Moving Strongly Forward

My Posture is so AMAZINGLY Better!!

Last January I began seeing an incredibly brilliant Feldenkrais physical therapist, which you can read about here and here. I learned of her from my also incredibly brilliant Dr. of Oriental medicine because Colson needed help learning to properly use his leg muscles.

Now for the digression. Why did Colson need to figure out how to use his leg muscles? Because his outer leg bones grew longer than his inner leg bones, causing his knees and ankles to cave to the ground. The orthopedist who diagnosed him considered doing surgery to stop the outer bones from growing for awhile so the inner could catch up and the legs would even out. If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that is completely unacceptable, so off we went to a wonderful chiropractor, who straightened Colson’s legs out, and then off to the Feldenkrais PT so that he could learn to use the muscles now that his bones were correctly positioned. Needless to say it has been a dazzling experience for Colson, he is better and the PT and chiropractor admire each other’s work even though they haven’t met.

Now on to me. A friend of mine and I have been going to some special sessions with the Feldenkrais PT. Because of the PT my TMJ is 60 percent better so far and it will continue to improve as I work at it.

But today…unbelievable how powerful and fast the results were! My friend and I went to what we termed “dowager hump class.” We both have the rounded shoulders and poor posture. Half-way through the two hour class we were different people with the tools needed to continue to retain and reorganize our bodies. Our PT is all about freeing the body so that it can exist in a neutral position and not have to work or experience pain.

With my new pain free and easy posture, the world looked completely different. Instead of looking down-ish, which is what I always do, I was looking level, which felt like looking up. I jokingly told my PT that my annual physical was this week and I came in at 5’ 3/4”, but that I would be 5’4” by Saturday. My PT laughed and said that after people work on back posture with her they gain a full inch, and now I get it.

Once class was over and we were chatting I began to lose the posture I learned. She said that I have the tools to get it back and that I will go in and out of posture, so just keep using the tools and I won’t suffer the dowager hump EVER.

Now for the crazy cool and fun part. I walked the dog tonight and found myself in a neutral walking position for the first time that I am aware. Suddenly the day’s lesson seemed to click and I am taller and better! It is amazing. I walked the neighborhood with my head in neutral and everything felt easy. No more looking down with pulled forward shoulders and stomping, clomping feet. I saw ALL the upper halves of the houses and the tops of the trees at the horizon for the first time! And my walk was much, much lighter. When I got home I told Ryan to look and me and he said WOW!

Now I am sitting at the computer and my upper and mid-back are hollering because I am not in neutral. I wasn’t even aware that the pain and discomfort were happening until now, and I need to raise my monitor up so that I can be neutral and comfortable.

One of my PT’s funny but true remarks is that we don’t have to pull our heads forward to hold a conversation or see things. Light is really fast and head movement forward doesn’t bring us the visual any quicker. So, keep the head back and in neutral!

Another amazing thing is that when doing the exercises to reorganize our brains and bodies so that we move neutrally and painlessly, my back literally sinks into the floor when lying down, flat as can be, and the floor is actually comfortable, almost as if it hugs me. Who knew?!

Finally, today’s lesson really integrated the group lessons that we had in January that I mentioned in the beginning of this post. My friend and I now have really heightened awareness of our bodies and the feeling and idea of neutral. We are going to pay attention to what feels out of neutral and pick the topic for our next session with the PT in two months.

The power of today and learning how to use my body really took my breath away.

The No Action Problem

This is a question that I ask throughout my blog. Often the solution is simple: Change your food. Suffer from diabetes, out of whack cholesterol, obesity, fibromyalgia and on and on? Change your food. Eat nutrient dense, delicious, non-inflammatory healing food that tastes great. Simple, right?

Not really. So many people are told about this solution and choose not to act. Some of them are even told by the medical doctor – change your food, eat a Weston A. Price (WAP) diet, a Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet, eat a paleo diet (there are lots of links for these). One physician repeatedly refers patients to me (the same patients that he encourages over and over) and tells them to learn how to cook like I do so he doesn’t have to perform surgery or medicate them. How many of them actually decide to try to heal with food? One.

