Our Overburdened Medical System

I spend a lot of money on my family's health. None of us has a life threatening or debilitating illness. None of us requires special equipment or prescriptions. I spend my money on preventative medicine.
To paraphrase Hippocrates, "let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." Since the cells of our body are made from what our body takes in, it makes sense to have this be the highest quality that we can afford. I can't understand why people get out of their fancy cars and eat at fast food restaurants. Quality food tastes so much better!
 Of course it isn't all about the taste, the chemicals in fast food are addictive, and there is no significant nutritional value, thus instead of fast food it should be called fast buzz. Yes, free radicals, found in fried foods, are a legal buzz.There are so very many other chemicals in "chain" food, producing unknown side effects. Other legal drugs in our society include cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and whatever drug the pharmaceutical megacorps are pushing through doctors this year. Even protein is addictive, generating heat in the body, and an inflammatory immune response. Excess protein consumption leads to uric acid buildup, ie. joint pain, arthritis, bursitis, kidney stones,etc.
These addictions start early. Babies whose mother use crack cocaine are born addicted, it is the same with our "legal" drugs. Mothers who eat very healthy food throughout pregnancy give their offspring a health advantage. Studies have shown that nutritional intake during the first three years of a persons' life has a significant effect on later health. Childrens' taste buds are so sensitive, the effects of these drugs masquerading as foods is magnified. What we feed our children is what they will be used to, and what their intestinal flora will crave.
Early bouts of illness, when treated with antibiotics, leads to unhealthy intestinal flora and reduced immune function. I was very protective of my childrens' diet in their early years. I gave them as much organic food as I could. I believe this is especially important in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products (since toxins are concentrated in the fat of the animal). Of course all food is important, when young bodies are forming, when DNA is being passed on, avoiding GMO seems to be obvious, if our species is seeking to avoid genetic deterioration.
My strong beliefs have shaped my life since having children. Since it was my decision to reproduce, I wanted to give my children the best I personally could. This has compromised my lifestyle severely, but if I am to look myself in the face every morning in the mirror, I felt I had to stay home as much as possible during their early years, in order to give my family the quality of food and homelife I feel we all deserve.
My children were all born at home. They have not been immunized. They get sick less than other children and they have never taken antibiotics from the doctor. I say from the doctor because I rely on herbs and natural medicine, so they have taken such antibiotics as garlic, grapefruit seed extract, oil of oregano, propolis and colloidal extract of silver. They have been to the doctor about once each, since infancy, and my youngest is 13 now. I say this not to brag but to suggest that my family is saving the medical system money.
Contrast this with some people who go to the doctor for every sniffle or other minor discomfort caused by poor diet and habits. One constantly hears how our medical system is so overburdened and the chronic shortage of doctors. I am simply saying there should be a medical fee discount ( you know that amount you have to pay every month or they start threatening to take your house?) or a tax credit that recognizes the amount of care, time, effort and money that people spend, that yes, benefits all of us.

Midwinter Must Haves

The thrill of Christmas is gone. We are weeks away from the chocolate induced high of Valentines Day. It is the time of year when we still feel like stuffing ourselves with comfort foods and cozying up in front of the telly/computer with our booze of choice, rationalizing that bathing suit season is still soo far away. At the same time, we, and especially  those of us with children, particularly the wee ones, will at this time of year be bombarded by a plethora of bacteria, viruses, and all manner of bodily fluids .It seems one has hardly gotten over barky coughs and reddened noses, only to be felled by bloaty rumbling tummies and hurried dashes to the toilet!
   What is the alternative? A puritanical pursing of the lips, eyes gazing into the distance, as we abstain from the temptations of the season? Is a heavenly (body) reward sufficient incentive? As if these gloomy days weren't punishment enough . . .
  Having been raised with a fairly conventional North American diet, with it's attendant ear infections, episodes of diarhea, and other ills, I am familiar with the sense of helplessness and mystery that accompanies it. As a teenager I became vegetarian, and began to educate myself about health. Veganism, juicing, and growing my own sprouts became my daily life and for  years, my life revolved around food. An interest in natural medicine accompanied these "back to the land" years for me. I learned to treat minor ailments, from headaches to PMS, with plants growing in my garden, and those formerly regarded as weeds. Both chinese medicine and Indian ayurvedic medicine rely on many so called common plants.Working with a master herbalist, I learned to make tinctures, (herbal extracts in water or alcohol) and salves (external use). Another facet of my embrace of the "natural way" has been exploring essential oils and aromatherapy. Even for scent value alone, the deliciousness of, for instance, lavendar oil, puts commercial perfumes in the shade. More on its many uses later!
As time and material considerations moved my life in a different direction, these natural remedies have stayed with me, comforting, curing. Gradually, with finding a partner, and having my children enter the school system, I arrived at the compromise between mainstream culture and health nut that I am today. My children are all teenagers now, and have never gone to the doctor for anything other than stitches. My next blog will address this revelatory statement in a timely fashion (did I mention a sense of the absurd as tension buster?). See: Chronological Cornucopia