Another Recommended Read

A friend and health professional recommended the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, D.D.S. Dr. Price traveled the world in the 1920s and 30s to document the effects modern diet was having on our species. The observed changes in health when people move from a traditional diet to a modern diet of processed and sugar heavy foods is drastic!

Photos document the health of people living off traditional diets. Even the aged appear to have perfect teeth and good health. This is true for native Celts, Inuits, Aborigines, Native American, and other. All of those eating traditional diet have exceptional health.

There is also documentation of first and second generation introduced to western diet. Tooth decay are common, bone abnormalities occur regularly, and general health falls into chaos!

It is difficult to picture ourselves eating as our ancestor did, but traditional diet is what our bodies are adapted for. The Scottish fishermen are likely most similar to my ancestry; they ate primarily fish and oats. I am rethinking my own diet.

I highly recommend reading this book. With great willpower it is possible to change diets to fit our bodies needs. 

Watch Hungry for Change

The folks who produced Food Matters have just released another excellent health related movie. It is made up of mostly interviews of experts. It is free online until the end of the month. The title is Hungry for Change. It is definitely worth a watch!

Worth Watching!

http://fox13now.com/2012/02/24/curious-controversial-disease-morgellons-confounding-patients-doctors-alike/?fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=profile_multiline

http://foodmatters.tv/CampaignProcess.aspx?A=Link&VID=12104220&KID=130278&LID=488129&O=http%3a%2f%2fwww.hungryforchange.tv%2f

I hope both of these links work (I'm not certain why I always have difficulties with link...you may have to cut and paste). One is to a two part series on Morgellons. The second is a trailer for a new movie by the folk who brought us Food Matters. It looks like it'll be great....and it's free at the end of the month (just need to sign up).

I hope everyone is well! Joe

Reclaiming Your Internal Environment- Part 5- New Habits to Build into Healthier Living

Remember when I said I think of us as bouncing blobs of water? Of course, we are much more. We are body and mind but also spirit. So, in considering new habits to maintain and boost health, let's consider each of the three pieces which make us who we are.

Body- The body is a complex machine. It really is amazing when you ponder all it does constantly to keep us bouncing along. Key considerations in habit building (or you could say discipline) are: exercise, food intake, water intake, air intake and other. For exercise consider both internal and external exercise. Western approaches to exercise often focus on muscle building without consideration for all of the other systems the body benefits from proper functioning of including but not limited to the circulatory, respiratory, and endocrine systems. Given all my recent health challenges, I believe the endocrine system is hit especially hard by the toxicity issues related to Morgellons. I vary my exercise though I make walking an hour each day a minimal approach. I like to jog, swim (though I'm not so good at it), climbing (when I can), hiking, yoga, and now...have a growing interest in internal exercise as understood in association with Chinese health practices. We each have our likes and dislikes, but I would highly recommend something to work out your insides (yoga, tai chi, Chinese internal exercise, etc) and something to work out more externally. Find what works for you and fit it into your schedule.

Mind- It is kinda teacher-ese to be saying I think working out the mind is a necessary part of every day...but it is what I believe. For myself my minimal approach for some time has been one hour of writing and one hour of reading (though my writing sometimes expands greatly). I also enjoy tinkering such as building or renovation projects (I've been playing with the idea of getting into tree house building...but at present have no tree to build upon). I am a tactile learner and really enjoy learning combined with hand work. Again, it comes down to what works for you. Figure it out and do it!

Spirit- Sometimes we need to be reminded, a balanced and wholesome approach to your spirituality assist the body and mind as well. When I finally have a home again (which I am hoping happens sooner than later...the backpack life is getting old), I plan to invest in one of those fancy, heavy serious meditation pillows (you know what I'm talking about...they weigh a ton, are usually round and are comfortable to sit on). I want to build meditation along with prayer into my daily schedule. As a Quaker, I enjoy having weekly access to a Meeting and hope for this wherever I next land employment. Your own spiritual/religious life should be built upon those things which feed your soul and lend themselves to building yourself in spirit.

Building habits and discipline into your life will assist in recovery. Think body, mind and spirit. Think what you enjoy and what works for you. Think wellness and balance and all things good. Happy healing, Joe

Reclaiming You Internal Environment- Part 2- Opening Detox Channels

There's plenty out there on detoxing to assist in healing. As I view Morgellons as a condition due to toxicity, I am keen on sharing some of the basic knowledge I feel is worthwhile. In general, I view our bodies as bouncing blobs of water. Our blobs are only on this world for a short time; it make sense for our time to be as healthy as we can make it.

