Live Long Naturally ©2012

Losing my father in 1973 and my mother in 2004 has given me a passion and purpose to help prevent disease and needless suffering on myself and others for almost 2 decades now. I am mostly self-taught, however, I did study Nutrition at AZ State, Clayton College of Natural Healing, and I worked for Dr. Richard Schulze, a leader in the field of Natural Healing.

A credential I was blessed with and am most proud of took place in 2008. I became a single parent to 4 grand nieces and nephews (ages 1, 5, 8, and 10). Not only was it life enhancing, I went on to earn my stripes (gray hair) and I can now speak from first hand experience! Children are NOT the picky eaters parents make them out to be! My 4 lil ones actually embraced structure, a balanced meal, got relief from natural remedies, and appreciated it all, they thanked me for it… discipline, tonics, and all!

Writing about health can easily include at least HALF the alphabet. However, I give you just three… A, B, and C with a possible dash of D  

A – always read labels! The best way to avoid fake food and harmful chemicals is to buy food without labels – the outer walls of the grocery store is where most of the real food can be found. Some grocery stores have a bulk section; Whole Foods and Henry’s Markets are two. Here you can find many of your favorite items without the packaging price tag. For example… let’s say you like to buy Quaker Oats 3 pound container for approximately $4.00. In the bulk section, you can fill that container for about .60+ cents a pound. Nuts, seeds, beans, grains, cereals, raisins and more can also be found in the bulk section. Farmer’s Markets are another place to buy fresh local food, or… you can grow your own! You don’t need a yard, a whole lot of space, or even a green thumb!

B – belly bigger than your bottom? I thank God for my 3 built-in gauges. In case you’re wondering what they may be, they are disappearing eyelids, jowls, and my belly growing bigger than my bottom. These by the way… can and have happened overnight! However, if addressed sooner than later, they can be a thing of the past. It is becoming unfortunately more obvious that the consequences of poor eating habits do not end with adults.

When the 4 children were placed in my custody, I was required to take them in for physicals within days of “placement.” In doing this, the 5 and 10 year olds we’re diagnosed as being overweight. After just 2 follow-up visits with the doctor, the 2 children were at their optimal weight – this was achieved in a fun, easy, tasty and diet free way!

C – chew your food to a liquid! While growing up, my father always told us to chew our food 25 times before swallowing. What GREAT advice! Even better advice these days is to chew our food to a liquid! It’s not always easy, but a life-saving habit worth achieving! Chewing food to a liquid allows the enzymes in our saliva to begin breaking down the food. It’s easier on our digestion, elimination, and it helps prevent our organs from working overtime and wearing out sooner than later. Another advantage is we reach a satisfied point (and feel full) on less food. Savor thy taste to lessen thy waist!

There is more to living a long naturally healthy life, however, these are just 3 simple steps that help whittle the waist, widen the wallet, tame the taste buds, and help where health insurance won’t!

Had I covered 4 points, the letter “D” would have been DETOX. We change the oil and filter in our vehicles to keep the engine running. Our body is no different – with proper fuel and maintenance, it can run smoother and last us longer for days and decades to come!

Say yes on Prop YOU… get the waste out and the nutrition in!

Do you know what ingredients lurk in your favorite snacks and foods? The list is long and their consequences are many – for time sake, I will cover 3 common so-called ingredients. The Oh-h-h McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are far from chicken. Aside from the lighter fluid ingredient that is used, several of the other 38 ingredients used are corn. The actual chicken was fed corn, cornstarch is then added, corn flour is used in the batter, then they’re fried in corn oil… and finally washed down with Coke or Pepsi, which also contain corn by way of HFCS.

High fructose corn syrup is a cheap, fattening, and versatile sweetener that was introduced in late 1970’s after the government gave corn farmers subsidies to grow it – it did save SOMEBODY millions of dollars, however… it was at the expense of a 100% increase of obesity in children and adolescents.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that also goes by the names of Equal and NutraSweet. It is commonly added to sugar and fat free products. This artificial sweetener actually causes an increased craving for sugar and carbohydrates.

Various health concerns have been raised about aspartame since it was introduced in 1981. In 1984, six months after it’s “debut” in sodas the incidence of brain cancer and brain tumors increased 10% in U.S., Diabetes 30% and Lymphoma 60%. A 2005 study has also shown it to cause leukemia in rats.

MSG also known as Mood Swings Galore… I mean Monosodium glutamate. It was created to make fake food taste real and tasteless food tasty! For more info on MSG… see April 9th post.

Aside from all 3 of these ingredients being cheap, they are NUTRIENTLESS, which leads to more and more overweight malnourished people from all walks of life. Take a minute to read labels – it will save you a lifetime of misery and prevent dying a slow suicide.

