing memories about where we were and what we thought during these events, some of which are truly historic. Blogging gives us all a chance to keep track of the stream of consciousness or at least recent reflections on things.

Yay!! Obama!! Excited and hopeful! Proud! New ammunition for my 9 year old's study habits . . . you might be President some day!!

Awman! There goes my IRA . . . grit those teeth and keep up with the health because you'll be working for another 20 years at least . .

Summer was great! School starting again, hmm, Isaac is not excited. We'll see how it goes. This is the year to starting mush into brains, 4th grade here we come!!

Health and vibrancy . . . a wonderful gift. I earned my yellow belt in Taekwondo, at the same time Isaac earned his black belt. Felt very very very blessed!!

Along the way, California Native Plant Society plant sale . . . bought some eriogonum, salvia apiana, epilobium, then went to Mission Nursery for a couple more: heteromeles arbutofolia, and baccharis pilularis. Wanted atriplex but didn't find it at the CNPS sale.

Nobody has it wired

Becoming and being an adult in the modern world is very complex - We're All Trying to Figure it Out, doggone it!

Some people have it wired or think they have it wired, but really they don't. Some people feel more confident about it but it doesn't mean they have the answer. Some people feel very ignorant but actually have more answers than they think they have.

The best answer for me is to realize that we're all actually in this together, literally. We're all in this society/world together. We're all trying to master the complexities of our world and live in it comfortably.

It's like any craft or endeavor that is complex, like carving a statue, or building a wall, or painting a picture, or running a marathon or writing a poem. Each endeavor has many tiny complexities that are evident only once you get far enough advanced into it to notice or care about all the little things that need to be done. In carving or painting, the turn of a wrist or angle of a finger, or the amount of primary colors in a color palette, the texture of clay being worked or stone being chipped away, all are noticed differently when you are attempting to create something. And that attention is not wasted, it is invested in the process of creating.

Taking one small area of an endeavor and trying to give it energy so you can see and understand the complexities takes courage and commitment and a lot of other skills. Skills to master a craft can be challenging, like not paying attention to a whole bunch of other complexities while you're trying to do this one thing.

That one thing can be as lowly as changing a lightbulb, which admittedly doesn't take a great deal of skill, or it can be as grand as deciding to go to war, which takes countless little mini-conclusions on the part of the decider and his whole population. And in between there are many many many skills we learn to be better at.

And at the heart of them all is still, we're all trying to figure things out, we're all in it together.

God helps us. He can help us. If we let Him in. We can actually make it without God, but it may not feel right. With Him, it can feel right.

In the meantime, we're all trying to figure it out. All of us. Nobody has it wired. Nobody has it all down cold.

I want to bless my friends that aren't comfortable in their journey of figuring things out. I hope and pray that they will come to see that they can live here with us and join us on this strange, marvelous, curious and sometimes painful journey.

Blog reading

"The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."
-Alvin Toffler

Random blog spotting . . . from a guy on xanga.com
http://www.xanga.com/DanAmaniac/599385815/item.html

Friday, June 22, 2007
Let me introduce you to Nancy.

Recently I have begun working at Barnes and Noble. I've never had a job I enjoy so much. Not that I would want this to be a career, but its a good company to work for if I have to slave for corporate America. At least most of the people I work with are open minded progressive people. It's also nice to be away from Oklahoma. I'm not sure I could survive living in Oklahoma.

Anyways, today was only my second day and I was working cash wrap. One of the ladies working with me was the spry, young 68 year old Nancy. Nancy is one of those older women you just see and want to hug. She's always got a smile on her face. She frantically cleans the register area and takes a fervent interest in repeatedly dusting things. She's just returned from visiting her son in Germany. She does yoga "whenever she can". At 68 there's a bounce in her step, a real, vibrant energy of one who won't be defeated by the world. It's hard for me to have that kind of energy at 22, so it amazes me that this 68 year old woman does so genuinely. It's not this false "I'm going to be nice because I'm at work" happiness. It's a genuine gentle spirit.

