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)

SUCCESSFUL DETOXIFICATION

Just read an interesting article by a detoxification consultant, Mike Perrine, he really helps us come to terms with our elimination habits as once we don`t poo we are polluted ,and everything starts to break down.
We think that once a day is it but most of us eat 3 times a day, maybe more.....we should be eliminating every time we eat....you notice those of us that do that we call them ducks...better to be a duck than dead! Copied below is Mike's Key Ideas of Successful Detoxification (aka raw food diet, aka vegan diet, aka cleansing program –they all work on the same principles):

1. Almost everyone starts out eating foods that challenge the body. It’s just a matter of degree. A bacon cheeseburger is a massive stress to the body. It costs enzymes, minerals and energy to deal with it essentially leaving you at a loss. Raw foods are amazing because they challenge the body far less. The moment we start consistently leaving out highly challenging foods our bodies will immediately begin to deep clean. (This key concept was taught to me by my good friend and mentor Dr. Fred Bisci) This is basic detox. “Bad food” leaves us at a loss. It’s something to deal with and recover from rather than something that elevates us physically and mentally. Raw food allows the body the energy it needs to go deep. And fasting is the ultimate elimination of challenges giving the body a full rest and ability to go deep in cleaning and rebuilding. When transitioning into a cleaner program and trying to decide what to eat, there are three things to consider. This is what qualifies a health food to be healthy:
1) What A food delivers: We all know this one. Almost every book on health covers this. We want good things from our food. Vitamins, enzymes, trace minerals… I think we get this one.
2) What a food removes: This is big! Very important. An apple a day keeps the doctor away because it’s loaded with raw fiber that sweeps the intestines clean. Health has more to do with elimination than input. (This point was was really emphasized by my great friend and teacher Gil Jacobs who works in NYC as a colonic therapist)
3) What a food doesn’t leave behind: The other side of the coin. If a food is leaving anything behind in your tissues or along your intestinal wall (see Dr. Shinya’s video at www.yourguidetodetox.com) it’s going to pollute your body. Plain and simple.
2. Raw food is not always easier on the body or more cleansing than cooked foods. This is really important because we see people shun a steamed vegetable, but they go to town on raw ice cream. Steamed asparagus is always going to be easier to digest and eliminate than heavy nut desserts like raw ice cream. What makes raw ice cream better than traditional ice cream is that it’s vegan, raw and less refined. (Now don’t take this the wrong way, I love raw ice cream!) I bring this up simply to put things in perspective.
“But what about the enzymes lost in the steaming process?!?!” – Yo chill… It’s minimal. We lose more enzymes stressing out about the enzymes. Steamed veggies are the easiest on the body, but for many people baked yams or squash and sometimes whole grains are extremely cleansing during their transition. Remember, there are 3 things that make a food healthy.
3. The rate at which your body releases toxins is determined by the rate that you leave challenging elements out of your lifestyle based on where you start from. When I first got into a vegan diet I remember eating an abundance of cooked foods and I still cleansed heavily and lost over 60 lbs. That’s how challenging my previous lifestyle was to my body. Eliminating stress alone allows some people to go into a state of cleansing.
There’s a big difference between the cleansing reactions of a 50 year old recovering drug addict and a 15 year old athlete. It has to do with the amount of exposure and accumulation over a lifetime and the strength of the person’s organs of elimination when they start the transition. This is important to understand: The success of any cleansing program is determined by 3 things (there’s that 3 again):
1) Consistency: Many people aren’t getting the results they want because they are inconsistent. “Oh I went on that trip and we had some BBQ, but when I got back I juiced a lot…” That’s great, it’s better than nothing, and there’s definitely no need to beat ourselves up about food, but to get dramatic results we need to be consistent.
2. Understanding Loosening vs. Releasing: The success of any cleansing program is determined by the strength of our detoxification organs. If we have liver problems or a sluggish bowel, the process may be more challenging. Here’s why, The great wisdom of the body gets a little foolish from time to time. The detox process is one of those areas. Every cell in our bodies begins to release the pressure of built up waste and gas when we consistently remove challenges. However, the cells don’t seem to “know” that the colon or other organs are not able to handle the request. So what happens? Lots of circulating toxins with nowhere to go. The end result can range from us feeling terrible (those notorious detox symptoms or “cleansing responses”) to very serious consequences. I don’t want to be negative about this process. I think it is the most amazing journey of transformation we can embark on. However, we have seen over the years people go too fast and get into serious trouble that could have been avoided by transition and bodywork.
3. Willingness:
Willingness to transition
Sometimes less than ideal foods are part of the program. I currently work with someone who fluctuates between 400 and even made it to 500 lbs. He has a massive drug history and binge eats daily. I put him on a diet of water, raw juice, raw salad, steamed vegetables, and BBQ chicken wings (and most of this food was not organic). It was the first time since going over 400 lbs. he went below 400. At the time he went from 465 to 395 in 5 weeks. That’s some deep cleansing! And we can see how quickly it happens. A completely raw diet has the potential to devastate him at this point.
The more quickly one transitions the more bodywork may be necessary to make it a smooth journey.
Willingness to assist the body
A few things to realize here
Many of the substances we find in our tissues today are stuck there for a reason. Our bodies never anticipated their arrival. I’m talking mostly industrial pollution/medical residues, over consumption of animal foods and processed foods and an overabundance of stress chemicals from modern living. This is the simple reason why we can’t always rely on our natural functions to take care of business. The colon is designed to pass a chemical free, plant based diet and in the process removing natural metabolic wastes. That’s it. So when the training is the same, but the job description changes we run into trouble. Plain and simple: Get a series of colonics. Get the sludge out (see Dr. Shinya’s video at www.yourguidetodetox.com) and decompress the gasses. The effect it has on your body is absolutely amazing. I could write a book on this alone. In addition to colonics, infra red saunas, uninterrupted rest and massage therapy make an excellent success formula.
The process of detoxification is our opportunity for transformation and self-discovery. It is a sacred and powerful journey. There is more than just physical transformation that occurs during this process.

