Health-n-up

As you can probably tell from my last few posts, I'm working on getting healthier. Most of my life, growing up, I've been a very healthy person, with the exception of 2 instances when I was a kid and ended up in the hospital, once was to remove my tonsils (something that was done to a lot of kids in my generation) and a more serious incident when I had a staph infection in my hip joint, I almost lost my leg at the hip, but that old saying is so true, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. :)

I rarely get sick, and when I do, it's typically just a shadow of what other people get, I might feel bad for a day or two, I might get a short lived cough, but as I am getting older, 46 to be exact, my body isn't what it used to be and I am starting to feel the effects of aging... I don't want to hear from the old timers who have real issues, I know these things are pretty minor, and that is the point, I'm trying to cut it off at the pass before these little issues become big issues. I want to be able to continue living my off grid life for as long as possible and to do that means I need to be as healthy and fit as possible. I am beginning to feel pain, pain from sleeping, pain from doing everyday things, it's not terrible pain, just a low lying reminder that I am not as young as I used to be.

The biggest thing I can do for myself is eating better... I love sweets, I love starches, I love fried anything, I also tend to eat once a day, these are all things that aren't good for me I know. I have been getting off the sweets over the last few years, in fact I tend to not eat sweets as much as I used to, and there is no way I'll be going to the artificial chemical sweeteners, I'll stick with the real stuff thank you very much! The only alternative sweetener I use from time to time is xylitol, and that is in major moderation. Fried foods are going away for me too, mainly because of the inconvenience of frying foods, the mess and the amount of propane it takes to get oil up to that temp., I tend to get my fried foods when I go out to eat, which isn't very often. The starches are going to be the hardest, I'll work on it. :)

Here is what I have started doing, and even though it's only been about a week since I've started this, I can already feel the difference. First off, I needed to check my PH, the more alkaline the body, the healthier, the more acidic the body, the less healthy you are. I dug out my PH test strips and sure enough, I'm on the acidic side, no surprise there. So I looked up alkalizing foods, the quickest and easiest ones for me to do are lemons and yogurt. I purchased a bag of lemons and picked up a yogurt drink. It's getting harder and harder to find things like yogurt that isn't filled with toxins like artificial sweeteners, even the ones that contain sugar are likely to also contain artificial sweeteners. I found one by Lala that is sweet but has no artificial sweeteners, so I have been drinking one or two bottles in the afternoon.

First thing in the morning, I fill a glass half full of water and squeeze half a lemon into it, I drink this straight, nothing else added. I love lemon water, it's something I often drink at restaurants instead of soft drinks or tea. The lemon water, even though it is acidic itself, it does have an alkalizing effect on the body. Yogurt is also supposed to be alkalizing, now that I know I like the yogurt drink, I'll start buying plain yogurt and making my own drink, I'll post whatever recipe I find. I suspect it will contain yogurt (of course), xylitol, agave syrup, something to flavor it, perhaps a pure juice (pineapple, orange, lemon...) or cocoa... add enough water to thin it to a drink consistency and I'll be set. Who knows, maybe I'll start making my own yogurt.

I also ordered a couple of alkalizing items from Amazon, both are liquid and easy to add to my morning lemon water. One is Body Rescue Alkalizing Booster PH Drops (1.25 oz), this is supposed to increase the alkalinity of your body, I have been looking into PH drops like this but with the many different ones available on the internet, I didn't know which one to pick, this was recommended by a lady on the DMSO Yahoo group that I frequent, with the price being as little as it is, I decided to give that one a try.

The other one I ordered is BodyBio/E-Lyte - 8 Selenium Trace Minerals 2 oz, (there is a cheaper one on Amazon, but when you add in shipping, it's no longer cheaper, this one has free shipping and is overall the least expensive), the main reason for this is it's anti-cancer, you use 3 drops a day, mixed with liquid, that will give me 200 mcg of selenium per day, it IS possible to take too much of this, but what I read it would take 400 mcg per day over a long period to become toxic. I'm probably going to add other trace minerals to my diet, but for now, this is the biggie for me.
1) It has Anti cancer properties
2) It is an immune system stimulant and has antiviral properties
3) Selenium is essential for Proper Heart Function
4) It is the precursor to the powerful antioxidant Glutathione
5) It is involved in production of thyroid hormone
6) Involved in Muscular strength
7) Required for healthy sperm function

Of course, I'm not worried about #7 LOL, but for you guys, it might be something to consider. Once I take this for a while, then I'll probably cut back to one or two drops per day, perhaps by my second bottle. There is cancer in my family, I'm trying to head that one off at the pass.

I'm still taking vitamin D3, cinnamon w/chromium, and turmeric extract every day. I'll be adding more supplements to my diet as time goes by, I do prefer adding things one or two at a time, that way I can better gauge how my body reacts. Egads, I just remembered, I must be turning into my grandparents (on my mother's side), when I was a kid, I would spend the night with them, in the mornings and in the evenings, they would both sit at the kitchen table, a plethora of bottles between them, my grandpa would divvy out the various pills between the two of them, then they would take handfuls of vitamins and supplements... I suppose I come by this naturally :)

So what do you do to stay healthy?

