Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Following the Herd: or The Nutritional Value of Ants
I spent the summer of 1965 recovering from Rheumatic Fever. I was fortunate to attend 4-H Camp for 2 weeks! It was a real sacrifice for my family, and a "treat" to literally help me get back on my feet. Most of those 2 weeks were a blur. The only clear memories I have of that time are the "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" musical program we did in the pool, and the nature classes where I learned about eating ants.
ANTS
Very nutritious! The nature instructor informed us that the 2 main 'flavors' were lemon and cinnamon.
For the next several decades, I enjoyed digging
up ants and determining whether they
were indeed lemon or cinnamon flavored, and eventually watched as my children enjoyed the same.
Although not all ants are flavored, for those that are, the smell is unmistakable.
Ants do have protein, up to 10 grams. (That would probably be larger than the ants I experienced) In many cultures ANTS and INSECTS are an appropriate food source. Am I promoting "ant eating?" NO...
BUT I could! I bet with my editor daughter's help I could state a convincing enough case for ANT EATING! Probably not a lot of negatives!
Here I think about the FOLLOWING THE HERD mentality. I am DIABETIC, I say this once in a while and I choose (mostly) my foods and lifestyle accordingly. It is VERY important for MY health to make the choices that will keep my body at MY best.
Often we will hear about a new product or "DIET" that is going around and many will jump on to try it. A large percentage of the population is METABOLICALLY COMPROMISED, yes, like ME! Some aspects of this are still being "classified" but the FACTS are being seen. From multiple sources we are getting information.
Remember, back in the day we did NOT have access to "all" the foods we do now. Seasons, for vegetables and FRUITS. I am going to talk more about FRUIT, and I am making NO CLAIMS but I can share MY EXPERIENCES.
We get TOO MUCH FRUCTOSE in our SAD diets *Standard American Diet*. Back in the "day" before High Fructose Corn Syrup in so many foods, we weren't often inundated with more than our livers could handle.
Fructose is only metabolized by the liver. The body can't use it for energy. The fat cells can sure use it though! (From the Paleo Diet Lifestyle)
10 reasons to limit fructose consumption
- Fructose can only be metabolized by the liver and can’t be used for energy by your body’s cells. It’s therefore not only completely useless for the body, but is also a toxin in high enough amount because the job of the liver is to get rid of it, mainly by transforming it into fat and sending that fat to our fat cells.
- Excess fructose damages the liver and leads to insulin resistance in the liver as well as fatty liver disease. In fact, fructose has the same effects on the liver as alcohol (ethanol), which is already well known as a liver toxin.
- Fructose reacts with proteins and polyunsaturated fats in our bodies 7 times more than glucose. This reaction creates AGEs (Advanced glycation end-products), which are compounds that create oxidative damage in our cells and ultimately lead or contribute to inflammation and a host of chronic diseases.
- Fructose increases uric acid production, which, in excess, can cause gout, kidney stones and precipitate or aggravate hypertension.
- While most of your body’s cells can’t use fructose as a source of energy, the bacteria in your gut can and excess fructose can create gut flora imbalances, promote bacterial overgrowth and promote the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
- In part because of the damage done to the liver, chronic excess fructose causes dyslipidemia, which means that your blood lipid markers tend to shift towards numbers that indicate a risk for heart disease.
- Fructose rapidly causes leptin resistance. Leptin is an hormone that controls appetite and metabolism to maintain a normal weight. Leptin resistant people tend to gain fat and become obese really easily.
- Excess fructose alone can cause all the problems associated with the metabolic syndrome (diabetes, obesity, heart disease, …).
- Cancer cells thrive and proliferate very well with fructose as their energy source.
- Excess fructose also affects brain functioning, especially as it relates to appetite regulation. It has also been shown to impair memory in rats.
Check out my MEDICAL CRUSH, Dr. Lustig! Some GREAT videos here!
From Natural News: Not only is sugar the primary source of excess calories in the United States, but the latest research also shows that cancer cells lap up high-fructose corn syrup, adding yet another reason to avoid it.
Tumor cells that were fed glucose and fructose used those sugars in two different ways, the research team said.
'Major significance for cancer patients'
Their findings, which were published in the journal Cancer Research, could help explain earlier studies that have linked ingestion of fructose with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease.
"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote in 2010.
THIS is me..... MY choices and what is OPTIMUM for my health. I have reasons for doing what I'm doing. I might choose CRAZY COLORS of nail polish, but I'm not jumping on any CRAZY TRAIN!
All I'm saying... be informed... be health... be SAFE and happy!
So, please, don't go eating ants, tons of fruit, or following any other diet fad without researching and determining the BEST for YOU and YOUR body. We're all different, but we ALL benefit from HEALTHY.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
RAW II
MIRROR MIRROR......
