Are you a Person of Fear or a Person of Action?

 

My father died 5 years ago (Sept. 2008) after suffering with Alzheimer’s  for over 10 years, and then my mother died of a rare cancer a year and a half later (April 2010). So right after losing both of them, I became a bit fearful for my own health. Every time I would lose a thought or forget something I was AFRAID that I was getting Alzheimer’s, just like my Dad. Or when I experienced a new pain: in my back, in my elbow, in my knee – I was sure it was cancer. My mother was told by her doctor that she had the flu, was given pills, went on vacation expecting to get better, still didn’t feel that great, got it checked out at a nearby hospital, found she had cancer, and died a month later. There was fear in my soul. How did I know whether every ailment I had wasn’t a warning sign for cancer and wasn’t silently killing me; or that Alzheimer’s wasn’t slowly eating away at my brain?

Watching friends and loved ones suffer with disease or die of cancer causes us, to some degree, to live in fear. We look around and see sickness, disease and cancer at every corner and wonder when it’s going to knock at our door, or the door of OUR loved ones. I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to live in that fear anymore. Why should you wait for a doctor’s scalpel or diagnosis for cancer? Why should you wait for the doctor to tell you “you have a chronic condition, and here are your pills for the REST of your life”? Your health is a gift. What are you doing to preserve that gift? Do you want your future years to be filled with pain and pills? Doctors can keep us alive for years, but what is the quality of life? Just because we’re 70 years young, doesn’t mean that we should settle for an inferior quality of life. How many times has your doctor told you, “This ailment is a result of age”; “You’re getting older, you need to expect this”? I say, "No". We don’t have to put up with ailments and frailments. We can put a stop to ills and pills. Say, “No” to surgeries and statins. “How do we do this”, you say?

We live in an amazing age of information. A year and a half after my mother died, my husband and I went to Italy for a vacation and while we were there I started noticing some major ailments. Every time I had gelato I became extremely fatigued. An hour later I would be fast asleep. And every night I suffered from something new called Restless Leg Syndrome, (although I didn’t know the name of it then). These were new ailments that hadn’t plagued me before. What was I doing differently in Italy that would cause these new ailments? (You also have to realize that my mother found out she had cancer while we were on vacation together in Florida – so again, this brought a nagging fear that the same could happen to me). But we live in the age of “google”, do we not? We can “google” virtually anything. So I started on a quest, right there in Italy, to google and learn. I continued to research when I got home. I started getting real answers when I heard a YouTube talk by Dr. Terry Wahls who cured herself of MS with nutrition! This intrigued me and I wanted to learn more so I bought her book and became hopeful.

 

Then a friend found a book and offered to do a Detox together. I was ready. That book changed my life. I became a sponge for healthy knowledge at that point. After the 21 day detox, my knee, elbow and swollen ankle ailments were completely gone. I had eliminated allergenic foods from my diet for those 3 weeks and knew that my ailments were food related. So as I brought back one food after another I was able to determine that gluten and dairy were the culprits. Once I took these two foods completely out of my diet I began to lose weight, quickly, at the rate of 3 pounds a week. After 4 months I had lost over 40 pounds and continued to lose weight in the months to come.  

The best thing about my new found health was that I didn’t feel afraid anymore. First of all, my ailments were gone, including forgetting things. In fact, my brain felt alive and I had a memory like never before. I was reading and retaining and I was also recalling information from the past that I usually relied on my husband for. Now when we try to remember a name or place, I can recall it before he does. After two years of researching, learning and eating nutritionally, I can finally say that the FEAR of disease and cancer is gone. I look and feel more than 10 years younger. The more I learn, the healthier I become and my outlook on life has changed dramatically. Now when I see me in my future years, I don’t see surgeries and pain and pills and weakness. I’ve come to realize that I can take back my health and can live a vibrant productive life. And who knows, maybe even live past 100, which means I’m only half done with my life. When I think of the possibilities of what I can accomplish with another 50 years, it’s staggering. I feel like I’ve been given a new lease on life.