She tries to teach me things and works a bit more slowly than me. That's not an insult to her, just a generational difference between someone who was born in the computer age and someone who was not. Nancy strikes up conversations with everyone who passes and often has comments about their reading choices - whatever they may be. She has so much energy its infectious - and not in the obnoxious, overbearing sort of way.

I write this to say, it took only 5 hours today for Nancy to become a new hero. When I'm 68, I sure as hell hope I can be that happy, that genuinely joyful and energetic about myself and the world.

When business slowed Nancy inquired about my background. I explained to her that I was born in Baton Rouge but my dad was in the military and so we've moved around a good bit. I explained that I was a student in Oklahoma studying English with hopes of someday making it in the field of writing (of any kind).

"Really? I was a journalism student and I am a writer," she excitedly replied.

Business picked up again and our conversation was temporarily halted. I figured this to be the end. Just one of those passing conversations that we have on a day to day basis with the different people we encounter. Nancy had made her friendly connection with me and work goes on, just two amiable co-workers with some common ground.

However, after several minutes when business died back down, Nancy surprisingly returned to the subject.

"Yeah, I studied journalism. Don't you ever just feel like you need to just go write?" she asked.
"Ah hum-ma-na what now?" I responded, confused at the energy of this woman.
"Like you just need to sit down and just let it all out?"
This coming from someone in my age range wouldn't have caught me off guard, but for a 68 year old woman to confess her need to just sit down and let it all go through writing was a shocker.
"Yeah, definitely. Its the only way to let it out sometimes," I responded.

"I started to figure out that I had a gift for writing things in a way which was interesting and easy to understand. I could communicate my thoughts very well. I wrote news releases, business plans, all sorts of stuff. Before long I worked my way up to the head of a non-profit organization."
"What non-profit?" I interestedly inquire.
"Oh "(insert state land preservation non-profit that i can't remember the name of here)". I got to be the head of that when I was 60. It was just too much, I got overwhelmed. But while I was doing that we lived in Northern Louisiana and I found this area and started taking pictures. After a while I realized, there's a book in this."

At this point, I'm just astounded. She's 68 years old and still full of vigor and energy and drive to do new and challenging things. She's not old and worn out from the rugged task of facing this world.

"Yeah, so I started taking more pictures and made a book out of it. They actually sell it here. It's still kind of weird to think about it."

Wow. That's just cool.

"I'm not seeing much money off of it obviously since I'm working here," she chuckles.

Not only is she trying new things, its lack of financial return seemingly rolled off her shoulder like nothing. It wasn't about making money, it was about doing something she loved.

The conversation continued and I asked about how she got into journalism and further explained that I wasn't sure if that's what I really wanted to do, but that I really just want to write.

"I don't know what to do. But I just hope it all works out."
"It will," she said confidentally. Does this woman really believe in me though she has known me less than a good night's sleep time?

"Just follow your heart and it will all work out."

Such optimism and wisdom. Her spirit is undeniable. I want to work with Nancy everyday. I want to pick her brain and learn from her grace. I want to be her in 46 years.
-end-

That was from some guy's blog that I read today. I wouldn't mind being Nancy either.

Investing

Spend less than you make, show less than you have

* You can't invest what you don't save - An investment plan starts with a cogent savings plan.

* Know your objectives - It's important to get a return on your capital, and it's important to ensure the return *of* your capital. Your investment strategy should be tailored to your risk tolerance, and that should reflect where you're at with respect to child bearing, retirement, etc.

* Know your alternatives - With a vast array of mutual funds, annuities, and exchange-traded funds, there are many ways of investing nationally, internationally, in stocks, and in other asset classes.

* Diversify, diversify, diversify - Even the greatest investments (think residential real estate of the last decade, or equities in China) can lose money quickly. Placing eggs in many baskets and ensuring that those baskets are not highly correlated in returns produces superior risk-adjusted returns over time.

