Joining in!

Jeanne, thanks again for starting this! I think this is a great resource to learn more about each other and share ideas about health. We can all be more educated by finding new perspectives than what we have through our own experiences. Here is my story (well, not really a story, but my "experiences" so far!): I haven't really had many health issues in my life yet, but Tony and two (maybe three) of my children are at very high risks of having cancer. After Tony's bouts of tumors, and Emma's tumor "spot," we have tried really hard as a family to make changes to our eating, sleeping, and exercising habits. I agree with Jeanne about how the medical world and the natural world all have different perspectives and research for their findings; it can all be so confusing! I have met with a dietician at Huntsman Cancer Institute and with many doctors about the lifestyle choices we can make to best prevent cancer, and there isn't too much of solid findings yet. So, with lots of researching and evaluating how we can make healhty living fit for our family, we came up with a few ground rules, but also allow a bit of wiggle room on occasion. Generally, we eat aobut 80% plant-based food with the remaining 20% as lean meats or fish and dairy, with the occasional treat. I've tried really hard to have our children get the sleep as appropriate for their ages (about 12 hours!) and Tony and I aim for at least seven hours, preferrably eight. Getting adequate sleep has been our biggest challenge. As for exercising, I have found this to be the easiest change for my kids. It's easy and fun to get some heart-pumping play in, even indoors (although it gets a bit crazy), and when I do my weight-training, my kids think it is funny and love to join in. Although I only get 20 minutes of exercise a day, it has made a big impact on my energy levels and my mood. Out of these three levels of health, I'd most like to improve this area and need new ideas. After reading Jeanne and Silvinia's posts, I would love to learn more from both of you. I am really interested in training as a runner, but do not know the best way to begin. Also, I've been curious about yoga and would love to learn more about its benefits. Just a suggestion- but we should all team up and "trade" excercise tips and know-how.... Just a thought :) Excited to hear from more of you! Erica

Educational resources--truth vs. not

I have a confession...I am a research addict. It's a good thing my time is limited!  So if I bore anyone, just skip my posts that bore you! :) Also I have absolutely no desire to rub anyone wrong. If you don't like what I write, my feelings won't be hurt.
I was talking with a friend yesterday about where amino acid like tryptophan come from when eating strictly plant based. She had a really good question, and I didn't have the answer. To my understanding, tryptophan is necessary for making serotonin and dopamine. When we are deficient in these, we have problems with depression. The sources she had studied said that animal products are the source of this amino acid.
Can I say I love the internet? There is a lot of junk, but there are so many resources. I found a blog that addressed this topic. Normally I wouldn't turn to a blog, but I started reading the post and I was impressed. Then I read about this lady and she is VERY credible. She even has a couple books she has written that went on my wish list immediately! :)
So the answer to the question, is yes, if you are eating plant based properly, you will get the necessary tryptophan.
The link to this lady's blog is: 

http://www.theveganrd.com/

Being medically trained, I am finding it can be difficult to find educational resources.  I am finding that the medical community has some presumptions that I disagree with. There are some practitioners who are passionate about the plant based life style, but they are the minority. So it takes  a restructure of my thinking and figuring out where to look for information. The medical journals aren't quite cutting it! It takes strength and understanding to read two contradictory premises and figure out which works for you. The medical community says it is impossible to get certain essential nutrients without animal sources. The natural community says it is. Who to believe? What a conumdrum!
It's an adventure, that is for sure! :)

I'm on!

Hello! I made it to the blog and I am so excited about this!
This is Silvina Bowman by the way and like Jeanne, I am also on a quest for health!
I started with all this a year ago, after suffering from digestive issues for the last 10 years.
I had my gallbladder removed in 2008 thinking it would fix things and I could have never been so wrong.
I always try to avoid doctors and taking medication, but at that point in my life the pain was so unbearable I did not think twice and I did it.
Fast forward to 2012 and I was in so much pain ( liver) I could barely eat.
I figured if I went back to the doctor, he would give me some kind of pill and send me home. So after a 4 day"gallbladder" attack, I started looking for some hope in the holistic medicine websites I usually visit.
I found some great books by Andreas Moritz on preventive ( alternative) medicine and I started with some cleanses right away, the pain got better and so did my hope of ever feeling normal again.
He adviced a vegan diet to prepare the body for the cleanses ( 1 week) and I followed it, gradually I started dropping things from my diet and I became a vegetarian ( plants and cheese)
I gave up milk and eggs and I eat cheese here and there, hopefully this year I can kick it for good.
7 liver flushes later I feel much better that I did a year ago , I also did a kidney cleanse since my family has a history of kidney problems.
After researching for the right exercise aproach for me, I adopted yoga and began doing the asanas that help with organ function, gradually I started with Hatha yoga and I love the uplifting feeling I get by just doing a couple sun salutations when I need it.
I also started researching Ayurvedic medicine and have introduced quite a bit of their practices into my lifestyle.
So far so good, my kids get down with me in the morning when they see me doing easy poses, and even ask for vegetarian meals here and there.
I am excited to see what everyone does to keep healthy and sane!
Cheers
Silvina
www.thechickencoopblog.blogspot.com