I know someone who had a chance to save his legs from diabetes. An MD I know with tremendous knowledge and credentials (because credentials are important for the completely mainstream segment of the population) was willing to talk with him about eating a no glycemic diet so that he MIGHT have a chance to keep his legs (this person's MDs were clueless). Just change his food and maybe save his legs. He lost one leg and will lose another eventually, along with having a heart attack and losing kidney function. It might have been too late to turn his condition around, but maybe not. We will never know.

The other day I was speaking with someone suffering from depression. I am amazed by the number of people I know who suffer with it. That person said to me that you have to have a certain amount of energy to give toward even making healing foods and it would be hard to find it. I can see how that would be a problem. I have been fortunate in that I have never suffered from depression, so I can’t really understand that, but I can see it. I think this person is motivated, has some support and will be able to dig deep and cure themselves.

Perhaps the people that I come into contact with are often too ill that they can’t even make good decisions. My contacts in the medical community continue to grow, and an MD that I know turned me on to this Evolutionary Psychiatry blog, suggesting that Emily Deans, the author, will help me understand the No Action problem that people face. Emily Deans is an MD who digs deep and thinks big. If you are someone who is facing what seems to be an unconquerable difficulty and are having a hard time taking action, maybe Emily Deans can help you understand why and make the solution more attainable. The list of conditions she addresses impressive. Perhaps you will find yourself there and learn that the actions you need to take are doable.

Finally, I mention throughout my blog that community is critical. If you know what to do and aren’t able to take action, ask for help. Tell your friends what you need – a broth maker once a week, a shopper, a salad dressing maker, whatever it is. Once you begin to get well you will be able to take over, and the journey is shockingly fun! I know it because I am living it, and you can too.

And so many thanks to all you docs who are leading the charge to bigger and better solutions!

Vitamin K2/X-Factor – Why We are Recommitting to Butter Oil

Colson has a slightly under-developing chin. We thought it was because he is a mouth breather thanks to his allergies (see this post), and I believe that mouth breathing plays a part. When we learned that his vitamin D was way low (see Colson’s Vitamin D Level Tested Again), we realized that there is a chance he was not properly developing bone, including his chin. Now that his Vitamin D levels are up thanks to emulsified D, perhaps he has a chance to improve his bone growth. Always on the lookout for an idea to improve his allergies and facial structure, I stumbled across this article by Chris Masterjohn: On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved.  

Chris reiterates and further explains Dr. Price’s finding that the  X-Factor/ Vitamin K2, contributes to healthy facial development:

Vitamin K2 works synergistically with the two other "fat-soluble activators" that Price studied, vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D signal to the cells to produce certain proteins and vitamin K then activates these proteins.

Vitamin K2 plays a crucial role in the development of the facial bones, and its presence in the diets of nonindustrialized peoples explains the wide facial structure and freedom from dental deformities that Weston Price observed.

Vitamins A and D are found in cod liver oil (CLO) and K2 comes from butter oil (BO). In combination, these foods become powerhouses.

We have been very faithful in our cod liver oil consumption (until testing for low D), and when finances allow we are faithful in our butter oil consumption. I was seeing improvements in my teeth thanks to the combination of CLO and BO (see Visual Proof That Food Heals), but now that we are using emulsified D instead of CLO, and butter oil, regularly again my teeth improvements have rocketed forward. Emulsified D is better absorbed by people like Colson and me who have chronically low vitamin D levels regardless of immense amounts of sun exposure and CLO.

We need to remain committed to BO and emulsified D regardless of cost…or at least Colson does if he has a chance of spurring better chin development. With all of the effort I put into feeding this kid well, he had better grow up to be bionic!

Weston A. Price Conference 2011

The 2011 Weston A. Price (WAP) conference is going to be incredible! Big names and great speakers are coming, including:

• Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, creator of the GAPS Diet

• Dr. Joseph Mercola, who is an MD with a huge internet presence he uses to debunk bad medicine and promote vibrant health naturally

• Dr. Pentti Nupponen, a dentist and calcium bentonite clay expert (which turns me on – you can read about him here)

• Chris Masterjohn, author of The Daily Lipid and who rocks on just about everything and took the time to write me back regarding an inquiry I made about my nephew’s mitochondrial disease

• Paul Jaminet, author of The Perfect Health Diet and whose articles I posted here

• and so many more great presenters

As with last year’s conference, the 2011 WAP Conference is going to be a mindblower in the best possible way.

