Good Day Everyone and Happy Father's Day to all you Dads!
Especially to my wonderful Dad, he's a peach.
Today I'm going to give you the one week progress report of my following the Women-to-Women program for rebalancing hormones.
In the box with my 90 day supply of nutritional support (multivitamin/mineral + Omega 3 gel cap +
calcium/magnesium) and the herbal hormonal supplement came a book that revolutionized my eating. The book, The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwarzbein, MD (endocrinologist) and Nancy Deville.
I took the supplements and immediately read the book cover to cover. I'm understanding more and more, and truth be told, I had my suspicions supported.
I can report to you that I feel 40% better in one week. And believe me, when you've been "on the floor" with fatigue and fuzzy head, this is nirvana.
My adjustments were not so much remembering to take the supplements, because they're easy. They come in a packet for am and pm; the hormonal supplements in a jar. I set them on my counter the night before so I see them first thing. The more difficult adjustment is to COOKING my food. My grandma used to say, "Good food takes time." That was her job in our household, and she usually spent the better part of her day preparing dinner for the 6 of us. I could use a grandma about now. My biggest resistance was to all the time I was going to have to put into thinking about the right foods and then preparing them. Fortunately the book has 30 days of recipes in the back for the "brain dead".
In addition I have to have breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner. Now I have to think about eating 5 times a day! But I did it and I continue to do it, because the alternative is going back to feeling like poo, and I won't do that.
I had started doing Tai Chi a few weeks before that in the morning when I got up. I found a tape in the library. I pop that in and do the am workout before I do anything else. The routine is more like dancing than anything else. It's gentle and elegant and lots and lots of deep breathing. I find it easy to commit to. There is also a pm workout, which eventually I will attempt to put into my daily routine. But as I've told you, dear reader, one thing at a time and keep doing it.
In addition a couple of mornings I actually found myself waking at 5:30 and wanting to go for a walk before the sun came up. That, was shocking! While I was out there I found I wanted to dink around in the garden for a bit. Double shock. I was having "energy" and desire to "do."
What I want to share with you is Dr. Schwartbein's concept of Accelerated Metabolic Aging.
This is getting old before your time. Quite frankly I believe that in years to come we will have utter control over this whole process, but that's for a later blog and possibly over on the Applied Spirituality side of things. But for right now, most of us suffer from this as a result of Western Life Style and poor diet.
As you might know metabolism is defined as the amount of energy a person's body burns. So thinking of your body as the engine, and your food as fuel. But additionally, metabolism is
"the combined effects if all the varied biochemical processes that continually occur in your body on a cellular level, " making it possible for you to function as a living being. Regeneration processes are twofold: those that build up the body; those that break down the body. The breaking down process is essential for clearing out the old cells and old cellular materials such as enzymes, hormones to make way for the new ones.
Hormones are the chemical communicators that direct the cellular binding processes which are essential for breaking down old cells and making new ones. Since the body is a composite of interconnected systems, when one hormone levels goes out of balance, it affects all the others as well.
More on cellular health. You body has two types of cells, stem cells and committed cells. Stem cells live only to produce committed cells. Directed by hormones, stem cells divide slowly over the course of a lifetime to make new stem cells and committed cells. Committed cells perform the biochemical processes of the body. Committed cells are constantly being renewed as they are short lived.
Here's the deal: if stem cells were to continue to produce and adequate supply of perfect committed cells, your metabolism would not age and you would therefore, never age. [I believe this is coming.] However, in this time since we believe in aging, the decreased efficiency of our metabolism is the natural and inevitable result of cellular aging that carries out that belief.
So here's how it works: stem cells make committed cells, committed cells make hormones, hormones direct the stem cells to make more committed cells, etc. Accelerated Metabolic Aging is the premature breakdown in this chain due to unhealthy eating and western lifestyle habits such as stress, toxins, poor nutrition, medications (both perscription and over-the-counter), etc.
Hence the return to organically grown whole food diets with high levels of real nutrition in the food you eat. Hence the avoidance and elimination of prepared, packaged and processed foods which have poor nutritional value and synthetic chemical additives. Hence the addition of exercise, meditation, yoga, breathing and tai chi for calming the internal state down.
We were not meant to lead the lives we are living under such stress, anxiety, urgency and fear.
All these factors combine in every one of us, regardless of chronological age to result in accelerated metabolic aging.
Next blog I'll talk about insulin resistance.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Honest Food for Honest Skin Care
Good Morning Everyone!
Little did I know last night when I was blogging that I'd be right back here this morning, but such a good thing came across my e-mail this morning I had to share it right away.
Mike Adams, the self proclaimed Health Ranger who writes a whopping good newsletter, has put together this eating guide for healthful consumption.
I like schematics like this. They are clear, they tell you quickly what it is you're supposed to "take away" from it. In short they deliver the information in swift, clear fashion much like a picture with words.
If you go to http://www.honestfoodguide.org you can can download Mike's Honest Food Guide for free. This is a tremendous public service that he is giving away. It distills for you the complexity of nutrition so you can quickly determine what you ought to be shopping for, growing and fixing for meals.
Mike's anger with big business need NOT concern you. My advice is to just keep reaching for the deliciousness of eating whole food, preferably organically grown and raised. My fall back question is, what would they have done 100 years ago?
The same advice goes for your personal care products. Keep reaching for the purist products you can afford. Any improvement is a step in the right direction, and keep in mind that to change all this in your environment at once is virtually impossible. First of all, you have to acquire the consciousness to change. So even if you had unlimited funds to throw out everything in your house that was toxic in some fashion and replace it, you still would stand in the kitchen at least three times a day wondering what to eat and how to fix it. It takes time to evolve this into a way of life.
As a step in the right direction, download and print off the Honest Food Guide and take it with you when you shop. Post it on your refrigerator door, and every day take one more step in the healthy direction.
