Health and Wellness in a Nutshell

I want to say I don't understand illness, but I do. After being around people who are chronically ill I understand that it is absolutely the choices one makes that contributes to either health and wellness or to chronic illness. Period. No excuses.

I know someone who has MRSA and RSD-CRPS. She gave it to herself. When she was first injured I tried to help her. She was hysterical about how the system was mistreating her in regards to Worker's Compensation. That's a given. It is how you handle it that is the measure of your health. Instead of relaxing a bit, and making better choices regarding nutrition and lifestyle habits, she drank pots of coffee, chain smoked like a steamboat, and focused only on herself and her issues. I begged her to stop the coffee and the cigarettes, and to please at least eat some fruit and take some B vitamins. RSD affects the nervous system. When my ankle shattered I suffered from RSD symptoms too. I decided to be well instead. I used a dry washcloth to force my skin to accept touch and desensitize the creepy crawlies. I gave up caffeine, a nervous system stimulant, and I focused outside of myself. There are three things we must have to be healthy. Sleep, rest, and relaxation is number one. Pure fruit and some vegetables is number two. And exercise is number three. That is all we need to be healthy. The human body is in charge of its own health and only needs these three things to accomplish it.

Orthopedists can also be quite useful in helping the body repair bones in a way that preserves function, as long as they do not prescribe narcotics, ice, or sloth. RSD was first diagnosed during the Civil War when soldiers were treated with narcotics, ice, and bed rest. Voila! RSD, reflexive sympathetic dystrophy. Take that to the hospital for unnecessary surgery and you have got yourself a lasting case of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

My friend in Missouri is the opposite. She is 57 years old and holds down a job and supports her son and grandchildren. She is a no-nonsense, no excuses type of person. No alcohol, no cigarettes, one cup of coffee in the morning, lots of fruits and vegies, and only a little meat or a cinnamon roll a few times a week. She has no health insurance, and only goes to the doctor if a sinus infection won't resolve on its own. She has a Scottish heritage but doesn't eat a Scottish diet, so the doctor is happily astounded that she has no issues with diabetes, high blood pressure, or cholesterol. She is active, involved, and focuses outside of herself while still enjoying a rich inner personal life. When we talk on the phone we talk about the kids, the fur babies, and how jobs and finances are going. We talk about bible study or giving donations. And we talk openly about how we feel about things, then we go on. Health is a choice!

Those aren't the only examples I've seen. My mother smoked over three packs of cigarettes a day and died young from emphysema. My father ate nitrite laden foods, smoked, drank, and died of pancreatic cancer. We weren't allowed to discuss environmental issues in our house. Yah, right! If we pretend it isn't a problem, maybe it will go away.

My choice today is to eat my fruit for breakfast with a fresh squeezed lemonade. Then I'll have a bowl of steamed squash and zucchini for lunch after we tramp the yard sale circuit. Dinner tonight will be the usual tomato and avocado salad, with vidalia onions, diced cucumber, and mung bean sprouts. Maybe we'll pick up some farm fresh produce at a roadside stand or two. I want to be healthy and enjoy life every day. I want others to get it, too.

Please take a broccoli chill pill and make yourself well! Honestly, I don't get a single dime for suggesting that people eat fresh produce, while the junk food manufacturers are making billions of dollars at the same time the pharmaceutical companies are making record profits. Neanderthin diet book gurus make millions, yet millions still fail to maintain a healthy weight. You do the math. In Shanghai, women who eat the traditional Western diet of manufactured foods that is heavy on meats and sweets get breast cancer at rates not seen in in the population that eats the traditional vegetable-soy-fish diet. You are indeed what you eat.

Frugal Frugivore

I'm actually still on my fruitarian summer diet as it is getting so hot--into the third day now. I spent about $6 at ACME yesterday and got a cantelope, two avocadoes, six nectarines, and two bananas. Everything was on sale. Yesterday I ate one avocado, tomatoes I already had, plus a handful of walnuts as a meal. I had half of the cantelope for breakfast, and then noshed on three nectarines and the broccoli and mung bean sprouts. I nibbled on the sprouts like I might have nibbled on bad stuff in the past. Also I finished off a big bag of cherries.

