Health is Happening to Me .

It's been almost a year since I have written about how health is happening to me. It's been quite a ride. But now I can honestly say that I seem to have found the path to health.vHealth is happening to me  through a toxic free organic lifestyle. I've been eating a high alkaline, low histamine, nightshade free, low gluten, low dairy, and low meat diet. I've gone from 294 to 275 in weight and I have had only 1 flareup of angioedema  since October. Do you want to know what I'm doing? Well not much exercise. I'm eating Breakfast when I remember.

http://primalisland.com/grain-free-paleo-granola/

Usually a bowl of Primal Island Granola with raw milk or a protein shake.






For lunch I either have a green shake or a green wrap with vegan mayonnaise, avocado, a teff (gluten free grain) wrap and some baby greens, and for dinner sweet potato, saute'd greens in olive oil, or pesto pizza, or a rice bowl with arugula. Thrive Vegan Cafe That's where I buy the mayo, wraps, pizza crusts, rice bowls. What kind of awesome diet allows you to have an avocado a day? Mine. My favorite food! I can't say that I am suffering at all! In fact I'm loving it. Oh and I've lost my taste for wine except when we go out to dinner. It's quite amazing what happens when you get all of those toxins our of your system.

http://www.essanteorganics.com/eileen

The Powders I get from Essante Organics.

I use these to make my smoothies. I have many different recipes. And there some spices that I've learned are good for my health. Cinnamon and Cardamon go in my protein drinks along with banana or blueberries. Tumeric goes in my green drinks along with ginger and lemon or lime.

As I drop more weight I'll be starting to get more active however a few falls over the past few years have made me fearful of walking.

So that's my current status. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to try a healthy lifestyle and see how you feel. Here's how I feel.

Walt Whitman said it best.

I sing to the body electric
I celebrate the me yet to come
I await my own reunion
When I become one with the sun. 

It's best when sung.

What is Health?

The World Health Organization defines health as, " a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"
I find the WHO definition to be somewhat circular. Basically it is saying health = well-being which is saying health = health. I have worked for many years to understand health. It is quite an elusive concept. The closest I can come to explaining what health is, is to view it in the context of an organism's relationship to the entire natural world. Health is not an absolute; it is not a state of perfection as the WHO definition implies. If we are to view health as something that actually exists and not just an abstract concept then we have to understand it as the result of the processes by which we interact with our internal and external environments. Those results are called health, they can be ill health or good health but health or wholeness is the result of our interaction with the greater environment. If we look at health in this way, then care is the effort we make to shape those processes in such a way that our health will be better and not worse. So we must learn ways to care for ourselves and the environment so that it will move us towards good health (wholeness) and away from ill health. And no this is not simply physical health but spiritual, emotional, and mental health are dependent upon the physical body. 
So the question becomes, how can we move towards health while our environments are filled with harmful elements? Our air is polluted, our soils are depleted of minerals necessary for health, our waters carry toxins from pesticides and herbicides. Our work lives are stressful and sometimes devoid of meaning or even value. We call this the rat race. Our family life is stressed to the max as we try to meet the expectations placed upon us by friends, family, employers, and the media.
The short answer is WE CAN'T. 
And the more hopeful answer is we can do much to buffer the effects of these harmful elements. Let's look at how we can do what Florence Nightingale admonished us to do a century and a half ago, create an environment that puts the body in the best position for healing. Here are the things I've done because I had developed autoimmune sensitivities to many toxic elements in the environment.
1. Know the source of the food you eat. Buy 100% organic locally grown foods.
2. Insure that your water supply is safe by using a reverse osmosis filtering system. 
3. Use a hepa filter in your  home to filter out particulate matter like dander and mites. 
4. Re-evaluate your life goals. What is really important to you? How do you define success, beauty, health, happiness?
5. Re-evaluate your attitude toward your work. Don't be defined by your work. Work toward being able to do meaningful work that satisfies your sense of purpose.
6. Surround yourself with people who uplift you and not people who tear you down. Celebrate often.
7. Re-evaluate your attitude toward money. How much is enough? Be grateful.
8. Practice loving and being amazed at your own body as well as the natural world around you. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
9. Get involved in issues that matter to you. Be informed.
10. Laugh out loud, and often. Be compassionate towards yourself and others.

Your Most Faithful Friend is Living Inside Your Own Skin.

'I sing the body electric, I celebrate the me yet to come, I toast to my own reunion, when I become one with the sun and I'll look back on Venus, I'll look back on Mars, and I'll burn with the fire of ten million stars. And in time and in time we will all be stars."  by Michael Gore

And the best way to feel it is this:

This song inspired by the title of a Walt Whitman poem of the same name, ran through my internal soundscape all afternoon. As I said in my last post, the first step towards health is to bond with your body. I'm waking up. I'm just beginning to recognize my body. Can't believe how our culture has blinded us to this magnificent animal that carries our consciousness from place to place and takes such abuse and neglect. I feel such sadness and remorse that I did not see this before now.

Miles lets me know he is feeling neglected and in need of a walk.

If  my little dog Miles Joe Cocker can feel love, then our bodies do as well because we have the same
basic mammalian brains  and reptilian brains as other mammals and reptiles. My poor body has been starved for affection for decades.  It reminds me of the disease where an individual can't recognize their own spouse on sight but can by sound with their eyes closed. I am feeling so much gratitude today because she has put up with so much and complained so little. Now I'm paying very close attention to her.

Rescue worker comforts a rescued kitten after Hurricane Sandy

I hope you too can begin to realize that your body is a living breathing animal just like all the other  animals you love in your life. Just spend a little time with him or her and see how she feels. Become your own whisperer, like the horse whisperer, and the dog whisperer. Learn to listen and pay attention to subtle cues.We deserve to be rescued too.