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| how do I see me?
Can't believe I'm posting TWICE in a week. All this RAW has really kept me thinking! This is ALWAYS a journey of discovery!
A big word is accountability. We need it, it IS important. It is also about "perspective". I am blessed to help a LOT of people. You'd think helping "myself" would be easy, right?
NO,
it sure is NOT easy! We are harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else. See that all the time, correct?
Know better; I USED to think I did!
*At my 6th birthday party my mom had put up a magnificent obstacle course. During the events I saw a mouse on the lawn. I wanted to catch it. My mom told me not to because it would bite me. I KNEW BETTER. Yes, the mouse bit me. I had to go in and get a tetanus shot.
*When I was 8 I was outside on the front lawn. My mom told me that one of the trees was covered with poison ivy and NOT to TOUCH IT.
Of course I KNEW better, so after she went inside I went to the tree rubbed the leaves all over my face and arms. I missed 2 days of school that time. Can't see when your eyes are swollen shut! I know this is just "childhood" but still makes me think!
FEAR
What holds me back? What holds any of us back?
How do we know what works for us, what is the best for us.... trying! HAIR: a big deal for MANY of us! I've had really long hair, and really short. Within the last few years I tried growing my hair long again. I have daughter and daughter in law with amazing wonderful LONG hair. I have a good friend with such cute long hair I wanted to try! It just never "fit me" right! This week I chopped inches off my hair and I love this haircut! As soon as I cut it, I started hearing how "much younger" I looked, etc. Also... I have a great neck and it is a good length to show it off!
HEY... this is what is THE BEST for me! I can LOVE ME!
I have come a LONG way in the last 2 years:
THEN
Two years ago I got my body into AMAZING shape! I felt like I could RUN! I felt free, and "light". I started getting comments that I was "TOO THIN". There were other ones too! For some crazy reason I let THOSE comments get to me. I didn't stay focused on WHERE I felt my best! I would slip and not follow through with the healthy choices. I remember cringing when I'd hear it!
IT WAS ME... I knew I felt fantastic! I was BEATING genetics. My family history of Diabetes. What I DON'T WANT:
Type 2 Diabetes can develop from many different things. First, a person's cells can get covered up with fat. This happens when a person is out of their healthy weight range. This fat covers up the keyhole that insulin needs use to let the glucose in the cell. Without the insulin working, the glucose cannot fuel the body. Instead, it ends up just floating around in the person's blood and building up.
Little by little I let my "struggles" get the best of me. I would fluctuate in my weight. a couple times a year almost popping out of my pants! (LOVED wearing dresses/skirts because I thought I could hide!) My face would rapidly get back to "pudgy".
I would focus, sort of and try to get back..... using "correction days" to cover up my over eating! CHOICES!
NOW
Here I am! I have TOOLS... I research HORMONES and have absorbed much from a wonderful author and book!
 
Even with all these wonderful tools I've still struggled. I have a sugar addiction. I will VERY easily fall and then beat myself up! I know I shouldn't..... I know better! (Mice and poison ivy, right?)
I am working on LOVING myself, and being comfortable in MY SKIN! It won't fit on anyone else!!!
Check out this blog: http://www.marcandangel.com/ *this POST IS FANTASTIC and says it all!*
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23RD, 2012
"Be yourself. Trying to be anyone else is a waste of the person you are. Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and beauty like no one else. Be the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms. And above all, be true to YOU
This morning I weighed for the first time in MONTHS! I say that I am anti scale because we should not depend on the scale to tell us if we are okay and wonderful and all that... BUT I realize IF I didn't weigh, I was ABLE to avoid the consequences of the poor choices I was making! DUH! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I have been choosing well for about a week, and off and on before that. BUT.... part of me wants to GET ON TOMORROW! I don't need to, once a week is good for a guideline... for ME
All this is such a PERSONAL journey. NO ONE can tell "ME" how I'm feeling right now!
I want that feeling where I can almost take off and RUN! I have said it before, it is not about a number on the scale or a size. It does make it fun... but this is MY BEST! This is about RESPECT for one another! I HAVE THE POWER.... I am not going to give it away to anyone!
Thanks to my wonderful friend Diane... she is a light and an example that I CAN FIND my best and LOVE all the rest BEST!
MY AWESOME YOUR AWESOME... we all get awesome!
May we embrace all our unique experiences and be supportive! NOW as I take my body to the BEST it can be I am going to listen to ME! I don't plan on letting those "other" voices in my head make my decisions!
