Have you, or someone within your circle of loved ones, ever had these symptoms?
fatigue
skin disorders
headaches
muscle pain
joint pain
neurologic symptoms
neuropsychological symptoms
symptoms involving the respiratory system
sleep disturbances
gastrointestinal symptoms
cardiovascular symptoms
abnormal weight loss
menstrual disorders
I know I have, many times, (accept maybe the abnormal weight loss) but rarely did I ever go to the doctor. According to www.military.com, these are the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.
How is it that I have never been in the service, yet have had the same symptoms exhibited by solders who served their country in a foreign land? www.wrongdiagnosis.com has a data base that contains 12,000 symptoms & 20,000 diseases! It's obvious just by the numbers that many many symptoms are going to overlap into many many diseases.
One of the tv programs I watch regularly is a medical show. The scripts usually begin with a person who is admitted into the hospital with specific symptoms. The rest of the show revolves around the cast trying to diagnose the patient's illness based upon their symptoms so they can treat the illness before the patient dies.
Sometimes the symptoms reflect more than one illness, so during the course of some of these diagnosises and the treatments that are applied, sometimes the patient comes closer to death than they were before they were treated.
You may be asking what any of this has to do with the mission of this blog. The bottom line is that sometimes it may not be safe to go to the hospital. Therefore, it is most important to avoid having to go to the hospital.
Hipocrates, author of the Hipocratic oath, the oath taken (but not required) by many doctors upon graduation says, to "let food be your medicine and medicine be your food". I don't see any food in the drugs we are given as a prescription or choose to buy over the counter...only chemicals. www.thefreedictionary.com defines a chemical as: "any substance used in or resulting from a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules".
The human race is a very young race in comparison to the universe. There is no way we can be completely knowledgable about what eating, drinking, or breathing substances that have been changed at the atomic or molecular level will do to our bodies at the cellular level.
Whole foods, on the other hand, have been tested for safety much in the same way the FDA established part of their GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list. ("Under 21 CFR 170.30(c) and 170.3(f), general recognition of safety through experience based on common use in foods requires a substantial history of consumption for food use by a significant number of consumers".)
There must be a lot of people finally beginning to realize the benefits of eating whole foods vs the dangers of eating a meal that begins in a box or a can. The food manufacturing industry (emphasis on manufacturing industry) must be feeling the crunch, because there has been a new eating disorder identified. It's called Orthorexia. It basically says that anyone who is obsessed with eating whole foods and nothing else may have a serious psycological disorder.
If they are so scared that they have to invent a "disorder" (which, by the way, will probably end up to be managable with some new drug), we must be on the right track. Choosing more and more to eat whole foods rather than "edible food substances" (which Michael Pollan calls anything other than whole foods) will be beneficial in more ways than just keeping our bodies healthy.
It may even promote a healthier world by encouraging the food manufacturing industry to go in a different direction. If we choose to eat foods that are chemical free, more chemical free foods must be made available to us, by them, if they want to stay in business.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Too Much of a Good Thing
If you read my post called "The Food for Our Food", I talked about what I learned from author Michael Pollan about corn-fed cattle. I had recently watched his documentary called Food, Inc., and as well as explaining why we should only eat grass fed beef, it helped to answer a question I have had for many years. "Why it is cheaper to eat at a fast food restaurant than to buy whole, fresh food at the grocery store and cook it at home?."
The answer is government subsidies. The way I understand it, the government started paying the farmers to grow as much corn as they can. Because of this, corn became so inexpensive and so plentiful, that it was necessary to find more things to do with it. That's when the chemical companies became involved. If it's not in the box or the bottle, it is part of the box or the bottle.
They managed to turn this single golden crop into hundreds of food additives. It became much more than a grain that could make porridge, tortillas, bread, and polenta. It became a sweetener called high fructose corn syrup. It became a thickener called corn starch. It became a substitute for wheat gluten called xanthum gum. If you go to
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
you will find "A Zillion Uses For Corn". It also said that out off 10,000 items in a typical grocery store, at least 2,500 use corn in some form during production or processing. More recently, based upon the success of feeding corn to livestock, it is even becoming food for farmed fish.
Whole grains are supposed to be very healthy, providing fiber and other important nutrients. Whole grains are considered a crucial part of a balanced diet, but how balanced can our diets be if there is so much corn in everything? How wrong is it that the obesity epidemic is blamed on the eating habits of the obese individual when the food manufacturers are hiding corn derivatives within the labels of their processed food?