You work for your profits; it's important to ensure that they work for you. The average savings rate in the U.S. has recently become negative; people are spending more than they earn. They have assumed that the rising values of their homes would fund their retirements. With the recent housing decline, that assumption will be called into question for quite a few of those folks. For them, retirement is a potential train wreck on the horizon.



Establish a three-pronged investment approach

a. Establish a tactical asset allocation plan based on current goals and risk tolerance (Aggressive Growth); re-evaluate risk profile yearly

b. Establish both a workable valuation strategy for value stocks and a workable evaluation criteria for growth stocks.

c. Establish a strategic sector rotation plan based on economic cycles

——Establish a reasonable and comfortable time horizon between reallocations, like 8-12 weeks?

http://family-invest.clearwiki.com/

Making sense of life = knowing you are blessed and highly favored

Lost, confused, depressed, alone, scared. Is that humanity's natural state?

What do we have to do to feel found, cherished, certain, joyful, and fearless?

I spent so many of my younger years feeling those lost feelings. Insecurity and anxiety were part of every day, pretty much. Some days more than others but a familiar battle. A good day was appreciated but it seemed that the bad days would come without warning and I felt powerless to overcome the bad feelings. Yet, my mask was pretty much intact. I coped okay. Not the best but okay.

Needless to say, my motivation consisted of repeatedly telling myself I could do it. No matter how tough it was, I continued to talk myself into moving forward. Sometimes I needed help and encouragement and those are the times when I was glad to have friends.

My anxiety level was consistently inconsistent, pretty high, but I coped with it pretty well. I suffered from several eating disorders between 17 and my mid 20s. It was one of the ways I tried to cope with my chronic anxiety. I started to get urinary tract infections chronically about that time as well. I took a job and worked hard to move forward, still feeling vulnerable and wounded. I was finally able to shake anorexia and bulemia when I married Henry, but I was still shaky inside. I still suffered with UTIs when the stress got too much.

These disorders are not unusual in our day and age. I was able to connect my disease with my anxiety and stress in my case, but maybe it's just my perception. But I have come to understand how much my internal anxiety and stress helped break down my body's defenses and create illness and disease.

When I gave my life to God, I believe a process of healing began. That began in 2000 and is still continuing, and probably will continue fo rthe rest of my life. I didn't want to make such a surrender, but it ended up happening. Slowly but surely, I lost levels of internal stress. I confessed to my sins and asked for forgiveness from God and from my family. As I faced my sins and trusted in God's love and Jesus' redemption, I was able to somehow heal. Over these 8 years, I trusted God and my confidence transferred from myself and my efforts, to God and his mercy and grace. Now I realize how blessed and highly favored I am. And that knowledge is crucial for my health and well-being. It's crucial to my being able to make sense of life.

It's hard to explain; I guess you had to be there.

For me, making sense of life is knowing that I am blessed and live by faith in the God of the Old Testament and His Son, Jesus Christ of the New Testament. And my faith is not a destination as much as it is a journey, a walk that allows me to take fresh steps every day. I learned that a "quiet time" is really a meeting with the living Christ, consisting of prayer and Bible reading. I learned to read, reflect and meditate on God's Word. I learned to try to apply what God has taught me from the Bible reading to the circumstances of my life - situations at work, home school, or church. I learned to use what I learned from His word in order to become more like Jesus. That's the fresh steps every day part. And that's the hard part. I don't have to do all that to be saved. But I think I have to do it to be healed and whole, to allow my heart to be opened and transformed. I learned to focus on expressing my love and devotion to Him, just presenting a long list of wants and needs. I realized that God knows what I need anyway, so I don't have to remind Him of that. Of course, I want to bring my needs to Him, but the main focus of the "meeting" is to offer my gratitude and praise, and then seek His guidance and revelation.

Today, it seems to me that family is a large part of the answer. Being part of a loving family makes it easier to believe in a loving God. Having someone who cherishes and cares for the family . . . that's pretty important. Even getting a hot meal can sometimes be an act of cherishing and encouragement. Providing an example of fearlessness, faith, certainty and joy, that's an act of love. It's an act of healing. It's an act of creating order in a senseless world.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Knowing that one is truly blessed and highly favored is what enables one to make sense of a senseless world.

