Rose Theory of a Health Journey

I have had a hard time finding a way to explain why I am even on a search for better health.  I needed to be able to explain it to myself.  I was not as concerned about what others thought.  It never really occurred to me to try to explain it outside my own ego.

When fighting Lyme and company, there has always seemed to be something just not right.  We are missing a puzzle piece somewhere.  Various infections, hormones, nutrition….it always seems much more difficult and complicated than it should be.

I believe that I have found a way to explain it to myself.  The theory will not fix anything but thought I should share it in case anyone else could use it.

The Rose Theory

I first moved into my house over 10 years ago.  As a new home owner I was excited to fix up things and put to use all of those hours spent watching home improvement shows.  One thing that I really wanted was a beautiful rose bush.  It was a peace rose.  I tended to it as Google said I should.  I watered it often but careful not to over water it.  I sought advice on what fertilizer to use and when to apply it.  I made sure it received all the nutrients it needed.  I trimmed it as directed.  I was very attentive to its every need.  If I was doing everything just right, there were a few beautiful blooms as a reward.

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Popping Pills 3: Fish and Krill Oil

I used to take fish oil. I switched to krill oil because the pretty packaging told me it was better and it is a smaller pill. Now, I am reconsidering because of an info-program on an AM radio station. It seems that both have benefits. Check the EPA and DHA levels in your supplement. There are also antioxidant action to be considered.

It seems that there is still a lot of research to be done to find out which, if either, is better for what. As I have stated in the previous popping pills posts, please consult your doctor before adding any supplement to your routine. Fish oils can affect you in unintended ways and may not be suitable to for use with certain medications. Fishy burps are supposed to be helped by special coatings used by some brands and by freezing the pills. I have not had the problem with krill oil.

I started taking an Omega 3 supplement because my dry eyes and aching joints. Purported cardiovascular benefits were just a bonus. I do try to eat fish and seeds that contain omega 3’s, so I do not take supplements everyday. My food list: flaxseeds, chia seeds, salmon, sardines, walnuts, white fish (please be careful with mercury levels in fish). For a long list of foods and their fatty acid content click here. Currently, there is no RDA for omega 3.

What Omega 3 may help:

Beware The Duck

Ever wonder if there are gangs of ducks roaming the streets at night?

Shady characters in the parking lot.

Maybe you should.

I celebrated my one year blogging anniversary by taking the week off.  To avoid withdrawal symptoms, I tried to keep myself busy…

I made some pantry cleaning, chicken stew.

Popping Pills 2: Iron

Iron

I decided to start taking iron a few days a week.  I have tested low enough to be turned away from donating blood a few times.  Since I have been tracking my food intake with the My Fitness Pal app on the phone, I have discovered that my iron intake is low.  In my search for energy and balance, I felt that taking some iron may be helpful.

Like vitamin D, from the previous post, you can take too much iron.  Please use with caution and discuss iron supplementation with your doctor.

The body uses iron to help build red blood cells.  These cells are what carry oxygen through the body.

Signs and symptoms of low Iron

Healthy Apps

I have two new favorite toys on my smart phone. They are fun and informative so I want to share.

1) My Fitness Pal

This app is a great tool to journal and track your diet and exercise. It can help you set your calorie goals and will take into account calories burned through the activities you enter. There are countless exercises and food pre-loaded into the app. You can also add your own or just enter a calorie amount. A great bonus is that it tracks several nutrients and will display daily and weekly summaries. It helped me to realize that my iron intake is about half of what it should be. I thought all of those green, leafy vegetables were enough, but now I know that I need to make more of an effort.

I am having the most fun with the bar code scanner that will automatically load all of the information of the foods you scan. You just adjust the number of servings and you are done! The only thing close to frustrating is that when I am making juice, it does not have the juice of a leaf, just the whole plant. There are specific juice recipes pre-loaded, so I did use one that seemed close to what I made for one meal’s “add”.

Keeping a journal can help you be more aware of what you are doing. this app makes it closer to fun to track exercise and diet.

Juicey Friday Recap

This was a week of smoothies and juice…

The Epic Fail:

Someone planted the idea of a chocolate PB2 (powdered peanut butter-no oil) in my head. I went to make it and decided to put in some of my previous green juice because it was getting too old to last. WRONG move! I doubled everything and added honey to make it bearable. Leftovers anyone?
No recipe for this. It’s in your best interest.

Sweet Redemption:

After the disaster smoothie, I needed a comeback. This was it!
For my best yet smoothie:
1 cup almond milk
1 banana
1 pack Garden of Life chocolate protein mix
300 calories (most from the banana)

Juice for Two Days:

A Juicer and a Blender walked into a Bar…

I addition to all of the wonderful and tasty treats I had through the holiday season, a new blender made its way home with me.  With new toy in hand, I have been re-inspired about my juicing and smoothie operation.  So I thought I would share a few of my concoctions from my juice site just to update and maybe even inspire.

Experimenting With Food Sensitivity

I decided to experiment on myself.  I did not randomize, have a control group, and it was not a blind study.  The results were still conclusive.

I have discussed my hypothesis on personal food sensitivities in the past.  Hypothesis in hand, I embarked on a testing method termed avoidance and provocative.

Fasting 10 Days

I started the fast on a bit of a whim.  It ended most purposefully with an apple and a big spoon of peanut butter.  It was not as good as I had been imagining all week, but I looked down at my stomach and asked it, “Are you happy now?”  It gurgled, thank you, back at me.

Lessons and observations from my adventure:

1. Just because I want to eat, does not mean I have to.  I give into cravings so often with the excuse that I should go ahead, otherwise I will never be able to stop thinking about it.  Another favorite excuse:  my body must need something, so go ahead and eat that chocolate milkshake and fries. 8)
2. Media has way too many pictures of food.  There are the obvious commercials for the -gotta have it now- fast food and sugary treats.  Pinterest can be evil.  My DVR has a list of cooking competition shows waiting for me.  I had never noticed how much regular TV shows flash food across the screen.  I envied Homer Simpson’s plate.  Really, craving cartoon food!

Accidental Fast

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and thought, “today would be a great day to start a juice fast?”  Me either, until Wednesday.  I have been feeling bloated and just blah.  With vacation eating and lunch meetings, I had strayed from my low gluten and lactose diet for the past few weeks.