Let's begin. We need to think about what we are allowing into our bouncing blob of water. Keep our intake of food, water and air as healthy as possible is essential. If you live near know toxic exposure, realize it has effects on your health...if you can, move (as I did. It ain't been easy, but I made the decision my health was more important than my income. I moved away from the power plant area of the Four Corners). Eat right--organic (when possible), avoid known junk foods, no GMOs,...you know, there are endless sources of information on this. For water, get it as clean as possible. I recommend filters on drinking water as well as showers (your body will absorb approximately 5 cups of water each shower). If you are in an area where historic mining has taken place, sponge baths may be your best alternative (I did this for an extended time when I lived in Teec Nos Pos, AZ. My levels of uranium exposure increase in urine test and I realized this was likely to waters coming down from mountains with uranium tailing piles). Air quality should be good if not great; my recent job/hell on earth position in Tanzania including my asking about air quality right off the bat (the head of schools told me, "...the quality is good". He failed to mention my needing to drive through diesel traffic for close to two hours each day). I will discuss/review more on air quality in the home in my next entry. Now that we've explored the intake for our blog, let's look at the outtake.

Toxins leave the body in three major ways--sweat, urine and feces (stress is also a form of toxin. Traumatic issues from the past may need to be confronted. Forgiving needs to happen...you need to forgive friends, health professionals who do not understand Morgellons (very, very important!), family, and even yourself. As I have made use of the 12 Steps for recovery (and suspect I will always need to make use of them), I recommend their use. For today's entry I will focus on matters related to the body and not the mind/spirit). The skins is the largest organ and sweating away toxins is helpful. I like sweats and saunas weekly (if possible). After getting to the point of sweating, you must wash off toxins before the body reabsorbs them; this can be done with a sponge bath, filtered shower, or rolling in the sand (as I did when going to traditional Navajo sweats).

Key to successful detox from heavy metals (such as mercury of course), is to have detox channels for passage out of body open. The kidneys and liver need to be functioning well. It is very important to not have toxins getting stuck along the way out. Though I have found it useful and having a huge impact, enemas (especially coffee which is good for the colon, intestines, liver and kidneys) need to be done with care. I recommend going into this slowly. There are also numerous herbal supports found at local health food stores; be cautious with these too. I use milk thistle for my liver. Lymphatic drainage is important (I have an entry on self massage and recommend looking at it). Regular massage is useful; if you cannot afford to go to a professional massage therapist, I would invest in a palm held massage device (found online for about $35).

Exercise and discipline are helpful. One hour of walking/jogging/yoga or what have you per day is good. I also find one hour of meditation/prayer helpful; stress produces toxins and calm opens the body to release. I recently found a copy of The Complete System of Self-Healing by: Dr. Stephen T. Chang at a yard sale; I have been working on internal exercise and can only say, "Wow! This is definitely beneficial!" In truth, I now know the best approaches to exercise for detox and general health includes both internal and external exercise.

Well, we've covered a lot of ground. I know there is plenty more which could be discussed and look into. Please share what you have found useful along your own path. Of course, we are all individuals and need to find what works for us. A good health professional working with you on all health matters (including detox and opening detox channels) is, as always, recommended. Happy healing, Joe

Diet and Methylation Speculation

It has now been four months since my return from Africa. I still am not feeling 100% well (although okay at times). I've met with four separate doctors. I've been tested for liver problems, kidney problems, adrenal problems, HIV ...and wait for results of parasite testing and other. I am sick and tried of being sick and tired, as the saying goes.

While I don't like to think about it, I have a family history of cancer. I now wonder if it is what really needs to be considered. My immune system was taxed greatly while overseas and it might have put me out of balance. So, in considering cancer, I looked at ways to beat cancer without chemotherapy. One way is diet; changing our internal environment from acidic to alkaline.

I wondered about the possible relationship between diet and Morgellons symptoms. If the Barrier Theory is correct, could an acidic environment add to mercury changing from inorganic to organic species? It ends up it could. There is a process in acidic bodies of water called methylation. I'm speculating methylation would alter inorganic mercury to methylmercury. Of course I'm not entirely certain of how all of methylation occurs or the byproducts, but it is worth considering.

There are a ton of books and online resources related to PH balanced diets. I know I need to be better at getting my internal environment less acidic. I think for those of us fighting off toxins, parasites, and other imbalances, alkaline promotion makes sense.