Instead of the mentality of retirement because of tiredness and “coming to the end”, I have the mentality of “a second career” and enjoyment; a sense of purpose because there’s a lot to be done! Part of my purpose is to help others realize they don’t have to “settle” for an inferior quality of life. Doctors have some answers, but they don’t have ALL the answers. There are alternatives. And the alternatives are things that you can implement through knowledge, determination and discipline. Take an active part in your quality of life. “What can I do”, you say? You can start by knowing there IS a better way, there are alternatives. As you educate yourself, hope will be revived and fear will be pushed in the corner. And then you must take action. 

Each change you make away from the Standard American Diet (processed food) and the lifestyle of the couch potato (sitting in front of the TV or computer), the better quality of life you will experience. Make one change, one step at a time. But make these changes for life. Put aside the temporary mentality. Start by adding good things to your diet - foods with important nutrients: greens, vegetables, and fruits. Then eliminate that one thing from your diet you know is robbing you of health; a habit you’re holding on to that you KNOW isn’t good: I bet you already know what it is.

 

Then add one activity that you could easily do that will bring movement into your life, even walking. The important thing is to take one step at a time and commit to continuing those steps for life. Remember, this isn’t a temporary fix, this is a lifestyle change to keep you off the slippery slope of disease and fear. And then, be a life learner. Keep educating yourself. There is much to learn. Make it a part of your weekly routine. There are books and blogs and magazines and documentaries galore. You could listen to lectures or take a healthy cooking class. There are classes in Yoga or Zumba or dance. Or you could hire a health coach to steer you in the right direction.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Each year we do nothing we slip into “disease” mode and we take more and more trips to the doctor and add more and more pills to our coffer. Our bodies do an amazing job at keeping us disease and cancer free, but not if we sabotage it with toxic foods, stress, bad relationships, and no activity. YOU can make a difference in your health. You may have ailments knocking at your door but you don’t have to answer. You can keep them at bay with healthy choices. So what’s your game plan? Why not carve out some time this week to think about the changes you need to make. What is it that you can do this week to take back your health? Why not start today. You’re worth it.

Is My Kitchen Toxin Free?

 

According to Dr. Alejandro Junger, the reason we're fatigued, sick, overweight, and have chronic pain is because toxins are trapped in our  bodies. In his book, Clean, he explains how they get there and how we can get rid of them. In a nutshell, toxins come from our environment, our homes, what we put on our bodies, and what we put in our bodies. He explains how we were created with a daily detoxification mechanism. He calls is a 12 hour window. In general, food takes about 8 hours to digest. Once the body is done with that job, it shifts to the job of detoxification; but only if we let it. Between dinner and breakfast there literally needs to be a period of 12 hours when we do not eat. This gives the body 8 hours to digest and another 4 hours to detoxify the toxins which have entered the body during the day. If we do not allow our bodies this daily detoxification then toxins accumulate, and over years inflammation and fat take over our system and we feel the affects of fatigue, sickness, being overweight, and chronic pain.

 

During the elimination portion of this program it is important that we educate ourselves as to where these toxins come from so we can eliminate them. What benefit would it be if we detoxify but we continue to allow the toxins entrance? Let's start with our kitchen food.

 

Dr. Junger explains that during this detoxification we must eat fresh whole foods. Nothing should come packaged in a box, jar, can, tube, bottle, or bag or have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, chemical sweeteners (like aspartame) or artificial colors in it. We should also eliminate any GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients which are soy, canola, cottonseed oil, or corn. Also, gluten (wheat, barley, rye, bulgur, spelt, oats - except gluten free; dairy - including yogurt, cheese, ice cream, ricotta, milk; or the night shades (tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, or eggplant). All of these are toxic or have the potential of being toxic in the form of allergies of which we may not be aware.

 

In order to get ready for the 21 days of detoxification, we must clean out our cupboards and refrigerators, read labels, and start tossing.

 

What is left is fresh wholesome foods; vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, greens, fruits, antibiotic-free and hormone-free chicken and fish, etc.

 

Since doing this detox last year, I have taken a few shortcuts like buying vegetable or chicken stock in a box or jar. But for this fast I will once again make everything from scratch. So today, I will begin by making my own stock and freezing it for soup recipes and making quinoa during the cleanse.

 

      To make a chicken stock, you need a carcass of chicken bones, 2 onions-peeled and cut up, 4 carrots-peeled and cup up, 4 celery stalks cut up, 6 stalks of fresh parsley, and 1 Tbsp peppercorns. Put in a large pot and add one gallon of cold spring water. Bring to a boil then turn down heat to medium and simmer for 2 hours. Discard the carcass and the vegetables. DO NOT ADD SALT at this time since the stock will concentrate and could become too salty. Always salt just before you're ready to eat something.

