Moving Strongly Forward

How Many Prescription Drugs Do You Take?

I tripped across this Forbes article Who Is Popping All Those Pills? while pondering a statement made at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences' BESTFest by Dr. David Kroll, the moderator of the ethics panel. He mentioned that a certain percentage of people in his age group are on one or more drugs. Given that I am in his age group, I had to seek out some information.

I learned from the Forbes article that 39% of people in my age group (45 - 54) are on one or more prescription drugs. Nine percent are on four or more drugs. This isn't a vetted, scientific survey, but still the results are alarming. The article goes on to say that:

Adverse drug reactions among multiple drugs and even Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs are a serious problem.  It has been estimated that perhaps approximately 16% of hospital admissions were related to adverse reactions to medicines and approximately 100,000 deaths occur yearly due to adverse drug reactions – making it the 4th leading cause of death and ahead of pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS and automobile deaths, according to Nurse.com [sic].

For more information on prescription drug use trends, visit this CDC publication: Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase and this CDC site: Therapeutic Drug Use. I also like this NPR article, which gets quickly to the point: A Portrait Of Health: Prescription Drugs In America.

Fortunately, Ryan and I are part of the 60% who do not take prescription drugs. That got me thinking, why are we part of this costly healthcare system, forking out a lot of money each month for health care that we don't use. It is worth it to pay more than $500 a month so that we can have a $25 co-pay for each of our annual exams? Is it worth spending more than $6,000 a year so that we can save $525 on physicals? Now that we have Ryan's food reactions identified, allowing his inflammation to greatly reduce and his cholesterol numbers to normalize (yes, I know that cholesterol markers are highly contested, but watching Ryan’s plummet let us know we are on the right track), what do we have left to ponder in the mundane health maintenance world? I do want to know my Omega 6:3 ratio, but that isn't covered by insurance anyway (and neither were most of Ryan's cholesterol blood tests because we wanted more info than the standard diagnostic allowed so that we could better insure he was making good food choices and maintaining healthy inflammatory markers - shame on us!).

Granted, emergencies come up and I have been the beneficiary of great ER docs. I won't quibble about that and would want some emergency insurance, but will that meet the Obamacare standard? I will be exploring that in the next few weeks. Our other plus is that we know great MDs who will continue to guide us because they are generous and we are, well… us, regardless of our insurance status, trying hard to do the right thing. It is not often that critical thinking, intellectually sharp doctors get to guide people like us and we are always grateful to them.  

Here is another article which makes me want to hop out of the system: Welcome to the Brave New World of Corporatized Medicine: Just Hope You Don't Get Sick!. Sure is tempting to slash our insurance costs by half. And what about the big, scary C. What if? So many people get it. I know I am not going to get chemo'd and radiated to death, so I won't be going down that insurance road. 

It is tough to break out of the pack, and I am not ready to do it just yet, but with a little more research we just might.

And what about you? If you are on medication or about to be put on medication, what one small thing can you do this week to improve your chances of avoiding it? Maybe stop drinking soda, whether it is diet or regular? How about taking grain out of your diet? How about processed food? Here is a how to eat well to be well website that a great MD I know recommends to his patients who will listen: The Archevore.

If big changes seem too big, remember it is a journey and one small step after another can get you where you want to be too. It takes a long time to become sick and it takes awhile to undo it and become well. Your body is just waiting for the chance to excel. Check out this blog post for some great resources to keep things in perspective: Be Kind to Yourself About Food and, Well, Everything. If you don’t go to this blog post, be sure to read the book The Slight Edge .

Happy adventuring!

Glyphosate Findings from Dr. Stephanie Seneff (aka GMO Foods are not Safer than Organic Foods, aka Museum GMO Follow-up, aka a Whole Heap of Health Problems)

One of my favorite researchers, Dr. Stephanie Seneff (see Dr. Stephanie Seneff, D3 and Cholesterol Sulfate, Vitamin D, Hormesis, Northern Europeans and Dr. Stephanie Seneff and Cholesterol Sulfate, Vitamin D and Hormesis - more to consider), has put out another awesome publication – this time relevant to my efforts to get the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to recognize that GMO foods are a health threat. The Museum’s BESTFest panel discussion of April 2013 promoted that GMOs are actually safer to eat than organic foods (see NC BESTFest (formerly Biotechnology Day) Ethics Panel Results), which blew my mind. I was in the middle of packing and moving (and exhausted), so I didn’t have the time to do the research needed to push back against the panel discussion as strongly as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I have continued to dog the issue and Dr. Seneff’s most recent work has gotten one panelist’s attention, so much so that he says he is including her most recent study in his University teaching.

