My Belief

"Tell me your belief and I'll tell you what your life looks like."-Sasha Xarrian
Today I`m really feeling good as a few days ago my mailbox was filled with links to this article from Huffington Post : A Cure For Cancer ? Eating A Plant-Based Diet ...it has been my belief from I did my research after being diagnosed with DUKE C carcinoma that I was eating badly and that's why my problem kept recurring - I looked around me and saw that all who were in a similar position to me ate like me.The whole object to keeping healthy is to keep your body alkaline and for my whole life I have kept my body acidic!
So that brings me back to the old time Jamaican saying "belief kill and belief cure " which is just another way of saying the quote I started with.
People say how I look so healthy - it is because I believe in what I`m doing ..if more of us eat a plant-based diet 80% of the time, we would be better off..and by plant-based I don`t mean rice, yam, green bananas in one meal as we here in Jamaica like to do - I mean yam with vegetables, brown rice with vegetables etc....we go from too much protein to too much carbs and then wonder why we are riddled with diabetes and hypertension .
When I sit at a table to eat with people I've been preaching to - I see everyone roll their eyes ......but don`t worry, I`ve stopped talking, if you want to eat melon and pineapple after your stewpeas with pigs tail, I will not be saying a word, I have said it often enough - not troubling you again.

SMOOTHIES TO THE WURL!!!!!!

A close friend asked me to help him by posting on my blog how a busy person can eat properly all day as he needs to eat well for his health issues .....another friend wants to start eating more raw food daily,so here goes.......
First of all let me say we are all in this together as why we have health issues in the first place normally starts because of how we eat....our digestive system controls every thing.
The most important thing to own in your kitchen is a Vita-mix or a Blendtec.....these are blenders that chew up fruits and vegetables, skin and all in a flash, BUT YOU HAVE TO USE THEM !!! MOST OF US BUY THESE BLENDERS AND NEVER USE THEM! From morning till night your blender should be going and the greener the juice the better for you...If you can`t juice except on weekends buy a green supplement like 'Greensbest' and mix it with water just put the correct amount of scoops in a bottle of water and shake it up and drink it...another friend who was having hot flashes, I gave her mine which I use when I`m travelling, and sure enough she has reported less heat and this is a person who don't like "taste bad " things so when you see that she didn't have a problem with the taste - anyone can drink it!! But that is the lazy way out - make your blender work with smoothies - fruit in the morning to green vegetables at night and you will see the difference in your health. Those of you with the sweet tooth - you need to pull that tooth - but till then use cane juice to sweeten.
The internet is alive with recipes for smoothies, juices and "live" food plus you can go to the green goddesses website Victoria Boutenko and buy her recipe book. Her "Green for life" is a Bible in the industry and the other 2 that were of great help when I was starting out in raw food were LIVING CUISINE by Renee Loux Underkoffler and The RAW GOURMET by Nomi Shannon.....
Remember nobody is asking you to go 100% raw but we need to eat 80% raw to see a difference.........You just put more raw in each meal instead of cooking the greens eat them raw, the spinach, the kale, the mustard greens, good old callaloo and please note, iceberg lettuce is not green it's white, you need romaine lettuce......instead of frying the plantains eat them raw ,there is a great recipe in the recipe section of this blog. Water, water,water, just look at your urine if it's dark yellow your urine is concentrated it should be light, light, yellow or clear......yogurt is a dairy product with sugar, so don`t tell me how healthy that is making you. Don`t tell me you are drinking green tea which is loaded with antioxidants etc. and you are putting milk and sugar in it worse condensed milk.....that travel cup that you take to work with you or use in the car fill it with any tea green, guinea hen weed, rosemary, pau de arco, licorice......tons to choose from.
The pork has to go - your meat has to be lean and the less of it the better for you..... let it be a treat once in a while. Same with chicken and try and know where your fish comes from. Raw food people would kill me to tell you that you can eat fish but I think all things in moderation as some of the unhealthiest people I know are vegetarians.
Never met a raw foodist with cancer though coming to think about it....anyway the most important part of eating healthy is DISCIPLINE....
Start today with cutting out white sugar, white rice, white flour and cow's milk.....sugar should be brown but really none at all as CANCER FOLLOWS SUGAR (remember you going to pull that sweet tooth) but start slowly and eliminate something each day or each week..... take it slowly, we have been eating badly for years, it's a change of lifestyle it doesn`t happen overnight.
Rice must be brown at all times put millet in it and make it perfect, you don`t need any form of flour - milk must be rice or almond....best thing is to soak your nuts and make your own "milk".
Immediately you will have cut out some of the major mucus foods so those of you with sinus problems will see a difference. Remove the bread and butter this morning and see, after a few days when you wake up in the morning your eyes won`t have much goo in them and your nostrils and chest - all that phlegm you hear some of us coughing up in the morning - will clear up. Sinus draining, is directly from how much mucus foods that we have in our diets........
Asthma patients need to stop eating mucus foods immediately!
I don`t like seeing them with any form of bread or pasta......I get nervous, but this is where the discipline comes in because as we feel better we are right back where we started. A lot of people tell me they don`t eat sugar or rice but they eat cakes and dumplings right? And watch them with the toast and butter in the mornings........
I rest my case!