Care is How Health Happens

 

News Flash! 

Health does not happen because we get regular checkups from the doctor or health care provider. Health does not happen because we take this or that allopathic or holistic treatment or intervention. That is what we call magical thinking. Magical thinking is when we give extraordinary powers to a person, place or thing. For example, the bone pointing syndrome is an example of magical thinking. That's when the witch doctor (or the oncologist for that matter) points a boney finger at the patient and they die on schedule. When we think that getting a mammogram makes you healthy, or that taking your blood pressure makes you healthy. Or for that matter taking your medicine makes you healthy. In truth none of these medical interventions make you healthy. What they do is make sure you get treatment if you do get sick or to keep you from getting sicker. 

So How Does Health Happen?

Britt, Eric and Kai Conn

Can you imagine thinking that infants are healthy because they go to the doctor, or have acupuncture, or massage, or take herbs or medicine. Of course not. Infants are healthy when and if they receive constant vigilance care from mom and dad. Caring Moms and Dads, create a warm, comforting nurturing environment the supports the infant's health. Well Care, Self-Care is what is required for all humans to attain, regain, or maintain a healthy balance within our own skins and also a balance with our environments.

Yet most of the care we give our selves is woefully inadquate. Sure we brush our teeth, sometimes, we wash our hands, sometimes, we eat on the run. We get enough sleep unless we have something more important or fun to do. But most of us also do countless things that are plain and simply neglectful or abusive to our bodies. For example, we use over 100 products that have toxic ingredients linked to many different chronic and acute illnesses. Perhaps if they were only in one product there would not be a clear and present danger but many of these toxins are in products you use from morning till night overexposing you to their toxic effects. This is just one example.

Exploring How Health Happens

On this page we will be discussing the honest truth about what it takes to create within ourselves a desire for health. A desire so strong that we will actually take every action necessary to attain, regain, or maintain health. I have a beautiful picture of a dear dear family that shows so beautifully what it takes to let health happen in their infant son Kai. Just imagine how healthy we would be if we gave that same loving care and nurturing to our selves and our families. Care is how health happens and we'll be learning how to care for ourselves in our present environmental circumstances.

Health Begins When We Wake Up

It was July 14th, 2013 when I had a 911 wake up call. I awoke at 4 am. My tongue was swelling and the swelling was slowly moving into my throat. I was terrified. I grabbed my prednisone, benedryl, and a handful of Essante green capsules. And sat in the living room to see if I had reversed the life-threatening process. In the 10 years that I have been dealing with angioedema it has never reached my airway until now. This is my choice point on my journey. It is part of how health happens. So how did this happen? 

Angioedema - an autoimmune condition related to histamine imbalance.

In 2004 I was diagnosed with an auto immune condition. Sometimes my face swells, or my hands, or my tongue. The condition is only life threatening when the throat, swells to block the airway. Modern medicine had given me all it had to offer. And it was considerable and had saved my life many times. Prednisone, Benadryl trips to the ER managed my symptoms so that I didn’t suffer a blocked airway and die. But I didn’t want to live like this anymore. I wanted health not just survival. I knew there had to be a way to restore my former healthy exuberant self. So I went looking for answers. Everybody had a remedy. And one approach fit with my worldview, nursing knowledge, and connectedness to the earth.
 

 The Alkaline Balancing Act

My friend, Jana Szabo shared the Essante video on alkalinity with me. I trust Jana, she is a dear friend with a loving heart and a fierce commitment to integrity. In early March I enrolled and ordered my own Fast Start Pack. I started on the 7.352 powder the Essante Greens and the SuperReds. As long as my Ph. stayed in the alkaline range I had next to no outbreaks. The ones I had were stopped with a low dose of overthecounter antihistamines in combination. I was getting healthy. Everyone I met told me how great I looked. My energy was up, my skin cleared I stayed Alkaline religiously. My friends joined Essante because of what they saw in me. 

“Every now I can have some of my old favorites”

Feeling good for so long, I thought, “every now I can have some of my old favorites”. And I could, as long as I kept my alkaline balance. One treat turned into two, then dinners out, then desserts all in a row. My ph was shifting. I started to get swelling on my hands. I took more greens but kept eating those yummy hiprotein sugary foods. Sometime we are blessed with a warning before we are faced with sudden death. May you be so fortunate.
Last night was my 911 wake up call. Health happens when we put our bodies in the best environment for healing. I am sharing this story to say, we all have our own paths to health. Some we share and some are unique to us. Our bodies are in continuous exchange with our environment, the water that we drink, the air that we breathe, the fire that keeps us warm, the earth beneath our feet, which by the way supplies us with the vitamins, minerals, and proteins and carbohydrates we need to be living vibrant beings. This is true for all of us. Our water, air, soil, all need our loving care and we need to take our nourishment from plants grown in healthy environments. 

Florence Nightingale had it right.

Whatever you believe to be your path to health know that what Florence Nightingale said in mid 1800s “that the work of the nurse is to put our bodies in the best environment for healing she was prophesying where we are today. You must become your own nurse. Selfcare is the most honorable blessed and neglected form of care. It is for this reason that my path to health is based upon the enrichment and nourishment of locally grown organic greens, supplemented with 100% certified organic, chemically free, energy enhanced Essante products. I’m recommitting to nursing myself back to health and sharing my journey in hopes that I can contribute a measure of inspiration to you. Blessings on you on your path, this day, this era for which I am so very grateful to be alive.