Here is Dr. Seneff’s publication: Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases. Here is the abstract for those who want to get to the point – that GMO foods – or at least the pesticides used on them – are causing a whole heap of health problems:

Abstract: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup^®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise. Residues are found in the main foods of the Western diet, comprised primarily of sugar, corn, soy and wheat. Glyphosate's inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes is an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals. CYP enzymes play crucial roles in biology, one of which is to detoxify xenobiotics. Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins.

If you are still eating sugar, corn, soy or wheat, look out. Your run of the mill metabolic syndrome-related diseases (diabetes, auto-immunity, obesity) are now amped up.

What was the Museum’s response regarding Dr. Seneff’s article? So far no response from Dr. Kroll, but I truly and sincerely understand that his workload is huge and he may not have time. Another colleague, however, is beginning to question whether or not GMOs are the answer to feeding the world because of Michael Pollan’s latest work (see the PBS interview In 'Cooked,' Michael Pollan Argues Importance of Making Your Own Food).

I plan to continue to forward compelling research such as Dr. Seneff’s to the Museum. The idea that GMOs are safe because scientific research does not suggest otherwise, and that this message is coming from the Museuem’s venue, is unacceptable to me. As I discussed with Museum panelist Dr. Kouri, anecdotal evidence is critical when scientific evidence is unavailable, and I believe the scientific evidence regarding the harm of GMOs will grow.

Should I Miss My Parasitic Worms?

I hope to get back to posting regularly, but until our move is over, posting will remain sporadic at best…unless I can pre-write some stuff, which in turn would suggest that I am fully packed ahead of time, which actually could be a possibility.

Until then, this Chris Kresser podcast is a good one: The Hygiene Hypothesis - Is Modern Disease Associated With Being Too Clean?. It makes me wonder about the wisdom of washing out those whip worms under the guidance of my Dr. of Chinese medicine way back when I lived in Florida and didn’t know much. He was also Ryan’s aikido instructor and he ran a strict dojo. Through aikido is how we initially got to know him, and I am amazed at how attitude conveys authority and rightness, even when the person is wrong.

Funny how much we learn over time. I was always skeptical of that healer/instructor. I know people he helped when western medicine was failing them, but I also didn’t trust him even though I couldn’t identify why. Seven years later I know enough to know he was wrong on a few things – but maybe he learned along the way too?

One of the things he promoted was that 99% of Americans have worms and we need to get rid of them. Neither Ryan nor I did anything about it, but our tailor, whom we referred the doc/instructor, followed his instruction. Then she convinced her less than evolved husband to clean out (that guy even had a tape worm). Being confronted by her friendly mocking of our fear and weakness, we finally took the plunge and got rid of our whip worms. At least we think they were whip worms…I was too chicken to look them up on the internet and described them to our tailor, who by then was an intestinal worm specialist.

A little bit of quick follow-up reading leads me to believe that maybe I should not have washed the little guys away. I wonder if they are back after a seven year absence.

Here are a few interesting articles:

Opening a Can of Worms – from The Scientist.

Hookworms and Whipworms: Our Immune Systems Attachment to Parasites - from Scienceline.

Helminthic therapy: using worms to treat immune-mediated disease – a PubMed abstract.

Even ABC News is reporting on it: Drinking Pig Worms to Fight Crohn's Disease.

And this from The Wall Street Journal: In a Squeaky-Clean World, a Worm Might Help Fight Disease.

All of these articles relate to pig whipworms. I am guessing I had human whipworms (or were they dog), but they must have been moderate because I showed no symptoms. I wonder if my body misses them? 

P.S. I finally worked up the nerve to take a look at pictures. I definitely had whipworms. 

