Welcome! This is a way for me to share about my experiences as they relate to myself, family, health, compassionate cooking, baking and yoga. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Transformation Through Celery Juice?

*(10 minute or less read)

In my opinion, I would say I am pretty healthy, actually way healthier than I was 20 years ago that's for sure!  The last decade has been riddled with lifestyle adjustments for me.  One of the biggest changes health-wise was when my family and I decided to become plant-based.  I won't go into all the reasons in this post why we chose this.  Anyway, I thought I ate fairly healthy before that, you know, several servings of produce a day, only organic animal products, and I limited refined sugar.

Oh lordy, the first 3 months of being completely plant-based was horrible.  I seriously felt like I had a flu that would never end, but I had done my research and had mentors that prepared me for that.  So I stuck it out.  I mean, why the heck not?  I was putting good stuff in my body, unless I had an allergy, how in the world could it not be good for me?  I knew my body felt awful because it was literally pulling out all the garage from three decades worth of choices and toxin exposure.  Did I honestly think that I was going to feel amazing overnight?

Fast forward eight years, since then, over time, we've eliminated chemicals and processed items that make us feel like the stuff in a baby's diaper if ya' know what I mean (chemical cleaners and body care items, white sugar, white flour, gluten, highly processed, highly fried, zero nutrient foods).  I really feel so much better in my 40's than I ever did in my 20's or 30's. With all these changes I've managed to quiet my system from not so pleasant symptoms of Lupus, RA, Celiac and Sjogrens.  Believe me, this doesn't mean we are deprived, or that we only eat things that taste like cardboard.  Far from that, in fact, I think what we consume now has even more flavor because my taste buds can actually taste the food, spices and herbs since they are no longer being duped by all the chemicals that manipulate our taste buds.  Crazy, right?

I honestly feel so much better now, this doesn't mean we don't get the occasional cold, or have emergency room visits (broken bones, wasp stings, etc, you know, life), but we can generally recover much quicker. With this being said, there was one auto-immune disorder that, although better, was still hanging around like an annoying swarm of gnats.  Also, I've had this lump on my head for a really long time, like over a decade.

No, I don't know what it is, no, I don't plan on knowing what it is.  Why? Because I have no intention of taking medications or having surgery at this point, that's just my choice and preference.  Even those that choose allopathic means, adding in alternative methods can be a complimentary healing protocol.  I'm not a doctor, but I do highly recommend allowing the two methods to walk hand in hand if choosing traditional medicine.

Through the several life-style changes I've made over the past eight years I did manage to keep this mystery lump from growing for many years.  But, alas, life and stress creep in.  No matter how much yoga, meditation, or fruits and veggeis I ate, the stress trumped the positives and started creating havoc... the lump started to grow.

Okay, so I got a tad nervous.  I thought what else can I do?  Here's the thing, even though I'd been doing healthy things which helped, I learned that stress can trigger all sorts of ickiness in the body and mind.  I don't care what others think about this, stress impacts every part of your life, no matter how healthy you try to be.  We can stick our heads in a hole and pretend it doesn't, we can convince ourselves that people who think it does are cuckoo cuckoo, but what good is that?  It only makes the naysayers feel better for their choice not to put the work into dealing with life in a healthy way.  By making fun of those who continue to learn, grow and use tools to try and better themselves I guess maybe if offers the naysayers a false sense of security behind their walls?

If we choose to let ourselves experience stress without numbing through unhealthy means, there still is the question of how do we heal it?  While it's true we share similar stories and experiences, we are also different, come from different backgrounds, and have different situations and relationships. This is why there are literally hundreds of tools available for us to try!!! How amazing is that!  But back to the stress and what it was doing to my health.  I was at a conundrum.  I already ate pretty healthy, exercised, and dabbled in meditation.  What was this stress triggering in me, and more important, what else could I do about it?

Well, this is where Anthony William, Medical Medium, comes in.  A few years ago, thankfully, somehow I came across his information (and I have no qualms about saying I'm certain the Angels or Spirit had something to do with it).  Again, this is a whole other post, but lets just say at this point, even after being educated in the catholic system, I really wasn't all woohoo about Angels, God and Spirit.  Nevertheless, I got his first book and began reading, and I decided I would gingerly ask my ego to step aside while I read.  I was blown away.  So many things made sense, especially the part about heavy metals, I mean we're talking about fighting sjogrens for 20 years now, my mouth was full of mercury.  Not to mention all the other exposure to metals through environment - air pollution, soil pollution, food pollution, etc.

