May 27, 2008 at 3:12 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: organic, allergies, sulfites, wine, whole foods, stellar
PLEASE SEE UPDATE BELOW!
Uh la la! I can enjoy a nice glass of red wine again. With all of my health issues that are going on, I have stopped drinking alcohol the way I used to when I was younger. I now seem to get a very ‘full’ feeling after having a little bit to drink. It really isn’t a comfortable feeling. Since I have been looking into all of my allergies and trying to get healthy, I realized that I couldn’t drink just anything - no beer, wine or spirits. I found that I missed the occasional glass of wine either on a summer’s day or while cooking in the kitchen.
I had understood that in a lot of wines and beers there were sulfites added as a preservative. A good web site that explains about sulfites is Sulfites from the Canadian government.
At Whole Foods I found a wine called Stellar Organics that is reasonably priced at $9.99 and does not contain any added sulfites. Along with no added sulfites, the way the wine is produced, it possibly may eliminate a lot of the natural sulfites that occur. I have put an email into the company regarding this. When I get a response, I will add it to this blog page later.
Last night for my 40th birthday party, I had the Stellar wine. I am pleased to say I feel great today and I am letting all of my friends know about this wonderful wine, with its great taste and wonderful benefits. I hope I don’t sound too much like a commercial but when I find something good, I will let you know!
Cheers!
UPDATE: I am pleased that Stellar Wines replied to my email to them about sufites. Their reply is copied below. Thank you Dudley!
Hi Cindy
Thanks for your kind words.
There are a lot of half truths surrounding sulphur free wine.
It is true that some (not all) yeasts can make sulphites during the fermentation process. This occurs if the yeast is stressed or if it has a genetic predisposition to doing so. 99.99% of all wines will be sulphite free after fermentation.
We avoid having to use Sulfites (American spelling) by cooling the grape before crushing or de-stemming them.
With modern standards of hygiene and sterile filtration coupled with the use of inert gas, many of the reasons for using Sulfites in wine become less convincing.
So it is not a question of reducing “natural” sulfites, rather it is avoiding the conditions under which they might occur.
Regards
Dudley Wilson
Winemaker
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May 21, 2008 at 3:19 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: allergies, allergens, outside, allegra, allergist, hay fever, food allergies, indigestion, inflammation, hives, welt, tired, irritable, flu, achy muscles
Whoa — ‘Tis the season to have the sneezes —-blow blow blow blow blow blow blow blow blow! You get my point! I thought that I had the normal hay-fever that everyone seems to experience in the spring time! I didn’t realize how much the seasonal allergies really effect me! I live in Texas and took my boys to baseball last night and my allergies seemed under control - thanks to my Allegra. This morning when I woke up I felt congested, sneezing and ohhhhh so tired! I can tolerate the sneezing and congestion but the fatigue is another story! Trying to get up the motivation to do something productive takes a lot out of a person! My allergy pill for the day finally did kick in and I was able to join the boys at their school for field day.
I went to the allergist last month. I figured I had some type of food allergies going on because I seemed to have really bad indigestion. At my first visit, the doctor did the skin testing on my back for different food allergies. I seemed to welt up on a few allergies that the doctor was surprised about. The doctor said that normally food allergies start more as a child. Well here I am mid-life and I’ve got food allergies. I am very allergic to peanuts (which is actually a legume), almonds (tree nuts), tomatoes, wheat and corn. My doctor has asked me to totally avoid nuts but also tomatoes, as well, because it can cause a lot of gastric reflux which I have been experiencing. At first I thought avoiding tomatoes would be no big deal. I really don’t like tomatoes in my salads (except for a Greek Salad) but then I realized it meant avoiding spaghetti sauce, ketchup, salsa - oh my!!!! That was really hard to get my head around. I loved ketchup on burgers, fries, eggs. The doctor told me not to avoid wheat and corn because otherwise I would hardly be able to eat anything.
The first few days that I avoided those foods I immediately dropped 3-4 pounds. I started to feel not so inflamed all over! That was really important! I felt swollen all over - in my arms, legs, abdomen, face, etc. It finally felt as if the inflammation started to subside. I had even took ginger capsules, which I read helps inflammation in the body. Well, the ginger capsules had the opposite effect on me - I inflamed! I ended up with itching hives all over my body. Luckily, getting my allergies under control has taken away some of the inflammation.
