Diabetes

     It has been a very long time since I have written an article about anything.  I have been a slug on a great many things including my diet.

     I can't remember if I had said anything about a new diagnosis that I got 2 years ago this month.  I was working at the hospital and I couldn't breath.  My heart rate was up and my blood pressure was through the roof.  One of the nurses took me to the ER and there I found out that I had experienced a pulmonary embolism.  For those of you that don't know what that is, it's blood clots that go to your lungs.  This could have been my last day on earth as they very dangerous.  They gave me a blood thinner and sent me home.  I drove home!  I was surprised that they didn't admit me because when this happened 7 years before I was put in the hospital.

     The next day I called my doctor, and he ordered me new thinning medication, and wanted me to get a blood test to see if I had APS.  Antiphosoliqid syndrome.  I thought nah, I didn't have this.  The testing would continue over 3 months, with the last test being positive.  Dandy!  What now?  Well come to find out, I would be on thinners the rest of my life.

     That's when the depression kicked in.  I had no energy for ANYTHING!  Including cooking.  I mean I didn't eat any animal products, but I started eating vegan junk food.  Sugar also, and high fat foods.  Guess what?  I gained weight.  Gee no big surprise there.  That has continued until just recently.

     I changed doctors because I had done some research into the blood thinner that I was on.  I discovered that it wasn't for people like me with this autoimmune disease.  I called my doctor, and he said you will be fine.  That is for people that have a worse case than you.  I was not satisfied with that answer.  (So here's the thing; you have to take charge of your health.  You have to read and research and pray about what needs to be done)

     Working at the hospital, I have a pluthera of doctors around my desk all day.  I asked the one I like the best about this syndrome.  He is an internist (the best in Boise), and he researched it, talked to a rheumatologist, and he told me that my study was correct.  I needed a different blood thinner.  One that is a bit more time intensified.  He wanted me to come into his clinic and have a check up.  This is when he ran some blood work on me.

     He ran cholesterol, A1C or blood sugar as you might know.  Those numbers came back, and he told me that I had DIABETES and needed to go on medication to lower those numbers.  More depression, but more research.  I looked up everything I could to find out what I could do to lower my glucose levels.  I came across two guys on Youtube who both have type 1.  I have type 2.  Which if you have it, type 2 is much better as you can reverse it.  No cure for type 1.  Well that was a blessing.  Anyway, these guys both said you can reverse type 2, and really I knew that but I needed more info.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but not when it come to your health.  I didn't not want to go on more medicine.  I hate drugs!

     I told my doctor that I didn't want to go on medication, that I would start eating better and exercising.  He said great!

     So here I am, ready to rededicate myself to healing my body.  This morning I woke up and did a light workout.  I haven't done this in maybe a year.  I'm pooped!  It could be worse though!

     We have many patients that come to our rehab hospital that don't take care of their sugars.  They have had toes removed, limbs removed, are blind from this dreadful disease.  Now I could be all depressed again, and eat whatever the heck I want, but where will that get me?

     If you have diabetes, I urge you to watch the video below.  Take care of yourself!  It's never too late.  Yes the holidays are here, but do you want to be well or sick.  Do it before it's too late!

https://youtu.be/kyx0FwW-toU

Melaleuca

     It's funny how your life brings you to different things.  I was introduced to Melaleuca many years ago when we lived up in the Coeur D Alene area.  It seemed like a good company, and I liked the products.  My friend sent me a sample of the lotion and I loved it.  At the time I didn't want or thought I needed anymore stuff in my house, so I thanked her and still remained friends on social media.

     2 years later, after both my boys graduated from college, I again discovered Melaleuca.  Probably not the way you think though.  My boys graduated from the IT program through University of Idaho and BYUI.  Both got jobs at Melaleuca in their cyber security offices.  When I went to see my boys a few weeks ago, they took me on a tour of the place of employment, and I was impressed that the company runs debt free.  They own the huge building that is pictured below!  That thing is a castle!

     My oldest also took me to the Melaleuca store, and I was blown away with all the products!  They have nutrition, medicine cabinet, beauty, household, essential oils, and bath and body!  Everything is natural and made just before they deliver so it's all fresh.  Products are made from plants!  Their household products are amazing, and cut through lime build up better than the store lime away.  He also started using the Renew lotion, and his eczema has cleared up! 