 

      When cooking food starting from cold water, the flavor leeches out into the water, which is what we want here. When placing food in boiling water, the flavor stays in the vegetables. When making stock, we want all the flavor of the vegetables to find its way into the water. Then we toss the vegetables and start the soup with fresh ones.

 

Some may have concerns at how unseasonal it is to be drinking a cold juice for dinner when it's cold outside, so I've included a soup recipe which could easily be pureed with a blender and included as a "juice" for dinner.

Indian Dal Soup – Clean
Adapted from Dr. John McDougall recipes, by Veronica Patenaude

Serves 6
8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 ½ tsp roasted ground cumin
2 ½ tsp roasted ground coriander
¾ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ to ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to bring out flavors, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and all the spices.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are tender and falling apart. [At this point you could puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you should cool the soup slightly before pouring into a blender or Vitamix to prevent it from expanding and burning you during blending.]

4. Add water if a thinner soup is desired.

5. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

My Yearly Detox Juice Fast

January is as good a time as any to clean out your system, mainly because it follows Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and many other holiday celebrations where food is invited in abundance. Last year I followed the 21-day detox according to the Clean book, by Dr. Alejandro Junger, and it changed my life. I got rid of toxins, pain, and weight. So here I am a year later and am ready for a follow up visit.

The first thing I've done is clean out the kitchen of holiday goodies. I'VE THROWN AWAY THE COOKIES. "What!!!" You say? That's right. The only other way to get rid of them is to eat them, so.... bye bye sugar.

The next thing is, I've found my Clean book and I'll be reviewing it to refresh my memory, but also to keep me in motivation mode. It's really important for me to get my head in gear so that once I start I'll have no excuses to turn back or "cheat". Perhaps I'll also re-watch one of my favorite food documentaries: "Hungry For Change", "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", or "Forks Over Knives". We humans get ourselves excited and motivated but then it tends to trail off. So we need to refresh our memories - often.

The third important thing I'll do is find some "Clean" recipes that I can live with, at least 7 for starters, to get me through the first week of lunches. Throughout the past year I've had a keen eye out for "Clean" recipes, so I've got a few up my sleeve. There are also some in the book. Then I'll be making a shopping list. I've also collected a few juicing recipe books so I think I'll glance through those and pick out some favorites for my grocery list.

The fourth thing on my "to do" list is to eliminate the "no-no" foods from the house and from my brain. Over the past year some of these foods crept back into my diet, so I'll be eliminating them again for the 21-day detox. One of the purposes of eliminating these foods was to see if any of my health issues were, in fact, allergic reactions to food. It was a great surprise, and relief, to find that I was indeed allergic to gluten and dairy. My life changed dramatically for the better after permanently eliminating these.

YES INCLUDE THESE FOODS	NO EXCLUDE THESE FOODS
FRUITS: whole fruits, unsweetened, frozen or water-packed, diluted natural juices	Oranges, orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, bananas
DAIRY SUBSTITUTES: rice, nut milks such as almond milk and coconut milk	Dairy and eggs, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, butter, ice cream, nondairy creamers, canned coconut milk
NON-GLUTEN GRAINS AND STARCH: brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat	Wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, couscous, oats
ANIMAL PROTEIN: cold water fish, wild game, lean lamb, duck, chicken, turkey	Raw fish, pork, beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meats, hot dogs, shellfish
VEGETABLE PROTEIN: split peas, lentils, legumes	Soybean products (soy sauce, soybean oil in processed foods, tempeh, tofu, soy milk, soy yogurt, etc.)
NUTS AND SEEDS: sesame, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, walnuts, nut and seed butters (organic)	Peanuts, peanut butter, pistachios, macadamia nuts
VEGETABLES: preferably fresh, raw, steamed, sautéed, juiced, roasted	Corn, creamed vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, sweet potatoes
OILS: cold pressed olive, flax, safflower, sesame, almond, sunflower, pumpkin, walnut, coconut	Butter, margarine, shortening, processed oils, salad dressings, mayonnaise, spreads
DRINKS: filtered water, green tea, herbal teas, seltzer or mineral water, yerba mate	Alcohol, coffee, caffeinated beverages, soda pop, soft drinks
SWEETENERS: organic brown rice syrup, organic agave nectar, stevia	Refined sugar, white or brown sugars, honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, Splenda, Equal, Sweet ‘N Low, etc.
CONDIMENTS: vinegar, all-spice, sea salt, dried pepper, basil, carob, cinnamon, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, turmeric, thyme, raw cacao, small amounts of miso, small amounts of wheat-free tamari	Chocolate, ketchup, relish, chutney, soy sauce barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, other similar condiments