Okay, so now what?  The most incredible thing happened, he gave me hope.  Instead of living in a world of fear, of dead ends, of no cures, of no healing, he gave me a glimmer of hope.  How?  One of the ways was to have even more awareness of my food choices.  No this doesn't mean that NOW I have to eat everything that tastes like cardboard.  What it means is that yes, fruits and veggies are healthy, but there are specific ones that can dig deep into the layers and grooves of our body to pull out the crud, and there are foods that can heal, repair and fill in those spaces.  Crazy?  Does it matter?  If I or others choose to do things that are healthy, AND if I or others begin to see and feel the difference in OUR bodies - again, I ask, does it matter if you or someone else thinks it's crazy?  In the words of Rhett Butler - "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn".

Fine and dandy, but what's all this have to do with a celery juice transformation right? Among other things I've added, the celery juice protocol comes from Anthony William.  Now I like celery, but juicing with straight celery juice doesn't especially get me looking forward to my morning.  Celery juice has what I can only describe as a mouth feel (similar to the post I did on Sole).  The natural salts in celery, which are incredibly healing by the way, give it a sort of heaviness in the mouth, which may or may not equate to a gag reflex for some (myself included 😜).  But you know what?  You have sjogrens destroying your teeth, drying your eyes out so that they look like your high as kite most days, and a lump growing on the back of your head, and we'll see what you're ready to give a go at.  I figured, at least this is healthy, so I'll try it for at least a month.

Now, Anthony suggests 16 oz. at least once, if not twice, a day.  Listen Anthony, baby steps here, baby steps.  If I didn't want this juice coming back up to say good morning, I'll be starting with 8 oz, once per day.  I don't know him personally, but I'm going to guess he would say it's better than nothing.  So on March 7th, I began my celery juice experiment.  My mom and one of my daughters did it with me (I'm grateful to have such loving support💖).  The thing is, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. This helps it get to work ASAP, clearing out the junk and creating homeostasis.  We would wait about 30 minutes, taking care of the pups, preparing our coffee, and/or getting our breakfast ready.  Day one?  My daughter thought she was going to vomit, my mom and I drank ours like we were in a beer chugging competition, all the while not breathing through our noses.  All in all, not too bad.

We kept this up, day after day.  My mom travels so she had to continue on her own when she could.  My daughter and I kept going, with me sneakily increasing the amount - she called me out on it.  One month down and I was feeling lighter - literally and figuratively.  The lump?  The same, but not bigger.  We had travel plans coming up and I did not want to stop because who knew where this may go if I continue?  We made sure we would be able to continue even during our travels.  Worked like a charm, and now my sister is doing it too!

I won't lie, there are some mornings the child in me comes out and says "I don't wanna".  Sometimes I just want to take the dogs out, feed them and then have my cup of coffee.  Why?  It's not a lot of work, and now that I'm doing the blender method, it's even quicker.  I figure on those mornings it's the instant gratification part of me wanting my old ways back.  I still get to have my cup of coffee, it's just after I have my celery juice.  To make it even easier for myself, I've adopted a practice my mom taught me, which is to chop the celery (organic is the best option), put it in a [glass] bowl, cover with a lid and place it in the fridge for the morning.  This way it's even easier in the morning, quite helpful in the days "I don't wanna" kicks in.

After two months of celery juice every single morning where do I stand?  I feel good, physically, mentally and emotionally.  I actually feel like I'm handling stressful situations waaaaaay better.  And what about the lump?  It has decreased!!!!!! It's now a smaller, smooth bump, and just to be sure I wasn't trying to convince myself, I had my girls feel it to see what they thought - definitely smaller!  Woohoo!  Anthony William I could kiss you!

Going into month three I am proud of my persistence.  I am proud of my determination.  Are there still days of "I don't wanna"?  Yes, but now my hand instinctively goes to the back of my head, and you know what? That's all the reminder I need.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Do You Supplement?