At my second visit to the allergist we tested environmental allergens. Oh my word!!! They tested trees, grass, weeds, molds and ‘environmentals’. I immediately said to the nurse, “I can feel I am allergic to a lot of those pricks that are on my back!” She said, “Honey, your problem isn’t with food it’s with outdoor allergens!” My back immediately started to welt all over. Allergist seem to measure how allergic you are to something by checking the size of the welt that develops. It measures from nothing to ++++. Pretty much I am allergic to trees, grass and weeds, cats and feather mixes. Strangely, I am not allergic to any molds. Originally, I thought that I was allergic to mold, thinking my house is causing my inflammation and lethargic feeling but it basically comes down to being allergic to the outside year round!
This past weekend we went to an outdoor concert to see Loverboy and Pat Benatar (which was a great concert). We were all enjoying the concert sitting on the blanket but after the concert when trying to get up, I felt stiff as a board. I thought it was primarily from sitting on the ground the whole time (except for getting up to have a potty break). The next day I felt like I had the flu and I was irritable and tired - just miserable. The next day, I was fine. I called my allergist office to ask them if achy muscles are a sign of allergies like sneezing and watery eyes. The nurse told me ‘no’ and to go see my primary care doctor. For some reason I don’t believe her. Every time I go out for the day I always seem to ‘react’ with lethargy, achy muscles and a general unwell feeling. I need to realize that if I go outside for a day the next day I’ll have an allergy hangover! Folks, follow your own instincts about your bodies, no one knows them better than you!
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May 15, 2008 at 4:04 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: breast cancer, deodarant, gorgeously green, Julia Roberts, kiss my face, male breast cancer, Oprah, organic, toxins
When I decided to become ‘healthy’ I wanted to take it to all levels of my life - food, exercise, eliminating toxicity, mind, work and play and many others. In listening to Oprah’s show with Julia Roberts discussing her new book, Gorgeously Green, I became more aware of several different things. One thing - deodorant!
Again, when talking about getting healthy, I needed to look at all aspects of my life - toxins I could be harming my body with. So, I thought I would try one of the health shops non-antiperspirant deodorants - paraben free. I bought Kiss My Face - Active Enzyme deodorant - $4.99. I got the scented (it looks like honeysuckle or jasmine on the front). I’ve been trying it for a week or so now. I have found, in general, it seems to work okay. At the end of the day, I get a slight wift of unpleasantness - I definitely can’t go a day without missing a shower with this deodorant, which may not be such a bad thing. Again, I don’t feel like a total b.o. blob walking around, just an awareness that I had movement that day and it lets me know just a little at the end of the day. Now, it becomes a different story when I am very busy during the day and hustling around, going non-stop, in and out of the house, working out, sweating outside - I definitely smell a big wift of myself! I have reached back for my antiperspirant.
In the end I do wonder how antiperspirant effects breast cancer. By stopping the body from sweating are we not allowing the toxins to flow from the body, which when not released could possibly accumulate in the tissue by the breast? I have already had one lump removed from my left breast - I wonder, and my mother had breast cancer. So we tend to spare others (and possibly ourselves) from the horrid b.o. smell but are willing to take the possible risk of it developing into breast cancer. With this thought (I am making myself think here) why don’t we see more men getting breast cancer since they use antiperspirant as much as we do but male breast cancer is not in the high numbers as it is for women.
In 2004 (the most recent year numbers are available.)
- 186,772 women and 1,815 men were diagnosed with breast cancer*†
- 40,954 women and 362 men died from breast cancer*†
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not an expert in any of this. I just know I want to get rid of my ill feeling and I am trying every direction in my life that I can. I am a normal suburban consumer. I am new to the organic - holistic - health conscious world. I am now having to make a conscious effort to look at everything I purchase instead of just throwing it in the trolley because it’s convenient. What may be convenient may not necessarily be what’s right and good for me and my family. Something to ponder.
‡Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Mortality – All COD, Public-Use With State, Total U.S. (1969–2004), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released April 2007. Underlying mortality data provided by NCHS (www.cdc.gov/nchs).
1 Comments
May 14, 2008 at 7:57 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: buddhist, chant, depressed, exercise, momentum, pilates, unemployed
I did my workout this morning again. I have now worked out 3 days this week for 30 minutes each time. This is a big accomplishment for me. I read a magazine while on the bike and the time seemed to go by much faster! I need to bring earphones next time to tune into what the televisions are saying. Next week I go on the treadmill. My friend and I have also decided to do the Pilate’s class Monday and Wednesday mornings. So I guess I will then do a machine on another day or two. Momentum …. momentum …. momentum….
I am finding that every project in my life I need to keep up the momentum. Whether it’s trying to make money while staying at home, cleaning the house, being active with my boys, exercising, eating right - it’s about keeping up the momentum. I find that once I get out of the momentum or routine, it all seems to putter out. If I keep doing a little each day it keeps the engine running smoothly. When the momentum is gone things become like a low vibrating energy, you could almost call it a depressed state. When the momentum is taking over or call it a higher energy state, it seems to attract that type of energy.