Growing up right around the time a fast food giant hit their billionth hamburger, I remember that going there to eat lunch was a treat we got once a week on the day we went grocery shopping. The rest of the time my mother cooked from scratch. Then, slowly, our meals began to change, and I started learning how to cook by reading the back of a box.
If we continue in this direction our children may find themselves eating nothing but nutrition bars with additives made out of nothing but corn and sucking desert out of a plastic tube. Oh wait...they are already doing that.
I am a single parent, and I totally understand how difficult it is to work full time and take care for your family. Now, I am a grandma and I still work full time and babysit on my days off. There is nothing I would rather do than stay home full time and give them the care they need and deserve, but there are bills to be paid to keep a roof over our heads and to feed and clothe everybody.
There was about a year in my life where I wasn't needed to help any of my kids. Everything was calm, everyone was working, the grandkids were in day care or finally in school. I only had to feed myself. I found out that eating can be a very simple process. Most mornings I had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. In the afternoon I liked to eat a large sweet potato, moistened with orange juice and sprinkled with cinnamon. I usually ate a large salad in the evening, because I heard somewhere that it's best to eat the salad last because the roughage helps push everything out that was eaten that day. Of course I also managed to have some snacks 3 or 4 times a day.
My point is that every meal doesn't have to contain every nutrional element listed on the food pyramid. Your kitchen isn't in the back of a restaurant, and I figure if kids can "survive" on having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a bologne sandwich and a bag of chips for lunch, they don't need a dinner that has meat and potatoes, vegetables, soup or salad, and apple pie for desert. If we simplify our dinners maybe we can spend a little more time making breakfasts and lunches for them from whole foods, not just more corn out of a box. Let's end this obesity crisis. Let's get back to eating whole foods.
Michael Pollan explains that, "It is no coincidence that in the years national spending on health care went from 5 percent to 16 percent of national income, spending on food has fallen by a comparable amount — from 18 percent of household income to less than 10 percent." If this is the case, doesn't it make sense that by spending more on food we will spend less on health care? That is something I am willing to take a chance on.
The answer is government subsidies. The way I understand it, the government started paying the farmers to grow as much corn as they can. Because of this, corn became so inexpensive and so plentiful, that it was necessary to find more things to do with it. That's when the chemical companies became involved. If it's not in the box or the bottle, it is part of the box or the bottle.
They managed to turn this single golden crop into hundreds of food additives. It became much more than a grain that could make porridge, tortillas, bread, and polenta. It became a sweetener called high fructose corn syrup. It became a thickener called corn starch. It became a substitute for wheat gluten called xanthum gum. If you go to
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
you will find "A Zillion Uses For Corn". It also said that out off 10,000 items in a typical grocery store, at least 2,500 use corn in some form during production or processing. More recently, based upon the success of feeding corn to livestock, it is even becoming food for farmed fish.
Whole grains are supposed to be very healthy, providing fiber and other important nutrients. Whole grains are considered a crucial part of a balanced diet, but how balanced can our diets be if there is so much corn in everything? How wrong is it that the obesity epidemic is blamed on the eating habits of the obese individual when the food manufacturers are hiding corn derivatives within the labels of their processed food?
Growing up right around the time a fast food giant hit their billionth hamburger, I remember that going there to eat lunch was a treat we got once a week on the day we went grocery shopping. The rest of the time my mother cooked from scratch. Then, slowly, our meals began to change, and I started learning how to cook by reading the back of a box.
If we continue in this direction our children may find themselves eating nothing but nutrition bars with additives made out of nothing but corn and sucking desert out of a plastic tube. Oh wait...they are already doing that.
I am a single parent, and I totally understand how difficult it is to work full time and take care for your family. Now, I am a grandma and I still work full time and babysit on my days off. There is nothing I would rather do than stay home full time and give them the care they need and deserve, but there are bills to be paid to keep a roof over our heads and to feed and clothe everybody.
There was about a year in my life where I wasn't needed to help any of my kids. Everything was calm, everyone was working, the grandkids were in day care or finally in school. I only had to feed myself. I found out that eating can be a very simple process. Most mornings I had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. In the afternoon I liked to eat a large sweet potato, moistened with orange juice and sprinkled with cinnamon. I usually ate a large salad in the evening, because I heard somewhere that it's best to eat the salad last because the roughage helps push everything out that was eaten that day. Of course I also managed to have some snacks 3 or 4 times a day.
