In an effort to live a more natural lifestyle, I decided to revamp my kitchen to make my cooking and eating utensils safer and more earth friendly.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Shopping Haul
In an effort to live a more natural lifestyle, I decided to revamp my kitchen to make my cooking and eating utensils safer and more earth friendly.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Natural Antibiotics- Oregano Oil
I am incredibly prone to UTIs, which is incredibly annoying...not just because of the pain and danger to my organs it brings on, but also because you cannot get antibiotics without a prescription...and you can't get a prescription without a doctor's visit, and if you get one in the middle of the night, you are pretty close to screwed unless you're a millionaire who can pay a thousand bucks to go to the ER to get a simple prescription for bactrim.
Today I got a UTI...again...and again I didn't realize it was not going to go away on its own until about 3am...when all doctors offices and urgent care centers are closed.
Last time I felt a UTI coming on I killed it with oregano oil, cranberry tablets, and a ton of water.
This time I felt I might have one coming on so I drank a ton of water and ate some raw garlic.
At around 2am I realized my symptoms were not improving. So I started taking oregano oil, which I wish I had taken from the start. I took two cranberry tablets, some baking soda mixed with water, some salt water, and apple cider vinegar.
At around 3am I started peeing blood and having to pee every 5 minutes, which made me realize I needed to get on antibiotics. It took me a few hours to research urgent care centers that might be open (none seemed to exist) as well as try calling my insurance company only to find I couldn't get a person on the phone outside of business hours. At about 4am I was still peeing blood but I noticed my symptoms were not worsening. Usually once I start peeing blood, I will get progressively worse, but this time it seemed like I might be getting a little better. I decided to go to a pharmacy to try to get a prescription just in case though.
I went to a 24 hour pharmacy and the pharmacist recommended a low cost clinic that was open 24 hours, but only after I told him I could not afford the ER even with insurance,
It was about 5am once I got to the clinic and by then, I had less frequency and less blood in my urine.
I still ended up getting the antibiotics and taking them to be on the safe side, but it seems like the oregano oil was already beginning to kill some of the bacteria, because otherwise my symptoms should have been getting worse, not better. I think if you take oregano oil early on, like I did last time, you can probably prevent having to even go on antibiotics.
Of course there has to be other ways to get rid of UTIs..what did people do before doctors? What do people who live in third world countries with no access to modern medicine do? What do trafficked sex workers do? I'm really curious, and if anyone knows, please let me know!
Today I got a UTI...again...and again I didn't realize it was not going to go away on its own until about 3am...when all doctors offices and urgent care centers are closed.
Last time I felt a UTI coming on I killed it with oregano oil, cranberry tablets, and a ton of water.
This time I felt I might have one coming on so I drank a ton of water and ate some raw garlic.
At around 2am I realized my symptoms were not improving. So I started taking oregano oil, which I wish I had taken from the start. I took two cranberry tablets, some baking soda mixed with water, some salt water, and apple cider vinegar.
At around 3am I started peeing blood and having to pee every 5 minutes, which made me realize I needed to get on antibiotics. It took me a few hours to research urgent care centers that might be open (none seemed to exist) as well as try calling my insurance company only to find I couldn't get a person on the phone outside of business hours. At about 4am I was still peeing blood but I noticed my symptoms were not worsening. Usually once I start peeing blood, I will get progressively worse, but this time it seemed like I might be getting a little better. I decided to go to a pharmacy to try to get a prescription just in case though.
I went to a 24 hour pharmacy and the pharmacist recommended a low cost clinic that was open 24 hours, but only after I told him I could not afford the ER even with insurance,
It was about 5am once I got to the clinic and by then, I had less frequency and less blood in my urine.
I still ended up getting the antibiotics and taking them to be on the safe side, but it seems like the oregano oil was already beginning to kill some of the bacteria, because otherwise my symptoms should have been getting worse, not better. I think if you take oregano oil early on, like I did last time, you can probably prevent having to even go on antibiotics.
Of course there has to be other ways to get rid of UTIs..what did people do before doctors? What do people who live in third world countries with no access to modern medicine do? What do trafficked sex workers do? I'm really curious, and if anyone knows, please let me know!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Food Not Bombs
Everyone should check out this website
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
I am hispanic, therefore I think wasting food is a sin. It always disgusted me how people so easily throw away the food they don't want when there is a homeless person right outside who would gladly take it.
And how food safety laws make it impossible for grocery stores to give away their unsold produce to shelters. It annoys me how stocked up every grocery store is at all times just for the aesthetic value, when 80 percent of the produce is going to go unsold and in the garbage.