“Corn sweetener is to the republic of fat what corn whiskey was to the alcohol republic.”

Susan G. Komen and KFC have joined forces in raising money to “find a cure.” Enough with the “cure!”  - how about prevention and/or showing us where the billions of dollars are going?

Buy a breast and save a breast? I don’t think so… it’s more like… buy a bucket of chicken and kick the bucket! More than a billion dollars have been raised via Susan G. Komen and the various manufacturers and/or food companies. A marketing match made in heaven – a win-win money making venture? A “cure” should involve health, not WEALTH!

As if these “opposites attract” joint ventures weren’t enough, many continue to “Race for the Cure” and/or give to what they feel is a worthy cause. It can be worthy, however… doing your homework as to where the money is going or when a ” cure” will be found ought be done. Somewhere somehow the pink ribbon marketing gurus have succeeded in brainwashing millions of people into buying and giving more.

Please know… I am not against helping any one person or organization, but it shouldn’t solely be for the sheer pleasure of helping. I believe in helping people who help themselves. Fried chicken among other fund raising products, is not a step toward a cure. Many people are already digging their graves with their teeth – they don’t need anymore enticing! Consideration must be given to prevention firstly and secondly to real cures, not some mere pink bucket of chicken.

Seasonale is a birth control pill that results in women having only 4 periods per year. On the surface, it sounds great! I have to admit, I took the pill for 10 years myself – it came in real handy for the ease and control of being able to postpone a month of bleeding, especially for special occasions or when traveling. Little did my brain know it would take it’s toll on my body, it’s natural cycles, my liver, and my intuition among other things.

Being blessed with a premenstrual phase and a monthly cycle is a sign of good health. It can be a reason for celebration, reflection, rest and renewal. It is during the premenstrual phase that our intuition and creativity peak… if we allow it. Allowing ourselves a tear (or two) and a period of sensitivity is not only insightful, it can empower us. Some women have come to expect and accept a less than desired “premenstrual” phase. For some this includes painful periods and heavy bleeding, while other women experience fits of rage. This is not the norm! Young or old… diet, exercise and lifestyle can make or break each and every phase we journey through. Whether we are reaching the age of menstruation, are “premenstrual,” or coming to the menopause phase… we can in fact lighten the emotions, mood swings, hot flashes, bloating, and more by feeding our body and not merely our emotions or taste buds.

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to read the book, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, M.D. – a New York Times Bestselling author. Her book goes into fascinating easy to read detail on learning how to embrace every stage of life and be healthy in the process. It goes beyond the doctors office, drugs and surgery. It teaches us how to prevent and heal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual problems on a deep long lasting once-and-for-all level!

A few tips to get you started include:

• Eliminate (or cut back on) dairy foods, especially ice cream, cottage cheese, and yogurt. If dairy is eaten, eat organic!
• Eliminate (or cut back on) refined carbohydrates such as cookies, cake, chips, crackers, etc.
• Take essential fatty acids in the form of fish oil with Vitamin E, or sardines packed in oil or olive oil 3 x’s/week.
• Eliminate trans-fatty acids, those foods containing partially hydrogenated oils, such as margarine and solid vegetable shortening.

Exercise, sunlight, and journaling are also beneficial to the health of our body, mind, spirit… and as the author states… our magnificent hormones!

Being referred to as a tad eccentric and strange by some friends and family has it rewards. My walking to the beat of a different drum these days has recently turned into running to the beat of a different drum.

Why barefoot running? I remember hearing or reading about it and it never left my mind. I kept telling myself that before I invested in a new pair of running shoes, I’d give it a try. Then I happened to stumble upon a barefoot running workshop at Griffith Park a few weeks ago. My sister-in-law and I went and there wasn’t a sole barefoot runner in site. So we left, and I wrote it off this time around (or at least my brain did).

Then while out running just over 3 weeks ago, my gut wouldn’t let it rest, so I thought… how hard could it be? Then I thought again… let’s see… my first event I trained with a coach – I ran from heel to toe and messed up my knees. Following the event he told me what I should have been doing all along and that was building up the muscle around my knees. Gee thanks for telling me 26 miles too late! My second event I ran Chi Running, which is basically running on the ball and toes of my feet – I felt great 13.1 miles later! Barefoot running was going to require I relearn how to run from heel to toe again. So… I decided to give my feet a try at barefoot running. I ran 3.3 miles in 33 minutes on asphalt… I felt fabulous!! I eventually ran myself up to swelling and blisters, but not giving it up!

I’ve learned what doesn’t kill me always makes me stronger. I’ve also learned running barefoot is a lot like learning to play the guitar. You’ve got to build up calluses in order to get past the pain. Something about barefoot and being connected to the earth makes it an enlightening experience!