Relationships With Food Are Like Relationships With People

I had an inspiring email discussion recently with a friend regarding her husband’s frustration with clean eating around celebration times, even though the whole family’s health has been accelerating. Here is my end of the exchange, for what it is worth:

Here is the scoop. Some people, like my husband and yours, have to make some serious mistakes many times in order to "get it." Let him go wild tomorrow. Don't say a word. He will get his butt kicked and pay for it and learn. His body will yell at him like nobody's business. Be open to it. And then he will probably do it again at some other celebration. And again. And that is OK. Eventually he won't want to feel like he does after each blowout (and the blowouts will get less in scope), but it takes awhile for it to sink in, and each time he has that experience he will learn a little deeper. [It took me six years to be ok with this paradigm!]

When the celebration is over and he is feeling horrible then hopefully you can help him celebrate because his body is strong enough to respond to these "foods" finally. To give context, most of the other people at the celebration are too sick and weak to respond properly and are slowly killing themselves. Your husband, however, will have climbed into a place of health where his body can actually talk to him and let him know what it needs. Almost nobody in America has achieved that and he will hopefully be stoked by it. This is a country of painfully ill people on the path to premature death. Your husband, in contrast, is on the path to vitality and wellness. He probably won't want to fully acknowledge that just yet. Hell, it took Ryan 5 years and he is finally fully on board and he was better than 99% of husbands. I can't believe the changes in him now that he is really clean and not fighting it. His brain is so freakin' sharp it is unreal and he looks great. He has shed years like I can't believe. 

As for your kids, front load an expected splurge with something to the effect of "We know that you and Papa can't eat this way. Papa is choosing to do so and because he is older it is taking him a little more time to learn about food because he has lived with the fake food for so long. I know you are going to want to eat the treats too and I understand because I want them also, but I am asking you to be strong and help me be strong because we know it is not good for any of us to eat that way. Let's go and get your favorite [insert treat - gf baked good, ice cream, chocolate bar] from Whole Foods instead (shopping for it specifically makes is super special for them and they will want it more than the other junk). I am going to buy papa a cupcake/small cake from Whole Foods. You will have your treat, I will have mine, but we have to buy this cake for Papa because he just isn't ready to learn like you have. Sometimes it just takes people longer and we have to be ok with that because we learn things differently."

It worked for us and hopefully that will fly for you. Congratulate your kids throughout the day for being strong and doing the "right thing" for themselves. The treats they choose may not be what you want, but as long as it isn't gluten and whatever else is seriously a problem then enjoy the splurge. If the treats whack them too, then they will have learned a lesson just like their papa. And you can quietly abstain from all of it. Your kids will remark on it and you can simply say that you are feeling so good because of the food you are eating that you don't want to risk feeling bad by having a treat. You don't have to say anymore. They will be amazed, ask a question or two and they will remember. It will pay off if they see you do that several times. 

It will be ok - let him have his birthday and other larger family celebrations the way he wants. It is better than having serious backlash and resentment. Growing the relationship with food is just like growing relationships with people. There are strong steps forward and some setbacks. That is just human nature.

NC BESTFest (formerly Biotechnology Day) Ethics Panel Results

If you recall, I sustained an eight month effort to get the NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ attention about concerns that I and others have regarding about the Museum’s apparent favoritism for and support of genetically modified foods (GMOs). This link contains the background: Quick Museum GMO Update – Whew!

During our meeting in January 2013, as discussed in the previous link, the Museum reps stated that they would hold a panel discussion focusing on the ethics of biotechnology, including GMO foods. This panel discussion would occur during the NC BESTFest celebration, part of a month-long North Carolina science celebration.

BESTFest and the panel discussion were held on Saturday, April 6, and to the Museum’s credit they put together an awesome series of presentations covering a wide range of topics. Due to an impending house purchase and move and the need to help a client with some personal chefing that weekend I could not attend the entire day but so wish I could have. My notes below are brief but compelling. I wish I could have written them sooner after the event, but life is moving too quickly with too many demands.

The panel contained:

• Richard Kouri, PhD, Director, BioSciences Management Initiative, Professor of Practice, Poole College of Management, NCSU
• David Kroll, PhD, Director of Science Communications and Investigator, Genomics and Microbiology Research Laboratory, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
• Cedric Pearce, PhD, Founder and CEO, Mycosynthetix, Inc. 