And the last thing I'll do is indulge in my favorites - a glass of wine here, some peanut butter there - just one last time before a 21-day hiatus. Not everything on the "no-no" list is forever banned, but I do eliminate them just for the cleanse. Who knows, maybe I'll find that something else is wreaking havoc to my system and needs to be furrowed out. After all, my goal here is to be and feel as healthy as possible, so I WANT to find the culprits.

I'll be doing the elimination portion for the next week, and then start the actual 21-day detox on Friday, January 11, 2013. Please come and travel with me on my journey in search of better food for better health. I wish you all a happy and HEALTHY New Year.

From a "3-Letter Word" to a "5-Letter Word"

“They” say that as your body gets older it breaks down and falls apart; you should expect it. It’s the process of getting “OLD”. When I hear someone express that philosophy I think of my mother who hated that “3-Letter Word”. She truly believed that you were as young as you felt, and she always felt great. It was her mindset. She lived her life to the fullest, even to the last.

So as the chronological clock ticked on and years were added to years, my body seemed to “fall apart” with sinus issues, forgetfulness, achy joints, and bad knees – you know how it goes. I wondered if the inevitable "3-Letter Word" had come to pay a permanent visit.

 

The first thing I did was pray and ask my Heavenly Father to heal my body; then I went to the doctor. Doctors ask their typical questions to find where the pain is and then relieve symptoms with pills and surgery; and my doctor did not disappoint. After the question period, the poking, and the x-rays, he told me I had “chronic” tendonitis of which, of course, there was no cure; “chronic” being the operative word. Because you see, once something is dubbed chronic, the patient is at the doctor’s mercy since “there is no cure”. I was told I must learn to live with it. He actually used the dreaded “3-Letter Word”. He assured me, however, that there were things which he could prescribe which could ease the pain.

Really!!! For the rest of my life? I’m not sure at what age you label someone with the dreaded “3-Letter Word”; but I considered myself still pretty young. I wasn’t even a grandmother yet! At that moment in the doctor’s office I realized I did not want to spend the rest of my life fighting pain, limiting activity, and taking myriads of pills, with surgery the only thing to look forward to. So, I began one of my favorite hobbies – to educate myself.

A friend of mine introduced me to the book Clean, by Dr. Alejandro Junger. As I read his book I was intrigued by the philosophy that toxins caused us pain and weight gain. The weight gain was caused because toxins were stored in fat. Without getting rid of toxins, one couldn’t get rid of fat. Seemed simple enough; but what were the toxins? According to Junger, toxins came from four different areas: 1) the world at large; 2) the environment in which we live; 3) personal hygiene and home products; 4) and what we put into our mouths. In fact, he said certain foods could be toxic to us; things like high fructose corn syrup, white sugar, gluten and diary, even caffeine. He encouraged his readers to go on an “elimination/detox diet” eliminating many of these allergenic and toxic foods for 21 days. So, I decided to give it a try. After all what could it hurt, and maybe I would even lose a few pounds.

First, I needed to eliminate the “no-no” foods: things like gluten, dairy-including cheese and yogurt, caffeine, the night shades, anything pre-prepared, wheat products (pasta, bread, muffins, donuts) etc. Once I was cleaned out, I started the actual juicing part of the diet where you juice breakfast and dinner and have a sensible lunch with lots of greens. Amazingly after only 10 days or so, my joint pain vanished, I had no more mucus/sinus problems and I had an amazing amount of energy. At that point I realized that my health issues were, in fact, food related.