My point is that every meal doesn't have to contain every nutrional element listed on the food pyramid. Your kitchen isn't in the back of a restaurant, and I figure if kids can "survive" on having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a bologne sandwich and a bag of chips for lunch, they don't need a dinner that has meat and potatoes, vegetables, soup or salad, and apple pie for desert. If we simplify our dinners maybe we can spend a little more time making breakfasts and lunches for them from whole foods, not just more corn out of a box. Let's end this obesity crisis. Let's get back to eating whole foods.
Michael Pollan explains that, "It is no coincidence that in the years national spending on health care went from 5 percent to 16 percent of national income, spending on food has fallen by a comparable amount — from 18 percent of household income to less than 10 percent." If this is the case, doesn't it make sense that by spending more on food we will spend less on health care? That is something I am willing to take a chance on.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Common Cold: Sickness or Cure?
After the recall of infant cold medications, it made me wonder why they pulled just the ones for infants and not the ones for everyone else. I looked at the ingredients and didn't see much of a difference other than the dosage, so I started to look closer at the common cold...which led me to mucus.
Whenever someone sneezes, coughs, or blows their nose, how do you react? Do you back away and cover your mouth so you don't "catch" their cold? Probably, because it's a centuries old instinctive reaction.
But what exactly is a cold? Is it an illness caused by a virus? Most of us would say yes, but that may not always be the case.
I have learned that the body creates mucus naturally, in epithelial cells in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual, and auditory systems in mammals. It also works as part of our body's natural defense system, by protecting it against infectious agents such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. The more toxins in the body, the more mucus is produced.
Mucus is not digestable by the body, so it must be expelled. Coughing and sneezing are automated body reactions designed to eliminate the foreign toxins that are surrounded by mucus from the body. Blowing our noses is a manual operation, necessary in a more aesthetic way, but the need to blow our nose is still caused by excessive mucus.
If you read my post called the 'Natural Mineral Detox", you know that I have been taking a mineral called zeolite since April of 2007. Because it only stays in your system only 4-7 hours and does not bioaccumulate, it should be taken every day, at least 3 times a day. The key word here is "should". There are times when I have not been able to take it because I used it all before it was time for me to order it again.
Sometimes I take extra if there is a flu virus going around at work. Sometimes I take extra if I haven't had enough sleep and need to boost my immune system because my body is run down. This mineral, to me, is important enough to be in my regular budget, like food and gas, but when an unexpected expense occures, sometimes I just can't buy it.
Someone once said to me that maybe I'm "addicted" to it and I'm having withdrawal symptoms. At the time, they didn't understand that zeolite is not a drug, nor a medication, which is why it's safe for pregnant and nursing mothers and does not react with any medication. It is a natural mineral, created from the Earth, and it is impossible to become "addicted" to it in that sense.
The reason I start to exhibit the symptoms of a cold is because of my body burden. Zeolite goes through the body on a cellular level collecting heavy metals and toxins. Without the extra help from the zeolite, my body has to work extra hard to do it on it's own. Since toxins are continually entering our bodies even when we are just breathing, it becomes overwhelmed, and then the mucus steps in to help. Hense, the symptoms of a cold.
It makes sense to me now that suppressing the symptoms of a cold doesn't allow the body to eliminate the toxins so it can heal. That is why, when you have a cold, it is recommended that you rest in bed and drink plenty of water.
Resting allows your body to concentrate on healing instead of handling all the stuff it needs to do in order for you to follow your regular daily routines. Water helps the body flush the toxins so you can heal faster.
I think it is better to just not have so many toxins in the world that we are given medications to suppress the symptoms created by the illnesses that these toxins produce. I feel like I am doing my part by not purchasing any OTC medications and I'm fortunate not to be on any regularly prescribed medications because I'd quit those too.
Using the zeolite is like health insurance to me. I don't feel any different when I'm taking it...no side effects like drowsiness, cotton mouth, or nausea. I can drive and operate machinery. I don't have to worry about adverse reactions while taking another medication at the same time or damaging one of my organs. I don't have to worry about accidentally overdosing and ending up in the hospital or, even worse, dead. I really only notice when I don't take it. I get a "cold".
Whenever someone sneezes, coughs, or blows their nose, how do you react? Do you back away and cover your mouth so you don't "catch" their cold? Probably, because it's a centuries old instinctive reaction.
But what exactly is a cold? Is it an illness caused by a virus? Most of us would say yes, but that may not always be the case.