Note that you need to sign up by August 1 to receive the lowest rates. Here is hoping that I see you there!

Search My Blog (FINALLY)

A friend of mine asked me yesterday if there was a way to search my blog. “No,” I said. “I need to figure that out.” This morning I finally did. The search function is at the top of the right hand column of my blog. It is quite fun (for me at least). Amazing how long it takes to do the simplest of things sometimes!

A Day So Unbelievable I Still Can’t Believe It

I am still processing yesterday. It is almost a bad movie, but I swear it is real life. Here goes.

This is the email I sent to our homeschool group at 7:00 p.m. yesterday:

My cat disappeared 6 weeks ago. Today a woman who cruises Craigslist sent me a found cat ad. The cat in the ad looked just like mine and was described like mine: about 8 - 9 years old, tabby with rust, declawed front paws, spayed and found near my home. The finder took her to the vet who determined that she needed a tooth extraction.

I went to see the cat, but the person who found her had this crazy dog and it was hard to get a good look. I shook the treat can and the cat started to come out from behind the dryer...another trait of my cat - coming to treats. I got a sort of ok look at the cat, saw the kink in the moderate-length tail and some markings, and thought she was mine [trying to account for weight loss and change in fur texture due to poor nutrition], but it was crazy in there! When I got her home, I realized she wasn't mine!

I took her to the vet, thinking I was going to keep her anyway because she needed a home and I was down a cat, but he said that she needs 2 tooth extractions and shots to be sure she is safe around my animals, and she is out of my price range (about $350 including exam fee). To fix the teeth and just get a rabies vax is about $200. I already paid the exam fee of $65.

So, I took her back to the person who found her, and she is taking her to the pound tomorrow.

If you are interested in her, my vet says she is about 6 - 8 years old. She was very sweet at the vet's office. She is mediocre with my dog, whom she knew about 3 hours, and she can't stand my happy go lucky cat. Her original "finder" has a cat in addition to her dog, and she said that after 4 days the cats were still pretty severe enemies.

That is probably not enough time to really gauge her, but if you are interested in having this cat, who is healthy other than her 2 teeth, and you don't have young kids or other cats, please let me know.

Thank you for listening to my ridiculous mistaken identity story.

This is the email I sent to my homeschool group at 8:45 p.m.:

You all are not gonna believe this! Lost since June 4, my real cat just returned, super skinny and loveable. Just now...ok 10 minutes ago. WE CAN'T BELIEVE IT! This is the freakin' Twilight zone!

Over and out...unless you want to adopt the other cat.

At 9:30 p.m., Colson and I are walking our dog, Nelly, who patiently waited and waited for her walk last night. Ryan was consoling the neighbor, whose dog ran away yesterday (but came home at 10:00 p.m.!). It is completely dark. A woman drives by, parks her car, runs out and asks us if Nelly is our dog, because she has a dog “exactly like her.” I say yes. The woman and I start chatting, set up a dog play date since she is in my neighborhood, and I learn that her name is Laura, which is my name. I know it sounds nuts, but how weird that I get taken in by an imposter cat and then get stopped to talk about a duplicate dog by someone with the same name?

That was one weird day. My old lady cat, Mattie, is home and doing all her usual things with extra affection (usually she is a bit of a curmudgeon). She woke me up several times last night, our young cat woke me up, and my dog at least was quiet. I am tired and happy, but they are all getting kicked out of the bedroom tonight.

Plantar Wart and Clay Success

I treated my deep wart with a calcium bentonite clay poultice covered with duct tape for two days (by deep I mean more than ¼ inch the last three times the doctor removed it). I was too tired last night to treat it again and thought I would let it air out. When I pulled the duct tape off, about 1/3 of the wart came with it. Amazing! And Gross! It turns out there was also another little one starting, and that one is completely out. After getting over this surprise and the little bit of nausea that came with it (there is a reason I didn’t complete my biology degree), I made a new poultice and went to bed.