Look who's dancing and other news of the day

Look who is about to take dancing lessons - we have not done one class yet we are doing a ballerina pose
and tap dancing Okay the most important news making the rounds re pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables is the dirty dozen and clean fifteen.It comes from the Vegetarian Health Institute.....
Most contaminated: THE DIRTY DOZEN
FRUITS:
Peaches
Apples
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Imported grapes
Pears
VEGETABLES:
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Kale
Lettuce
Carrots
Least Contaminated: THE CLEAN FIFTEEN
FRUITS:
Avocados
Pineapples
Mangoes
Kiwi
Papayas
Watermelon
Grapefruit
VEGETABLES:
Onions
Sweet corn
Asparagus
Sweet peas
Cabbage
Eggplant
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Sweet potatoes
We try to eat fruit and vegetables hoping it will help our health but a lot of times we are making our health worse . Why? We are eating fruit and vegetables full of pesticides and trust me as some one who grows her own chochos, tomatoes, peppers regular thyme, french thyme, sweet pepper and mint there is always something waiting to pounce on them - my sweet peppers just succumbed - but pesticides and herbicides are killing us slowly so you may already know about this BUT in case you don't,I`m making sure you do.
What this tells me is that we are to eat things with skins ...that way we are safer as we can peel them,but I notice broccolli and asparagus made the healthy fifteen (I wonder how come?)
If you have the chance try and catch Dr.Oz's new show - it is so informative! That's where I learnt my poo should have an S shape - helps you stay on track trust me.

WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!

Took a quick trip, son`s birthday, so I took my granddaughter et al to "Lion King"....to tell you the truth her father enjoyed it just as much at his ripe old age as he kept referring to his comic books telling me all excitedly who is who so I just enjoyed them and went on as if I hadn`t seen it before......a great time was had by all this trip, and my younger son had a great time linking up with his idol- his brother!
Observations on this trip besides how badly my son and granddaughter eats, and the fact that it's showing all over him ,stomach not good at all and she as usual can`t poo.......too much mac and cheese, bagels and no vegetables will do that to you...... Observations that sat with me seriously were of the 2 restaurants we attended. If I doubted that we are what we eat, it was vividly brought home to me......One of the restaurants was a popular steak house in New Jersey... yes me in a steak house...funny, I could have used a prime rib but how sick would that have made me? Anyway as I looked around me it was amazing how sick the people looked all who not walking with walkers were barely moving and everybody looked tubby and chubby including the waitresses my younger son informed me, as he noted it as well.....and the young people left half of their food..... Well I eat once at your choice you eat next at my choice which was 'Pure Food and Wine' NYC. What a different energy !The people looked healthy both waiters, hostesses and patrons..they seemed alert and alive no walking sticks here! Wonderful experience and my eldest piped up that he would eat like that all the time, he just can`t fix it. I don`t see him fixing the other way either it's called take out! So why not take out health why take home disease?
JUST A THOUGHT.........

"You take your love with you"

Lots been happening so I have a few comments to make.
Yes, Patrick Swayze lost his battle but battle he did ....he had a barbeque 2 weeks before he died and they say he was having a ball, bald head and all.He worked steadily and lasted 20 months longer than they gave him.......he also left hospital to die at home with his wife, and that's what it's all about living till you die.....That leaves Steve Jobs the daddy of pancreatic cancer standing. Could raw food and a liver transplant be helping him ? It seems pancreatic cancer always metastasizes to the liver. Well a great love affair, the one between Lisa and Patrick coming to an end but as the character he played in 'Ghost' said "YOU TAKE YOUR LOVE WITH YOU"......
Then talking about taking your love with you Kanye was always a strange boy but since his mother's death he has gotten out of hand - she took your love with her honey calm down! First time I have seen him look like he really recognized he did wrong...... I hope he does what he said he is going to do and take some time and reflect!
Then Serena.....she is on every show doing damage control (smart girl)...what did she do so different from what John McEnroe used to do ? Is it a little gender bias?......and no she didn`t threaten to kill you ma'am but I guess if she took the &%$@#*! ball and shoved it down your $%@#&*% throat you would die right ?
Then President Obama ...come on people, why the fight going on about health reform? You have nothing to reform....go across the pond and see health service... you guys have none......give hope a chance! And those tea parties ,that shoutout in the middle of the President's speech, the vitriol he has had to put up with both him and his wife, no body shouted at Bush through all the lies and crap he spouted, and yes the lady wore shorts because she can....... I don`t know what you call it but it smacks of racism to me !
Seriously has any President done as much as he has as quickly as he has done?