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
RAW
1raw
adjective \ˈrȯ\
1
: not cooked
2
a (1) : being in or nearly in the natural state : not processed or purified <raw fibers> <raw sewage> (2) : not diluted or blended <raw spirits>
I have actually been thinking about this for WEEKS. A lot of emotions have been STOMPING through my head. I've even put notes on my phone, and written on the back of a magazine so I wouldn't forget. I have at times been ashamed at some of the thoughts this topic has brought to the surface for me. BUT... this is what THIS IS! "ME", honest and "raw".
I will not dilute this post.
ME:
last night I was "edgy"
and FEELING hungry
but NO
NOT
I was watching Castle and Kate walked away in a scene
LOOKING good OF COURSE
I asked myself WHAT DO I WANT MOST FOR ME?
it is to FEEL
MY BEST
as I walk away
I've been STRUGGLING with my "food issues" all my life. I didn't think of it as an "addiction" until just recently. (Remember, at my age recent can be up to a decade!) As a young child I remember the phrase: "Eat your food, there are starving children..." My grandmother did not appreciate it as I offered my plate to them. Then years later, that same grandmother commented when I asked for "more" lunch. You want MORE? You want to EAT MORE? I had been on a lot of different medications before I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever, and months of not walking were taking a toll on my body. Still, MIXED SIGNALS!
I am tall, I was tall young. I have sisters, they are not tall and they were "tiny" like my mom. I remember feeling like I didn't fit in. Insecurities.... Stitches that ARE the "fabric" of our lives.
So much about food is emotional. Our society is "BASED" on food and eating. Celebrations are FOOD oriented. It isn't just physical!
My body does not do well with some foods. I also have very short triggers that can be switched on with JUST ONE BITE! I was offered cake a few days ago. I said "No thank you". Then I got a very sweet "How about a small slice, or a bite". I had to explain that I couldn't even have one! *Check out my SUGAR ADDICTION POST*.
So for me I often have to make the SAME DECISION, over and over and.......
What do I WANT? What is BEST FOR ME?
In my journey I've gotten LOTS of comments. Positives, and also the ones like: "You're TOO THIN". I am NOT defined by a number or a size. My GOAL is MY BODY, MY HEALTHIEST! Where do I FEEL my best? Can ANYONE tell you what FEELS best for YOU? Then there are the "You look so good" comments, and it makes it easy to 'relax' a bit and taste....... For me, there is no JUST ONE! This is so far beyond a potato chip marketing campaign!
This is MY LIFE, MY HEALTH!
Yes, I've been thinking about this constantly.
I get to decide what I NEED TO DO. My goal is to share so that understanding will abound for all on the journey to "be the best". I LOVE all that I'm learning. I have connected with AMAZING people and I feel blessed. I also sometimes feel FLAWED and I know I shouldn't! My struggle doesn't make me any less of a great person, it doesn't change my titles of "Wife, Mom, Grandmom".
THIS comes from inside me.
I am writing my story. There are delete features on the computer, but life takes a bit longer...
NO AUTO CORRECT!
I choose to share my story. I CHOOSE to be honest and RAW. I am not holding back here. I've shed tears over my frustrations and I know I join millions who feel the same. This is MY transformation, one step at a time! I will heal from my slips and falls. As I PAY ATTENTION to "me" they will happen less, because I am better! (And worth it)
This is a powerful process. There is no age limit, GOOD THING! I'll be 58 in just about 3 weeks. I have a goal to FEEL my best by the time I hit 60. I have 2 years! With healthy choices, self LOVE and acceptance, USING my knowledge for health.... I can DO THIS! I am ME, this is worth it.
THIS is RAW
I AM thankful!
I WILL BE MYSELF and FEEL MY BEST AS I WALK AWAY
Friday, December 28, 2012
My DISORDER
The NOT SO SWEET truth in my world
This is "about me" this is my journey with my struggles.
I have much to share.... for today it is the realization that I can put a name to one of my biggest challenges:
SIID
SELF Induced Inflammation Disorder
(PLEASE do not worry, I just made this up)
*Please note that I am not a licensed medical professional. I do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe for any illness or health issue. The information or advice provided here should not be construed as medical advice. If you chose to use any of the natural remedies or advice discussed here, you will be taking responsibility for your own health and wellness*
Any attitude is purely my own
The symptoms:
*avoidance of mirrors
*seeing the need for bigger clothes
*wanting to keep my winter coat on
*yanking up pants
*yes, bigger undies...
(this is truth, okay?)
THE CAUSE:
For me is is "sugar" all I need is one taste to set my brain and body in a downward spiral. Not everyone has this problem but I know many do!