Today I made a tomato salad with the juice of one lemon to which I added some sprouts, one avocado, and shredded carrot. That's the dinner I just finished with half leftover to serve as tomorrow's dinner. For tomorrow I'll have the bananas for breakfast, then two apples and some almonds for lunch. I have not given up my morning cuppa' though I stopped having the non-dairy creamer. I did make a fresh pitcher of sun tea for my beverage only because that is what I'm accustomed to doing. It is hard breaking longtime habits. I can eat an entirely all raw, all fruit diet with just a few vegetables tossed in, but I'm not giving up beer, coffee, or teas just yet. I really enjoy them and do not drink any of these things to excess. I still feel quite full and satisfied eating only the fruits. I guess a hot spring/summer day is a good day to transition to an all raw fruitarian diet. Frugivore equals Frugal!

An interesting thing I've already noted is that it does not take a lot of fresh fruit to make me feel satiated and full. I expected that I'd need to nosh continually and eater a larger volume than I'm accustomed to. It seems that there is enough energy in the fruit to satisfy my need for nutrients. I think I'm observing the reaction that is expected. Eating cooked food requires eating a larger volume in order to get sufficient nutrition. Raw fruit is so inherently nutrient and calorie dense that smaller volumes are sufficient. Interesting...

I'm about ready to put more goodies on Ebay. Took all the pictures this morning, adjusted and uploaded them to my Seller Source Book account, and now I just need to plow through and write the descriptions and post them. I think most will be some one cent auctions for a week. That should generate interest in my jewelry for the rest of the week. It's nearly seven now. I'll make more jewelry tonight after I do today's listings. Then I'll spend tomorrow night listing the new stuff. You have to have a plan and then you have to work your plan!

Frugal Equals Frugivore

It finally came to me, the answer to a question or rather a dilemma in my life. In a manner of speaking I am in the process of downshifting. I yearn for a more mobile and less wasteful and costly lifestyle where I can avoid spending so much time at work. So I am pursuing a path to simpler living which for me encompasses frugality and at the very least a vegan diet. I've been vegetarian and semi-vegan for nearly thirty years and am renewing my commitment to be totally vegan. As I did a little inspirational research I stumbled upon a frugal diet that is based on our biological heritage as frugivores. Frugal=Frugivore, both from the Latin "frux". Interesting. Normally I thought of food in terms of what was I going to "cook" though a large portion of my diet consists of raw vegetables. I would eat fruit occasionally throughout the day. I knew raw foods are inherently better but like most Americans I am the product of my upbringing and my lifestyle had been busy, if not hectic. So I just did what I knew how to do.

I explored the idea of what a frugivore's diet would be in the natural world. For humans it consists of anything that a primate can get to, harvest, and consume in its raw state. Period. Biologically our bodies are the outcome of millions of years of evolution that culminates in our civilized state of having illness and disease as a "normal" part of life in a world of factory farms, cooked food, and vitamin supplements. Think how freeing it would be, to bring home some melons, avocados, peaches, nectarines, apples, berries, and an assortment of nuts to just graze upon at will. No meal planning, preparation, cooking, or cleanup. I know that psychologically I'm still going to want some hot drinks (not too hot!) and soups, a salad with lettuce and celery and carrots and peppers, and the occasional mushroom. But I think I can try this out for a week and see if it will sustain me both physically and emotionally. If this is successful then this will be the plan for van dwelling. It should save a lot of time and money. The hardest part will be giving up garlic, onions, oils, and hot peppers. Those form the basis of cooking and mostly have to cooked or combined with other foods in order to be palatable. It will be nice to get away from juicing, and most of the slicing and dicing needed to prepare foods to eat. I'll still make salads and cut my fruit into manageable portions, but it should be a lot easier than steaming rice and pressure cooking beans.

As a longtime vegetarian who has always eaten in a non-traditional and healthy way anyway, rest assured that I'm already well-versed in "where will I get my protein from?" as well as my Vitamin B-12. When I was a cooked carrion eater I had pernicious anemia and had to get B-12 shots at least monthly. When as a young adult I suffered from perpetual exhaustion I learned about vegan B-12 methylcobalamine supplements which helped somewhat. When I cut meat, fish, and dairy completely out of my diet and started eating raw vegetables from my garden I never had a problem with exhaustion again, plus I was able to stop the B-12 shots. And I do not believe in "meat substitutes". I'm long past needing or wanting to buy "veggie dogs".