It's summer now. Why not pot up a few tomato plants, or strawberries, or summer squash to get started growing your own produce. And for heaven's sake get heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are those that have NOT been genetically modified. Therefore you can save the seed and they will regrow into new plants next year. To get started buying your seeds, check out www.heirloomseeds.com or www.seedsavers.org. You're in for a lot of fun and good eating.
If you click on the title of today's blog it will take you directly to the Honest Food Guide.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Little did I know last night when I was blogging that I'd be right back here this morning, but such a good thing came across my e-mail this morning I had to share it right away.
Mike Adams, the self proclaimed Health Ranger who writes a whopping good newsletter, has put together this eating guide for healthful consumption.
I like schematics like this. They are clear, they tell you quickly what it is you're supposed to "take away" from it. In short they deliver the information in swift, clear fashion much like a picture with words.
If you go to http://www.honestfoodguide.org you can can download Mike's Honest Food Guide for free. This is a tremendous public service that he is giving away. It distills for you the complexity of nutrition so you can quickly determine what you ought to be shopping for, growing and fixing for meals.
Mike's anger with big business need NOT concern you. My advice is to just keep reaching for the deliciousness of eating whole food, preferably organically grown and raised. My fall back question is, what would they have done 100 years ago?
The same advice goes for your personal care products. Keep reaching for the purist products you can afford. Any improvement is a step in the right direction, and keep in mind that to change all this in your environment at once is virtually impossible. First of all, you have to acquire the consciousness to change. So even if you had unlimited funds to throw out everything in your house that was toxic in some fashion and replace it, you still would stand in the kitchen at least three times a day wondering what to eat and how to fix it. It takes time to evolve this into a way of life.
As a step in the right direction, download and print off the Honest Food Guide and take it with you when you shop. Post it on your refrigerator door, and every day take one more step in the healthy direction.
It's summer now. Why not pot up a few tomato plants, or strawberries, or summer squash to get started growing your own produce. And for heaven's sake get heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are those that have NOT been genetically modified. Therefore you can save the seed and they will regrow into new plants next year. To get started buying your seeds, check out www.heirloomseeds.com or www.seedsavers.org. You're in for a lot of fun and good eating.
If you click on the title of today's blog it will take you directly to the Honest Food Guide.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
What If...
Good Day Everyone!
Well big OOPS!
Last Saturday I was writing my other blog and got sidetracked with a phone call. When I came back to the blog, the cyber faeries had great fun with me and published that blog to this one. I have no idea how that happened, but there it is ! And there it will stay.
I not only talk about good health, organics, and beautiful skin, but my passion is Applied Spirituality, which is a subject of my own creation. You can read my blog, A New View at www.appliedspirituality.blogspot.com or if you feel like you'd like to read my book or (coming soon) take a class, you can visit my website at www.appliedspirituality.com. Looks like I've blown my cover.
But it must be Freudian, because increasingly as I write this skin care blog, I've gotten further from the topic of topical skin care with each blog. I couldn't help it.
When I was a little girl, my folks had fixed up our basement in Ohio into a party room. They would have guests over and entertain there. I remember peeking to see them dancing and snacking, and playing records. One of those records was Tennessee Ernie Ford singing, The Shin Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone...and so on.
Well good skin is a lot like that. It's all connected. And fundamentally you cannot have great skin if you aren't healthy; and if you don't put quality fuel into the engine you can't have good health and finally....the subject I've skirted around for months...if you don't feel the Well Being inside, you probably have poor health and icky skin as well.
Beauty truly does come from the inside out at any age. All of it, every single bit of it, begins with how you feel inside. Of all the subjects we have feelings about, the single ruling subject is of course, our own self esteem. How well do you think of you? Are you your best friend, faithful and loyal and loving no matter what?
I was going to ask, "When oh when in America did we start paying attention to the surface rather than the essence of things?" Then up popped Twiggy in my head. Some of you might not remember her, but I was a girl when she became the first famous fashion model rather than a pinup girl. What was significant was that she was so skinny, like a twig...hence her name. http://images.google.com/images?q=twiggy&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGFB_enUS225US229&um=1
http://www.twiggylawson.co.uk/
This media event seemed to tell all of us that we were "wrong". Well, especially such as myself from voluptuous peasant stock. Breasts were definitely OUT. Oh where oh where did Jane Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe go?
But it seems to me that from that point on in America, we were lost in the spiral downward into the importance of external appearances to the exclusion of the inner value. We took external appearances so far that we starve ourselves, we are bulimic, anorexic and we don't even care if there are toxins in our skin care products, just so we can be forever young and beautiful on the outside. For God sake, we even cut ourselves for beauty.
Europeans didn't take it so far. Good skin care has come out of Europe for decades but with a moderation that seems to have escaped America. And the organic skin care movement did not begin here, but rather in Australia.
How do I figure that? Just look at BBC television. Their idea of a starlet is not our idea of a starlet. They have "real" women in starring roles. Look at Kate Winslett as only one example. She is feminine and soft and curvy...and natural.
From the time of Twiggy on we have been assaulted by media campaigns from the cosmetics industry, fashion industry and drug industry to sell us the latest image (which is certainly not who you or I are). They tell us what we should and must aspire to in order to be acceptable, trendy, beautiful, sexy, lovely, and desired. Now, how would "they" know?
OH ARRRGGG!!!
So, when I talk to you about your health and beauty, I cannot stop with the surface applications and the food you eat. We have to address how you feel about yourself, which really ought to have come first. So I apologize. But funny, no one comes to the core except from the outside (which gets your attention) and then, maybe then, they start the journey inward to rediscover the lovely Core.
The other day I was tossing some ideas around in my head as I was digging in my garden and up popped this one single thought that is worth some time to chew on. It was this:
What if that thing you hate about yourself is actually your truest blessing, highest virtue, most solid strength, and most rich talent of all? It could be anything about yourself...your nose, your butt, your sensitivity...doesn't matter what, except that right now you think it's the noose around your neck. It's the ONE thing that, if you could change it, would make everything about your life better....
Now here's your assignment: What if...just what if...that one thing you hate most about yourself were really your blessing of all blessings... If you could re-view it, change your mind about it; see it differently....