Disclaimer, I am not a medical person, I have no medical training, nothing written here is meant to be medical advice or replace medical advice, this is for entertainment purposes only, use at your own risk, if you have any questions or doubts, consult with your doctor.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

DMSO Update et al

When you are a kid and you are playing rough, climbing trees, walking fences, jumping off the house (yeah, I did all those things and more)... did you ever stop to think, wow this is gonna hurt later... of course not, you are young, your bones are made of hardened rubber, you have endless energy and lest we forget, you are immortal. Now, fast forward 20, 30, 40 years and all those falls you took as a youngster, any broken bones, and such are coming back to haunt you like a far far away memory that is just tickling the edge of your mind, and more than tickling your back, shoulders, neck, legs, any joints...

You can take ibuprofen, aspirin, and other pain killers, but ultimately those are bad for your other parts that BTW are wearing out too, like your stomach and your liver. As I wrote not too long ago, I "discovered" DMSO, or rediscovered it, the bottle I purchased about a year ago but was afraid to use it. It smells bad, and the warning labels on the bottle and on the internet are enough to scare off even the most adventurous alternative health nut.

I found an interview by Janet Perry, a very educated and smart lady who explained the uses of DMSO and after listening to her, my fears mostly evaporated and I dug out my bottle. Like any good health nut wannabe, I wanted to give it a real try, so I used it on PB first, he is one of the most skeptical critics I know when it comes to alternative health products. But it worked on him, and it worked very well. We did experience the fact that the more you use it, the better it works, it is cumulative. Now PB asks for his "treatments", I use emu oil first, then I apply DMSO, mainly to his lower back and his arm. He has a former broken bone and it healed up strangely, causes pain from time to time.

You can listen to Janet Perry's interview here, or you can go here:
http://www.oneradionetwork.com/health/janet-perry-dmso-answers-from-an-expert-february-28-2012/

I am also using it on my achy parts. Mainly my right ankle, and now on my left shoulder and upper arm. Not sure why I am having pain there, it seems to be my joints instead of my muscles, I didn't injure it that I can recall, but it sure hurts most of the time, especially if I lift my arm. Maybe it's sympathy pain for my Dad's shoulder joint problems.

Oh and the smell, well it does smell pretty bad, it smells like very strong garlic, fortunately it doesn't seem to stay with you, the odor seems to dissipate once it is rubbed in and is dry. Neither of us has experienced the garlic taste in our mouth, it seems that some people are more susceptible  to it than others, so far it hasn't happened to us. You can read my other posts about DMSO here: http://wretha.blogspot.com/search/label/DMSO

Another healthy thing I'm doing is each morning I am taking about a third cup of aloe vera juice, adding a packet of Emergencee (joint health formula) and drinking it. The Emergencee is covering the taste of the aloe. I have only been doing it for a couple of mornings now, so I'll be waiting to see what health effects I get from that.

I also ran across a really inexpensive (read: CHEAP) method of alkalizing your body, if you are familiar at all with how cancers work, they cannot exist in an alkaline body, they need an acidic environment to live. I found this video about a man who had stage 4 prostrate cancer that had metastasized to his bones, he had at least one other doctor's opinion about it with the same report. He was sent home to die, they told him there was nothing they could do. He researched alkalizing methods and settled on one that is so ridiculously cheap and available to any and everyone, in fact, I'd be willing to bet that you probably have these 3 ingredients in your kitchen right now. Baking soda, molasses and water. Yup, that's it.

Years ago I began to study all the different alternative methods of treating (the FDA will not allow me to say "cure") cancers, there were many many different programs, protocols, supplements and such, I finally came to the conclusion that what they all have in common is they alkalize your body, some are very expensive, some are difficult to do, Vito's methods are simple, inexpensive and how can it not work? It's simple, you alkalize your body and cancer cannot exist, period.

Watch his video and he will explain it himself.


His website is:
www.phkillscancer.com

You can find DMSO at most feed stores, if you can't find it locally, you can get it here:


Disclaimer, I am not a medical person, I have no medical training, nothing written here is meant to be medical advice or replace medical advice, this is for entertainment purposes only, use at your own risk, if you have any questions or doubts, consult with your doctor.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Beans Under Pressure

I often forget how good a pot of pintos can be. This last Sunday, I had to come up with a dish to take to church for dinner. I knew the main dish would be enchiladas, so I decided to make a pot of pinto beans. My recipe is simple, it's dried pinto beans, picked, rinsed and soaked overnight. The next morning, drain and rinse the beans, put them in a pressure cooker, I used a whole 16 oz bag of beans, in that I poured in 2 cans of Campbells French onion soup (the concentrated stuff), then I put in 2 cans worth of water. I also added a dash of hot chili powder and a dash of mild chili powder, some fresh ground pepper and I started the beans. I am at high altitude so I have to cook my beans longer, I allowed them to come up to steam, then I cooked them for about 10-15 minutes, I was getting ready for church so I don't know the exact timing, I probably let them go longer to make sure they were done.