CANCER CLEAN UP

Recently I have been corresponding with a young lady of 23 battling colon cancer, her e-mails beg for her quality of life to be returned to her as she is feeling awful from her rounds of chemo and she wishes the craziness to stop....just don`t know, we are so brainwashed into thinking that the doctor going to save us with chemo that we don`t realize there is so much we can do to try and help ourselves..... take a simple thing like deodorant.
I used to get the worst swollen lymph nodes under my arms, and I knew it was because the deodorant was too strong and people like me who don`t perspire a lot don`t need an antiperspirant so I started using mild deodorants or I should say natural deodorants but what's the problem? They don`t last like my good old 'Secret' so what's a girl to do especially during summer in Jamaica ? Answer is apply deodorant twice per day.......most of us just not going through that stress but they say aluminium is a cause of Alzheimer's, and heaven knows what else so I`ll take the inconvenience.
Natural deodorants don't last as long as the other stuff but it's good enough, just accept the fact that they don't work as well as the ones you are trying to avoid and wash and re-apply rather than suffering the consequences of using aluminium-based deodorant....But here comes info from Nomi Shannon's news letter (which is fast becoming my Bible ) that is saying we don`t need to reapply. I usually test whatever she says and normally they are spot on....well here are some suggestions from people who responded on her take on deodorants, one even suggested to slice a lemon thinly pat it on and and let dry. I think I would prefer to try Sodium Bicarbonate a.k.a. Baking Soda. Here are some pros and cons of baking soda according to her readers:

Pros:
* I'm a guy and I only use a dime-sized sprinkle (for both arms) every 2-3 days.
* CHEAP.
* Very, very safe. Proven safe for decades (centuries?).
* Works instantly and completely. I'm always amazed at the instant
change. I believe that most deodorants are only masking the bacteria
while Bicarbonate must be killing it. Hence, it doesn't wash off in
the shower.
* Easier to slip a small ziplock bag into a backpack or woman's purse
than a deodorant stick.
* Doesn't melt in a hot car.
* Lonnnnng shelf life.
* Very, very low impact on the environment (I think...). There are
mines with nearly inexhaustible supplies, hence the cheap cost.
* If any falls on the carpet it's actually beneficial :-)
Cons:
* Use it too much or too often and it chaps. Turns your underarms red
and itches like crazy. ONLY use a little bit when you start to smell
yourself and you should be fine.
* I have also used it instead of tooth paste, though I used it too much
and my teeth really got sensitive.

So you see there are other things to try and I like the fact that Nomi gives the pros and cons......
So it's not easy, you have to be creative sometimes but if you have cancer...... all areas in your life need to be cleaned up, we really have no choice, the craziness of feeling sick will stop as I`m here to tell you but it's a rough, rough disciplined life to follow!

Read stickers and labels

READING MY NEWSLETTER FROM NOMI SHANNON I CAME ACROSS THIS PIECE OF INFORMATION about stickers on produce which I know a lot of my blog readers are not aware of although she says that it's a repeat - every now and then I find we have to repeat what we assume every body knows e.g. eating fruit before, not after, meals..... because every day somebody new comes into healthy eating awareness so it's always worth repeating:

Stickers on fruits and veggies
The little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables have valuable information on them! According to a letter from 'a scientist knowledgeable in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)' in an issue of Gourmet magazine: "a..useful tip to the consumer [would be] a primer on how to read the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables. Besides providing the store's cash registers and computers with product identification and price information, these stickers can tell you a lot about the food you are buying. A label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food. Labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified. Labels with 5 digits starting with a 9 indicate that the food is organically grown." Well as soon as I read this I looked at all my little stickers and it's true! All my organic food had stickers with have 5 digits beginning with 9 and all the conventional food had stickers with four digits. There were no five digits beginning with 8, nor do I plan for there to be, but what a great thing to know! Am I the last one to know this?