Well, how would that change your life?
Let me hear from you on this one. This is important.
Next blog I'll give you my progress on following the Women To Women program.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
PS. You realize, of course, that I was asking myself this question at the time, right?
Well big OOPS!
Last Saturday I was writing my other blog and got sidetracked with a phone call. When I came back to the blog, the cyber faeries had great fun with me and published that blog to this one. I have no idea how that happened, but there it is ! And there it will stay.
I not only talk about good health, organics, and beautiful skin, but my passion is Applied Spirituality, which is a subject of my own creation. You can read my blog, A New View at www.appliedspirituality.blogspot.com or if you feel like you'd like to read my book or (coming soon) take a class, you can visit my website at www.appliedspirituality.com. Looks like I've blown my cover.
But it must be Freudian, because increasingly as I write this skin care blog, I've gotten further from the topic of topical skin care with each blog. I couldn't help it.
When I was a little girl, my folks had fixed up our basement in Ohio into a party room. They would have guests over and entertain there. I remember peeking to see them dancing and snacking, and playing records. One of those records was Tennessee Ernie Ford singing, The Shin Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone...and so on.
Well good skin is a lot like that. It's all connected. And fundamentally you cannot have great skin if you aren't healthy; and if you don't put quality fuel into the engine you can't have good health and finally....the subject I've skirted around for months...if you don't feel the Well Being inside, you probably have poor health and icky skin as well.
Beauty truly does come from the inside out at any age. All of it, every single bit of it, begins with how you feel inside. Of all the subjects we have feelings about, the single ruling subject is of course, our own self esteem. How well do you think of you? Are you your best friend, faithful and loyal and loving no matter what?
I was going to ask, "When oh when in America did we start paying attention to the surface rather than the essence of things?" Then up popped Twiggy in my head. Some of you might not remember her, but I was a girl when she became the first famous fashion model rather than a pinup girl. What was significant was that she was so skinny, like a twig...hence her name. http://images.google.com/images?q=twiggy&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGFB_enUS225US229&um=1
http://www.twiggylawson.co.uk/
This media event seemed to tell all of us that we were "wrong". Well, especially such as myself from voluptuous peasant stock. Breasts were definitely OUT. Oh where oh where did Jane Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe go?
But it seems to me that from that point on in America, we were lost in the spiral downward into the importance of external appearances to the exclusion of the inner value. We took external appearances so far that we starve ourselves, we are bulimic, anorexic and we don't even care if there are toxins in our skin care products, just so we can be forever young and beautiful on the outside. For God sake, we even cut ourselves for beauty.
Europeans didn't take it so far. Good skin care has come out of Europe for decades but with a moderation that seems to have escaped America. And the organic skin care movement did not begin here, but rather in Australia.
How do I figure that? Just look at BBC television. Their idea of a starlet is not our idea of a starlet. They have "real" women in starring roles. Look at Kate Winslett as only one example. She is feminine and soft and curvy...and natural.
From the time of Twiggy on we have been assaulted by media campaigns from the cosmetics industry, fashion industry and drug industry to sell us the latest image (which is certainly not who you or I are). They tell us what we should and must aspire to in order to be acceptable, trendy, beautiful, sexy, lovely, and desired. Now, how would "they" know?
OH ARRRGGG!!!
So, when I talk to you about your health and beauty, I cannot stop with the surface applications and the food you eat. We have to address how you feel about yourself, which really ought to have come first. So I apologize. But funny, no one comes to the core except from the outside (which gets your attention) and then, maybe then, they start the journey inward to rediscover the lovely Core.
The other day I was tossing some ideas around in my head as I was digging in my garden and up popped this one single thought that is worth some time to chew on. It was this:
What if that thing you hate about yourself is actually your truest blessing, highest virtue, most solid strength, and most rich talent of all? It could be anything about yourself...your nose, your butt, your sensitivity...doesn't matter what, except that right now you think it's the noose around your neck. It's the ONE thing that, if you could change it, would make everything about your life better....
Now here's your assignment: What if...just what if...that one thing you hate most about yourself were really your blessing of all blessings... If you could re-view it, change your mind about it; see it differently....
Well, how would that change your life?
Let me hear from you on this one. This is important.
Next blog I'll give you my progress on following the Women To Women program.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
PS. You realize, of course, that I was asking myself this question at the time, right?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
High Self Esteem: Remembering Who You Really Are
Good Day Everyone,
This week the theme seemed to come up repeatedly as "self esteem" or "self value" or "self appreciation" or "self worth".
Any of these terms ring true for you?
The first time it came up was in a class that I was taking via teleconference. A lady was sharing that she was "selfish" and confessing that as if it were a horrible thing. A gentlemen chimed in that he, too, was a "selfish prick". Whooa! Wait a minute! Wait just one minute!
When and where did "selfish" get such a rap? I'm thinking it has to do with religion and wanting to get the masses to do what was expected. So, therefore, let's give "selfish" a really bad moral rap, then they'll be more pliable if they're in fear of their mortal souls. Arg!
I like to take words apart and find a true meaning in them. If I do this with the word "selfish", I come up with self and fish. Fishing for self, and morphing that into fishing for Self. Now I know what the word really means and where it focuses me internally: searching within for the Me of me - my own Godchip. My True Voice. My True Godself.
Well, we wouldn't want those masses finding out how powerful they really are, so no wonder they made the word selfish "bad". A virtual sin. I'd best leave anymore remarks about that and move on right here.
One of the really interesting benefits of being "selfish", is that when you are following that internal path, you learn what makes you tick, what makes you feel good, what blows your skirt up, what makes you joyful, and fulfilled. These emotional tracers of feeling good are all street signs on the path of selfish - fishing for and finding your True Self. These thing make you happy, by Jove! These are the things that connect you to Source and show you that you can make yourself happy.
Now when you're feeling good, and filling up your own basket with joyous events, situations, activities and focus points, guess what happens? Your cup runneth over. You are so full of Source (joy, love, energy, creation itself) that it flows out of you in every thought, word and deed. Then and only then are you a blessing to others and effortlessly "give" from your overflowing cup.