     So what happens to your body when you use the cheap products from the stores.  Woman run into this more than men probably because men never clean house.  lol  Anyway, there was a 20 year study on the effects that household cleaners had on people.  28 researchers followed more than 6000 people, and discovered that women that used household cleaners once a week lost as much lung capacity as someone that smoked 1 pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years!  YIKES!  I can believe it!  Have you ever walked down the cleaning isle of the grocery store and smelled all the cleaning products?  Yuck!  Reference is below.

     Now, I know what you are thinking.  I was with Young Living just in February.  I love essential oils, but I cannot afford to buy them from Young Living or DoTerra because they are MLM companies.  They have to jack up the prices so they can pay their employees.  Melaleuca is run differently.  We just recommend people to shop for things that they would normally buy at the store anyway, and pay a lot less.  Their products are very consecrated,  so they last longer.  They also have 640 affiliates where you can shop online, get discounts and earn loyalty points from free Melaleuca products.  Win Win.  Love this company, love the products, love the business plan, love what it can do for your health, and your pocketbook.

     Please contact me for more information.  Eat right and be healthy, but don't settle for cheap products that will make you sick!


https://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/women-cleaners-lung-function.pdf


Honey The Hot Topic

     I have had a couple of run ins lately with some vegans about eating honey.  Most vegans are really passionate about this hot topic.  I can understand and I have done a bit of research into this issue. 

     What gets me, is there is no compassion from vegans towards other human beings and those of us that are still in the learning stage.  It is either their way or the highway.  They claim to be compassionate people, but are they!  Isn't it important to lead by example?  Can't they get more people to agree with them,  if they help you understand their reasoning behind how they feel?  I was thrown off from a facebook group because I told them, that if honey is good enough for Dr. McDougall, then I will do the same.  

     Also note that a vegan, and a person eating a plant based diet are two different kinds of people.  Vegans are all about hot button issues, like honey, and compassion towards living, breathing animals and insects and they will eat anything that is vegan and unhealthy, they are not concerned about health issues.   A person eating a whole foods, plant based diet eats for their health and are not so consumed with animal cruelty.  Don't get me wrong, most of us that started our journeys have come to learn that the animal cruelty is horrific, as I learned early on in my journey.  My eyes were opened to horrible things that go on, and I don't know if I was just stupid, or didn't really know what went on.  I will never go back to eating animals.  Now I walk through the meat department, and it turns my stomach.  It's just a glorified graveyard.  

     So to get back to bees.  I agree that in the industrial world of money and keeping bees there are practices that are anything but good.  However, there are local farmers with local honey that provide honey.  If you do eat honey it should be local,   Honey contains antioxidants and phytonutrients that are  good for us, and helps those that have allergies.  Some say that honey is bee vomit.  Give me a break.  It is regurgitated from the bees, but guess what folks it is bee pollen from PLANTS!  That is all it is!  It can help with digestive issues, contains vitamins and minerals, topical salve and cough suppressant.   Why wouldn't you want to eat this!  

     If you don't eat honey for whatever reason great, but be kind and compassionate towards those of us that do.  In the bible there are many references to honey.  If God says it's good, then I believe it is.  Just now days watch who you buy it from.  Store bought honey contains, sugar, corn syrup, and is heated.  You want raw honey!

     I'm posting a video from a vegan, who does a lot of research into gardening and such.  This video is about a lady in Florida that has a habitat in her yard for local animals and insects.  She is a raw vegan and keeps bees, and uses their honey.  It is very informative.  Please by open minded and do your research.  Enjoy!  Let me know in the comments below what you think of this issue.  


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K213TRWa6T4


Image result for bees and honey



                                                             

Osteoarthritis Update

     It has been a good year since I wrote my last article about my knees and the issues I was having.  Since that time, I have talked to a good friend of mine who decided to have stem cell.  Doing that is so expensive!  It's 3000.00 - 5000/00 per knee, insurance won't pay for it, and there is no guarantee that it will work.  Heck with that! 

     This same friend was shopping one day at Natural Grocers.  At this store they had a booth set up called Energetic Health.  If you live in the Boise area, I highly recommend seeing them for natural healing. 