So when I found this site, about groups organizing to get unsold produce from markets to make food for the homeless, I had to get involved. I went to a local group just this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. The first stop we went to people were a little picky about the food they were given. I think they were "Occupy LA" people. When we went to skid row to give people the leftovers, people did not care if their peach was a little mushy, they swarmed us to get whatever they can and the food was gone instantly.
What I did notice that was kind of sad, at least at our first stop, was how much salt and hot sauce people put on their food. And I thought I was a salt addict! I like salty things but never add salt to my food after it has been prepared, nor does anyone I have ever eaten food with. All I could see when people were adding so much salt to their food was "this is high blood pressure waiting to happen." It is a big problem nowadays with impoverished people having incredibly poor diets. It used to be that healthy food like fruits and veggies were the cheapest and processed and junk food were the luxury items only the rich could afford. I am glad at at least one organization is conscious about the food given out.
I don't agree with he fact that we had table salt (not sea salt, table salt) out for people to freely consumed, but serving vegan plant based meals is a million times better than serving the canned food and junk food that other organizations serve to the needy. And as someone who has worked in places where people freely threw away left over food, not because it had gone bad, but because no one wanted it, I know there is no shortage of food to give away.
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
I am hispanic, therefore I think wasting food is a sin. It always disgusted me how people so easily throw away the food they don't want when there is a homeless person right outside who would gladly take it.
And how food safety laws make it impossible for grocery stores to give away their unsold produce to shelters. It annoys me how stocked up every grocery store is at all times just for the aesthetic value, when 80 percent of the produce is going to go unsold and in the garbage.
So when I found this site, about groups organizing to get unsold produce from markets to make food for the homeless, I had to get involved. I went to a local group just this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. The first stop we went to people were a little picky about the food they were given. I think they were "Occupy LA" people. When we went to skid row to give people the leftovers, people did not care if their peach was a little mushy, they swarmed us to get whatever they can and the food was gone instantly.
What I did notice that was kind of sad, at least at our first stop, was how much salt and hot sauce people put on their food. And I thought I was a salt addict! I like salty things but never add salt to my food after it has been prepared, nor does anyone I have ever eaten food with. All I could see when people were adding so much salt to their food was "this is high blood pressure waiting to happen." It is a big problem nowadays with impoverished people having incredibly poor diets. It used to be that healthy food like fruits and veggies were the cheapest and processed and junk food were the luxury items only the rich could afford. I am glad at at least one organization is conscious about the food given out.
I don't agree with he fact that we had table salt (not sea salt, table salt) out for people to freely consumed, but serving vegan plant based meals is a million times better than serving the canned food and junk food that other organizations serve to the needy. And as someone who has worked in places where people freely threw away left over food, not because it had gone bad, but because no one wanted it, I know there is no shortage of food to give away.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Teeth sensitivity
So in a previous post, I talked about brushing with soap and I briefly mentioned that eating/drinking lemons resulted in teeth sensitivity the next day.
I have been staying away from putting too much lemon in my juice but now I have also noticed that MEAT might also be a factor in tooth sensitivity! I have noticed that when I eat fruits, veggies, and grains all day, my teeth are fine...but if I eat meet...my teeth become a TINY bit sensitive and I can only notice it when brushing.
It makes sense because meat produces acid, so perhaps it was not the lemons that were to blame after all!
I would have to try drinking lemon juice and no meat one day and see if I still feel sensitivity.
I have been staying away from putting too much lemon in my juice but now I have also noticed that MEAT might also be a factor in tooth sensitivity! I have noticed that when I eat fruits, veggies, and grains all day, my teeth are fine...but if I eat meet...my teeth become a TINY bit sensitive and I can only notice it when brushing.
It makes sense because meat produces acid, so perhaps it was not the lemons that were to blame after all!
I would have to try drinking lemon juice and no meat one day and see if I still feel sensitivity.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
New plants!
Went to a nursery today and added some plants to my potted garden
From left to right...
Kale, oregano, basil (which has been eaten already), another basil plant, strawberries.
The strawberry plant is already giving berries
Friday, August 10, 2012
Balcony Composting!
Produce and paper I had collected for about a week
Added some soil to start it up.
While setting up my bucket, I noticed my neighbor across the way is incredibly good looking. Unfortunately, I was not able to snap a photo of him.
Composting...good for the environment...good for the eyes.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Why I chose to go natural
I've had an interest in natural living for a fairly long time. But I was also a chemical addict for most of my youth.