When you are overflowing your cup of love and blessings (energy) to everyone and everything around you: your co workers, your family, your friends, the book you're writing, the project you are focused on - you are flowing It - Source Itslef right smack into your creations, which benefit and bless over and over again. In that moment when you can see and realize that by You being You, doing what makes you tick blesses people, there is the real value of You. A Value Beyond Measure - you being fully Who You Are, which is what you love to be - uniquely YOU. This is applied spirituality in action.
When you feel this "Zone", you feel your self esteem, self worth, self value, and self love and self-appreciation. When you know Who You Really Are, there is only Self Esteem. For how could it be otherwise?
The hallmark of a spiritual journey is fraught with irony and paradox because it is mirroring the 180 polarity of human mind and Godmind. So, being selfish (finding your True Self) is the path to Self Esteem - your Godchip, usually in juxtaposition to the conditioned human mind. Who would have thought?
Thus the path to Self development is following your heart, following the daily moment to moment decisions that feel good to You, being with the folks that feel right to you, participating in the activities that feel enlivening to You, is the way you find and connect, then blend with your True Self and let It rip! When you let IT rip, you feel You flooding through you, creating your dreams, words, creations. When you're feeling You flowing through you, there is only Self Love.
Thanks for Reading!
Kath
This week the theme seemed to come up repeatedly as "self esteem" or "self value" or "self appreciation" or "self worth".
Any of these terms ring true for you?
The first time it came up was in a class that I was taking via teleconference. A lady was sharing that she was "selfish" and confessing that as if it were a horrible thing. A gentlemen chimed in that he, too, was a "selfish prick". Whooa! Wait a minute! Wait just one minute!
When and where did "selfish" get such a rap? I'm thinking it has to do with religion and wanting to get the masses to do what was expected. So, therefore, let's give "selfish" a really bad moral rap, then they'll be more pliable if they're in fear of their mortal souls. Arg!
I like to take words apart and find a true meaning in them. If I do this with the word "selfish", I come up with self and fish. Fishing for self, and morphing that into fishing for Self. Now I know what the word really means and where it focuses me internally: searching within for the Me of me - my own Godchip. My True Voice. My True Godself.
Well, we wouldn't want those masses finding out how powerful they really are, so no wonder they made the word selfish "bad". A virtual sin. I'd best leave anymore remarks about that and move on right here.
One of the really interesting benefits of being "selfish", is that when you are following that internal path, you learn what makes you tick, what makes you feel good, what blows your skirt up, what makes you joyful, and fulfilled. These emotional tracers of feeling good are all street signs on the path of selfish - fishing for and finding your True Self. These thing make you happy, by Jove! These are the things that connect you to Source and show you that you can make yourself happy.
Now when you're feeling good, and filling up your own basket with joyous events, situations, activities and focus points, guess what happens? Your cup runneth over. You are so full of Source (joy, love, energy, creation itself) that it flows out of you in every thought, word and deed. Then and only then are you a blessing to others and effortlessly "give" from your overflowing cup.
When you are overflowing your cup of love and blessings (energy) to everyone and everything around you: your co workers, your family, your friends, the book you're writing, the project you are focused on - you are flowing It - Source Itslef right smack into your creations, which benefit and bless over and over again. In that moment when you can see and realize that by You being You, doing what makes you tick blesses people, there is the real value of You. A Value Beyond Measure - you being fully Who You Are, which is what you love to be - uniquely YOU. This is applied spirituality in action.
When you feel this "Zone", you feel your self esteem, self worth, self value, and self love and self-appreciation. When you know Who You Really Are, there is only Self Esteem. For how could it be otherwise?
The hallmark of a spiritual journey is fraught with irony and paradox because it is mirroring the 180 polarity of human mind and Godmind. So, being selfish (finding your True Self) is the path to Self Esteem - your Godchip, usually in juxtaposition to the conditioned human mind. Who would have thought?
Thus the path to Self development is following your heart, following the daily moment to moment decisions that feel good to You, being with the folks that feel right to you, participating in the activities that feel enlivening to You, is the way you find and connect, then blend with your True Self and let It rip! When you let IT rip, you feel You flooding through you, creating your dreams, words, creations. When you're feeling You flowing through you, there is only Self Love.
Thanks for Reading!
Kath
The Schwarzbeing Principle: Balanced Diet Key to Physical and Emotional Health
Good Day Everyone!
Ask and it is answered.
In the last blog I described to you how I've been suffering from severe fatigue and exhausted adrenals for years. It came to a head about 10 days ago when I went searching online for help.
I ended up at the womentowomen.com site where I took their "hormonal imbalance" quiz and was pronounced with severe symptoms. I ordered their 90 day program. It arrived yesterday - took 10 days to get here! Of course I started right away with the nutritional support and the herbal hormone support.
The surprise in the box was a book called the Schwartzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwartzbeing, MD. Dr. Schwartzbein is an endocrinologist in Santa Barbara, California. (see link: www.schwartzbeinprinciple.com). I have spent about 2 hours this morning reading her book. I am learning so much, but more importantly, it is supporting some of my suspicions that I've garnered over the years.
For example, I have often wondered why we crave carbohydrates: the bagel, the donut, the cookies; or gotta get that afternoon cup of java; a cigarette; and other stimulants.
I have often wondered about these cravings, weight gain, insulin and immune diseases.
Dr. Schwarzbein addresses all of these, so far, in her book.
What I have learned so far in the program obtained from Women To Women is that the nutrition is the who key to our optimum health. If you'll read past blogs of mine, you'll see that I've been hot on this trail for awhile now, promoting whole foods, organic foods, real foods. But now I can add to this the balanced diet.
The elements to a balanced diet are not to be found in the US Government's Food Pyramid, but rather in a square comprised of 1. Proteins; 2. Fats; 3. Non-starchy vegetables (not corn) and 3. carbohydrates - Real Carbohydrates such as wheat, not pasta or bread, rice, not rice cakes; potatoes, not potato chips. i.e. NOT MAN MADE or MANUFACTURED.