Supplements or no supplements? This is one of the MANY topics we debate about. Who's right? Who determines who is right? And maybe more importantly, why does there have to be a right or wrong? *Note - if taking things as fact it's a good idea to begin learning who funds/backs "research" or articles that are disparaging towards certain products or companies.  
Although I'm talking about supplements here, I think it's safe to say these questions could be applied to just about everything. So long as we aren't harming ourselves or others, why can't we just have a difference of opinion without someone needing to be right or wrong, winner or loser?  
Why do I feel this way? Because in most cases there is no one size fits all to anything - supplements, religion, spirituality, politics, diet, etc. What works for one person may not work for another - and that's okay. What works one day for someone may not work another day - and that's okay too.  
So back to the original question - supplements or no supplements? For me, my answer is some days I don't take any supplements, but some days I add supplements. Why? Lots of reasons - just to be safe, to bridge any gaps I may have missed recently, to boost all the nutrients I already get through my food choices, to boost my immune system, to stay ahead of my auto-immune disorders. The list goes on and on.  
Of course eating a variety of whole foods is best, and for those who do choose to add supplements, the next question would be which supplements? My goodness the barrage of health crazes, not to mention the companies that jump on the band wagon to create more "miracles" is utterly confusing. Which supplements is a good question, and again, one that won't have a one size fits all answer because it will depend on lots of things - what is wrong in the body, what are we lacking, how do we react to certain supplements, are there side effects, how is the product made, is the product ethically sources, are there unnecessarily added ingredients, what's our budget, how many supplements are too many? 
Personally I believe that we shouldn't rely solely on a supplement(s) for our wellness. We need to be active in our health. From my own journey I've learned that I can't sit back and put unhealthy things into or onto my body day in and day out, not be physically active, and then pop some supplements/medications and think all is well.  
Our bodies are incredible machines, they try like heck to keep us balanced. When we notice things going astray, they didn't just happen overnight - this was years, probably even decades, in the making. This is why it only stands to reason that getting well will take some time, patience and persistence.

So once again, I'm back to the question - to supplement or not? If your answer right now is not - then you're done, but don't think you can't ever come back to this question in the future if you want. For those of us who decide to supplement, with so much confusing information and competing brands we need to go back to the bottom line of... what am I looking to help (fatigue, inflammation, headaches, etc)? Okay, next? Asking ourselves some simple questions may help in leading us to what we are looking for, without wanting to rip our hair out in frustration:
1. What monthly budget am I comfortable with?
2. What am I physically comfortable with (swallowing pills, using sublingual - under the tongue, adding powders to smoothie or other drink)?
3. How many do I want to keep track of?
4. How often do I want to take them (daily, twice a week, monthly, etc.)?
5. What do I want in a brand?
Let's take an example case here of a narrowed down list...
Bottom line = I want to reduce inflammation
1. My monthly budget = $40
2. I am physically comfortable with = sublingual or power added to smoothie
3. I am okay with keeping track of = up to three supplements
4. I am good with = daily, otherwise I'll forget
5. I want = simple ingredients, free of added chemicals, ethically sourced 
Products I love that fit my list and combat inflammation and, as a bonus, fatigue...
A.) Pure Hawaiian Spirulina Powder - 16 oz. bottle lasts about 5 months (based on one person)/average cost is $30.99 = $6.20 per month
B.) Spectrums Vegan Omega - 60 ct. bottle lasts about two months (for one person)/average cost is $19.99 = $10 per month (*if interested in why not fish oil you can email me - brightfromtheheart@gmail.com)
C.) Gaia's Mushrooms + Herbs Everyday Immune - 60 ct. bottle lasts about two months (for one person)/average cost is $20.89 = $10.50 per month (I open the capsule, add the powder to my smoothie and discard the capsule)
Considering the serving size of these three supplements that I consider my go-to's, they fit well within my monthly budget. Some days I don't add any supplements, and sometimes I'll throw in other supplements here and there if I've gotten them on sale or had a coupon, but these are my favorites that I find help to support me.  
The important thing to remember when doing anything new is to pay attention to YOU! Do you notice something is offering healing to you in a positive way physically, mentally and emotionally? We don't want to take something that hides symptoms because the symptoms are our body's way of saying "hey! something is wrong here!" When we mask symptoms with medications the problem is still there, we need to focus on getting to the source of the symptom(s) and healing it. The other factor to consider is that we don't want to take something that makes one symptom better, while making something else worse (that's the revolving door of taking endless amounts of medicines, whether they be conventional or holistic).
I know it's hard not to feel overwhelmed with information out there. I know it's scary to decide where to begin. So just begin with your bottom line question... what am I looking to help in my body today? In addition to increasing the daily amount of whole foods, and being active, supplements can have a place in your life to help get to the root of what you want to heal.  
As always, good luck in whatever you decide is right for you.