To see how this adventure started, view this post: Calcium Bentonite Clay Update.

Calcium Bentonite Clay Update

My family started experimenting with Calcium Bentonite clay about a month ago: Mmmmm…Delicious! Calcium Bentonite Clay. It always helps me to go back and read old posts, because I see that I forget important details, I learn new things and correct errors.

For example, Perry A., the owner of the Living Clay company says that clay does not interfere with nutrient uptake and you can even mix it in your food. It has something to do with the negative electric charge of the clay not attracting food/nutrition. So, I will be correcting my older post.

I also forgot that the clay seemed to have a very significant positive benefit by reducing Colson’s sneezies, so today I stuck ¼ teaspoon in his smoothie. Colson didn’t even know. He remains very anti-clay when taking it just with water, and he only took it with water for three days, so the smoothie trick seems to be a good solution.

Speaking of Colson’s sneezies, I know we need to improve his diet (and Ryan’s and mine). I was reading an old post celebrating one year of our GAPS journey, and I saw that Colson’s sneezies were almost not noticeable: One Year Anniversay – A Year of Healing in Review. Now he is sneezy and snores a bit. Homeopathy hasn’t quite gotten us where we need to go, so we need to do something. Not to mention he has a pimple, which he shouldn’t have at eight years old. Pimples are a sign of imbalance for Colson (and most people, I think).

You know that plantar’s wart I thought I cured with essential oil? Probably not, so if interested, see this post: Plantar Warts – My Clove Oil Experiment. The dog gone wart is back, so yesterday I started applying clay poultices and will be interested to see if I can cure it that way. If not, then I will get it burned off again.

My neighbors are raving about calcium bentonite clay, as are the rest of my friends:

• Acid reflux and bowel movement difficulties (both loose bowels and constipation) seem to be quickly fixed (within hours)

• One person reported a very fast healing of a cut

• One person shed their intestinal parasites after taking 2 TBS with water one time

• One person reports greatly improved energy levels

• Many people are attacking their plantar warts with it

• I also hear that the clay bath is great for the skin and that a clay paste works wonders on sunburns.

So, do your research, and if clay seems right for you, have a ball! But be sure to do your research and know its limitations. For example, it can cause metal fillings to crumble if you pack an infected tooth with it.

Now I am off to do more research. I brought this clay to my friends and they have rocketed forward, leaving me in the dust.

No Fast Week 4

Blown out of the water by carbs. Yep – that’s me. No fast because of carbs.

You can read about our once a week fast for the previous three weeks here: Fast – Week 3 and a New Lesson. You will also notice a mention of a certain ice cream. I think that ice cream was the tipping point for causing me to go back to GAPS. Today, Friday, is supposed to be our fasting day, but it isn’t. Usually I wake up fine and am not hungry. Today I was starving and shaky. I haven’t been that way in years, and clearly trying to fast was going to be a very disagreeable experience.

What fasting has taught me is how incredibly much sugars affect the body (in addition to temporarily mutating DNA and crashing the immune system). By sugar I mean not just white sugar, but disaccharides in general (grain, sweeteners, non-fermented dairy, and most beans). In addition to the ice cream (and I didn’t eat a lot, but can tell you that the coconut is my favorite of the three flavors we tried so far), I have been eating corn on the cob and drinking some non-fermented raw milk and beer. I had no food cravings, though, until the ice cream. And now they are back. Last night I capped my food slide off with a chocolate chip cookie, and now I am a shaky, hypoglycemic mess. Even my smoothie didn’t take the edge off right way.

How is Ryan doing? He admitted to food cravings earlier this week, but says he has had them for a few weeks. He eats more grain than I do, and he ate more ice cream, but he doesn’t seem to be affected the way I am. Still, he knows he needs to get back on GAPS.

What happens on GAPS? We periodically go back to GAPS when the food cravings creep in. Since we did the hard work more than two years ago (read this one year anniversary post to learn about the many, many things we healed using GAPS), so this will be cake. I am thinking it will be about two weeks before food cravings stop, and then we will stay on for about another six weeks. We won’t experience any noticeable die-off symptoms (as opposed to the initial time we did GAPS), and that will be about it. We will be free again from the critters in the gut that demand we feed them sugar, grains, etc.