I did forget one ingredient, I usually add some type of fat, usually olive oil or some other oil, but it didn't matter, they turned out tasty without the additional fat. Once I was ready for church, I turned off the heat and let them sit for a few minutes, I didn't have time to allow them to de-pressurize on their own, so carefully using a pair of tongs, I removed the rocker and let it de-pressurize that way.

Once it was safe to do so, I opened it and added salt, you never salt beans while they are cooking, it is supposed to make them tough. I tasted them and deemed them edible... :)

I decided I wanted them a bit thicker so I took a potato masher and mashed the beans until they were slightly thickened, I left most of the beans whole, I didn't want refried beans. Well, I had made so much, and there was so much food at church that I was able to bring home enough for PB and I to eat them last night and again for lunch today, we just finished it off.

This recipe is so easy, and it turns out very tasty without having to use a ham hock or some other meat for flavoring, the beef stock and onions in the soup really add a great flavor. I have been known to just use canned beef stock if I was out of the French onion soup, if I do that, I will usually add a diced onion.

Being off grid, we don't have a lot of extra power or fuel to cook something all day, unless I go with a solar cooker, and that is on the list of things to do. Using a pressure cooker really cuts down the time it takes for beans and other foods to cook. I use if for my beans, I also use it for roasts and soups, oh and it makes fast work of baked potatoes. I have a stainless steel pressure cooker, I also have an old aluminum one but don't like using it because of the aluminum. I also noticed that the stainless steel one is stronger and doesn't warp, the lid is always easy to put on and take off. Here is the one I use (in the picture to the right).

It's a 6 quart, I have used a 4 quart and it's just not big enough, you can put an entire chicken in the 6 quart (a small to medium chicken, not a monster). There is an 8 quart, but just for PB and I that would be too big for daily use. Of course they have the larger ones for canning, but I'm talking about regular cooking.

I have found Amazon to be the cheapest for buying these, I see these in the stores for $70-$90, if you can find them locally cheaper, then by all means get one locally, but chances are you will not find a better price, oh and it has free shipping too (as of the time I posted this).

Beans beans, the musical fruit
the more you eat, the more you toot
the more you toot, the better you feel
lets have beans for every meal...

Sorry, couldn't help myself :)




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Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Fire Update

The fire is mostly under control, the weather is cooperating and many of the firefighters we imported are going home, YEAH! Thanks to God above for keeping us safe. There were no injuries, and no structures lost, and the evacuation order has been lifted.



All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Woke Up To Smoke, Again...

This week has been an interesting one to say the least, we have been in a fire situation since a week ago Tuesday, these fires were sparked by lightening, they refer to it as dry lightening (I thought ALL lightening was dry), I suppose they are referring to the fact that there was no rain associated with the thunderstorm.

For the first few days, there wasn't much worry, just a lot of smoke, they nearly got it out several times, but then the winds kicked up and stirred things up. This fire is about 4 miles from my place, to the north west, our winds typically blow from the west. Fortunately the winds have been mostly calm and in our favor.

There was an evacuation order placed by the local judge on Saturday, there was much confusion as to whether or not it was mandatory, we finally figured out that it wasn't mandatory but strongly urged. The officials would like it very much if we would ALL leave, many did, but quite a few decided to stay, including my household.

For a few days there were state police stationed at the entrance to the neighborhood (there is only one road in and out), we could leave but we could not come back in. Quite frankly that is one reason why many of us didn't leave. I understand they were doing this for our protection and to allow the firefighters to work without worrying about who was still here and dealing with traffic. They did ask that we not go sight-seeing, and to stay away from the active fire area, the western end of the neighborhood as well as the fire station. Yesterday they decided that without a mandatory evacuation order, they couldn't legally keep us from returning, I understand they posted a notice that said coming in was at our own risk. That is fine with me, I am supposed to go out tomorrow and I wouldn't have gone if I thought they wouldn't allow us back in.

I can hear the aircraft flying overhead, and the helicopters too, resources assigned include four hotshot hand crews, two Type 2 helicopters,four single-engine air tankers, four heavy air tankers, 11 Type 6 engines, three Type 2 dozers and a Type 1 incident management team. Additional resources have been ordered and are scheduled to arrive today. Approximately 259 personnel currently are assigned to this fire. We now have the Southern Area Red Team here, they put out a huge fire last year in 52 hours (the biggest wildfire in Texas). We also have the county and the forest service working with together, a lot of this fire is on conservancy land that is just to the west and north of us. There has been over 13,000 acres burned so far and as of the latest update (I just received) it is 30% contained.

Here are some pictures of the fire, these were taken by various people (none by me).

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!