David Kroll, whom you may recall was my chief critic, did a good job moderating the discussion. The discussion was fascinating, but a bit frustrating to start. Dr. Kouri was the primary commentator and he emphasized several times that GMO foods were safe – there were no studies to suggest otherwise. He is a strong believer in studies and data and there aren’t any to suggest any reason for alarm. Dr. Kouri went on to say that we simply can’t avoid GMO foods, so in essence we need to accept that they are a part of our lives, and Dr. Pearce agreed. Dr. Kouri noted that the backlash against GMO foods is the result of their introduction into the food system without our permission, causing anger and pushback. Regarding public health, another key point Dr. Kouri made was that medication is preferable to surgery. It is important to note that both Dr. Kouri and Dr. Pearce own biotech medical research companies.

When audience feedback was requested, I informed the panelists that many of us go out of our way to avoid GMO foods and we are successful doing so. I stated that I know MDs who counsel their patients on diet, which includes avoiding GMOs, and that as the number of doctors who become aware grows there will be more demand for non-GMO foods. I asked for the panelist’s feedback on a statement to the effect that while medication is often better than surgery, did either of the panelists foresee a time when pharmaceutical companies and other biotechs would promote the idea that people take personal responsibility for their health through their food choices so that they can avoid the products companies such as theirs are producing? Dr. Kouri jumped on that and strongly agreed with my statement and emphasized that diet and exercise were the keys. He said he makes that case to major biotech companies regularly but they just don’t want to hear him. He also said that he doesn’t like to eat organic foods because organic foods contain pesticides and those pesticides concern him – GMO foods don’t require as much pesticide treatment, making them safer.

Another question that I asked is how the panelists felt about the most recent legal free pass that Monsanto and other GMO producing companies just received from the US Congress and President Obama (see this link for the short story on Monsanto’s immunity to prosecution). The panelists were unaware that this law had been implemented but seemed sympathetic to the public outrage around it.

The last question I asked involved the accidental crosspollination of GMO crops with non-GMO crops and how the non-GMO farmers had no recourse. Dr. Kouri was very strong in his statement that Monsanto needs to contain their product and not contaminate other farmer’s crops.

An interesting note from Dr. Pearce is that if we don’t get a handle on our antibiotic use then we are going to have a hard time performing future surgeries and other hospital procedures because of the risk of infection and the inability to treat it.

After the panel discussion ended I had a chance to talk with Dr. Kouri. I really like him. He is energetic, patient and super smart. During our discussion we were able to get into anecdotal evidence and how that can’t be discounted. He and I agreed on a lot, which was surprising to me and reflects how different our discussion was from the panel discussion. It is unfortunate that the panel discussion couldn’t have been longer and that a panelist who is fluent in anecdotal evidence wasn’t available. I am certain that the message which was broadcast to those in attendance and those listening over the internet would have been different if anecdotal evidence would have been included in the panel discussion. I am going to raise that concern to the Museum and Dr. Kouri.

A final note – Dr. Kouri stated that his research shows that the health care system will be unsustainable in about ten years. Too many sick people will cause it to collapse. Because of this, companies (even Glaxo and the other pharmaceuticals) will need to incorporate dietary counseling and exercise into their offerings. That gave me a great opportunity to comment on how dietitians and nutritionists were largely cookie cutter, non-thinking professionals who are not helping America out of its health crisis, and Dr. Kouri energetically agreed.

And a late addition to this blog post, here is part of the feedback that I sent to the Museum regarding the panel discussion:

 

Thank you for a great discussion at BESTFest last weekend. I was hoping to follow up sooner with some thoughts, but I am too slow for the fast pace of life lately.

David – You did a great job moderating and commenting. Thank you. I had an interesting conversation with Dick after the event, wherein we began to discuss the importance anecdotal information regarding food and health. I completely understand and support the desire for rigorous scientific study and results, but when those are not available the importance of anecdotal information grows. I wish there was a way for anecdotal information to be incorporated into the panel discussion but I see that it was not possible this time around. In the future, perhaps referencing the positions of people such as Dr. David Suzuki would be helpful. (I am a big fan of his – first heard him speak in 1985 when I was an undergrad.) Statements from credentialed scientists like Dr. Suzuki would be important to include in the discussion. This is a good video segment with Dr. Suzuki to consider including in the future: David Suzuki speaks out against genetically modified food.