What happens after six weeks? We will stick pretty close to GAPS. It is amazing how we know it is the right thing to do, but we slowly and periodically stray, find ourselves compromised and go back again. I don’t know why we do it over and over when we know what the right thing is, but we do.

I have known for awhile that I needed to be on GAPS, regardless of the new food cravings. When I am eating really, really well, I have no body odor. It is the strangest thing. Needless to say, that is not the case now. In order to lose the odor again, I will probably need to stay on four months or so, but I am going to take it one week at a time once I am past the initial six weeks.

There is no perfect equilibrium when it comes to humans, and each time I stray I learn something new. This experience fasting has shown me so much more about myself, and hopefully I can stay a little closer to that equilibrium that makes my body really thrive.

Colson’s Vitamin D Level Tested Again

I reported in April that Colson’s vitamin D level was an abysmal 23: Blood Work Results - Vitamin D and Cholesterol. He was just tested again a few days ago, after supplementing with emulsified vitamin D, as described in the April post. His level is now 49. Yay! It could be higher, but our Oriental medicine doc says it is good enough and recommends a twice a week maintenance dose of emulsified D.

I get mine checked next week and hopefully it is better. Ryan’s D level is 35 – not frightful, but too low for our comfort. Time for him to do a little emulsified D too.

Auto Jerky

My amazing and creative husband wanted some healthy, pastured beef jerky. Knowing the fundamentals of dehydration (temperature around 150°) and not wanting to heat the house up by using our oven, he started to wonder about dehydrating the beef in the car.

A quick check on the internet revealed that this in fact was possible and others are doing it, so we gave it a try. Ryan looked up a jerky recipe, mixed it together, and I sliced the round streak into strips. We threw the beef in the jerky mix and then placed the strips on a wire rack sitting on a cookie sheet, and off to the car we went.

The car was parked in full sun and the temperature reached 150°. About four hours later we had jerky and it was tasty!

Ready for the car

  
Just getting started

Now it's cooking

What did we do with the left over jerky mix? We added some olive oil and marinated the steak we were going to have for dinner.

Now that we have proven Auto Jerky works, we are going to prep some jerky and maybe some fruit and nuts and send those with Ryan to work. By mid-afternoon or sooner he should have a pretty good snack. Talk about a food geek – I am sure he will take some heat for it.

From a cost perspective this is pretty affordable compared to purchasing prepared “healthy” jerky from a company. A quick search on the Internet shows that a half pound can run $16 or more. Our beef is $4.30 a pound, and seasoning cost is maybe $1. I haven’t weighed our raw beef and the final product, but I am thinking we come in at about $5.50 a half pound. In addition, we don’t need to purchase a dehydrator, we get our beef at a great price because we purchase ¼ of a grass fed cow, and we don’t have to pay shipping.

If you try making Auto Jerky or another type of dehydrated food, please let us know how it goes.

Fast – Week 3 and a New Lesson

You can read about Ryan’s and my fasting experiences and how we started here: Second Intermittent Fast – New Lessons. This week we completed our third Friday fast. I went 19 hours and Ryan went 20. The fast itself was fine, but this week I broke it differently.

Instead of a light snack and a regular dinner a few hours later, I ate a moderate meal of salad and grilled chicken (about ¼ chicken breast) with lemon/olive oil dressing. I was hungry, I ate almost all of it, and I felt like I had a rock in my stomach for about 6 hours.

Ryan, on the other hand, had a snack - a hand full of peanuts, a banana and some cherries, and he was hungry for dinner a few hours later. Ryan felt great. Me – rock.

What did Colson do on this day? He must be growing, as he ate four complete meals and snacks. Sure makes it hard to fast when I am around my 8 year old eating machine.

We also discovered a new ice cream to finish the day. We aren’t perfect at this food thing and there is no denying really tasty food sometimes. If you want to say goodbye to Ben and Jerry’s forever, check out Talenti Gelato. Someone recommended it to us, and according to Ryan, “It has no right to be this good.” If food could be heaven, this would be it.