Reading those stickers and labels has made my own life so much easier, things that don`t have stickers, you or someone you know should have grown them.....I am a little less tense when I shop in the market but once I step in the supermarket all antennas are on alert - even when I am shopping at the mighty Whole Foods whose CEO, John Mackey just likes to keep putting his foot in his mouth. The following article in this week's Economist lifts the curtains on Mr.Mackey:

“A-HOLE FOODS” reads the image adorning one of the more supportive articles to appear in the past week about John Mackey, the boss of Whole Foods Market, an organic retailer. In an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal on August 11th, Mr Mackey set out some right-wing ideas for reforming health care strikingly at odds with those currently being pushed by the Obama administration. This provoked uproar in the online community that now rules the world—with an army of bloggers demanding a consumer boycott of the company, around 13,000 joining a "Boycott Whole Foods" group on Facebook and Twitter circulating countless pledges never again to darken the doors of its stores.
The company soon issued an apologetic clarification, noting that Mr Mackey had expressed his own views, not those of the company. He went even further on his personal blog on the firm’s website, pointing out that the title of the article in the Journal, “The Whole Foods Alternative to Obama Care”, had been added by an editor, and setting out the original, unedited version. This still contained enough dynamite to have ensured controversy by challenging the views of many Whole Foods customers—including opening with this observation by Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
Clearly, Mr Mackey is a boss who likes to speak his mind, usually with a directness and disregard for political correctness that makes him a journalist’s dream. Earlier this month he was quoted in the same newspaper saying that (as well as its healthy stuff), “We sell a bunch of junk”.

So make sure you are not fooled by the name, a lot of the FOODS in Whole Foods have nothing WHOLE about them. You have to read the labels and stickers just as how you would do anywhere else.
How many of you know that Cheetos is so delicious because of the MSG in it?
If we would just read labels, life would be so much easier and we would be so aware of how much sugar and salt we put in our bodies on a hourly basis. I love the people who tell me they don`t eat salt or sugar when they mean added salt or sugar....trust me you don`t have to.

CHEMO FOG

Chemo Fog don`t I know it well......for the past 3 years I thought I was an idiot because although I kept telling my friends and husband that I have chemo brain I don`t think he or my friends understood what I was going through ...Thank God for this article from the NY Times The Fog That Follows Chemo.......it's been 3 years and I still have problems remembering and there are some days when everything feels as if it's in a thick dark fog .....I just can`t remember the name of my best friend some days much less the name of a cologne, trying to retrieve a word always feels as if it's at the tip of my tongue and I get so frustrated,I just leave it alone .....me who everyone used to call to get phone numbers that I stored in my head.....now I have to be calling others or writing it down. Even then I forget where I wrote it.
Trust me this did not come with age.....most of my friends my age try to tell me,'Pat it's menopause' NO....just like how the day I turned 40 I could no longer read without glasses, the first round of chemo had me in a dense fog, it made me feel stupid and old.........I feel it is something that will never come back, I feel that the chemo burnt brain cells are lost forever. Nothing temporary about it... and at no time was I, as they said in the article, anxious and depressed, although maybe I WAS anxious as I knew I didn`t want to do chemotherapy, but was succumbing to pressure or to be kind.....ADVICE.
I look on with amazement as people tell me they are on their 4th round of chemo or been on chemo on and off for the past 3 years ...WOW! much props to you guys......my head must be light as I only had 2 rounds, one round with tablets and one round intravenously, it not only gave me chemo brain which I still battle - and it shows no signs of letting up - as an added plus I got pseudomembrane disease, usually diagnosed by an autopsy!

INSANE USAIN

With due respect does Jamaica think that they should be known as the sprint factory of the world and not use it to our advantage ??? We are trying to qualify for IMF help when we have the means to lend IMF money.......we have the insane talent of an Usain Bolt and we have done nothing about it...Puma is using him, Digicel is using him but the Jamaican Govt./private sector,from he won in Beijing, should have set up a school so that young people interested in track and field from all over the world could come here to learn to RUN LIKE THE LIGHTNING BOLT.
We have 2 of the world's best coaches.....we have everything we need to make this a reality.....we have stadiums that have been built and sit rotting...when Usain returns home from his world shattering performance in Berlin, are we just going to have a grand waste of money celebration again, waste a day of production that we can ill afford and nothing till the next time.......
We should be selling our yams as the food he eats which would help our agriculture, he could be talking to our young criminals who have listened to Melanie Walker so much since she won her gold that crime has gone down in her neighbourhood, a lot of those guys must be champion hurdlers the way they scale fences running away from police, you think they are not so proud of him they wouldn`t listen to him ? But after they listen there is nothing for them to do.......
Jumping up and down screaming cannot be all we do after Usain does his thing - we need to harness this feeling that he evokes in all of us.......
As always we miss the BOLT (pardon the pun)!