From a friend:
"We're dealing with something
stronger than a drug addiction, so it ought
to not come as a surprise. I really abhor
sugar now but I still think about a nice big
creamy banana cream pie for example once in a
while, and occasionally have given in to a
tiny taste, but have never gone back. It is
powerful stuff!"
stronger than a drug addiction, so it ought
to not come as a surprise. I really abhor
sugar now but I still think about a nice big
creamy banana cream pie for example once in a
while, and occasionally have given in to a
tiny taste, but have never gone back. It is
powerful stuff!"
There is also this:
(an awesome friend found this while researching)
More and more research is concluding that sugar is not only
unhealthy, but actively destroys cells in the body with a domino-
effect of insulin and free radicals. I'm sure not many doctors and
health professionals would argue that sugar is in any way healthy,
or even meant to be consumed by humanity. The entrance of
refined sugar and flour into the human diet is pretty much where
disease, diabetes, obesity, and other lifestyle diseases entered at
full-force.
There are actually a lot of studies out there too that are showing
sugar to be carcinogenic. Once again, it's not the sugar that causes
cancer, but rather the process by which sugar is metabolized by the body.
I'm sure in moderation for some people, sugar is not as damaging. I,
myself, can't handle it in moderation. At least not for now. I
personally don't believe it is even meant to be consumed, therefore
I'm not really looking at it like something to treat myself with.
Fruit is absolutely fine for me. Fruit contains all the fiber and
vitamins needed for the metabolization of the fructose in it, and if
nature made it that way, then that's good enough for me!
Once again, I know not everyone will take to this, or even agree
that sugar is that damaging. That's fine. But I thought maybe my
recent insights on self-discipline could help people for things other
than quitting sugar, too. ~Unknown
I know sugar feeds cancer cells.
It also does a REALLY GOOD job of feeding FAT
CELLS.
CELLS.
Then you have 60 Minutes and
Dr. Lustig
My goal for 2013 is to STAY on the best HEALTH PATH for me!!!
This is NOT about you or you or you...
but you are WELCOME to come along with me so we can share the joys and positive stuff and pull each other up as we slip and fall. My journey will and HAS TO BE
SUGAR FREE
Each day is a new beginning... Each day we can use our strength, tools and resources to grow and progress! I don't want to hold on to the past, I want to use everything I've experienced!
I'm on the right path for ME, I know it! I am RESOLVING to do some good stuff this year, making 2013 a VERY LUCKY number for many (I hope!)
*Health
*Fitness
*Keep up with this BLOG
*Share LOTS of good stuff from anywhere and anybody I can learn from!
*Take my business to the level it deserves
Come with me! I want to be my best
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Monday is a good day to get a cold sore............. and other unexpected blessings!
It has been a crazy wonderful weekend. My Marvelous Mike Merrill (aka: hubby) and I were able to go to the Manti Temple and be sealed for Time and All Eternity. A very important ceremony for our faith. I chose a temple that I've always thought of as my "Fairy Tale" temple! The day was perfect. My photographer daughter in law even found a heart shaped cloud!
My daughter did invitations for us as well as a zillion other things I could thank her for for the next 127 years!
I am crazy about my guy, and thankful I get to keep him for ever and always! Even though my parents and most of my siblings were not able to be there we were surrounded by lots of family and friends! This just stretches the ties that bind us together! (I didn't mention gagging.......... get that too sometimes!)
All these special people (and more that weren't in the pic) traveled through mountains and road construction to be with us!
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| We are both rather happy to have taken this step........ |
Even with losing babies and sons for a while the day was perfect for us! We had a wonderful party that included a massive wind storm that took down 2 large branches from our trees. The beautiful tables were brought inside and everyone adapted wonderfully!
It would have been easier without the storm, but life isn't "easy". We don't know what we're going to get from day to day sometimes!!!
Monday I woke up with a cold sore............. They are NASTY painful annoying things to suffer through. I have not had one in years! My sincere first thought? I was REALLY glad it waited for Monday so I didn't have to be at church with this ugly lip. You know how you wonder if people are staring? I direct music every Sunday, and I know smiling would have cracked that thing! I chose to be excited and thankful that it waited that extra day!!!
I am NOT known for patience. I'd like to have it someday, and maybe I will...... about the same time I overcome my procrastination issues!
Family has returned to there respective states (of confusion and chaos for my daughter I'm sure! She sacrificed being here for a few days with her baby girl, leaving her 2 little boys home with daddy and friends!)
I am blessed.......... I am grateful! I felt strongly enough about this that I wanted to share the blessing of my Monday cold sore! By next Sunday it will be well on the way to healing!
Many things are out of our control. The storm was significant. The Winds of Change according to hubby dear! Profound, yes!
I will continue to Pursue the Power of Positive............ this day and always!
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| (Even if it is kicking and screaming all the way!) |
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