So, so far, we're on the right path here with Real Whole Foods - that is to say - not processed and that which you could grow, gather or harvest, theoretically, yourself.
The surprise is in the importance of fats (once again, Real Whole Food Fats) that are gained in eating red meat, chicken, fish, butter, nuts, seeds and how critical they are to the manufacture of hormones in the body.
Eating a low fat diet can make you fat and lead to high cholesterol, because your body requires these to be obtained in nutrition, when it doesn't get them, it thinks it's gone into a famine and starts using all those carbs and turn those into cholesterol - so important is cholesterol to the functioning of a healthy body.
One last basic I will pass on for today. Dr. Schwartzbein recommends that you eat something from each of these 4 basic food groups at each meal. For example this morning I sauteed some home grown swiss chard with garlic in olive oil, scrambled in an egg; had half a glass of organic orange juice (with my probiotic superfood). The vegetables: swiss chard and garlic; the protein. the eggs; the carbs; the orange juice; and the fats, the olive oil.
Dr. Schwartzbein's program calls for 3 balanced meals a day plus two snacks between meals.
A sample day's menu mike look like this:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with nitrate-free sausages, 2/3 cup oatmeal with butter and cream; and sliced tomatoes.
Snack: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or a handful of almonds
Lunch: Cobb salad (made with chopped chicken, nitrate free bacon, hard-boiled egg; bleu cheese, salad greens and tomatoes). Olive oil and vinegar dressing. 1 small apple
Snack: 1/4 cup almonds and string cheese
Dinner: Roast pork loin. 1/3 cup brown rice with butter. Asparagus with butter. Mixed greens salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, tossed with olive oil and vinegar dressing.
There are vegetarian versions of this balanced protein-fat-veggie-carb diet as well.
What is absent absolutely is sugar, refined flour, alcohol and caffeine.
Don't be overwhelmed. Just begin anywhere, right where you are. Just begin! You'll refine it over time. It took me a year to get all the inorganic stuff out of my pantry and I'm still refining it.
But you can start with your next trip to the grocery and your next meal. Definitely throw out all your phony sweeteners, get raw sugar, raw honey for now until you've weened yourself from the cravings.
Remember, it's the poor diet that keeps you locked in the vicious cycle of sweet, caffeine, or other stimulant in order to feel better; but they are short lived and you're reaching once again for that "fix".
One more thing. The importance of a good probiotic supplement is essential. I personally recommend One Group's MiVitality InLiven Probiotic Powder. For an intensive start use it with InLiven Fast Tract Liquid. To order these go to www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com. And if you need help or want to ask questions, just contact me a www.honestskincare@gmail.com.
You can't change the world of you don't feel good. Let's get well and healthy!
Stay tuned. I'm right in there with you making my way slowly back to complete and perfect health, which is exactly what I asked for. Come do this with me!
Thanks for reading!
Ask and it is answered.
In the last blog I described to you how I've been suffering from severe fatigue and exhausted adrenals for years. It came to a head about 10 days ago when I went searching online for help.
I ended up at the womentowomen.com site where I took their "hormonal imbalance" quiz and was pronounced with severe symptoms. I ordered their 90 day program. It arrived yesterday - took 10 days to get here! Of course I started right away with the nutritional support and the herbal hormone support.
The surprise in the box was a book called the Schwartzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwartzbeing, MD. Dr. Schwartzbein is an endocrinologist in Santa Barbara, California. (see link: www.schwartzbeinprinciple.com). I have spent about 2 hours this morning reading her book. I am learning so much, but more importantly, it is supporting some of my suspicions that I've garnered over the years.
For example, I have often wondered why we crave carbohydrates: the bagel, the donut, the cookies; or gotta get that afternoon cup of java; a cigarette; and other stimulants.
I have often wondered about these cravings, weight gain, insulin and immune diseases.
Dr. Schwarzbein addresses all of these, so far, in her book.
What I have learned so far in the program obtained from Women To Women is that the nutrition is the who key to our optimum health. If you'll read past blogs of mine, you'll see that I've been hot on this trail for awhile now, promoting whole foods, organic foods, real foods. But now I can add to this the balanced diet.
The elements to a balanced diet are not to be found in the US Government's Food Pyramid, but rather in a square comprised of 1. Proteins; 2. Fats; 3. Non-starchy vegetables (not corn) and 3. carbohydrates - Real Carbohydrates such as wheat, not pasta or bread, rice, not rice cakes; potatoes, not potato chips. i.e. NOT MAN MADE or MANUFACTURED.
So, so far, we're on the right path here with Real Whole Foods - that is to say - not processed and that which you could grow, gather or harvest, theoretically, yourself.
The surprise is in the importance of fats (once again, Real Whole Food Fats) that are gained in eating red meat, chicken, fish, butter, nuts, seeds and how critical they are to the manufacture of hormones in the body.
Eating a low fat diet can make you fat and lead to high cholesterol, because your body requires these to be obtained in nutrition, when it doesn't get them, it thinks it's gone into a famine and starts using all those carbs and turn those into cholesterol - so important is cholesterol to the functioning of a healthy body.
One last basic I will pass on for today. Dr. Schwartzbein recommends that you eat something from each of these 4 basic food groups at each meal. For example this morning I sauteed some home grown swiss chard with garlic in olive oil, scrambled in an egg; had half a glass of organic orange juice (with my probiotic superfood). The vegetables: swiss chard and garlic; the protein. the eggs; the carbs; the orange juice; and the fats, the olive oil.
Dr. Schwartzbein's program calls for 3 balanced meals a day plus two snacks between meals.
A sample day's menu mike look like this:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with nitrate-free sausages, 2/3 cup oatmeal with butter and cream; and sliced tomatoes.