From a great website:
How to Know God, from Gospelcom.net

III. What Are We Like?

We generally think of ourselves as basically good. And it's true that God's image is built into us. But there is another side.

People are rebellious. We have rejected God's authority over us in this world. People are self-centered. We are mainly concerned with our own comfort and security, putting our own selfish ambitions first.

People are often unconcerned. We usually don't worry about our broken relationship with God. But we were made to have a living relationship with him.

People are still accountable. Because he is concerned for justice, God can't let us go unpunished. The penalty is permanent separation from God (Romans 6.23). This is a death sentence that rests on all people.

People are deceived. Having rejected God's authority and friendship, we look for substitutes. Instead of putting God at the top of our priorities, we fill our lives with getting things or getting by, concern for security or power, maybe even drugs or the occult. Such substitutes don't finally satisfy. They can't replace God and knowing him.

People are proud. Some of us think so highly of our own achievements that we decide that God doesn't matter. Others think that living a good life will make them acceptable to God. But we must face the fact that rebels are rebels, no matter how decent they seem! To receive God's forgiveness we must change our whole attitude to him and recognize his right to rule us.

Lord, thank You for the peace that only You give in this troubled world. Help me to bring the Good News to those who are suffering anxiety and fear. May they find Your peace.

How do I get the best out of life?

Jeremiah 29:8-14
8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD. 10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity [ or will restore your fortunes ]. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

I'm probably way off base by trying to deflect the question I posed in my title. It's tricky because I'm basically saying it's the wrong question. A better question is Can God get glory from my life?

The passage in Jeremiah is a reminder and an example for us. Jeremiah was speaking to the Israelites, who were in captivity and falling back into idolatry and sin, to the point where God turned them over to their enemies. Did they feel like failures? Probably. But God wanted them to learn to turn to Him and trust in Him, and unfortunately the way they were being taught this lesson was through captivity and pain. So, why would God allow this if he had plans for their good? Let's see if I understand correctly.

Often we ask the question, How can I get out of this situation? or How do I get the best out of life? But it seems to me that God wants us to trust in Him and turn to Him. He wants us living a life that honors and gives Him glory and turn away from idolatry and sin. So, is it possible that He allowed the Israelites to go through hardship in order to chasten them and teach them a lesson? Is it that simple? Did He plan for them to come through this experience changed and more honorable people? I think that is the correct understanding. God humbles the proud and this is spoken of often throughout the Bible.

Proverbs 18:12 Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

Perhaps this is not something I want to hear and I just ignore God's word. Several examples exist in the Bible of sin and idolatry followed by captivity and hardship but I can ignore that because Jesus died for all my sins and I should not have to endure hardship. ?? Is this true? I don't think we can safely ignore all these examples because

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

I'm not saying we should strive to be perfect, but I do believe we should strive to do God's will. How do we deal with failure or setbacks when we know in our heart that we are right? Search our hearts and try to get right with God. Take every opportunity to be a person of integrity and come through the difficulties as a person of character.

Prayer: God please give me a humble and obedient heart when enduring trials that seem to be breaking me down. Help me to see that all circumstances are part of your promise to prosper me and help me become the woman you want me to be.

Life Without Regrets . . . I don't think so

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the
people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who
don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you
get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it
changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy,
they just promised it would be worth it.

I got this in a forwarded email and I started to think of all the regrets I have and how important those regrets were for me. I learned the most from the times my conscience pricked me and I realized I needed to change. Those were my greatest learnings and they were teh hardest, because it meant looking myself squarely in the character, and doing something uncomfortable and different.

I regret, for instance, not being able to get along with my previous husband. I could only see things from my own perspective and I regret that.

It seems more helpful to tell a young person, "You will make mistakes. And you will regret those mistakes. But learn the best you can from that error and keep going."