Take Action to Terminate the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition

We are getting a second swipe at terminating the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition. At this point we only need to contact 5 legislators, and the Weston A. Price Foundation alert below makes it very easy. I contacted my legislator via email and cc: the four bill sponsors. Thank you!

ALERT

Hello,

Yesterday 4 very courageous Representatives (2 of each party) filed HB 676, a bill to repeal the very restrictive North Carolina Dietetics Nutrition Practice Act!

These representatives in less than 24 hours are getting alot of opposition already and this will grow very quickly. They and all House members in NC need to hear how much constituent support there is for repeal of this law.

Please act as quickly as you possibly can to mobilize your networks and membership to make calls and send emails this week so these folks know we have their backs. It is always up to the committee chair that gets a given bill whether to hear it or not, so we have  a very narrow window to let all Representatives know this is a bill with alot of support.

Refer everyone to  http://nutritionadvocacy.org/north-carolina where you can find talking points that can be used, and a document w/ links to find House of Representative Contact information. We want people to let their own representatives know they support this repeal. But also a brief email or call of support to the sponsors will let them know they are not alone. Remember, the sponsors are already on our side--no need to tie up their phone lines or jam their mailboxes--just a quick "thanks for bringing this bill" will do.

In support of health,

Judy Stone 

Legislative Policy Director
Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists
P: 734-996-0761

JStone@CBNS.org

CBNS.org

Eight Benefits of Hormesis and FUN!!

Hormesis has become an entrenched part of Colson’s vocabulary. What is hormesis? According to Dr. Kurt Harris MD:

Hormesis is when a small stress induces a healthy response in an organism, such that the organism is healthier than without the stress exposure. Any stress that we have defenses for, that we would expect to encounter on an evolutionary basis, is a candidate to be hormetic. Think of this as a necessary, but not sufficient, set of conditions, though.

See Dr. Harris’ blog post for a more complete discussion: William Munny Eats His Vegetables.

Colson (see Cold Shower Hormesis the Colson Way) has been leading our hormesis journey and we have been playing around with it a bit in 2012, but hormesis has revved up in 2013 with great results.

My family’s major hormesis challenges have been overwhelmingly physical, and when in the challenge we are pulled into the moment, more aware than ever. Those 30 seconds in the cold shower, which Colson has reintroduced this winter, snap you right to the present. Over the summer they turned into full blown cold showers.

We took cold water a step further and headed out to Jordan Lake in early February on a 54° day (a pretty warm day, but the water was cold) with 15 – 20 MPH winds to take a swim.

 

Colson spends a lot of time in hormesis, which I am trying to learn from him. Almost every day he is challenging himself and having a ball. The challenge can be learning a new sports skill, climbing a tree or the climbing rock differently, leaping from higher heights and rolling better on landing, or learning how to cook. For Colson hormesis is fun ways to learn.

Adults spend a lot of time slogging through the day, trying to accomplish their list of tasks, always looking to the next thing. That sucks. Even with the break of a hormesis challenge I quickly fall back to my old hurry along patterns. Ryan, whose undergrad is Recreation and Leisure and who was a high adventure trip leader for the Army, doesn’t suffer from this problem nearly as much as most adults. I hope Ryan and I can help Colson hold on to his fun, in the moment self, but we have to make some changes to succeed.

More Colson Inspiration

You may recall that Colson was on a Quest to complete 10 challenges before he turned 10 (see Colson's Food Catastrophy Night). That was a lot of hormesis, some of it physical and some of it mental. Colson was successful and it was a transformative experience. As he was working through his challenges Colson decided he needed to challenge me by teaching me his version of parkour. He put a weekly lesson on the calendar. Next thing I know, at age 46, I am up in trees and tackling the climbing rock’s hard routes. I have a healthy fear of heights and the hard routes were not part of my reality (or being in trees).