The problem with protein is that Americans have been brainwashed to believe that only meat has protein. Forget food combining, a theory that NEVER had ANY scientific basis, just know this! ALL PLANTS HAVE PROTEIN! Yes, it's true! Carrots have protein, lettuce has protein, even strawberries have protein. The issue is threefold. First, eating animal based protein introduces toxins and waste into your body and you need to consume a lot of protein to get the little bit that you need. Second, eating purely vegetable based protein and excluding grains and legumes, you will be able to easily get the 5-6.5% of protein the human body needs, without having to process toxins and waste products. Third, by eating food that is less complex to digest you need less energy to get the same amount of protein the human body needs from less protein dense food.

My roommate and I are both 50 years old. She smokes, drinks excessively, and eats mostly meat, lots of dairy, and very little vegetable foods. The fridge is full of leftover takeout and defrosting meats that never get cooked because she is too tired all the time. I hike 5-7 miles daily, she hangs out in bars. When we do go out together she looks like a hardened 65 year old biker chick and I look like a fresh-faced 35 year old. She has high blood pressure, super high cholesterol and bad blood serums, varicose veins, heart palpitations, indigestion, migraines, deep wrinkles, puffy eyes with huge dark circles and bags.
She's been to the emergency room for the heart issues and high blood pressure a couple of times in the past six months. I have low blood pressure, no cholesterol, and none of the other problems typical for this age group. When she gets home from work I offer her salad with freshly made dressing, and whatever else I've made. But she has to fry up a slab of dead cow and that is all she will eat with her beer and cigarettes. Interesting...having been there myself I'm very sensitive to this style of eating and know I can't say anything to her. I can only get it off my chest in my blog. I just wish she'd notice that her diet is killing her and is making her look far too old for her age. Oh, Well!

I guess the experience of being laid low in an accident and then battling back physically makes me more aware of the need to be fit and healthy. I can't imagine having to take a pharmacy of medicines everyday in order to exist. It sure won't fit into a frugal, van dwelling lifestyle.

All this typing about food made me peckish, a state between hungry and bored. I polished off a handful of cashews, that is raw whole cashews I had stored in the freezer. So delicious they tasted like butter! Smooth and creamy. Yummo!

Thou Shalt Not Lack Anything In It

Yummo! I just had the most delicious lunch. My tastebuds are Happy Happy! As a vegan, the things that most people think of as a side dish would make an actual meal for me, and yes, even vegans watch the Food Network. I had a sprout salsa with hummus, using carrots, celery sticks, and spinach rolls for the dippers. I had made a fresh vidalia onion and tomato salad yesterday, with fresh cilantro, and shredded carrots. I added a huge jar of sprouted mung beans with a handful of sprouted broccoli and let it sit in the fridge while I made the hummus. I had sprouted my garbanzo beans (about 20 cents worth) for several days, rinsing three-four times a day and picking out any that wouldn't sprout. The tails were about an eighth of an inch long so they were ready today. I brought some filtered water to a boil while I made a pesto of lemon, cilantro, fresh garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, and sesame seeds (tahini). I took the water off the burner and plunged the garbanzo bean sprouts into the hot water for one minute using a screened colander. Then I rinsed them quickly in cool water. I put the rinsed sprouts into my Bravetti, added the pesto, and gave it several spins until the consistency was just short of smooth. I like a meatier texture to my hummus. I put the hummus into the fridge to chill and made my spinach rolls by hand-rolling green leaf spinach, and cut my carrots and celery sticks. Threw it all onto a plate, grabbed some fresh-made lemonade sweetened with a smidgeon of brown rice syrup, and plopped down outside on the deck to savor the moment.

Dinner will be served with the same freshly made foods, plus a saute of bright green snap beans, mushrooms, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, in olive oil, over an extremely thin bed of brown rice. The green onions in the window look good. They'll make a great fresh garnish. I think a few pinions (pine nuts) would be good with the saute. I'll post pictures eventually. In the meantime I will reflect over this passage that is meaningful to me. Especially the part of "thou shalt not lack anything in it". Everything on the follwing list is vegan except for the honey.

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack anything in it... And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given thee. (Deuteronomy 8:7-10)

I'm not a Christian but my motto is WWJE? I think it is ok to bring the reality of parts of the bible into the secular world. Read it or overlook my reasoning as you choose. And look for fresh local produce for the lowest cost in your area. It is always less expensive to eat a healthy vegan diet. This is part of my plan for van dwelling in simplicity, health, and abundance.

Biblical Vegetarian - What is that?