Snack: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or a handful of almonds
Lunch: Cobb salad (made with chopped chicken, nitrate free bacon, hard-boiled egg; bleu cheese, salad greens and tomatoes). Olive oil and vinegar dressing. 1 small apple
Snack: 1/4 cup almonds and string cheese
Dinner: Roast pork loin. 1/3 cup brown rice with butter. Asparagus with butter. Mixed greens salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, tossed with olive oil and vinegar dressing.
There are vegetarian versions of this balanced protein-fat-veggie-carb diet as well.
What is absent absolutely is sugar, refined flour, alcohol and caffeine.
Don't be overwhelmed. Just begin anywhere, right where you are. Just begin! You'll refine it over time. It took me a year to get all the inorganic stuff out of my pantry and I'm still refining it.
But you can start with your next trip to the grocery and your next meal. Definitely throw out all your phony sweeteners, get raw sugar, raw honey for now until you've weened yourself from the cravings.
Remember, it's the poor diet that keeps you locked in the vicious cycle of sweet, caffeine, or other stimulant in order to feel better; but they are short lived and you're reaching once again for that "fix".
One more thing. The importance of a good probiotic supplement is essential. I personally recommend One Group's MiVitality InLiven Probiotic Powder. For an intensive start use it with InLiven Fast Tract Liquid. To order these go to www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com. And if you need help or want to ask questions, just contact me a www.honestskincare@gmail.com.
You can't change the world of you don't feel good. Let's get well and healthy!
Stay tuned. I'm right in there with you making my way slowly back to complete and perfect health, which is exactly what I asked for. Come do this with me!
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Thursday, May 29, 2008
What If It Were Hormones?
Hello Everyone,
Well, I feel really stupid. For about 5 years I've been dealing with "energy" challenges. Major energy challenges. Now I thought as they would appear, one by one over time, that I was just "over worked" or "over stressed." And by taking that thought pattern, I would shrug it off and just tell myself to "buck up."
I can't begin to tell you how many times my "internal" voice would be nagging at me to get up off the couch and get to work, beat me up for being lazy, and generally make me feel like I was a good-for-nothing, no account laggard.
On a good day I would give myself a break, saying to myself, "you've got a lot on your plate, be patient with yourself, give yourself a wee bit of mercy." That was on a good day. But never once did I connect the dots: stress, stress response, menopause, food and diet, exercise = hormonal imbalance. I mean to say that I never understood the deep response and the downward spiral of this delicate house of cards known as the endocrine system.
Well, yesterday as I lay in bed all afternoon wondering - despairing - if I would ever get my act together, it suddenly came to me. What if it were hormones?
Now I have been cleaning up my diet quite religiously for at least a year now. This is to say that I'm eating way more veggies and fruits, absolutely NO processed foods, and mostly organic. I drink no sodas, only water and green/white teas. I went off coffee a year ago, and if I do have a cup (one cup), it's decaf. I faithfully take my "superfood" and mineral supplements. I have even begun doing Tai Chi in the mornings to rev up the old engine. But within hours, I'm out of energy, focus and fuzzy. I could sleep ( and do ) a lot.
I've had patience with this for over a year since my chiropractor informed me that my adrenal glands were "blown out". No sh_t Sherlock. No wonder I couldn't get up off the floor, but more importantly, was the realization that it was my reaction to stress (internal) and the consistency of it that got me here. Add to that, this particular time of life to which I gave no notice or import.
So it came to me, what if it were hormonal? Then I went searching and found http://www.womentowomen.com. I took their online quiz and found out that my symptoms were "severe" and "entrenched" hormone deficiencies. Sigh. The good news (found the answer) and the bad (not an instant fix).
I don't know when I've felt so utterly stupid, not to have put this together sooner. I should have known when the antidepressants did nothing for me and I threw them away. I should have guessed a long time ago, but well, let's stop the self-flagellation and get on with the getting well part.
This morning I called Women To Women in Maine and reached a lovely woman named, Lisa.
Turns out they've been doing this work for 20 years. Well, thank heaven.
The symptoms which I think every woman should pay attention to are these:
1. by 3:00 pm you need coffee or a nap to get through the rest of the day;
2. you're craving sweets (bagels, donuts, carbs, candy); and
3. your sleep patterns are disrupted (can't get to sleep, can't stay asleep, or you could sleep all the time); and
4. your thinking is fuzzy.
Listen, it doesn't matter what age you are, seems that we here in Western Culture with all of our "stress" can experience hormone imbalance at any age, it doesn't have to be menopausal age.
Lisa told me that in some parts of the world where they don't live our life style, they don't even have a word for "menopause", because women don't experience anything disruptive. Imagine that.
Our food (quality) and our lifestyle is what contributes to this hormonal imbalance at any age.
Well, to make a long story short, I have signed up for their 90 day program which consists of phytotherapy (plants and herbs for hormone rebalance and regeneration) as well as nutritional support (the foundation). A book comes along with the supplements. Lisa assures me that by the 4th of July I will be feeling like my old self again. (Can't remember what that felt like, to be truthful.)
So stay tuned. I am going to be the human experiment once again and report back to you as I go along.
Baseline is today, May 28, 2008. I eat mostly organic foods; I eat no processed foods other than tortilla chips; I drink no sodas. I drink only decaffeinated coffee and probably have less than one glass of wine a week (organic). I do eat meat, but not a lot. I am doing Tai Chi in the am for 20 minutes. I write in my journal every am. Meditate daily. Walk daily for at least 20 minutes. I take a superfood, and liquid minerals daily. I sleep at least 8 hours a night (and could sleep more).
What I'm hoping for? Energy, enthusiasm, staying power and pure positive focus, even temperament, balanced optimism, and cheerful countenance.
Stay tuned, I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, if you'd like to join me on this 90 day program, check out http://www.womentowomen.com. Take the quiz and participate along with me.
For now I have decided to wait on any kind of HRT - hormone replacement therapy, which will be the subject of another blog at a later time.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Well, I feel really stupid. For about 5 years I've been dealing with "energy" challenges. Major energy challenges. Now I thought as they would appear, one by one over time, that I was just "over worked" or "over stressed." And by taking that thought pattern, I would shrug it off and just tell myself to "buck up."
