Posts Tagged ‘medication’

A personal message:

I wanted to take a moment to share this information with you.  Vaccination, whether for yourself or your children, is a very personal decision.  Many Americans today are comfortable getting medications and vaccinations without a second thought, but there is a growing number of citizens and medical professionals that are finding reasons for everyone to stop and take the time to do research on what is being put into your body.  There are two very different opinions on the current H1N1 vaccination and on the actual flu itself.  One from the general mass media that is in many ways terrifying Americans.  The other from natural health specialists and a growing number of scientists that are trying to inform the public of the downfalls of the vaccination and to shed light on the actual H1N1 flu.  I am not suggesting you get the vaccine, nor am I suggesting that you not get it.  I am asking that before you make your decision you take the time to research the topic thoroughly.  Here’s a fantastic place to start, a recent article from from Mercola.com entitled “Common Links in Swine Flu Deaths.”  You can read the website of the doctor featured in the article here: Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/31/CDC-Says-Kids-That-Die-From-Swine-Flu-Have-Coexisting-Bacterial-Infections.aspx

The article has numerous links to additional sites for more information, but here are a few more to help with your research:

ALERT: Special Swine Flu Update

NPR: Debate Over H1N1 Vaccine

CBS News: Unplugged H1N1 Vaccine Dangers

World Health Organization [WHO]

60 Minutes: Swine Flu

British Medical Journal

CDC

My Personal Tip…Stop Focusing on Losing Weight!

So many of us are focused on losing weight and why not?  The obesity rate in America today is among the highest in the world.  According to the CDC, in 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; six of these states (Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.  Should current trends continue, 75% of adults in the US are projected to be overweight and 41% obese by 2015. [read more on that here]

No wonder so many of us have loosing weight on our mind, we need to!

But what we really need to be focusing on is becoming healthier…total health, not just seeing a number on the scale we are happier with or being able to get into that dress or suit before the big event.

So, continuing the conversation from last week’s post “The Fundamentals of Changing Your Health”, there are 4 basic fundamentals to experiencing true health and wellness.  To refresh your memory they were 1, to minimize the use of drugs, other toxins in our life and surgery-which we spoke about last week in the post “Stop Poisoning Yourself!”; 2, to eat as best we can to ensure ourselves quality nutrition; 3, to maximize oxygen and lean muscle through regular exercise; 4, to live a life of peace with positive and strong relationships; and my 5th, maximize nerve supply through chiropractic maintenance.  Remember, each of these fundamentals is important and they all work optimally together.

Now, why am I telling you to stop focusing on losing weight?  Well, again, what we need to focus on is total wellness for the mind, body and spirit and when you do and are honestly living the lifestyle, the weight will just melt off, naturally.  I’m just a normal person that much like you, has struggled to be “in shape” or to feel as if I look as good as that sickening fit person across the room…and I’m sure that many of you, like me, can feel like a failure at times when I don’t meet those lofty dreams or feel guilty at times when I eat something that isn’t in my ‘diet’.  I got tired of feeling like a failure, like I didn’t have what it takes to be “thin” and “in shape”…and instead I focused on just being healthy…and you know what?  The weight finally just melted off.

Here is a bit of history on my constant struggle with weight loss.  As a young child I was thin and tall, but once I hit puberty and my hormones kicked in, my body started absorbing everything and storing it between my hips and knees.  From then on I have always been a bit “thick”.  My grandfather used to say I was a true healthy southern girl.  When I was dancing with a local prestigious ballet academy I was constantly being weighed and scorned for getting too “big”.  In my high school years, my dad used to call me “Thunder Thighs” [Yeah I know-great for my self esteem right?].  Now, I wasn’t fat, just thick…and I struggled with this all my days.  As a young woman I started trying the fad diets.  Nothing worked.  Atkins made me gain weight, the Special K diet just starved me and caused me to binge from time to time and the Weight Watchers was too confusing back then and let’s face it, just too much work keeping track of all the various points.  The only thing that I did find to make a difference a few years ago was Zig-Zag dieting; changing your calorie intake on a daily basis.  You can read more on what a Zig-Zag is exactly, just click here, and if you do a Google search for the term “zig zag diet” you will find many calculators and menu plans.  Just be sure to check a few sites, not just the first one you go to.  For me though, the zig-zag diet was good while I was working part time because I had time to prepare the meals but once I started working full time again I no longer had the time to measure out every item I was going to put into my mouth, little by little I drifted from the plan.

So, how did I take of 15 pounds this year in less than 3 months and have kept it off easily?  By following the fundamentals mentioned earlier and most importantly…by eating pure, organic, all-natural foods.  I did exercise a few times a week when I had the time, but what really did it for me was getting rid of all, and I mean ALL, processed, man touched foods.  If you read the “How I Removed the Poisons from My Home.” post, then you know how I started this process…if not, let me quickly elaborate on this now.