Cholesterol – Great Resource for Greater Understanding

A friend recommended a fantastic article series to me regarding cholesterol in Hunter-Gatherer populations. Here is the last article in the series: Serum Cholesterol Among Hunter-Gatherers: Conclusion. Basically, those populations with low total cholesterol were suffering from parasites, which lowered their cholesterol substantially below 200. The other three articles are found under the “Recent Posts” heading on the right hand side.

These articles reinforced to me that our societal understanding of cholesterol and the need to lower it at all costs remains dangerous. I have learned that a better indicator of cholesterol and health is the size of the LDL particle. If the particle size is small, then the chance of heart disease increases. A person can have great cholesterol numbers by western medicine standards – low LDL, low triglycerides, high HDL and less than 200 total cholesterol and still be a significant risk of a cardiac event if the LDL particle size is small. Apparently, we want great big fluffy LDL particles instead of the small ones that can build up and become blockages. Note that if your triglycerides are high, then you probably have small LDL particles.

The test for particle size is called NMR lipoprofile. You can do an internet search on the test and on LDL particle size in general to determine what, if anything, this means for you. I haven’t posted any links about this, because so many of the articles default to statins as a treatment if your LDL-p is not in the acceptable range. I would rather focus on dealing with what is causing the LDL particles to be small and remove the causes. Note that the NMR test is expensive, so make sure your insurance covers it if it is interesting to you.

Great Local Farmer - SHORT Documentary

My friend Brad received a grant to create short documentaries featuring local farms. I buy from the farm in this documentary every week and now appreciate their food even more. It is a gorgeous short film. Enjoy!

A Farming Way of Life - Bluebird Meadows

A Revolutionary Year

After posting Independence Day – For Your Health!, I started thinking about my personal Independence Day, which is actually an Independence life punctuated by 2011. I am half-way through my Revolutionary Year. After reflecting on the first six months of 2011 I am astounded, especially in comparison to the last four years. The last four years were characterized by extreme financial hardships caused by multiple layoffs for Ryan and me. We were hunkered down and waiting for the storm to pass, with health consequences for me related to the stress. It was hard being a mom who used to buy into much of the American Dream, only to realize that your child will not experience it the way previous generations had.

This year is shockingly different. 2011 has taught me that even in the face of serious life pressure you still have to do something positive that is bigger than your situation. I didn’t see that while in the mix of all of our job-related stress, but I see it clearly now. With Ryan steadily employed, I just started doing things and found that Dr. Seuss is right on with his book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Now that I am out of the “Waiting Place” and actually doing things…well, you will see. I am writing this post in hopes that it will be inspirational, and I need to wrap my head around what I am doing.

Uncommon Childhood - A common friend connected me with Jennifer Miller, founder of Uncommon Childhood. Uncommon Childhood’s name says it all, and I was very excited when Jennifer asked me to join the ride with her as a regular contributor in the beginning of 2011.

Legislative Actions – A friend contacted me about a North Carolina bill that would have made all non-licensed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners felons. It was flying under the radar with no resistance. When I finally made time to take a look, I was blown away and immediately jumped into action and led the charge to remove the felony provision. After almost five quiet years I was finally using some of my old professional skills and the victory was great! You can read about it here: North Carolina CAM Practitioners Safe For Now - Thank You and How We Did It.

That adventure led me to a speaking engagement before the startup chapter of the North Carolina Holistic Medical Association, which brought me to the attention of one the members. Her organization eventually needed a lobbyist, and they contacted me. Woohoo! I love lobbying, and I gently entered the NC legislative session. Fortunately, the organization behind the bill that I was lobbying, the Naturopathic Doctors (ND) Licensing Act, was amenable to amendments, and they addressed my client’s concerns. My client is planning to hire me again for the 2013 session, when new bills can be introduced, and I am looking forward to it!

I went on to help the NDs (not my client) with other bill-related difficulties and pretty much rewrote their legislation to get the objectors off their back. Now they plan to hire me to help push their bill through the 2012 session. The bill is very much needed and will help set a tone when dealing with the legislature and North Carolina Medical Society, which is fairly heavily anti-CAM, on future CAM-related issues.