I can't begin to tell you how many times my "internal" voice would be nagging at me to get up off the couch and get to work, beat me up for being lazy, and generally make me feel like I was a good-for-nothing, no account laggard.
On a good day I would give myself a break, saying to myself, "you've got a lot on your plate, be patient with yourself, give yourself a wee bit of mercy." That was on a good day. But never once did I connect the dots: stress, stress response, menopause, food and diet, exercise = hormonal imbalance. I mean to say that I never understood the deep response and the downward spiral of this delicate house of cards known as the endocrine system.
Well, yesterday as I lay in bed all afternoon wondering - despairing - if I would ever get my act together, it suddenly came to me. What if it were hormones?
Now I have been cleaning up my diet quite religiously for at least a year now. This is to say that I'm eating way more veggies and fruits, absolutely NO processed foods, and mostly organic. I drink no sodas, only water and green/white teas. I went off coffee a year ago, and if I do have a cup (one cup), it's decaf. I faithfully take my "superfood" and mineral supplements. I have even begun doing Tai Chi in the mornings to rev up the old engine. But within hours, I'm out of energy, focus and fuzzy. I could sleep ( and do ) a lot.
I've had patience with this for over a year since my chiropractor informed me that my adrenal glands were "blown out". No sh_t Sherlock. No wonder I couldn't get up off the floor, but more importantly, was the realization that it was my reaction to stress (internal) and the consistency of it that got me here. Add to that, this particular time of life to which I gave no notice or import.
So it came to me, what if it were hormonal? Then I went searching and found http://www.womentowomen.com. I took their online quiz and found out that my symptoms were "severe" and "entrenched" hormone deficiencies. Sigh. The good news (found the answer) and the bad (not an instant fix).
I don't know when I've felt so utterly stupid, not to have put this together sooner. I should have known when the antidepressants did nothing for me and I threw them away. I should have guessed a long time ago, but well, let's stop the self-flagellation and get on with the getting well part.
This morning I called Women To Women in Maine and reached a lovely woman named, Lisa.
Turns out they've been doing this work for 20 years. Well, thank heaven.
The symptoms which I think every woman should pay attention to are these:
1. by 3:00 pm you need coffee or a nap to get through the rest of the day;
2. you're craving sweets (bagels, donuts, carbs, candy); and
3. your sleep patterns are disrupted (can't get to sleep, can't stay asleep, or you could sleep all the time); and
4. your thinking is fuzzy.
Listen, it doesn't matter what age you are, seems that we here in Western Culture with all of our "stress" can experience hormone imbalance at any age, it doesn't have to be menopausal age.
Lisa told me that in some parts of the world where they don't live our life style, they don't even have a word for "menopause", because women don't experience anything disruptive. Imagine that.
Our food (quality) and our lifestyle is what contributes to this hormonal imbalance at any age.
Well, to make a long story short, I have signed up for their 90 day program which consists of phytotherapy (plants and herbs for hormone rebalance and regeneration) as well as nutritional support (the foundation). A book comes along with the supplements. Lisa assures me that by the 4th of July I will be feeling like my old self again. (Can't remember what that felt like, to be truthful.)
So stay tuned. I am going to be the human experiment once again and report back to you as I go along.
Baseline is today, May 28, 2008. I eat mostly organic foods; I eat no processed foods other than tortilla chips; I drink no sodas. I drink only decaffeinated coffee and probably have less than one glass of wine a week (organic). I do eat meat, but not a lot. I am doing Tai Chi in the am for 20 minutes. I write in my journal every am. Meditate daily. Walk daily for at least 20 minutes. I take a superfood, and liquid minerals daily. I sleep at least 8 hours a night (and could sleep more).
What I'm hoping for? Energy, enthusiasm, staying power and pure positive focus, even temperament, balanced optimism, and cheerful countenance.
Stay tuned, I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, if you'd like to join me on this 90 day program, check out http://www.womentowomen.com. Take the quiz and participate along with me.
For now I have decided to wait on any kind of HRT - hormone replacement therapy, which will be the subject of another blog at a later time.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sunlight: Healthy Skin, Healthy Body
Good Morning Everyone!
Last blog I spoke about the necessity of water for healthy skin and a healthy body. Today we're going to talk about sunlight.
Once again we're pushing against the tide here. The powers that be, principally the American Dermatological Association in conjunction with manufacturers of sunscreens would have you scared witless about your exposure to sunshine. Well, here's the True scoop: you need sunlight!!! And it's always better to get your vitamin D from a natural source than a synthetically manufactured pill. It's cheaper too, of course, since sunshine is free. You can go to the link provided and download the report for yourself.
http://downloads.truthpublishing.com/Sunlight.pdf
The report is an interview with Dr. Michael Holick, MD. at Boston University School of Medicine.
His information is a result of his direct research.
In short, here's the information. In answer to the question why is Vitamin D so important?
"Every tissue and cell in the body requires vitamin D, not just bones and teeth. Vitamin D deficiency contributes to the cause of many diseases such as cancer, MS, rheumatoid arthritis and depression. It's critical to overall health. Many people are deficient, but at first the symptoms are subtle. After a time, they can develop bone pain, muscle pain and physical weakness. Often, they will end up being misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome," says Dr. Holick, author of The UV Advantage and director of the Bone Clinic at Boston University.
And you can't get too much of it, either!
Did you know that upwards of 42% of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D? And even more serious is that upwards of 80% of seniors in America are Vitamin D deficient. I know that I personally know many people that complain of joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue accompanied by depression. These same folks get very little sunlight and if they do go into the sun, they're covered up and have sunblock slathered all over them.
You say you work in an office all day? Well take your 15 minute break and go OUTSIDE! And while you're at it, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go sit outside and feel the sunshine on your face, breathe deeply, smile at the birds and check out the flowers, then take the stairs back up to your office. You've given yourself a "health break" all the way 'round, including a mental break from what you were doing.