My husband and I were out of work for 6 months. A very difficult time. I can see the benefits now and I was able to see a little bit while we were going through those 6 months, but it was very humbling. I was low, my health was not good, money was very tight, family situations were not pleasant - bad vibes all over! I turned to a friend of mine whom is a Buddhist and asked for her to help me find good karma. She took me to a Buddhist session and they were chanting (I am doing this phonetically) “na mio ho rang gay ki oh”. It was very tranquilizing when I heard the chant over and over by many people in almost a humming lull. I explained this to my friend and she said that was not the feeling that I should be experiencing from it. If I was to say the chant “na mio ho rang gay ki oh” I should feel an energy to get things done or accomplished or a sort of compulsion. It does make a difference if you say it your self instead of just listening to the chant. Again I see momentum. Try and not let things stall out - keep the focus - keep growing and the momentum helps to take over and things don’t seem like such a struggle. The momentum becomes a force of its own.
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May 12, 2008 at 6:04 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: gastroenterologist, IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, mother's day, organic
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all mother’s out there trying to get healthy!
My sweet husband is cooking our dinner tonight - Sesame Ginger Chicken with a bunch of veg and organic brown rice. I don’t know if you saw on the “Oprah” show with Julia Roberts going organic and how they said that buying organic rice is very important because traditional rice is laced with so many pesticides. I enjoy the organic brown rice but my husband is not very keen on it. He prefers white basmati rice.
Going back to my first post and continuing my description about my ailments, I have pain on the left side of my body. I don’t have it everyday, it seems to come in episodes. At times, it starts with a pain in my lower left abdomen (which seems to be relieved with an anti-inflammatory such as Advil) and rotates to the lower back and then as the time progresses the pain straddles up my left side torso, both the front and back. I have another cousin who has experienced this same sensation and she was diagnosed with Lupus. When having a recent CAT Scan my spleen, stomach and left kidney seemed okay. I had a staple left over from an appendectomy, kidney stone and cysts from my right kidney and moderately serve osteoarthritis at the base of my spine (which I belive was from falling down stairs and breaking my tail bone.) In the end the gastroenterologist has prescribed me medicine for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I have a lot of respect for this doctor, one of the few that I do. He wants to see if this medicine will help my episodes. I will definitely give it a try but I am not a complete believer that it is IBS.
Sadly, my husband has made such a healthy and fantastic meal but we blow it on carmel, chocolate covered pretzel ice cream and chocolate. Oh well, it’s Mother’s Day! (I wonder what my excuse will be tomorrow!)
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May 11, 2008 at 1:52 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Add new tag, health, healthy, ovaries, pcos, weight gain
*I have changed my main blog title.
I felt a need to start writing about my journey on getting ‘healthy’. Being healthy means different things to different people. I’m the largest I’ve been my whole life and it’s scaring the hell out of me! My plump cheeks have always slanted me towards looking like I was on the chubby side all my life. I remember in 5th grade the guys saying, “she would be cute, if she lost some weight”. Or my boyfriend when I was 19, calling my Orca and a Sumo wrestler. And, by the way, he is a major ex-boyfriend! I believe I might have been 135 lbs. at the time. Being a swimmer I had very muscular legs - Mary Lou Retton legs they used to say. Now, I’m just struggling with it all.
I come from a large family, I am 1 of 17 grandchildren. Because of the large dynamics of the family we have been able to see that there is a possible hereditary factor to our ill health.
In Sept. 2007 I gained 30 lbs. in 1 month! A very very frustrating time! My husband and I both found ourselves out of jobs and so we had no health insurance for me to go and figure out went was going on. My period stopped for 3 months, I was swelling incredibly over my whole body. My skin became extremely oily, acne on my chest and back and hair growth all over. I was finally diagnosed this past month as having PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I had always been prone to cysts on my ovaries but it was never known as PCOS. The doctor prescribed a diuretic, that is meant to flush out the male hormone, which seems to be causing the PCOS. I have noticed a slight drop in my weight since being on the medication - about 5 lbs. and my chest is clearing up a bit. There are times when I still feel swollen from water retention and it makes standing very uncomfortable. My husband just noticed tonight the hair on the side of my face is getting darker. I hope he is going to enjoy being married to the bearded lady from the circus ‘cuz I ain’t far off’! Seriously, it’s can be quite humiliating.
I will continue my next blog with more of my ailments and then I want to share how I am trying to get healthy through all of this.
My focus this year is to be “HAPPY, HEALTHY AND RICH!”
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