Someone recently asked me to explain what a Biblical Vegetarian is. I don't think it is a real label that anyone else has coined. I use it to describe the basis for my personal vegetarian beliefs, for which I find some interesting basis in the translations of the biblical texts available today. I am a heathen and not a Christian, preferring to avoid the hypocrisy of organized religion. I believe that the moment you only believe what you are told, then you have turned your back on the higher powers that put you here to learn. How can you learn if you will only hear one voice and do no research of your own? I do believe in faith, and even an atheist has faith in their beliefs. Everyone should have faith. However, there is a lot to admire in the biblical stories that are attributed to the covenant and to the reformers of Judaism, particularly the reforms of Jesus, one of the many Jewish Christs (teachers) who tried to fulfill the prophesies and reform Judaism to bring it back to its roots. The old testament has a prescription for a healthy abundant life and that is a vegetarian one. You will find no evidence in the bible that Jesus ever ate any animal product. He told his disciples to get "meat" for the Passover meal, but the translation of "meat" was from words that merely mean provisions. Jesus did not eat lamb at the Passover meal. The last supper was prior to the Passover meal and Jesus taught us that he demands mercy and not sacrifice. He destroyed the moneylenders operation in the temple because he came to us to BECOME the Senechal Lamb, not to partake of it. Thou shalt not kill. Period.

Biblical texts demonstrate the earliest human histories in terms understood to the least educated of those times. There are some common threads that run through the explanations and I have been seeking them out since I was very young. The common theme is that we have free will and thus have choices to be made. Every choice you make leads you down a different fork in the road and thus has consequences. Every vegetarian will tell you that if forced to "explain" their choices they will be almost viciously attacked for them. It seems to be a visceral reaction. The early Christians were vegetarian and were also viciously attacked for them.
Well, you can attack and I expect it. But my beliefs are firm on the matter. The right choice is the humane choice. It is right for our bodies and our spirits to be humane. "I require mercy and not sacrifice." (Matthew 9:13 & 12:7). So, have a little mercy on vegetarians.

Remember, the bible never commanded you to eat meat. You make that choice and it shortens your life and destroys the world. You who eat meat even try to quote scripture and claim that it tells you it is "ok" to eat animal flesh. God commanded ten things of you. And when he created the earth he gave Adam and Eve every herb bearing seed on the face of the earth, and for us it would be for "meat". He said that is was good. He has never again said anything else was "good". It is understandable that those who lust for animal flesh would try to justify it, and even try to subvert God's word to do it. But, it is still a bad choice. The scientific evidence is in.

Strictly from a pragmatic viewpoint, the ecological footprint of a vegetarian is smaller than the equivalent in animal flesh that is raised on nearly 16 times the acreage. It takes more petroleum products, more chemical fertilizer, more antibiotics, more water, and creates more waste than simply growing and eating the plant energy directly without processing it through the alimentary canal of a bird or mammal. To take pragmatism even further, it has been scientifically demonstrated that eating a vegetarian diet is extremely healthful in comparison to eating animals. So take a broccoli chill pill and enjoy the fruits of the earth. It's so tasty, too!

Purposeful

A picture of plenty: beans, lentils, grains, cous-cous, sprouters, and more:


I'm back from the errands and just chilling out with some ice water and two juicy nectarines. Though I'm attempting to be a good vegan I have to admit that nectarines being a mutant fruit are probably not in accordance with my biblical vegetarian beliefs. I didn't say I was a perfect biblical vegetarian but my flesh and spirit are willing--it is my judgment that is weak. They looked so good and smelled yummy at Redner's. I tried to find the sprouted wheat bread, but they didn't have any. So all I got were the vidalia onions, bananas, nectarines, and plum tomatoes. I diced all six of the fairly large tomatoes into tiny chunks, added four shredded carrots and half of a vidalia onion. Over that I squeezed the juice of two lemons and added a few tablespoons of cold-pressed grapeseed oil and a smidgeon of Celtic sea salt crushed in the mortar. A bowlful of that with crushed walnuts and fresh squeezed lemonade made a dandy meal. I'll have it again twice tomorrow, for lunch and dinner. If I was outdoors I could rinse my knife and cutting board from a jug of water.

