The Gooey Ick of Self-sabotage - Getting Unstuck from Your Past

We have habits and beliefs that do not always serve us well.  Thought I would start November out with a video from a Dr. Wayne Dyer interview about looking at things differently.   It's a new season, hardly my personal favorite, so since I cannot control this weather and being stuck inside makes me more introspective, I thought I'd do some mental house cleaning.  Hope you'll join me!

Making  changes in our perceptions (and beliefs) could really help to get us unstuck, help us move along in the direction  we say we want to go in but often we don't -  things happen, we slip into our past thinking and beliefs and before we know it - bam!  Those old habits/beliefs are all gooey and we feel stuck.  Or worse yet, we may have the icky feeling of hopelessness.  I love the way Dr. Dyer explains how we need to leave "our stories" (the past) behind us.

And what does this have to do with health and wellness?  Absolutely everything!

Flu Shots, Colds and Imaginary Friends

Boy oh boy, they are hawking those flu vaccines now - it's "that" time of year. I haven't had one since the 70's when I actually GOT the flu from the darn vaccine. Enough. I swore them off long before I learned how really worthless they are, and in fact, learned the harmful effects.

While the annual flu vaccine is touted as the "best" way to avoid catching the seasonal flu, what many fail to realize is that there's virtually NO good scientific evidence to support it. Again and again, the Cochrane Database Review—which is the gold standard for assessing the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of commonly used medical interventions—has concluded that flu vaccines do not appear to have any measurable benefit either for children, adults, or seniors. (taken from Mercola.com)

An article on Natural News tells the long term effects of flu shot toxicity in your body - not pretty - but you can read it here:  http://www.naturalnews.com/033891_vaccines_delayed_injury.html
Briefly, the toxins in the vaccine can build up over time to substantially increase the odds that Altzheim's will be in your future.

As if that isn't enough, this year they have a super one for seniors - four times the "protection" they say. It's an ugly experiment where once again people are used as guinea pigs and given false assurance they will not get sick if they get one. From what I have read, this one has even more side effects too. Such a bonus! Especially when it doesn't work to prevent the flu in the first place.

Truth be told, if you have a very healthy immune system, you should be able to ward off viruses and not buckle to your bed. Counting on your imaginary friend, the flu shot, you have also increased your toxicity levels. The binders in those shots are mercury, thimerosol (yes they quit using it for awhile but it's back in again) and other contaminants you really do not want circulating in your body.

It's painful to go grocery shopping because I have so much duct tape on my mouth and my filters turned on to keep quiet. Gallons of milk (not organic) packages of hamburger buns (fluff filler with NO nutritional value whatsoever), prepackaged lunch meat and hot dogs (nitrates anyone?) huge bags of chips, corn chips and cookies - it's all to much to see. People consuming diets like that will definitely get any colds or viruses that are floating around. There is nothing in a typical grocery cart that is full of anti-oxidants and nutrition to keep a body well. This really matters! OMG - where are the food police when you need them?  The typical diet does absolutely nothing for your immune system.  I know I harp on this a lot, but with good reason.  People may know in their hearts they should "eat better" but wow, to actually make the changes?  Not so much.

And I wonder how many people actually use the disinfectant wipes for their carts that are offered at the doorway into the store?

I saw on Dr. Oz an experiment they did to show how far a sneeze travels. It was enough to make me want to wear a full helmet! Twelve feet or more - think about that.

We went to see the movie "Contagion". I've never had the habit of touching my face a lot with my hands, but if you do, go see that movie. Washing your hands in the restroom does no good unless you use the towel you dried your hands with to also open the door to get out. That handle on the door is full of the bacteria of all the people who did NOT wash their hands. Comforting, eh? I don't know how we are supposed to be watchful of terrorists if we can't even keep ourselves germ free - we aren't watching what we are doing at all!

Here is an except from Dr. Mercola's site on washing hands - the information might surprise you!