HIDDEN TOXINS

What does it mean when your holistic practitioner tells you you are toxic?
What do you do ? What are the causes ? Sometimes no matter how hard we try the world is working against us......
Here is an article by Dr.Mercola on 9 Hidden Toxins Lurking in Your Food and my comments on the matter.

Your grocery store is plentifully stocked with wolves in sheep’s clothing. Here are some tips to help you steer clear of hidden toxins that masquerade as safe products. My comment - READ YOUR LABELS!
1. Stay away from processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and sausage. Sodium nitrate can also cause the formation of nitrosamines in your system, which can lead to cancer.....My comment - AND GREASY SKIN.........TOO MUCH OIL ANYWHERE NOT A GOOD THING! SALTFISH IS A BIG NO NO TOO...REMEMBER ITS CURED!
2. Reduce the amount of canned food you consume. Cans are commonly lined with bisphenol-A, an organic compound that may be associated with diabetes and heart disease.My comment - OH WELL THERE GOES SARDINES. A FAVOURITE FOOD!
3. Skip the diet soda and artificial sweeteners. Prolonged exposure to aspartame, a neurotoxic chemical additive in these products, can lead to nerve cell damage, dizziness, and headaches.My comment - I DEFINITELY REMEMBER WHEN SWEET AND LOW AND EQUAL CAME ON THE SCENE WE WEREN`T OBESE TILL THEN!
4. Opt for organic chicken. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discovered traces of arsenic in non-organic chickens. Exposure to this dangerous chemical can lead to cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Another study also found numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in conventional poultry.My comment - PLUS YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO HORMONES
5. Avoid manufactured snacks. Hydrogenated oils are used to lengthen the shelf life of products like crackers and cookies, but they are also associated with diabetes and heart disease. Snack foods are also generally loaded with salt, corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients.My comment - LIKE MSG!
6. Stay away from artificially-colored foods like candy, maraschino cherries, and gelatin. Mice and rats exposed to blue 1 and 2, red 3 and yellow 6 suffered from brain, adrenal gland, thyroid, and kidney tumors.My comment - IF IT STAINS YOUR TONGUE AND YOUR HANDS IMAGINE WHAT IT'S DOING TO YOUR INSIDES.
7. Always buy organic produce. Lingering pesticides can lead to nervous and reproductive system damage, not to mention cancer.My comment - SOAK, SOAK, SOAK!
8. Avoid Teflon cookware. The Teflon used to create nonstick surfaces can release noxious gases when exposed to high temperatures, which puts you at risk for a large variety of diseases, many of which are not even well documented at this time.My comment - YES SPEND THE MONEY FOR THE COPPER !
9. Never microwave food in plastic bowls, containers, or dishes. Exposure to heat causes the bisphenol-A found in plastics to break down and potentially contaminate your food. My comment - YOU MUST KNOW THIS BY NOW,YOU HAVE CERTAINLY HEARD IT ENOUGH......BETTER YET DON`T BOTHER WITH THE MICRO-WAVE.........be like me eat nothing hot or cold! I can hear your reaction trust me it's not that bad......after lining up on Red Hills Road for 45 minutes to buy ice in 1988 after Hurricane Gilbert ,I promised myself that would never happen to me again where I go crazy for something cold to drink........Now I can`t drink cold,don`t like it!

Of course these are not the only things that cause toxicity...a lot of us are so stressed that we are toxic although eating all the right things.....we just need to stop and smell the roses sometimes, especially those of us with compromised immune systems.YES I`M TALKING TO MYSELF!