I LOVEEEED processed food. I would rather eat a tv dinner than my mom's cooking. My favorite foods were Cheetohs and Lays...yes Lays...not potato chips in general because I to this day don't care for Kettle Chips or Ruffles, but lays in particular. I am guessing it must have a chemical that makes it particularly addictive? I don't know.
I also really loved the "shitty" cafeteria food. It was so overly processed and most likely void of any nutritional value but for me, it tasted amazing. Some people like chocolate, some like burgers, I liked Banquet frozen dinners, especially the fried chicken. It did not taste like chicken at all, and once I got older I realized it wasn't really food, but I still had it as my "junk food" and as a child I had it as actual dinners!
I never got fat or had an major health problems (aside from a cat allergy I developed when we got a cat) but I did develop gallstones when I was 20.
Apparently, gallstones are genetic, and my father had his gallbladder taken out, and my sister had hers out soon after I got mine taken out. The difference is, both my sister and my father were a lot older when their surgery happened. My sister was 40...I was 20. I strongly believe that the reason my gallstones developed was because of my childhood diet. I do not believe that having a genetic predisposition means you will actually develop a disease/disorder, it just means that you are more likely to. My sister was raised in South America where processed foods and fast food chains like McDonalds were only really made wildly available in the past 20 years. She was raised on whole fruits (in my opinion, the best fruits in the world- Cherimoyas, starfruit, and granadilla are wildly available in South America and incredibly cheap!), veggies, grains and meats. I was raised in the United States, so aside from my parent's cooking, I had the added element of frozen dinners, cafeteria food, fast food, and "fruit" snacks that probably sped up the development of my gallstones.
When I first started getting symptoms- abdominal pain, vomiting, I would go to the doctors and they always just assumed I had food poisoning. No one would bother to do an ultrasound. My roommates though i was bulimic and even went to the Resident Advisor concerned about me. I thought I was lactose intolerant so I cut out milk and switched to soy. I noticed that when I ate fatty foods in particular, I would develop pain, so I tried staying away from meats and started eating more fruits and vegetables.
At the time (perhaps my body was trying to fix itself) I was also learning about the raw food diet and trying to incorporate more fresh raw fruits and vegetables into my diet. I have always been fascinated with food and forms of eating. I remember when I was 10 I did a lot of research on the Atkins diet, although I never actually went on it (love carbs too much).
Anyway back to the stones...
It eventually got to the point where even a salad would set off a gallstone attack and one day I finally had to go to the ER where they finally took an ultrasound and found the real cause of my problem. They dosed me up with morphine for the pain (which by the way, I do not understand how people do it recreational-y! It just makes you drowsy!) and had me stay in the hospital overnight to have surgery the next day.
After the surgery they told me I could eat whatever I want, but after doing research I learned that people without gallbladders run the risk of developing liver stones. So I think you should not always blindly follow what doctors say. After all, doctors were the people who kept diagnosing my gallstones as food poisoning.
The surgery made me more motivated to switch to a healthy lifestyle. I used to love eating sandwich meat with canned veggies. I don't do that anymore. While I still ate my junk food, I learned to recognize frozen dinners as junk food and stopped eating them as my actual meals.The more I learn about food the more I realize that so many of today's illnesses that are seen as a natural part of growing old, are actually avoidable with proper care of ones body. We live in a society where we slather ourselves in perfumes, spray our hair full of chemicals, put highly toxic substances on our body to make our skin soft, mask our face with makeup full of chemicals we can't even pronounce and then we use even more chemical products to try to eliminate the pimples and age lines that develop from years of abusing our skin. We eat food with little to no nutritional value full of preservatives and then take chemical drugs to try to mask the symptoms of being malnourished and overly toxic.
I do not believe in masking problems, not in life, not in relationships, and not when it comes to your health, and so I have chosen to get to the root of the problems.
In the past few years I have
-developed clearer skin by switching to mineral makeup (I've noticed people who wear MAC in particular, have horrible skin) and taking supplements of plants with high progesterone levels. Hormones play a large part in the development of acne, which is why some people find that going on birth control pills clears up their skin. But it also comes with the added risk of breast cancer.
-went from being sick every month to never getting sick at all simply by juicing.
-cured a cavity without having to go to the dentist.
And now I want to get really serious about it.