"Washing your hands frequently is one of the easiest ways to wipe out germs and viruses and reduce your chances of becoming sickened by them. Thorough hand-washing truly is an important step, as you are at far greater risk of passing on an infection by shaking someone's hand than even by sharing a kiss.


One report even found that regular hand washing may be more effective than drugs in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza.

When you wash up, plain soap and water will do. Do not make the mistake of using antibacterial cleansers, as their widespread use is leading to strains of resistant bacteria, or "superbugs," which cause the ingredients to lose effectiveness for the times when they really are needed, such as for surgeons prior to surgery.

Further, the active ingredient in most antibacterial products is triclosan, an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria and inhibits bacterial growth. But not only does triclosan kill bacteria, it also has been shown to kill human cells.

Antibacterial soaps are also no more effective than regular soaps. One study found people who used antibacterial soaps and cleansers developed a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms just as often as people who used products that did not contain antibacterial ingredients. So please avoid making the mistake of using antibacterial liquids and soaps."

(I won't elaborate on the dangers of triclosan right now, but it should be on a list of toxins that you avoid!  Read your labels.  I discovered a wonderful shea butter soap that leaves my hands soft in lieu of the anti-bacterial soaps I had by every sink in the house.)

I may sound a bit germophobic to you, I don't think I am. I call it "preventative-wise". Between making sure my body gets what it needs to stay healthy and being cautious in public places I manage to not succumb to whatever yuck is "going around". Just that phrase is silly. It will "go around" until people start getting smarter or watch that movie for a jolt on how careless they are. Seriously. Your body WANTS to survive - just give it what it needs - not caloric content devoid of nutrition.

Preventative care for avoiding colds/flu according to Dr. Mercola, and several others in preventative medicine, amounts to increasing Vitamin D levels, decrease or eliminate sugars (esp. fructose) get regular good sleep and exercise, eat nutritionally to boost that immune system. I would add, of course, keeping your hands clean.

(By the way, drowning yourself in orange juice at the first sign of a cold isn't wise - it's sugary. Try lots of water, a vitamin C pill and herbal teas like ginger that will make you sweat. Good old chicken soup, preferably home made with lots of garlic and pepper is an excellent tonic.  It actually thins the mucus associated with colds - it is not an old wives tale that it is good for you.  The canned soups will not be as beneficial as home made, but if it's all you have, add generous amounts of pepper and garlic to it.  Stay away from milk and dairy which will only add to the congestion.)

Take control of your health. You can do this!  And remember -  The only benefit of flu shots is found in the bank accounts of the pharmaceutical companies. As for imaginary friends, just keep that friend healthy!

You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

Expectations.  You know how we aren't supposed to have those?  I thought I'd sworn them off.  I hate that bummed out feeling when things don't go the way you wanted, or assumed, they would go.

TLC Book Tours told me about this book, "You Are Not So Smart" - with the cover advertising:
Why you have too many friends on Facebook
Why Your Memory is Mostly Fiction
and
46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself

Don't ask me why, but I thought it would be a giggle.  I "expected" a lighthearted look at human behavior.  We are creatures of habit, quite delusional at times, and capable of escalating drama to insane levels.  Some comedians make a living by entertaining us with stories that show ignorance and we laugh ourselves silly - it is great fun!

So here was the expectation (bad on me) and the fact is this book was written by a self-described psychology nerd (from the back flap on the book, I am not making this up).  The author did copious amounts of research on studies, all of which aim to prove the title - you are not so smart.  I give  him kudos on that.  He made his point.  He does well showing the negative aspects and endless delusions of our thinking and behavior.


I'm sure everyone could find themselves in this book because McRaney was quite thorough in his research.  The fallacies and biases to our thinking alone were half of the book.  It comes as no surprise to know how twisted up our thinking can be.  It would have been better (in MY opinion) if it was either handled in less serious manner or if we were told how to cure ourselves of the delusions.   But then, part of this was my expectation haunting me.  I wanted this read to be fun!   The book as a whole was like a manual of defining all the broken things, expounding on brokenness and moving on to another broken thing, all based on scientific research.  No fixes.  No suggestions.