I've always been skeptical of sunscreens, simply because they are synthetic chemicals; and it seems even more dangerous to me to be applying a chemical to your skin and then add the heat of the sunshine to "cook" it into your absorption system. Just seems wrong to me, somehow. So, as you know, I have found that there are organic sunscreens for the same purpose which work as a reflectants with no synthetic chemicals.
However, Dr. Holick's studies prove that we absolutely require pure sunshine for optimal health - without a sunblock for prescribed periods. In his book there is a chart to help you regulate your direct skin exposures. For example, you might expose 6-10% of your body (face, hands, feet) for 20 minutes 3 times a week. Recently a friend of mine who is experiencing symptoms of MS was written a prescription by her homeopathic MD for sunshine at 20 minutes per day. She lives in Northern California.
Again, this seems to be another area where common sense has taken flight. I know how uncomfortable I feel in prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, and I have an olive complexion. It used to be growing up in Ohio that I could be outside all day and only get slightly pink cheeks. Now I notice here in Southern California that after 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight, my skin begins to feel taught. I can feel it telling me, "Enough!"
In the summer when I'm gardening, I make every effort to be outside in the early morning, say from 7-9 am. After that, the sun is too hot, and I'm in for the day. If I still have more work to do in my garden, I wait until the evening hours. I rarely use a sunscreen, but when I have to, I use Miessence Reflect Outdoor Balm (see link
https://honestskincare.mionegroup.com/product/13430) coupled with a wonderful wide-brimmed floppy hat and a cool long-sleeved linen shirt and trousers.
Again, it's how does this feel to you? When it stops feeling good, it is time to stop. But you also have to pay attention to how you're feeling! You have to be aware and know when enough is enough. Listen to your internal guidance, it says "when" and so does your body.
Meanwhile, get out there and soak up one of the last remaining free things left: the sunshine. You might also want to get a copy of the UV Advantage, by Dr. Michael Holick to check out the sun exposure table he recommends for your skin type and longitude and latitude.
You may not be getting old, just not getting enough Vitamin D. Which begs the questions, perhaps that's why people "get old"....they stop playing in the sun!
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Last blog I spoke about the necessity of water for healthy skin and a healthy body. Today we're going to talk about sunlight.
Once again we're pushing against the tide here. The powers that be, principally the American Dermatological Association in conjunction with manufacturers of sunscreens would have you scared witless about your exposure to sunshine. Well, here's the True scoop: you need sunlight!!! And it's always better to get your vitamin D from a natural source than a synthetically manufactured pill. It's cheaper too, of course, since sunshine is free. You can go to the link provided and download the report for yourself.
http://downloads.truthpublishing.com/Sunlight.pdf
The report is an interview with Dr. Michael Holick, MD. at Boston University School of Medicine.
His information is a result of his direct research.
In short, here's the information. In answer to the question why is Vitamin D so important?
"Every tissue and cell in the body requires vitamin D, not just bones and teeth. Vitamin D deficiency contributes to the cause of many diseases such as cancer, MS, rheumatoid arthritis and depression. It's critical to overall health. Many people are deficient, but at first the symptoms are subtle. After a time, they can develop bone pain, muscle pain and physical weakness. Often, they will end up being misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome," says Dr. Holick, author of The UV Advantage and director of the Bone Clinic at Boston University.
And you can't get too much of it, either!
Did you know that upwards of 42% of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D? And even more serious is that upwards of 80% of seniors in America are Vitamin D deficient. I know that I personally know many people that complain of joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue accompanied by depression. These same folks get very little sunlight and if they do go into the sun, they're covered up and have sunblock slathered all over them.
You say you work in an office all day? Well take your 15 minute break and go OUTSIDE! And while you're at it, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go sit outside and feel the sunshine on your face, breathe deeply, smile at the birds and check out the flowers, then take the stairs back up to your office. You've given yourself a "health break" all the way 'round, including a mental break from what you were doing.
I've always been skeptical of sunscreens, simply because they are synthetic chemicals; and it seems even more dangerous to me to be applying a chemical to your skin and then add the heat of the sunshine to "cook" it into your absorption system. Just seems wrong to me, somehow. So, as you know, I have found that there are organic sunscreens for the same purpose which work as a reflectants with no synthetic chemicals.
However, Dr. Holick's studies prove that we absolutely require pure sunshine for optimal health - without a sunblock for prescribed periods. In his book there is a chart to help you regulate your direct skin exposures. For example, you might expose 6-10% of your body (face, hands, feet) for 20 minutes 3 times a week. Recently a friend of mine who is experiencing symptoms of MS was written a prescription by her homeopathic MD for sunshine at 20 minutes per day. She lives in Northern California.
Again, this seems to be another area where common sense has taken flight. I know how uncomfortable I feel in prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, and I have an olive complexion. It used to be growing up in Ohio that I could be outside all day and only get slightly pink cheeks. Now I notice here in Southern California that after 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight, my skin begins to feel taught. I can feel it telling me, "Enough!"
In the summer when I'm gardening, I make every effort to be outside in the early morning, say from 7-9 am. After that, the sun is too hot, and I'm in for the day. If I still have more work to do in my garden, I wait until the evening hours. I rarely use a sunscreen, but when I have to, I use Miessence Reflect Outdoor Balm (see link
https://honestskincare.mionegroup.com/product/13430) coupled with a wonderful wide-brimmed floppy hat and a cool long-sleeved linen shirt and trousers.
Again, it's how does this feel to you? When it stops feeling good, it is time to stop. But you also have to pay attention to how you're feeling! You have to be aware and know when enough is enough. Listen to your internal guidance, it says "when" and so does your body.
Meanwhile, get out there and soak up one of the last remaining free things left: the sunshine. You might also want to get a copy of the UV Advantage, by Dr. Michael Holick to check out the sun exposure table he recommends for your skin type and longitude and latitude.
You may not be getting old, just not getting enough Vitamin D. Which begs the questions, perhaps that's why people "get old"....they stop playing in the sun!
Thanks for reading!
Kath
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