     Anyway, they introduced her to Prolozone injections.  She talked to me about it, and I was so skeptical.  I shouldn't be with the experience that I have with a plant based diet.  Food is healing, why can't ozone be healing, and who came up with this anyway.  I will post an article below.  Here is the readers digest definition:

Prolozone is a form of non-surgical ligament reconstruction and is a permanent treatment for chronic pain. Prolozone is a connective tissue injection therapy of collagen producing substances and ozone gas which can reconstruct damaged or weakened connective tissue in and around joints.

     Still skeptical, but willing to go talk to them I went to the office.  Dr. Jeff Hartford talked to me about this process, and the great success they have had with it.  You can have as many shots are you need, it lasts a life time.  It is inexpensive to say the least compared to a total knee replacement or stem cell.  I was all set up to have 2 total knee replacements, but I thought I would try this first and I had time since the surgeon was so busy that I couldn't get in for about a year.  (thank heavens!)  I decided to give it a try.  He prepared my shots.  By this time I was sweating.  I HATE any type of injections.  The first part of the shot is B vitamins, and lidocaine to numb the pain.  He then fills 2 syringes with what looks to be air, but it's ozone.  So weird.  I felt like he was playing make believe because you can't see it!  He prepared my knees, and starts the process.  The shots hurt a little, not bad, but when he puts the ozone in, it is the weirdest feeling!  It's a bit of pressure and you can feel air circulating in and around your joints.  After the shots, he placed me on this machine that shakes it all into place.  It's a bit hard to walk at first, but with this machine it really helps to stabilize everything.  

     After it's done he lets you know that you should stay active, so I went grocery shopping.  Felt pretty good, and I was on my way to healing.  Life went about normally, and I started experiencing pain again, so I went in for another shot.  Each time after my injections the movement, and pain got better and better.  

     I have had a total of 4 shots.  Some people have up to 6 and never have to go back.  After my 4th, I can now go to the gym and get on the elliptical, and the indoor bicycle without any problems.  I'm so thankful to Dr. Hartford.  He is so knowledgeable and makes you feel at ease.  

     What have I learned from all this?  I have learned that you have to take your health into your own hands.  You have to do the research.  Had I had my knees replaced I would have never been the same.  Lots of patients continue to experience life long hardships after joint replacement surgery.  Just remember that doctors don't know it all.  In the long run, they are there to make money.  It's a business.  This isn't to say that there are no good doctors out there.  I have met some wonderful physicians who truly care about a patients well being, but it doesn't hurt to do a little research for yourself.  

 https://www.georgekramermd.com/prolozone/

     
     

Energy Drinks

     Have you ever drank an energy drink?  RedBull, Monster, Rock*star  just to name a few.  I have never had any of these because they are scary.  They are scary in the fact of what they can do to your body.  Not to mention how much sugar they have in them.

     Some of the possible side effects associated with these drinks are:

1. Heart attacks, one study showed that in 2009 -2011 there were 4854 calls to poison control regarding energy drinks.  Out of those calls 50% were involving children!  A new study notes that energy drinks can cause forceful heart contractions which could be harmful for some heart conditions.  Why would you let children drink these?

2. Headaches, migraines, anxiety, jittery, insomnia, vomiting to name a few.

3. High blood pressure: because they are so highly caffeinated energy drinks can cause blood pressure to go up risking strokes and heart attacks.  If a person doesn't have high blood pressure there shouldn't be a problem, but for those that do beware.

https://www.caffeineinformer.com/top-10-energy-drink-dangers

     Have you ever had a zipfizz?  The company claims that these are safe that they are loaded with B vitamins.  I used to drink zipfizz everyday at work.  For a bit, they didn't bother me, and then I noticed an increase in heart rate, I was waking up everyday with a headache.  I would go to work and just feel horrible.  Dizzy when I would stand at my desk, and nauseated just sitting there, and I didn't even put 2 and 2 together until I talked with one of my work buddies who said she could drink zipfizz for the very reasons we just discussed. 

     Zipfizz states that they are all natural containing no sugar and loaded with vitamins.  Here is what Livestrong has to say about it.