This approach left me wanting.  If I can't laugh about how dumb we are, then perhaps offering solutions to our ignorance would be nice.

What you ARE given (repeatedly) is the admonition  that: you are not so smart.  Good to know?  Keeps one humble? Derails your self-confidence?  Plants negativity deeper?  Not sure this is necessary.  Seems to me people are all too capable of bashing themselves to bits without any assistance.  I think more people would benefit from a way to increase their self-confidence.  Universally there can be an obvious disconnect between what we KNOW and what we DO.  While learning how to navigate through life, I would like to believe that people really do learn things, especially from their mistakes.  Perhaps citing so many studies done with college students is a bit of a disconnect for seniors who do not think like college students?   

Ayn Rand's philosophy was that the masses are ignorant.  You can see proof of that, handled humorously on Jay Leno's "Jay-Walking" adventures where he asks random people on the street questions that everyone "should" know the answers to - and they don't - to see there is a large, ignorant bunch of random people walking the earth.   The questions Jay asks deal with facts, history, recognizing (or not) famous people, vocabulary, geography and so on.  Cures for this ignorance would be more reading and schooling and paying attention to current events.  But maybe a lot of people don't care about knowing "stuff"?  One can only wonder.

This  speaks to factual knowledge .  The studies McRaney used to make his point that you are not so smart oddly looked only at stupidity and  not brilliance.  He might just be guilty of the same confirmation bias he wrote about.  Look hard  enough and you can find confirmation of your beliefs.  If one is hell bent on proving a point, however cynical and negative that point might be, well you can find "studies" to prove just about anything.

The chapter on Groupthink started off with the statement "When a group of people come together to make a decision, every demon in the psychological bestiary will be summoned."  This I love!  Yep.  Sounds like our Congress and Senate to me! 

My reaction to this book could be more generational dissonance and disappointment in the lack of A.  Humor and B. Remedies.  Other things made this less than a pleasurable read, like the negatively expressed feelings on synchronicity in this book,  implying anyone buying in to it is not so smart.  Really?  If it does no harm and if people find joy in this, isn't it rather a slam on their joy?  I'm sorry but I don't see the point of making people feel dumb for having fun with this.

There is so much beauty in the world and in people.  Our brains are limitless in what we can do with them.  I thrive on learning the possibilities.  It was tedious reading for me, spending time picking apart and analyzing to death our every thought for an entire book.  Unless, of course, you are trying to help people with guidance on how to improve.  If you do happen to pass any of the quizes in the book, well, you will have to applaud yourself because you get a "you are not so smart." from McRaney regardless.  Rather alienating?  What's the point of that?

If you are a psychology student, or a researcher of vocabulary to define thinking/behavior, there may we a wealth of help in this book.  Other than that, I just don't know.   It has been hard for me to find positives in what I consider to be a very negative approach.  We humans don't come in perfect packages of brilliant proportions - that's a given.  I am as flawed and deluded as anyone.  I'm happy, love my life and all the people  and opportunities/possibilities in it!   If this is totally delusional and irrational, then sign me up for more of it!

I guess I judged this book by it's cover - expecting humor - and I was wrong.  Bad on me.  Maybe I'm not so smart? 

Cantalope, Listeria and What They Don't Tell You!

Another food-borne illness is in the news.  Consumption of cantaloupes from Colorado have made thousands ill and killed others.  They report this alright but give no information on what to do if you have one of these melons in your fridge.  They tell you nothing about listeria itself (except to scare you) nor is there any talk about where it comes from, how to prevent yourself from getting it, or just how the hell it might have contaminated the Colorado fields of cantaloupes.