My husband and I began eating all organic, local produce and grass-fed beef, bison and free-range chicken.  Our meal menu did change slightly, but the main change was simply the ingredients.  Even our condiments, if we use any, are now homemade or organic products from the store.  We even took this a bit further and tried the Healing Diet.  Absolutely no sugars in the foods and drinks we consumed, good fats, and plenty of protein and we did a detoxification system (recommended by our doctor) called NeuroCleanse to help pull out additional toxins that had built up in our systems.  We followed this plan for two month and even though we were still eating as much as before, I had lost 15 pounds and my husband even more.  [He never weighs himself but the physical change in his body is obvious.]  To be perfectly honest we did this following the 80/20 rule.  We followed the “diet” very closely 80% of the time and allowed ourselves to eat or drink something not-so-good 20% of the time.  By the end of the two months we found that it was terribly easy and we didn’t crave the old bad foods any longer.  Once the two months finished, [the length of time on the Healing Diet is different for everyone] we slowly started to return natural sugars back into our meals.

We are now entering month eight of our big change and I find myself needing less and less to fill myself at meal time.  I also have the freedom in my schedule now to exercise everyday as much as I want and although I am walking 20+ miles and practicing about 3 hours of yoga a week and I am not loosing weight any longer my body is still changing and becoming leaner and stronger.  This tells me I may be at my optimal body weight.  I’m always getting compliments and my old clothes just fall right off.  I have dropped 4 pants sizes and am almost comfortably in the next size down.  It’s a great feeling.  Although the scale may not be at my dream number just yet, I feel fantastic and can’t wait to see where I am in another two months.

Try it for yourself.  Stop worrying about the weight loss.  Accept the fact that you are what you are, love yourself and remember that what is most important is that you live a long and healthy life, free of medications, pain and complications.  The best way to do that is by following all of the fundamentals-trust me, you won’t regret it!

Suggested Reading:

Where I started:

“Maximized Living Makeover” by Dr. Ben Lerner, Dr. Greg Loman, Dr. Charles Majors

The link above will tell you where you can find the book locally.

Where I get my motivation and additional ideas to add to the Maximized Makeover:

Inside-Out Wellness The Wisdom of Mind/Body Healing by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup

Recipes for Health Bliss Using NatureFoods & Lifestyle Choices to Rejuvenate Your Body & Life by Susan Smith Jones

Lighten Up! The Authentic and Fun Way to Lose Your Weight and Your Worries by Loretta LaRoche

Earlier this week, we took a look at the basic fundamentals for one to follow in order to get themselves into true wellness. They were:

1. to minimize the use of drugs, other toxins in our life and surgery;

2. to eat as best we can to ensure ourselves quality nutrition;

3. to maximize oxygen and lean muscle through regular exercise;

4. to live a life of peace with positive and strong relationships; and

5. maximize nerve supply through chiropractic maintenance.

Remember, each of these fundamentals is important and they all work optimally together.

So, let’s now take a look at the first fundamental, removing drugs, toxins and surgery from your life.
This is an area that is highly overlooked in other “health” regimes. You’ll eat very well and exercise as you should, but never realize that our bodies are our largest organ and anything it is exposed to is absorbed into our systems. Our bodies are constantly being bombarded by chemicals in the home and outside.

The CDC’s “National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals”, [found here] third report (the fourth is due out in the 4th quarter of 2009) reviews studies ranging from 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 of levels for 148 environmental chemicals measured in people who participated in CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Chemicals measured included lead, mercury, cadmium, tungsten and other metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls; organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides and herbicides; phthalates; phytoestrogens; and environmental tobacco smoke. These chemicals are toxins that find their way into the body through pollution or consumer products. Exposure was measured through blood and urine samples of a group of volunteers. The report found positive results for at least eighty-nine chemicals. [Daily News Archives]

These toxins accumulate in our body tissues over time and this accumulation is now believed to be the heart of modern day disease. Columbia University’s School of Public Health reported that 95% of all cancer is caused by diet and environment, referring to the slow accumulation or stockpiling of chemicals over decades, leading to disease. Read that sentence again…and remember, this accumulation begins in the womb. [Summarized from Mercola.com]

While you can’t remove all toxins from your body, you can trust your body to do what it was created to do when working at its optimum level; clean itself. It is made to process and remove a certain amount of poison.

So, let’s look at the “Toxic Top Ten” found in “Maximized Living Makeover” by Dr. Ben Lerner, Dr. Greg Loman, and Dr. Charles Majors.

1.Household Cleaning Products; dishwashing detergents, oven cleaners, laundry detergents, floor and furniture polishes, air fresheners, hard-surface cleaners (esp. kitchen cleaners), antibacterial cleaners and soaps, dry cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners. Solution: Use natural cleaning products.

2.Pesticides and Herbicides. Solution: Buy organic bug and weed-killing products.

3.Steroids, Growth Hormones and Antibiotics (found in dairy products, chicken, beef and pork). Solution: Buy raw milk products, organic free-range chicken and grass-fed beef. Avoid pork.