SAY NO TO MSG

FOR THOSE OF YOU SITTING EATING YOUR CHIPS AND CHEESE TRIX AND DRINKING YOUR STORE BOUGHT CUP OF COFFEE FULL OF MSG BE AWARE - I recently read this intersting piece on the web :

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it {MSG}can be added to food. They claim it's safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it's safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:
"The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity." Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.
"Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats." Guimaraes RB,Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull.2002 Aug.
'Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors." Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N,Yoshinari Fujishima. Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.
"Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity." Tanaka K,Shimada M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct

NOTE: the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978. Both the "medical research community" and "food manufacturers"have known about the side effects of MSG for decades.
Many more studies are mentioned in John Erb's book "The Slow Poisoning of America" and link MSG to diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer's.
I BELIEVE MSG is a major contributor to the obesity that exists all around us because it is said that it triples the amount of insulin that the pancreas creates in rats so why not in humans too?
So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply ? We can keep telling people what you know every time you see them eating something that you know is filled with the stuff.....Most of us are addicted as it makes food taste so good we don`t want to hear anything negative about it.....
If you are one of the few who still believe that MSG is good for us and you don't believe what John Erb has to say , do the research for yourself. Click on the following link to the website for the National Library of Medicine . Type in the words "MSG Obese" in the search option and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.
And then continue eating it,but don`t complain when you reap the rewards!!!!!

LIVING WITH PURPOSE

I`ve always believed in quality of life .........and the fact that our lives must always be lived with purpose. Watching Ted Kennedy`s departure from a innings well played made me even more convinced.....
He LIVED his life making mistakes along the way but always championing the little man....in fact the high point of the service to me was the fact that his son addressed his caregivers (sounded like long time helpers) before he acknowledged all the Presidents seated there.......This article from the NY Times "After Diagnosis, Determined to Make a Good Ending"says it all if you admired the man it's a great read.
Then all this transitioning has made me reflect on why I`m glad to still be around
Things I`m glad I`ve lived to see
- NAIYAH my granddaughter who was born in March of 2006.....the year I had my last bout with cancer.I was very ill at her arrival but didn`t know how ill.....She has been a joy every time I`m with her. I live to hear her when she calls grandmaaaaa or when asked how is she she says 'I`m guuud'

- Usain Bolt behave as if he`s an UFO and watching the entire Jamaican athletic contingent come into their own,also right before my eyes the spectacle of a gunman scaling a wall over 8 ft. high and going through barbwire like it didn`t exist as he ran from police, and COMING TO THE REALIZATION that what I keep preaching is true......lots of hurdlers, high jumpers and Usain Bolts right here in Jamaica awaiting their chance.

- Experiencing 'raw' food, never knew I could eat 'raw' ice cream and eat delicious crisp chips all 'raw' and good for you.

- Listening as my sons say 'pearls of wisdom' that came from me.

And why I have to stay around.....I want to attend the 2012 OLYMPICS IN ENGLAND !

DAILY MOTIVATION

After a speech one day, Zig Ziglar was approached by someone in the audience who said:
"Zig, it was a great speech, but...motivation doesn't last."
Zig said, "Bathing doesn't either. That's why I recommend it daily!"
DAILY.....That's why one has to repeat what we need to get across. Recently on CNN Sanjay Gupta`s show 'House Calls' cancer was the topic. He was at a cancer seminar in Ireland and was talking about how far treatment has come. One oncologist he interviewed said he doesn`t want his patients dying with dignity he wants his patients LIVING WITH DIGNITY and of course the show ended with food ......We always use food to help us heal after the diagnosis, but we are to eat this way BEFORE the diagnosis. Food is not the silver bullet we think it to be after the event, we need to prevent not repent, but we never ever change our lifestyles till we get the scare. Even AFTER some of us get the scare as soon as we hear we are fine we get right back to normal... we light up the cigarette and have a great meal of trans fats.....
I heard something great the other day......
'Eat more food without a bar code.'
Isn`t that the truth because colon, prostate, and breast cancer were almost unknown in Japan, until the Japanese began eating like Americans; within a few decades, their mortality from those diseases has skyrocketed.
When cancerous tumors are removed by surgery, they are 300% (!) more likely to grow back in patients with a "traditional Western diet" than they are in people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
This is from the Journal of the American Medical Association based on research that indicates that stray cancer cells seem to be stimulated by animal protein.
Eat less processed and artificial junk.If that doesn`t motivate us nothing will......WE ARE NOTHING WITHOUT OUR HEALTH!
I know it's hard but the longer we stay eating THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WAY, the more we will get used to it....I watched some people recently eating plates of all kind of sprouts plus spinach, romaine, chard, mustard and basil with nothing on it,they were talking among each other as to how delicious it is......delicious??? I thought they were quite mad but they were glowing and the length of time they have been eating like this their taste buds only knew this,so I guess it was really delicious to them plus they motivate each other .......
I notice nowadays when I slip, the fried chicken leg doesn`t taste as good as it used to.....if only I could tell you I never slip....
Daily motivation also works as I think of things like EAT LESS AND EXCERCISE MORE each morning and this makes me not take the fry chicken.....
( I really need this mantra as exercise has never been my friend)