If you have a cantaloupe at home, the listeria is found on the outside of the "skin".  You get it when you cut the melon - it spreads on the knife to the inside.  Washing the outside of the melon with alcohol will kill the listeria.  You can find that information on the web but sadly not on the news where they would do well to be a bit more responsible with their reporting and include some help for consumers, that goes beyond their scare tactics, don't you think?

If you recall, earlier this year it was spinach, then lettuce.  It's always something.  And yet what do "they" tell us? Very little.  They blame it on the "insufficient" washing in the pre-shipping packaging.  It's either e.coli, salmonella or listeria.  We never had these outbreaks prior to the 1970's.  Anyone wonder why?

I'm not alone in the theory that our contaminants in the produce fields are the direct result of run off from CAFO's (Concentrated Aminal Feeding Operations) nearby.  The CAFO's are notorious for polluting rivers and streams.  If you haven't seen videos on these CAFO operations, you should.  It may be enough right there to give up meat entirely or at least go organic.

I do remember reading AFTER the spinach fiasco that further investigations actually did blame the contamination on a nearby industrial-sized animal farm.  Heavy rains in the area months before helped to spread the poo (so to speak) downhill into the spinach fields.  Hence, my theory that this cantaloupe thing will eventually (if they LOOK) be tied in to the same thing.

One reason they don't make a bigger deal out of this pollution is that they don't want you to be too aware of CAFO's in the first place.  Meat comes from the grocery - never mind how it got there!  Just eat it!  The conditions in CAFO's are deplorable, disease is rampant, bacteria thrive there despite all the antibiotics given to the poor sick animals because they can become resistant to it, or morph into a new strain - the possibilities for contamination are endless.


  Here's a dandy fact I found:

"The more than 295,000 beef cattle on industrial feedlots in Weld County, Colorado produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the New York City and Chicago metro areas combined."

This is just the cattle.  There are hog farms (they aren't really farms) and chickens "farms" as well.  That's a LOT of poop.  These animals also receive humongous doses of anti-biotics and hormones which can cause anti-biotic resistant strains of viruses we can end up with and doctors cannot always treat!

 Here's what Ronnie Cummings of the Organic Consumers Assn. has to say:

"Greenwashing CAFO products as "natural" or "local" is a major source of profits for Wal-Mart, Cargill, Conagra, Perdue, Land O' Lakes, Kraft, McDonalds, KFC, Monsanto and chemical/GMO farmers and ranchers.
… These animal factories, where GMO feed and drugs are force-fed to most of the nation's livestock and poultry, are not only poisoning consumers, but are also generating massive amounts of climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases, especially methane, which is 72 times more destructive per ton than CO2. Methane (CH4) pollution is responsible for approximately 14% of human-induced global warming.
… Millions of consumers are still in the dark about how "conventional" foods - especially the cheaper brands of animal products, processed, fast, and fake foods - are produced."

Here's what I found on listeria:

Listeria can be found in soil, which can lead to vegetable contamination. Animals can also be carriers. Listeria has been found in uncooked meats, uncooked vegetables, fruit such as cantaloupes,^[4] unpasteurized milk, foods made from unpasteurized milk, and processed foods. Pasteurization and sufficient cooking kill Listeria; however, contamination may occur after cooking and before packaging. For example, meat-processing plants producing ready-to-eat foods, such as hot dogs and deli meats, must follow extensive sanitation policies and procedures to prevent Listeria contamination.^[5] Listeria monocytogenes is commonly found in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food.^[6] Listeria are responsible for listeriosis, a rare but potentially lethal food-borne infection. The case fatality rate for those with a severe form of infection may approach 25%.^[7] (Salmonella, in comparison, has a mortality rate estimated at less than 1%^[8]). Although Listeria monocytogenes has low infectivity, it is hardy and can grow in temperatures from 4 °C (39.2 °F) (the temperature of a refrigerator), to 37 °C (98.6 °F), (the body's internal temperature).^[6] Listeriosis is a serious illness, and the disease may manifest as meningitis, or affect newborns due to its ability to penetrate the endothelial layer of the placenta.<sup>[7]

I think we aren't supposed to know about these CAFO's and their polluting everything.  We are just expected to go to the grocery store, stock up on meat - especially when it's on sale - and eat this as if there is no tomorrow..............only there IS a tomorrow.