     The FDA has not approved this drink or rather hasn't reviewed it, but you should talk to your doctor before consuming it.  Right there sends up a read flag!  The ingredients for zipfizz are vitamins, minerals, ginger, green tea, ginseng, and guarana which is a form of caffeine, but it isn't listed on the ingredient list.  Guarana is a plant that grows in the Amazon and is used for energy.  It contains many antioxidants and and has been used for centuries.  It is used frequently in energy drinks.  It has been said that it can help your skin, help you lose weight, and has low toxicity when used in moderation, but it can also cause heart palpitations, insomnia, anxiety, upset stomach etc. 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/486611-zipfizz-side-effects/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/guarana-benefits#section12

     So here is the thing, I was moderate in using this product.  I would drink it maybe 3 times a week when I would work, but it was not agreeing with me.  I had all the side effects from this drink.  It tastes wonderful!  They have lots of great flavors, and I thought because it contained natural plant products that it was good for me.  Now everyone is different, and react differently to things, but when I started not being about to breathe or catch my breath, feeling like garbage every time I went to work then a person really needs to look at what they are consuming.  Plants are good for a great many things, they can cure our diseases and help us feel amazing, but they can also hurt us.  Be wise with what you consume.  Do your research and beware of things that could hurt you.  Please don't let children consume products like this.  It really isn't worth it.  It goes back to the old adage that moderation in all things is wise. 




Celery Juice Medical Medium

       A year ago last November I had a pulmonary embolism caused by an autoimmune disorder called APS (antiphosolipid syndrome)  It's an syndrome that causes my body to make blood clots, and as we all know blood clots can be deadly.  The good Lord saw fit for me to stay on this earth as it was the second episode that I had.  The first one was a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) or clot in my leg that broke off and traveled to my lungs.  I guess I'm the cat with nine lives!

     This last year has been rough.  I had to go on Xarelto which is a blood thinner for the rest of my life.  I know in one of my last articles, I said I hate taking medications, but no amount of being on a plant based diet will help this problem.  I was devastated to say the least.  For about 4 months I was depressed.  Then I just snapped out of it.  I realized it could have been much worse.  I could have died!  The blood clots could have gone to my heart and given me a heart attack, or gone to my brain and caused a stroke and cause me to be incapacitated the rest of my life. 

     Life continued on with no more issues.  Until....one morning on my way to work I had a hard time breathing.  I didn't think anything of it because after all I was on a blood thinner.  The day went on for 12 hours and by the end, I still didn't feel good.  The next day I went to the doctor and they ran some tests, and did an x-ray.  All the tests were negative and the x-ray was clear.  My blood pressure was up though.  It was 190/82.  The nurse and the doctor chalked it up to white coat syndrome of being at the doctors.  They wanted me back in the office in a couple of weeks but the blood pressure was still up.  I had headaches as well.  I would wake up every morning with a headache, and sometimes in the middle of the night.  Now, my doctor told me that if it continued he would put me on a blood pressure med.  Um no, I would find something that would help it go down.

     That's when I discovered the Medical Medium (Anthony Williams)  Anthony Williams is not an MD.  His story is strange, and hard to believe.  I won't write any spoilers, so you will just have to read his book.  He has written 4 books, and the first one explains his story.  If you are on instagram, you can find a bunch of his stuff.  I think that's where I saw this.  Drink 16 oz. of celery juice every morning on an empty stomach, and it will help a grundle of issues including blood pressure.  Because he isn't a doctor, I had to do some more research into this matter.  On google it states that that celery has a phytochemical in it called phthalides.  It works like a vasodilator and opens your vessels much like a high blood pressure medicine, but a lot safer to consumer!  Medications always have long lists of side effects, some which are not nice.
 https://health.clevelandclinic.org/celery-may-help-bring-your-high-blood-pressure-down/

     I decided, what have I got to loose.  I bought a juicer, and went and got me some celery.  Let me tell you that first morning was interesting.  The taste was horrible!  I like celery, but that is a lot of celery in one place.  After doing it for a week or so, I started to get used to the taste.  I also had stomach issues.  Lots of gurgling, and loose stools.  I know TMI.  Since then I have gotten used to it.  I have drunk it for over 2 months. 

     Last week, I went to the doctor for a check up.  My blood pressure 6 months ago was 190/80s.  Last week I came in at 120/70!  It is perfect!  I attribute it to the celery juice.  It is just a testimony to me that food is medicine.  It can either make you sick, or it can make you well.

     Give it a try!  What have you got to loose?  What have you got to gain?  Good health is a Godsend.  My goal in life is to live a long healthy life.  To play with my grandchildren, and not to be a burden to my children.  I have no desire to go into a nursing home.  I have worked in those placces all my life and they are just a place where people go to die.