4.Preservatives, Additives, Colorings, Hydrogenated Oils, Rancid Fats, an Others…found in refined, fast, fried and packaged foods. These include excito-toxins (neurotoxins) like MSG (monosodium glutamate), aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, and hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Solution: Read labels and avoid products containing these chemicals.

5.Teflon Cookware. Solution: Buy stainless steel cookware. Use extra virgin olive oil at low to moderate heats and coconut oil at high heats to reduce sticking.

6.Tap Water. Full of heavy metals, contaminants and other toxins. Solution: Drink purified water.

7.Personal Care Products: soaps, conditioners, shampoos, toothpaste containing toxic ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), DEA, Propylene, Glycol, and fluoride. Solution: Use natural products that do not contain these chemicals.

8.Heavy Metals: Mercury found in vaccinations, flue shots, silver (amalgam) fillings and fish. Also lead and aluminum found in old paints, toys and kitchenware. Solution: Educate yourself on the ingredients and contents of these items and make informed decisions about whether to use them.

9.Biotoxins: Mold is the most common infiltrator in our homes. Solution: These require specialized testing from natural physicians that work specifically in this area.

10.Medicine: The purpose of these unstable chemicals is to radically alter body function and change physiology. They are so toxic that it is a fact that medicine without a side effect isn’t a medicine. Solution: Work with your doctors to take as few medications as possible, if any.

I find that many people in the world around me tend to focus on only one area to improve their health and claim they are “healthy”…most commonly it’s nutrition.  The second most common is by doing some form of regular exercise but not changing many of their eating or lifestyle habits.  How many of you fit into one of these two categories?  Now, how many of you are taking prescription drugs or still smoke?  Yes it is important to eat well, but if you ignore the other fundamentals your body will not assimilate the good food that you have eaten.  It’s nice to be in great physical shape and have a good looking body, if the other fundamentals are ignored…as it has been said…you’ll look good in your coffin but can still suffer from many ailments that affect most couch potatoes.

If you wish for your body to function and heal normally, if you wish to lead a long, joyful, fulfilling life, follow these fundamentals.  The fundamentals were introduced and explained to me simply and thoroughly in the book “Maximized Living Makeover” by doctors Ben Lerner, Greg Loman, and Charles Majors, and are referred to as “The 5 Essentials”.  Each of these fundamentals is necessary to live the full, healthy life that you were intended to live.  You need to practice these fundamentals if nothing else to improve your health by keeping the cells in your body in top shape and replicating normally for optimal body function.

So, What are the basic Fundamentals?

#1 Minimize the use of drugs, other toxins and surgery… Toxins and chemicals found, for example, in medications and refined foods affect hormone balance and glandular function.  We all know that you die or get really sick from being poisoned. This includes exposure to chemicals and carcinogens found in medications, foods, unhealthy environments, and household cleaning products.

#2 Maximize quality nutrition… Diets high in carbohydrates leave a constant level of insulin in the system, which lowers serotonin levels and causes inflammation. Imbalances in omega-3 and omega-6 ratios have been found to be the first factor to address regarding depression, according to professors at Harvard and Oxford universities.  If your pH balance is off it can lead to inflammation.  Stimulants such a sugars, artificial additives negatively affect brain function.  Nutrient deficiency can be solved by the right foods, foods robust in soluble fiber, and supplements.

#3 Maximize oxygen and lean muscle… Inactivity and lack of “intentional” exercise has many damaging effects on body function and mental health.  Staying active, getting at least 30 mins of “intentional” exercise a day will greatly improve fat to muscle ratios.  Movement creates the necessary intake of oxygen. The movement is what transports the oxygen-rich blood through your body, and you become more efficient at the circulation, absorption, and storage of this oxygen. When this happens, your cells have the oxygen they need to survive and live in health. With a sedentary lifestyle, you’re literally choking yourself to death. Fat-to-muscle ratio imbalance: How much fat you have in comparison to lean muscle will be a determining factor in organ function and the development of many diseases and disorders.

#4 Maximize peace and strong relationships… Increase in stress hormones creates everything from obesity and high blood pressure to high cholesterol, decreased libido, and aging. Peace is a vital health and longevity necessity in addition to making sure you’re not miserable.

*A 5^th Fundamental  and number two of the “Essentials” that I practice is ….Maximize nerve supply.  Not everyone agrees with Chiropractry but I do.  The central nervous system is your brain and spinal cord. This system is the central computer and master control system of the entire body. If there is disturbance or interference with CNS function, everything breaks down. Emotional stress is one factor that affects, or interferes with, your CNS function. Also, misalignment of the spinal column directly affects and even damages long-term nervous system function.

This is a topic that will return to this site often.  We’ll soon discuss how to put these fundamentals to work on a daily basis.  This is not a “fad”.  This is your life.  In the meantime you can read more at www.maximizedlivinghealthsite.com