Have you cut back on your meat consumption?  Here's a brief intro film on CAFO's - I know this seems off topic but I feel everything is connected - sadly.  Not to mention, if you don't know where your meat is coming from, you need to know!</sup>

Real or Fake?

In this day and age we are being challenged to see truth - or what is really real - on every single front, every single day.  Is it real, or fake?  Geniuine or counterfeit?

There was an article on Natural News, written by Mike Adams, recently talking about fake versus real.  Here is a snipet of that:

The Counterfeit Culture


The Federal Reserve is in the business of counterfeiting money.
The mainstream media is in the business of counterfeiting news.
The pharmaceutical industry is in the business of counterfeiting medicine (Biopracy! They are stealing molecules from nature then counterfeiting their own patented variations.)
The medical schools are in the business of counterfeiting medical degrees. (When a doctor graduates from medical school, he still knows virtually nothing about nutrition.)
Doctors are in the business of counterfeiting false medical authority.
The mega-sized food corporations are in the business of counterfeiting food. (Processed cheese food product, anyone?)
The global consumer product companies are in the business of manufacturing counterfeit consumer products such as "baby oil" (which is really a petroleum product).
Social networks like Facebook are in the business of counterfeiting friends. (Please LIKE this article, okay?)

And then there is this -  After drug companies took the lovastatin out of red yeast to make their statin drugs, they proceeded to get the FDA to say that red yeast products are counterfeit statins and should be banned.

Man, how twisted!  Sometimes what is going on in this "real" world is more comical that the sit coms on TV!
Is there any way on God's earth we could get back to real things that matter?  Or at least the truth. 

I would love to go shopping and find Made In USA labels again.  Speaking of China, if you consume fish, find out where it comes from since 70% is being imported from guess where - and also there is some pretty scary counterfeit honey (yes, honey!) that has come into this country from guess where and it is not even real honey.  Seriously. 

Anything you would like to add to this?  Have you discovered fakes in your own life lately? 

Your Medical Mind - Review of New Book

"Your Medical Mind - How to decide what is right for you" by Jerome Groopman, MD and Pamela Hartzband, MD. arrived in my mailbox, compliments of TLC Book Tours.   At first I wondered if I wanted to pursue reading this since the typical medical model is not one I'm warm and fuzzy about.  But I sat down on my chaise, rainy day at the lake, and jumped in for a read.  It was so well written I liked it!

I enjoyed the stories of patients, varied in their diseases, and all going through the process of making decisions about their treatment options.  I appreciate doctors who encourage people to think for themselves and I love it when people DO.

The authors were honest and frank about some doctors seeing patients as "blank slates" for the doctor to impose his singular favorite treatments.   That attitude is not in the best interest of the patient.   The authors even referred to a "creeping paternalism" with doctors attitudes.  I think of it more as creepy, not creeping.  It's always been there and it is huge.  Lucky is the patient who can find a doctor (other than the authors) who doesn't have a bit of "tude" when it comes to advising patients without a certain arrogance.  Perhaps some of that comes from dealing with people who are so health illiterate (or intellectually challenged shall we say?) that it is more impatience than arrogance?

The authors told how doctors take histories of patients, and while this imparts good information, they do not pursue diets in details for  nutritional deficiencies.  If a patient says they eat a healthy diet, that's enough for them.  Seriously?  Most people do not even know what a healthy diet consists of!

I've had people tell me they eat healthy and that was only because they had a salad with dinner several nites a week, and they drank orange juice!  That was IT.  Others consumed horrendous amounts of protein, some consumed massive amounts of carbs, all thinking they were eating healthy.  Taking a person's word for it, that they eat healthy, is akin to the FDA believing the drug trials the pharma companies give them for approval are in fact thoroughly, genuinely honest.  Rather biased?