I am
- Starting to compost
-growing my own herbs
-looking into a community garden to grow my own fruits and veggies
- giving away my toxic cookware and replacing it with safer alternatives
-cooking/preparing my own foods and eating out less
- switching to natural hygiene products
I LOVEEEED processed food. I would rather eat a tv dinner than my mom's cooking. My favorite foods were Cheetohs and Lays...yes Lays...not potato chips in general because I to this day don't care for Kettle Chips or Ruffles, but lays in particular. I am guessing it must have a chemical that makes it particularly addictive? I don't know.
I also really loved the "shitty" cafeteria food. It was so overly processed and most likely void of any nutritional value but for me, it tasted amazing. Some people like chocolate, some like burgers, I liked Banquet frozen dinners, especially the fried chicken. It did not taste like chicken at all, and once I got older I realized it wasn't really food, but I still had it as my "junk food" and as a child I had it as actual dinners!
I never got fat or had an major health problems (aside from a cat allergy I developed when we got a cat) but I did develop gallstones when I was 20.
Apparently, gallstones are genetic, and my father had his gallbladder taken out, and my sister had hers out soon after I got mine taken out. The difference is, both my sister and my father were a lot older when their surgery happened. My sister was 40...I was 20. I strongly believe that the reason my gallstones developed was because of my childhood diet. I do not believe that having a genetic predisposition means you will actually develop a disease/disorder, it just means that you are more likely to. My sister was raised in South America where processed foods and fast food chains like McDonalds were only really made wildly available in the past 20 years. She was raised on whole fruits (in my opinion, the best fruits in the world- Cherimoyas, starfruit, and granadilla are wildly available in South America and incredibly cheap!), veggies, grains and meats. I was raised in the United States, so aside from my parent's cooking, I had the added element of frozen dinners, cafeteria food, fast food, and "fruit" snacks that probably sped up the development of my gallstones.
When I first started getting symptoms- abdominal pain, vomiting, I would go to the doctors and they always just assumed I had food poisoning. No one would bother to do an ultrasound. My roommates though i was bulimic and even went to the Resident Advisor concerned about me. I thought I was lactose intolerant so I cut out milk and switched to soy. I noticed that when I ate fatty foods in particular, I would develop pain, so I tried staying away from meats and started eating more fruits and vegetables.
At the time (perhaps my body was trying to fix itself) I was also learning about the raw food diet and trying to incorporate more fresh raw fruits and vegetables into my diet. I have always been fascinated with food and forms of eating. I remember when I was 10 I did a lot of research on the Atkins diet, although I never actually went on it (love carbs too much).
Anyway back to the stones...
It eventually got to the point where even a salad would set off a gallstone attack and one day I finally had to go to the ER where they finally took an ultrasound and found the real cause of my problem. They dosed me up with morphine for the pain (which by the way, I do not understand how people do it recreational-y! It just makes you drowsy!) and had me stay in the hospital overnight to have surgery the next day.
After the surgery they told me I could eat whatever I want, but after doing research I learned that people without gallbladders run the risk of developing liver stones. So I think you should not always blindly follow what doctors say. After all, doctors were the people who kept diagnosing my gallstones as food poisoning.
The surgery made me more motivated to switch to a healthy lifestyle. I used to love eating sandwich meat with canned veggies. I don't do that anymore. While I still ate my junk food, I learned to recognize frozen dinners as junk food and stopped eating them as my actual meals.The more I learn about food the more I realize that so many of today's illnesses that are seen as a natural part of growing old, are actually avoidable with proper care of ones body. We live in a society where we slather ourselves in perfumes, spray our hair full of chemicals, put highly toxic substances on our body to make our skin soft, mask our face with makeup full of chemicals we can't even pronounce and then we use even more chemical products to try to eliminate the pimples and age lines that develop from years of abusing our skin. We eat food with little to no nutritional value full of preservatives and then take chemical drugs to try to mask the symptoms of being malnourished and overly toxic.
I do not believe in masking problems, not in life, not in relationships, and not when it comes to your health, and so I have chosen to get to the root of the problems.
In the past few years I have
-developed clearer skin by switching to mineral makeup (I've noticed people who wear MAC in particular, have horrible skin) and taking supplements of plants with high progesterone levels. Hormones play a large part in the development of acne, which is why some people find that going on birth control pills clears up their skin. But it also comes with the added risk of breast cancer.
-went from being sick every month to never getting sick at all simply by juicing.
-cured a cavity without having to go to the dentist.
And now I want to get really serious about it.
I am
- Starting to compost
-growing my own herbs
-looking into a community garden to grow my own fruits and veggies
- giving away my toxic cookware and replacing it with safer alternatives
-cooking/preparing my own foods and eating out less
- switching to natural hygiene products
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