Colson’s parkour lessons have been fantastic. On a regular basis they pull me out of my daily grind and into the moment. I enter into the lesson somewhat reluctantly because of all the stuff I have to do and I leave all smiles. I have accomplished things I never would have imagined, such as becoming confident and competent on the rock. As an added bonus, I am getting a bit of the MoveNat training I have wanted to try. It is a kick to see that all of those pull-ups and push-ups have paid off as I use the strength in unexpected ways to accomplish the challenges that Colson puts before me. Next I am going to learn to leap and roll – gulp! That is a big challenge for me because I fractured my back 17 years ago in another hormesis challenge. Colson plans to teach me rolls on the ground first, though. Whew!

I have to give Colson some serious appreciation for his teaching style. He is very patient and reassuring, he explains things well and he celebrates victories with me. I am so proud of him and the lessons that I learn from him. Because he teaches me I have become a better teacher for him

Ziplining

We took the height challenge to all new levels recently when we went on a 1.5 hour zipline tour. For Ryan it was cake, as he runs a 50 foot Alpine Tower, for Colson it was a challenge, and for me it was almost a no go. I seriously thought about backing out when we climbed to the top of the first tower, but a 72 year old woman was in our group and if she was going, I was going, darn it! Colson and I were the last two to leave the first tower, and we were nervous. He was gone and then it was just me. I couldn’t disappoint Colson, so I had to suck it up and go. It was a piece of cake, smooth as can be, but I was nauseatingly nervous and I had the sewing machine legs by the time I landed. It took me another zip until that stopped. The wind was howling and the platforms were swaying, making me dizzy. By the fifth platform I was certain I wasn’t going to throw up and by the tenth platform I was getting comfortable. By the last three I was having fun, looking around and relishing each flight. Colson and Ryan each had a blast and we can’t wait to go again. If you are curious, here is Colson taking a flight.

 

I have to give a shout out to Oscar, our flight captain who ensured we landed safely. He was as fun and awesome as we could hope.

The Eight Benefits of Hormesis

What are the eight benefits of hormesis (realizing that there are plenty more)?

1. Having FUN
2. Being in the moment
3. Getting stronger
4. Being surprised
5. Building stronger relationships
6. Growing respect for self and others
7. Growing desire for more time living in the moment
8. Having even more FUN!

How can you bring some wake-you-up hormesis challenges into your life? Hormesis means something different for everyone so choose according to your personality!

For My Insurance Agent

I had a great meeting with my insurance agent today. In addition to handling my insurance questions and needs I learned that he is a heavy duty food and health guy with some respectable knowledge about the scene. Low maintenance customers that Ryan and I are, I haven’t needed to meet with him directly since we first move here almost seven years ago, and I knew nothing about him. His staff has been excellent in our two contacts, but I was considering jumping ship for a slightly cheaper rate so my agent stepped in. I have been with the same company for 25 years (damn I am getting old), so I guess that warrants a little intervention.

Anyway, back to the food thing. I have a few updates for my agent since our discussion this afternoon and I am curious if you are reading. If you are, email me at movingstronglyforward@yahoo.com. Here are the updates in no particular order:

Listen to Robb Wolf podcast 173, as I gave you the wrong one. Robb talks about the evils of gluten and cheating a little here and there, touches on hormesis and cancer prevention. It is worth your one hour and ten minutes. After this one you will be hooked.

Regarding agave, check these out: Agave Nectar - Not in Our Diet  and Agave Nectar and Other Sugar Dangers Explained

Raw dairy – I mentioned that my family enjoys raw milk, especially fermented into kefir and loaded with probiotics. For people who are too lean, milk can be great for bulking up. If you want to learn more about its safety and benefits, check out this website: realmilk.com. I know of great NC and SC sources.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome – Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has produced an amazing resource that addresses the link between gut health and psychological health. This is what we used to heal my son’s sneezies and along the way it cured my husband’s ADD and so much more. You can read about our One Year of Achievements following GAPS here: One Year Anniversary. Since then we have learned even more, such as I am not convinced that sweet potatoes need to come out of the diet, as required by GAPS. It depends on the severity of the problem one is trying to address. 