Once I finished the three weeks of juicing, I began to add back one food at a time to find out which ones were the culprit. The first one I added back was gluten. Sure enough my joint pain immediately resurfaced. I eliminated it again and waited a few days for the pain to subside; then I tried dairy. Again, the mucus and sinus pain returned. I continued with other foods, one at a time; but some foods I have permanently left out - besides the gluten and dairy - such as white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and processed foods.

During those first few months I kept motivated by four factors. One was that I was losing a half a pound a day (total of 42 pounds). Even though pain was my main motivation, it’s amazing how finally being able to lose weight keeps you pressing forward. The second factor was how many other pains and discomforts also vanished from my body in such a short amount of time – I counted a total of 20. My energy level increased, the foggy brain disappeared as well as allergy symptoms, and I feel and look younger. Another factor which helped to keep me motivated was watching documentaries such as, "Hungry For Change", "Forks Over Knives", and "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". These films helped to make me aware of the food industry - Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, The Dairy Industry, and Meat Industry and how much of the food industry works - not for our well being and health - but for their profit. Once you see the big picture, it helps to keep you going on the daily level when sometimes you want to revert back. But the most rewarding to me was watching those around me - my family, friends, and even acquaintances - see what had happened to me and want the change for themselves. After just a few months, I witnessed numerous others not only lose hundreds of pounds collectively, but drop unnecessary medications, and once again pursue active healthy lifestyles.

As I reflect back over my journey so far, I'm first of all amazed that my Heavenly Father did hear my cry and heal me. What I've learned from this is that He had already provided for the healing in creating an amazing body full of cells which knew just what to do to eliminate fat, toxins, and disease. It was me who had not allowed my body to do its job because of what I was feeding it. I am very thankful that He answered my prayer by opening the door of knowledge which allowed me to more fully understand how His system worked so I could then take back my health and allow my body to do the job it was designed to do. 

 

Now I have to get on with the job of living out my new favorite saying, "You're as YOUNG as you feel" - which, by the way, is a "5-letter word".

Farm to Table

I've promised myself to become more familiar with regional foods, so I've been searching out local farmers' markets. Here are a few I have found in the Hartford area every day of the week:

Here is an updated 2012 list of Farmers Markets in the Hartford area:

1. Coventry Regional Farmers' Market - Nathan Hale Homestead 2299 South Street, Coventry, Connecticut: Sundays 11am-2pm; June - Oct. 2012 http://coventryfarmersmarket.com/


8-Ball Zucchini from
Manchester Community College's Farmers' Market
Stuffed with rice and beans

2. Hill ...Stead Farmers' Market - 35 Mountain Road, Farmington, CT Sundays, 11 am–2 pm July 1–October 14, 2012 www.hillstead.org/activities/farmersmarket.html

3. Whole Foods Farmers' Market - 50 Raymond Road, West Hartford, Connecticut: Mondays 3pm-6pm June 4-Oct 29, 2012 www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=330 

 4. LaSalle Farmers' Market - Tuesday and Saturday 9:00 to 1:00 PM, Lasalle Road Public Parking Lot across from the post office, Intersection of Arapahoc and Lasalle Road, West Hartford, CT May 3-December 2012 http://www.ctfarmfresh.org/WHLaSalle.html

5. Manchester Community College Farmers' Market - 161 Hillstown Road at the MCC Bicentennial Band Shell Manchester, Connecticut: Wednesdays 1:30pm-5:00pm June 20-Oct. 24, 2012 http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=275 

6. Billings Forge Farmers' Market - 563 Broad Street, Hartford, Connecticut: Thursdays 11am-2pm May - Oct; Thursdays 3:30-6:00pm Nov - April 2012 http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=260

7. Bristol Farmers' Market - Sears parking lot, 100 South Main Street, Bristol, CT Wednesday 3pm-6pm and Saturday 10am-1pm July 4 - October 31, 2012 http://www.farmersmarketonline.com/fm/BristolFarmersMarket.html

8. Southington/Plantsville Farmers Market The Town Green 1003 South Main Street Friday 3:00-6:00pm June 6, - October 26, 2012 http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=312n
 

9. Glastonbury Farmers' Market. Glastonbury Town Center Love Park, 2333 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT; 2 Saturdays a month from June to October, 2012 10:00am-1:00pm. 860-657-4361 http://www.glastonburychamber.net/wcevents/eventdetail.aspx?EventID=1167

Of course there are also numerous farm stands throughout the State.