Health Freedom – Because of the above efforts I was approached by a leader in the CAM professions about creating some sort of Health Freedom protection. This person is in the planning stages of raising funds for me to hopefully write and promote some form of Health Freedom legislation, and other leaders are interested in helping raise funds as well. In addition, we will hopefully bring the CAM professions together and create a mutually supportive community when addressing legislative actions and the Medical Society.

The Canary Party – The Canary Party is a new political party formed in 2011, I posted about here: New Political Party – The Canary Party. Because of all of the ruckus I have raised in NC this year, they contacted me to be the North Carolina delegate. That ought to be a heck of an adventure!

Revolution 2011 – I finally pulled my head out of the sand when it comes to actually taking action around global warming. Sure, I signed the on-line petitions and made the occasional phone call to my legislators, but that was it. Given my professional background, that was a poor effort. Then the State of the Oceans report came out in June 2011, and it was time for me to mobilize: State of the Oceans – What I am Doing About It. I created Revolution 2011, which is two groups of homeschooler s– teens and younger kids – who will work to bring positive change to address global warming.

The teen Revolution 2011 group has launched, and they are amazing. They have it together so much better than I did at 15 and 16. I will coach the teens so that they will learn how to affect change in our government, and they have big plans. Hopefully we will spread the Revolution to other teen groups around the country. I emphasized to them that repeated generations of adults have failed to create an environmentally safe world for them and that it is up to them to make their voices heard.

The younger kids Revolution 2011 group will launch in the next two weeks, and I anticipate that the groups will support each other’s efforts.

Math Trek Book – Maria, this amazing and stunning woman I know, asked me to help her write a math book about the Math Trek adventures she brings to kids and their families. My family has been on her Natural Math journey for three years, and astonishing doesn’t even describe her or what we have learned. I guess it is my enthusiasm that caused her to ask me to collaborate, and here I am, helping to write a math book. Go figure!

Life – As I said above, my family’s understanding of the American Dream has profoundly shifted very far from the American Dream as most of us knew it. We are still working through what we want for our lives, and it is immensely empowering to be free from The Dream. We are now guided by The Experience, and that is the best part of 2011 and our adventure!

All the Regular Stuff – In addition to these efforts, I am continuing to homeschool Colson, cook almost all of our meals, challenge myself physically (which reminds me – this was Revolutionary for me: Great Big FUN Reminder!) and live in the moment.

Until 2011, I was someone always looking to the future. Always in a hurry. For some reason, even with all of the things I am now doing, I am not rushed and able to take these efforts in stride. I am living my life at ease, kind of in a sweet spot, enjoying what I am doing.

What one or two things might you try to shake things up a little and take you to new places?

Independence Day – For Your Health!

July 4. What an exciting day that is for me! I am writing about it now, as it is just around the corner. July 4 is a day for me to stop and reflect on the great Founders of our nation – both the well known husbands and their incredible wives. I am a big Revolutionary War era history fan, and only on July 4 can I combine the greatness of America’s Founders with food and health!

If you want to a great read, check out 1776 by David McCullough, followed by his book John Adams. Absolutely awesome. After reading these books I understood bravery, boldness, skepticism, creativity, energy, sacrifice, and so much more. The great Founding Fathers and Mothers stood up to the most powerful nation in the world, when they had almost nothing in comparison, and said "Enough." They craved liberty, which Thomas Jefferson brilliantly expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

George Washington inspired the men to fight for freedom during a brutal eight year war with Great Britain. The hardship he and the men endured is unimaginable today, and the miracles that they accomplished are almost unbelievable.

When money to finance the war was unavailable and hope seemed lost, John Adams created the financial alliances in Europe that were necessary in order for America to win the war. He almost killed himself doing it a couple of times over.

And what about the founding Mothers? Granted, it was a “man’s world” then and the strategizing and fighting were primarily done by the men, but the men wouldn’t have succeeded without the wise counsel of their wives. In addition to adding their brainpower, the women kept food on the table, kept the children safe, and found a way to keep a roof over everyone’s head. They did what they had to in order to make life work in circumstances that are beyond anything we can even remotely relate to.