What doctors don't know about nutrition is criminal.  They treat symptoms with drugs instead of being trained to recognize vitamin deficiencies, or how dietary changes can eliminate some symptoms entirely.  They get some slack on this because the drug industry and AMA would eat them alive if they suggested a vitamin/supplement/herb in lieu of prescribing a drug.  (See book "Assault on Our Medical Freedom" for this unhealthy connection)  I personally work with clients who think they are eating healthy foods but once they fill out my diet forms I can see in an instant what nutrients are missing or what they are eating too much of, not enough of, etc. and all of this has an enormous effect on how they feel and/or what weight problems they have.

Quite a bit of discussion on statins with some of their patients.  (Do Susan's think alike?)  My doctor and I have had a decade of talks about this.  He wanted me on them.  Told me it would take a Herculean effort to lower it myself.  I love a challenge.  Meet Hercules!  60 pts of cholesterol down via diet and exercise.  We had a similar thing with Boniva, which I refused to take.  My last bone scan was remarkably improved so he was glowing and said "See, the Boniva worked!"  I smiled.  No.  It didn't.  I didn't take it but again did my own thing, naturally. 

My point is not about me but in general how medical doctors could - IF they were trained in diet and nutrition and not threatened with expulsion from the AMA - used supplements/diet to treat patients without drugs.  When I first found out that MD's get next to zero training in vitamins, minerals and herbs (decades ago) I was appalled.  I still am!  So many prominent doctors have spoken out and switched allegiance to the world of naturals, like Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Mercola - even Dr. Oz.  Who knows?  Perhaps Drs. Groopman and Hartzband will be next?

Although they only mentioned this briefly, there was an acknowledgment that some MD's take advantage of the "incentives" offered by the pharmaceutical companies, which to me, makes them just legal drug pushers, period.  Take a doctor on incentives and a health illiterate patient and you have enormous profits for the drug companies, a sorry combination of greed and ignorance.  Is this people-care? 

The authors also classified people as believers or doubters, maximalists and minimalists - with stories about each so you could figure out which you identified with the most.  I can see where this is helpful and these two doctors obviously respect a patient's right to be any and all.  They are, sadly, not the average doctor out there.  (Note to authors:  You are gems!)

One of the best benefits of this book is to help people see the importance of doing their own "due dilligence", becoming more active and responsible with the medical decisions they face.  That, to me, was the underlying theme.  How frustrating it must be to treat people who do not take any responsibility for their treatment choices - there are always choices - but people who take the pills, no questions, no involvement in their care, that's just astounding to me.  Call them "sheeple"?  The sad fact is, when you ask most doctors about "other alternatives" besides drugs or surgery the majority will tell a patient there ARE NONE.  Sadder still, people believe this! 

In the end, they write about the 60% of people now choosing to go to alternative medicine these days.  Yes indeed!  Those numbers makes me cheer.   One would think that with percentages like that, the medical community would start to wake up and realize they are NOT practicing people-care at all, but rather the same close-minded routines they were taught in medical school.    If, (huge if) present-day health care  was really working for people, why is our health care system such a mess?  Why are there so many sick people?  Why haven't diseases been eliminated by teaching prevention, putting more emphasis on food/life choices?  Biggest why of all - why is there such a campaign afloat to trash the importance of nutrition, vitamins and herbals that it is ignored completely in a doctor's education?

In a perfect world we would marry alternative/holistic medicine with conventional medicine and really truly be in this for the people, and not the money.  This would require the AMA, FDA and Big Pharma to let go of their control of medical doctors.  That's just not going to happen ---- unless we have a perfect world.  Let's all work to make that happen! 

My usual disclaimer - I was not paid for this review in any way other than receiving the book to read.  I hope the authors and TLC respect the fact that I'm a natural health zealot as much as I respect what Drs. Groopman and Hartzband are doing for their patients.