There you have it. I am sure we will be chattering about this stuff some more. It was a kind of funny scene – a couple of mid-lifers trying to see what kind of physical shape the other was in and what each was using to excel. Those types of conversations are too few and far between. 

Cat Saliva – The Next Biological Warfare Weapon

The other day I had to pill my cat. I scraped the joint of my thumb on her tooth. Clearly I should have watched this instructional video first, as the technique worked beautifully on my other cat: How To Give Your Cat A Pill - VetVid Episode 020.

Cat saliva is a known radioactive, infective agent, so I immediately scrubbed the scrape, dumped rubbing alcohol on it, put an antibiotic cream on it and bandaged it. It was a fairly superficial scrape, and over night the lump of infection appeared.

I put calcium bentonite clay on the lump to draw out the infection. I treated it with colloidal silver, tea tree oil, turmeric and more clay. The lump grew slightly and hurt. Almost the last thing I wanted was antibiotics, but I would take them over a wacked out cat bit infection.

By the second morning I emailed my doc’s colleague for an antibiotic alternative. She said that I could use the leftover herbs from my last skin problem to make a tea to drink and apply topically. I can’t tell you what was in that concoction, but in 24 hours the lump was gone and the wound had closed. See this post to learn about what an awesome doc she is and how she cured me of a different and scarier infection.

The power of the drug companies and the mindless following of the medical establishment are pitiful. Two times in the last few months I have had two concerning skin infections. Both times they would have been treated with antibiotics, and both times they were quickly cured without them. My gut health is intact, I haven’t contributed to the antibiotic resistance problem, and I haven’t fed the corporate machine. For the life of me I can’t understand why extremely effective treatments that support the body, as opposed to antibiotics, are not recognized or promoted when appropriate. 

 

Yeast – Stuff I Didn’t Know About the Little Beasties and More

I eat super clean. No sugar, no grain, no legumes, no processed food. I eat meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and fermented foods. I eat nothing to feed and encourage the reproduction of the bad critters as far as I can tell.

I went to my doc of Oriental medicine the other day for a tune-up and he thought I had yeast overgrowth. He couldn’t be sure and didn’t think it was worth testing and wasting the money, but based on my overly coated tongue and my nagging dry cough, which is worse when I eat and originated from early January cold, he thought yeast had taken hold.

How?! He said that yeast is tough stuff, surviving at altitudes of 14,000 feet and more. In the human body it can thrive again when things get out of balance.

What threw me out of balance? Apparently my liver is overburdened and my lungs are undernourished. Somehow that affected my digestive enzymes, which allowed the cough in my undernourished lungs to stick.

Now what?

I am taking digestive enzymes just before each meal. Half way through the meal I drink 6 oz of water with 2 – 3 TBS of lemon juice, which is a substitute for hydrochloric acid. Apparently HCL is needed with digestive enzymes – at least in my case. My cough was gone by the end of the day. If I miss the enzymes and lemon juice the cough is back in a day. I am also to eat a bite of sauerkraut with every meal to boost probiotics.

I have been given four sets of acupuncture points to work at home. Two for sleep, two for liver function, two for lungs and two for something else I can’t remember.

How is it going? It is hard to say. While doing all of this I have been trying to buy a house while simultaneously preparing to celebrate Colson’s 10 year old Quest/birthday celebration and spend time with a visiting friend. All three of those things were a blast! Oh…and I have a wacky superficial cat bite wound that is now infected, which means a trip to my doc’s colleague for some herbs to kick that thing out.

Life has not been routine these last few weeks. My doc emphasized that I must take some time each day to just sit and do something that doesn’t involve moving. No cooking. No reading to learn. No building a website. Just something mindless and relaxing. That made Ryan triumphantly laugh, as I am in almost constant motion and he has been bugging me to stop it for over 10 years.

I have to start packing to move, help Colson with his homeschool classes and geography fair project, finish that website and launch a business and cook. Even so, I will sit and breathe. I know that I am fortunate to have these challenges and need to flip my thinking about them. 

Finally, just because, here is a picture of Colson at his Quest celebration three days before his actual birthday (it was a dirt clod throwing battle at the Not So Grand Canyon with his friends), followed by his being eaten by a six day old calf from an Animal Welfare Certified Experimental Teaching Dairy Farm we toured on his birthday. Fascinating and the raw cheese was fantastic.