I have learned that the body creates mucus naturally, in epithelial cells in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual, and auditory systems in mammals. It also works as part of our body's natural defense system, by protecting it against infectious agents such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. The more toxins in the body, the more mucus is produced.
Mucus is not digestable by the body, so it must be expelled. Coughing and sneezing are automated body reactions designed to eliminate the foreign toxins that are surrounded by mucus from the body. Blowing our noses is a manual operation, necessary in a more aesthetic way, but the need to blow our nose is still caused by excessive mucus.
If you read my post called the 'Natural Mineral Detox", you know that I have been taking a mineral called zeolite since April of 2007. Because it only stays in your system only 4-7 hours and does not bioaccumulate, it should be taken every day, at least 3 times a day. The key word here is "should". There are times when I have not been able to take it because I used it all before it was time for me to order it again.
Sometimes I take extra if there is a flu virus going around at work. Sometimes I take extra if I haven't had enough sleep and need to boost my immune system because my body is run down. This mineral, to me, is important enough to be in my regular budget, like food and gas, but when an unexpected expense occures, sometimes I just can't buy it.
Someone once said to me that maybe I'm "addicted" to it and I'm having withdrawal symptoms. At the time, they didn't understand that zeolite is not a drug, nor a medication, which is why it's safe for pregnant and nursing mothers and does not react with any medication. It is a natural mineral, created from the Earth, and it is impossible to become "addicted" to it in that sense.
The reason I start to exhibit the symptoms of a cold is because of my body burden. Zeolite goes through the body on a cellular level collecting heavy metals and toxins. Without the extra help from the zeolite, my body has to work extra hard to do it on it's own. Since toxins are continually entering our bodies even when we are just breathing, it becomes overwhelmed, and then the mucus steps in to help. Hense, the symptoms of a cold.
It makes sense to me now that suppressing the symptoms of a cold doesn't allow the body to eliminate the toxins so it can heal. That is why, when you have a cold, it is recommended that you rest in bed and drink plenty of water.
Resting allows your body to concentrate on healing instead of handling all the stuff it needs to do in order for you to follow your regular daily routines. Water helps the body flush the toxins so you can heal faster.
I think it is better to just not have so many toxins in the world that we are given medications to suppress the symptoms created by the illnesses that these toxins produce. I feel like I am doing my part by not purchasing any OTC medications and I'm fortunate not to be on any regularly prescribed medications because I'd quit those too.
Using the zeolite is like health insurance to me. I don't feel any different when I'm taking it...no side effects like drowsiness, cotton mouth, or nausea. I can drive and operate machinery. I don't have to worry about adverse reactions while taking another medication at the same time or damaging one of my organs. I don't have to worry about accidentally overdosing and ending up in the hospital or, even worse, dead. I really only notice when I don't take it. I get a "cold".
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Treat or Trick
I recently watched a documentary called "The Beautiful Truth". It goes along with my beliefs that medicines do not cure diseases, they just treat the symptoms, and that everything we need to be healthy is supplied by the Earth.
I used to think that the FDA did the testing of the drugs they allow on the market. While working on a paper for college I found out that I was mistaken. Not only do they not test the drugs, they admit that "no drug is perfectly safe" and that a drug is allowed on the market "if the benefits outweigh the risks". I found this out at the FAQs page of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA website.
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/FAQsaboutCDER/default.htm
Think about that soft and beautiful voice at the end of a commercial for a drug that tells you about some of the side effects and advises you to ask your doctor if it is right for you...sometimes even offering a free month's supply.
I went to my medicine cabinet and threw out all my OTC meds. Fortunately I am not routinely on any prescription meds. I believe that what we learn here together will help to keep us from "having" to take these unsafe medications.
I used to think that the FDA did the testing of the drugs they allow on the market. While working on a paper for college I found out that I was mistaken. Not only do they not test the drugs, they admit that "no drug is perfectly safe" and that a drug is allowed on the market "if the benefits outweigh the risks". I found this out at the FAQs page of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA website.
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/FAQsaboutCDER/default.htm
Think about that soft and beautiful voice at the end of a commercial for a drug that tells you about some of the side effects and advises you to ask your doctor if it is right for you...sometimes even offering a free month's supply.
I went to my medicine cabinet and threw out all my OTC meds. Fortunately I am not routinely on any prescription meds. I believe that what we learn here together will help to keep us from "having" to take these unsafe medications.
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