Humanity is flawed; no one is perfect. Should any leader live a "life without regrets?" Should George Bush, for instance? That's just an example.

It's crucial to realize that we all do the best we can at the time we have to make crucial decisions. Maybe there are some who want to do wrong to others for no reason; I'm assuming that kind of behavior is kept to a minimum. It takes a lot of humility to admit a mistake and it seems living a "life wthout regrets" gives us all a free pass to not admit that we've made a mistake.

The next problem I have with this blurb is love the ones who treat you right and forget about those who don't. Now, I'm a Christian and I was taught pretty much the opposite. Love your enemies is what the good book says. That's easy, right? NOT! But we are admonished to love our enemies. Why? Well, a lot of preaching can go into that question. Suffice it to say, we are not let off the hook to just love the ones who love us. I admit, that's one of the most radical teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and maybe the most ignored.

The Old Testament says "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:18, NIV). Jesus took that to a new level In the Sermon on the Mount, he said:

"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48, NIV)

Okay, the next sentence "Believe everything happens for a reason" really chaps my hide. Not only do I not agree with this platitude but I believe it can be harmful. Those words offer us a way to avoid genuine discomfort and confusion. Not that I'm attacking people that use and believe in that phrase; it's used to try to comfort and offer support. I actually am a very optimistic, hopeful individual, but uttering such platitudes as "every cloud has a silver lining" or "everything happens for a reason" don't do anything for me and actually can block the needed healing during a traumatic situation. For example, if someone attacks me physically or verbally, does it help me to believe that it happened for a reason? Doesn't really help. Bad things happen. Sometimes there is a reason. Sometimes there is no reason. I'm cool with that. Either way, I'm gonna be busy trying to repair the damage and move on with my healing and with my learning. Another example: what if I attack someone else, or reject someone else? Or didn't support someone? Did that happen for a reason?

'Second chance. Grab it.' Okay. Got it. Can't really dispute this statement. But it does imply

"If it changes your life, let it." I take it this means, if the second chance changes your life, let it. That's easier said than done, because that's actually what life is all about . . . growing and changing. Some of us grow into patience, humility and wisdom. Others grow more paranoid, vengeful and self-doubting. What makes the difference between the two? What makes some folks change for the positive and others go negative? I'm not sure, really. I don't have the answer for everything and I don't believe that saying "everything happens for a reason" really helps most situations. Saying "let it change your life" is like saying "take a deep breath." It's a platitude so fundamental, most times it doesn't need to be said.

After all, "Nobody said life would be easy."

Let's prepare ourselves for understanding some of the harder truths in life. It's cute when a toddler or a child believes in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Those myths suffice until they grow up and are ready for the complicated truths of the real world. Let's not keep ourselves or our children away from the real truths by perpetuating these platitudes.

Health tips

The Cure for Heart Disease website offers a great deal of info about the Pauling Protocol, which is high doses of Vitamin C combined with other nutrients, particularly lysine. This protocol has reversed artery blockages as well as other miraculous health improvement. I believe this works and even tho I don't currently suffer from diseases that relate to this protocol, I think people should know about it and perhaps recommend their family and friends who do suffer from heart disease to be come informed.
http://www.paulingtherapy.com/
http://www.thecureforheartdisease.com/pauling/stories.html

The health challenge I did, and sometimes still do, suffer with is chronic inflammation, manifesting as severe joint and muscle aches, muscle weakness, urinary tract problems, headaches and fatigue.

By reading Ultrametabolism by Dr. Hyman, I learned about the ubiquitousness of inflammation in the American diet, and started to eliminate many common foods and add more nutritious foods, getting almost immediate relief.

Inflammation has been recognized as the main health issue behind a wide range of diseases, including arthritis, heart disease, cancer, strokes, Alzheimer's, allergies, asthma, diabetes, Parkinson's, aneurysms, colitis, prostate problems, and others. Chronic inflammation is a warning that something is seriously out of balance with your health. It's extremely unfortunate that most people, including doctors, have no idea about the warning signs of inflammation and don't know how to treat it. Inflammation is invisible and, until your body reacts to it, is silent. For example, researchers have discovered that if you're a woman with rheumatoid arthritis, your risk of having a heart attack increases 100 percent.