How does this apply to your health? The lessons drawn from these great men and women put today’s hardships into serious perspective. Today, American citizens as a whole are controlled by corporations. They are told what they need and what they should buy. They are told that they should Super Size it. Whatever “it” is, it is hardly food. The “food” that Americans are told to eat is highly processed and addictive. Most Americans are losing their health (or already have lost it), and they have given their liberty to corporate America.

I am astonished by how many people are blind to the takeover of their freedoms. Fortunately, an awakening is occurring, with awareness of and demand for local, healthy, unprocessed food from small farmers growing. I wish that each of us could convince three people to reject corporate America and its poisonous food in favor of food that nourishes us, clears our heads and makes us strong.

Thomas Jefferson said it best: “Every generation needs a new revolution.” Now is the time to take control of our health. This is easy in comparison to what Jefferson and the other Founders had to undergo in order to gain their liberty.

John Adams (my favorite revolutionary because he truly knew that Abigail was his equal) stated: “In politics the middle way is none at all.” Taking control of your health is a journey of many steps, just as the Revolutionary War was. It has been an eight year journey for my family, and we have come far. In fact, we have been on it almost as long as it has taken to fight the American Revolution. Some people criticize us and some people are threatened by us, but we are not going to slide backwards and lose our health and freedom. Once you regain yourself, there is no middle way.

Benjamin Franklin was a prolific wordsmith and is the most quoted Revolutionary leader. This quote is timeless and has taken on a new meaning today when applied to America: “I saw few die of hunger; of eating, a hundred thousand.” Could that be any truer in America? So much food, and most of it poison. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes are all on the rise.

How long did these great men live? They all ate healthy, unprocessed food and they all exercised. Thomas Jefferson died of natural causes at 83. John Adams died of natural causes at age 90. Jefferson and Adams were very close friends for a number of years and then fell out. In their later years they rekindled their strong friendship and both died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826 - the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ben Franklin was 84 when his adventure ended in 1790, and what an adventure it was!

Adams enjoyed the longest and most robust health. All three men had healthy minds until the end. Considering their incredible lives and the many perils they survived without the help (or detriment) of modern medicine and modern food processing, their stories are energizing.

Ask yourself if you would like to be a revolutionary and lead a vibrant and groundbreaking life as exemplified by these men, or would you rather fully relinquish your liberty and be controlled by the corporate "food" and medicine machines. The takers of freedom would prefer for you to acquire diabetes or cancer as you continue to eat their “food” and then be filled full of drugs to prolong your “life.” Which would you prefer?

Second Intermittent Fast – New Lessons

I blogged here about our first intermittent fast experience last week: First Fast Completed! Our reason for getting started is here: More on Fasting, Un-college and Giving Credit.

So how did we do this week? Good and bad. Ryan did well with the fast  - solid as can be. I, on the other hand, felt week in the beginning. I am blaming the almond/date nutballs I make (see the Recipes section of my blog, near the end). I added those to my diet this week (Ryan skipped them), and it unbalanced me and made me weak during the first half of the fast. Even though the nut balls are GAPS-friendly, clearly they mess with the body’s balance and I am thinking I will kick them out of the rotation.

How did breaking the fast go? For me, great. I ate a little raw cheese and blueberries and then chicken soup with cabbage, carrots and zucchini for dinner.

Ryan, on the other hand, went for pizza. He got smacked. We eat very little grain and even less wheat (Ryan plays around with it here and there). I warned him, but he didn’t listen. Off he and Colson went to get some Chicago pizza, and they relished it.

What happened this morning? Colson’s face is swollen from his cheeks through his eyes. It is the same thing over and over: A Bit More on Colson, Grains and Constipation. And he snored terribly and had bad dreams. Poor guy!

Ryan’s snoring was over the top, too, so I put them to bed together and sought some peace for my grain-free self in Colson’s bed. By morning, Ryan’s eyes were swollen and stiff and he was lethargic. Colson was swollen. Ryan blamed his swelling on age (he usually isn’t swollen), but the truth is that it was the pizza. The pizza hangover strikes again, and it seemed to have struck Ryan harder than usual. Will they learn this time? Maybe. I just keep telling myself that we need to keep doing our best, which isn’t perfect, but it can get better each time. Now here’s hoping I can swear off the nutballs too!