Important Exchanges

I was talking with a friend about healthy lifestyles last night. One thing that  stood out to me is the need for a change of perspective. Instead of feeling like we are punishing ourselves by doing without the things we grew up loving, we need to exchange new things, replacing the old. We also need to realize that we are important too. So often we as women take on the caregiver role and get so involved taking care of others that we neglect ourselves. The common example of filling our pitchers comes to mind.
Another thing we need to exchange is the occasional sweet treat. Here are some simple healthy treats I have discovered recently that get me through that overwhelming urge for going bananas on something that will hurt my body (I am finding those urges are getting less and less the better I eat):

Nutbutter fudge:
Take a big spoonful of your favorite nutbutter--make sure it has no added ingredients--add a spoonful of cocoa powder and a touch of natural sweetener (honey, high-quality agave, stevia) to taste. It really doesn't take much on the sweetener. Then just mix it all together. Play with it to figure out what you like. This gives a nice rich chocolatey treat that is clean and good...in small amounts!

Dates:
At Costco, they have a package of Medjool Dates that I love. Dates have a small seed in the middle that you take out. This gives me the instant sugar treat I need, but it also has nutrients and an added benefit, is it helps keep you regular! 2-3 of these makes a really good treat. If you want to try it before you buy it, I am happy to share! Oh and if you soak dates they also can make a good sweetener substitute when cooking raw.

Apple Crisp
Here is a single/double serving method.
1 granny apple cut into pieces. Take 1/4 c oats and blend it to a flour. Mix it with 1/4 c unblended oats and 1-2 T sweetener, some cinnamon and vanilla and salt to taste and put over top the apple pieces in a small baking dish (It is a dry and you can add some water or whatever to moisten it a little). Then I put 4-5 small dabs of coconut oil on top and bake at 375 until apple pieces are cooked...usually 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

What I am working on...

So I thought I would let you know what I am trying to do. Some people might think it is extreme, but I am getting some really good results so far.
I have fought health issues (PCOS first and just recently got the diagnosis for Hashimoto's thyroiditis) for the last 12 years or so. Doctors just want to give me pills to take care of the symptoms. They don't seem overly concerned about nutrition and exercise. I have gotten a long way by changing those habits gradually. I continue to take my pills, but I am still working on increasing my level of health. Recently I have gained some hope that there is a chance I can even start weaning some of my medications off. We will see...
I am eating plant-based which basically means vegan, gluten-free and mostly raw fresh foods. It is more than just salads, carrot sticks and apples. I am just beginning to scratch the surface of the pure yummy-ness that I can do that I never even thought of. I will share my experimentation with you as I go.
I started this strictly raw, plant-based eating about a week and a half ago and I am already seeing amazing results. Also, as I sit here, my husband eating my favorite ice-cream flavor (I swear he bought it to break me) doesn't even phase me. That is a first!
My family is very reluctant about changing their eating habits, but slowly they are making efforts. It will be much more gradual with them, and I guess that's ok.
I also have picked up serious running in the last year. Now when I say run, some might disagree with my use of the word. I go between 5 and 6 miles per hour. Pretty slow. However, I have the turtle as my example! This year I am going to run my first marathon ever (26.2 miles).That is in June. I start training for that next week. I am so excited! I would love to motivate or work with other people who are trying to do similarly.
So in a nutshell that is what I am working on.

Jeanne Call

Ground rules

So here is our blog! The potential is really exciting! This is a private blog, by invitation only. The purpose of this blog is to connect us as we work at improving our health. When we take care of our bodies, there is that much less of a barrier for us to receive guidance from the Spirit. We feel better and are more able to reach out of ourselves and serve others. There is nothing selfish about that, but sometimes it is easy to put off taking care of our own selves because of everything else we need to do.

So what we write here, stays here. We are all at different levels and trying the best we can to live the best lives possible. This is a place we can share what we learn, what we are trying to do, what works, what doesn't work. It is a place to share recipes, books, success and frustrations and even really good deals we find if we so desire. It a judgement free zone and the main goal is to support each other.

A few technical thoughts:
      --With the invitation to the blog you get the access to be able to write posts as well as read other posts.
      --When you end your post be sure to put your name, it isn't always clear who is writing.
      -- I believe there is a way to sign up on receiving alerts from your email. If you need help figuring that out let me know and I will try to figure it out.
     --Gmail accounts are easiest to connect to blogger, but it is possible to connect from other servers. I can ask my brother if needed on how to do that.
    -- Again if you need help figuring out how to use the blog site, let me know.

Jeanne Call