Inflammation is caused by a variety of factors. It is a major part of the body's defense system. Redness, heat, pain and swelling are part of the healing process for every bump, bruise or rash. When the body senses danger from trauma or invasion by microbes, it sets in motion a sequence of events designed to contain the danger and protect itself from additional harm. Inflamed tissue has enhanced ability to kill invading microorganisms and inflammation sets the stage for repair of damaged tissue. Inflamed tissues, whether on the surface or internal to the body, is red, swollen, hot and painful. The key is to realize that many of us suffer from inflamed internal parts: inflamed arteries; inflamed joints, diagnosed as arthritis; inflamed muscles; inflamed nerves, diagnosed as neuritis. Inflammation can show up in many forms.

The Inflammation Syndrome says in the Foreword, "Healing begins with inflammation, which nature meant to clean up damaged tissues and protect against infection. . . . When we dig deeper, we find that chronic inflammation is the consequence of an injury to the body combined with nutritional imbalances or deficiencies. To properly treat inflammatory diseases, it is essential to correct the underlying dietary problems."

A diet lacking in healthy fats is one such factor. Too much processed food, which is loaded with hydrogenated and/or trans fatty acids is another. Excess fat tissue causes inflammation. Most medications create inflammation because the body treats it as a foreign molecule in the body. Medications such as vaccinations, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and birth control pills are good examples.

Allergens are another cause because the body releases inflammatory substances (like white blood cells). Allergic reactions can occur in response to dietary allergens: food proteins (gluten, soy, casein, corn), additives (pesticides, preservatives, colorants, flavorings), contaminants (antibiotics), environmental substances, dust, air pollutants, pollen, animal dander, and toxic metals. Some individuals produce excessive body defense reactions, and the body sends out inflammatory substances that end up attacking healthy tissue. For example, gluten foods, like white flour, are not fully metabolized by the body and often create an allergic reaction, which creates inflammation.

Inflammation is also caused by viruses and infections. Stress releases excess cortisol, a hormone that suppresses anti-inflammatory response in the body, which certainly causes inflammation.

Once we understand chronic, or sustained, inflammation, we can understand why it's important to identify and eliminate the offenders. Usually, that means looking hard at white flour, all sugar and most sweeteners (you should be able to use natural agave nectar, which is low-glycemic, stevia, and xylitol), alcoholic beverages, which turn to sugar in the bloodstream, and processed meats. By all means totally eliminate processed table salt and replace all consumed salt with natural sea salt, which contains 80+ natural minerals.

Eliminate nicotine, tobacco, pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, processed and packaged foods, and refined foods. The body has a hard time digesting molecularly changed foods, for example crackers, cookies and chips, which contain many artificial substances and were probably fried in fats which were converted to trans-fats, which are hazardous to health.

Most people will not eliminate as much as is needed unless they have a good reason. So there is an education process involved. That's where Dr. Hyman's book came in . . it answered many questions in detail. There are several books on the subject of inflammation that I recommend.

Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss by Dr. Mark Hyman
I personally swear by his 6-week Plan

Ultrametabolism, the website/

The Inflammation Syndrome by Jack Challem

The Inflammation Cure by William Joel Meggs


While eliminating sources of inflammation, two other steps seem appropriate. Detoxification and nutrition. There is a lot written about both these phases of health improvement. The key seems to be to adopt an eating style which will nourish the body and build the immune system.

I put the Heart Disease Cure info first, but I wonder how that Pauling Protocol works with the understanding of inflammation? Does the Pauling Protocol also alleviate other symptoms of inflammation?

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Obama win in SC ! Yay!

I've invited several of my friends to consider Obama for Pres. His rout in SC is impressive. And then this morning Ted Kennedy endorsed him, following Caroline Kennedy's endorsement on Sunday.

Definitely some action in his campaign.