Where Can You Build Community AND Get Yummy Recipes (2 new ones)?

You may have seen the large forums on The Whole 30, or Robb Wolf’s site, or Mark’s Daily Apple. Those forums are great, but I am enjoying a smaller, more quaint one started on Facebook by my friend Cindy. Thirty-three of us share our victories, challenges and recipes. These ladies are motivating and I am closing in on The Whole 60, expect for a minor deviation that made me sick: What 45 Days of the Whole 30 Have Shown Me.

This really is one of the most empowering groups because its size is just right and cheering people on as they experience their victories is a blast. I am finding that the fun stays in the journey and the accomplishments are greater with these ladies as opposed to my usual going it alone. If you need some motivation, grab some friends and start chattering.

Here are a couple of recipes we have been enjoying lately. This one I pulled off of the Facebook group: My Favorite Chili Recipe. A few modifications that I make include:

• using a pound of ground goat in place of a pound of ground beef
• using homemade beef or chicken broth, depending on what I have available
• adding some chopped duck liver (that is actually coming next batch!)

The second recipe was an attempt to find a way to make wild salmon more palatable for Colson: Northwest Salmon Chowder. Ryan and I agree that this is the best chowder we have eaten, but Colson can’t roll with it and he no longer complains about grilled or baked salmon, or salmon sautéed in bacon grease. My chowder recipe modifications include:

• using homemade chicken bone broth
• deleting the corn
• replacing cream with coconut milk

Enjoy!

Who in North Carolina Can Prosecute You For Helping Your Spouse, Your Parent or Your Child Make Food Decisions?

Check out this latest find by Ruth Ann Foster, who is leading the charge to end the stranglehold of the Dietetics Board: 21 NCAC 17 .0403 ELECTRONIC PRACTICE

21 NCAC 17 .0403 ELECTRONIC PRACTICE 

Any person, whether residing in this state or not, who by use of electronic or other medium performs any of the acts described as the practice of dietetics/nutrition, but is not licensed pursuant to Article 25 of G.S. 90 shall be deemed by the Board as being engaged in the practice of dietetics/nutrition and subject to the enforcement provisions available to the Board. Among other remedies, the Board shall report violations of this Rule to any occupational licensing board having issued an occupational license to a person who violates this Rule. This Rule does not apply to persons licensed pursuant to, or exempt from licensure pursuant to, Article 25 of G.S. 90. 

History Note: Authority G.S. 90-356; 

Eff. February 1, 2006.

 

Wow! If I email, text or talk on the phone with friends, colleagues and relatives about food and health the Dietetics Board can take action against me. I am amazed that my husband’s and son’s health is soaring. Somehow they miraculously figured out they are allergic to rice and corn and severely reactive to wheat without doing any research or preparing any meals. Their food just magically appears, as does the information. I don’t want to say who figured out their allergies because this person lives in their neighborhood –on their street in fact – and can be within feet or inches of them. Or even closer! YIKES!

WTF and Seriously. People can’t even talk to their spouses and children without fear of prosecution.

If you care about free speech, please make your voices heard and TAKE ACTION!! – Time to End the NC Board of Dietetics Monopoly!

I don’t know who these Dietitians think they are, but clearly they can’t be described as Americans protecting our most fundamental freedom guaranteed in our Constitution. In fact, they couldn’t be less American, as they have gotten down to regulating conversations about food between family members.

Your help is needed by expressing your thoughts to North Carolina’s legislators, and you can exponentially grow your impact by writing a letter to your local newspaper.

Letters are easy to submit electronically and it is one more step you can take to regain your freedom of speech and freedom from corporate America.

If this is all new to you, for perspective here is my spicy letter recently published in the Raleigh News and Observer (I didn’t give it the title): Dietiticans Need Diet. Here is Ruth Ann Foster’s, who is leading the effort to disband the Dietetics Board: Dietetics Must Change.

Even Dr. Mercola has joined the battle and you can read about it here: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Threatens Your First Amendment Rights and Attempts to Censor Paleo Blogger.

Thank you for taking action!