On a mobile homeless group I once described my favored diet and was asked how on earth could I manage such a thing. Isn't it expensive to eat fresh food? No, it's not. I spend about $4 a day on food, and $3 of that is on fresh produce. The other $1 is used to buy nuts, grains, beans, and lentils. I buy beans and lentils in bulk because they keep fairly well in a cool, dry place. I keep nuts, grains, and rice in a cooler or fridge. I also keep sesame and grapeseed oils in the fridge so they don't go rancid before I can use them. I also buy about $100 worth of sprouting seeds each year in order to produce my own fresh sprouts on a daily basis. Everything you need is in a blade of grass and in the herb bearing seed thereof, or so I've heard. I heard that someone said "it is good". Wheat, rice, and corn were domesticated from the world's grasses. If you sprout nuts, beans, and grains, that action releases more of their nutritional goodness, and it limits the amounts of protective enzymes and toxins that are nature's way of protecting the seeds. All over the world cultures routinely soak nuts, grains, and beans before preparing them. We have lost sight of that in the West. Living foods, sprouted and fresh is the optimal way to consume nutrients for good health and energy.

A typical day for a health and budget conscious vegan would start with some fruit and perhaps a handful of nuts. Rinsing the sprouts is a daily task, at least twice a day. I usually have three to six jars to rotate. Any that have grown to the right size can go into the fridge to retard their growth--they are still wonderfully alive and full of vitamins and enzymes. For second breakfast a small bowl of a produce salad from the day before would be refreshing, along with a handful of sprouts, with a freshly made lemonade. For lunch, saute a little fresh onion and garlic in olive oil and add carrots and spinach at the last moment. Then stir in some brown basmati rice and walnuts and finish it off. I like to add a little hoisin sauce sometimes, or a little Soy Vey. Second lunch is an early supper. Some rice and beans with chili seasonings in a real corn meal tortilla, with fresh vidalia onion and spinach for a topping. On the side, some leftover tomato salad and an ice cold Heineken (if it is in the budget). The rice and beans are cooked once a week, salad and lemonade are made daily, and the sprouts are rinsed and drained at least twice a day. It isn't hard, clean up is a breeze, and it would be very easy to do the same thing in a situation where one is living out of a vehicle.

In a vehicle, substitute a cooler for a fridge and buy ice every other day. Use a propane or a hobo stove and cook your rice and beans outside once a week. I have worked out my setup from past experience living out of my Ford Expedition while traveling on business once upon a time. A small fold up table makes a great work surface outside for prep work and cooking. Cook at a park, people will think you are having a picnic. Obviously you won't be cooking in a Walmart parking lot, I hope! And shopping with that $3 a day is done in 2-3 visits to the store each week. You look out for the best deals, which could be avocados one day and lemons and carrots the next. Carrots keep easily for a week, as do most root vegetables. I avoid potatoes because cooking them is a pain, unless I'm making soups or stews. I go to a produce co-op to get the best price I can on everything, but will also visit local stores.

So, instead of feeling bad about my circumstances and being anguished over the legal matters surrounding my accident, my purpose is to offer up what little I've learned about being flexible, resilient, and healthy on a limited budget under stressful circumstances. I've been a budget counselor for Army Community Services a long time ago when I was a young wife of a military man. I've been a single mom who learned to squeeze Lincoln until he cried out for mercy. I don't yearn for the expensive things in life, I yearn for simplicity and realism. I know that a homeless person without a vehicle can't follow any of my tips successfully. I know that most vehicularly housed folks won't be able to do it unless they have the resources and the purposefulness required. But, like me, there are people who don't fall into homelessness willy-nilly, but are purposeful. I've spoken to people who have seen it coming and planned for living in their vehicles. If you read the internet blogs and articles you'll soon learn that you would be living a life of stealth and planning. It is not the freedom of the road if you are without resources and remain isolated from the world. I am planning purposefully and judiciously so that I may enjoy a little of the freedom I hope to gain by not being tied to the grid for communication or a roof over my head, or even for a job.

The grid isn't inherently bad, but the false sense of security in the city, the suburbs, and in a job no longer suits me. I'm not going to be forced to live in my car through lack of foresight. I'm planning on living "out of" a van. Yes, I can sleep in a van but I've also slept under the stars on the Appalachian Trail. I can get by with an eight pound base pack weight on an overnight hike, but I'm not opposed to keeping my necessaries stored in a mobile closet. I don't want to wake up after a night in the van to trudge down city streets looking for a cup of tea. I can make that in my vehicle today. So if you are reading this post just keep in mind that purposefulness can help you plan and adapt and cope with just about anything. Alway know why you do what you do.

Here are some pictures of my setup for sprouting. The first picture is the organization of the sprouting seeds I like. You can see by the number of jars that sufficient variety is not a problem. The second picture shows two mason jars that I am using for mung bean sprouts and broccoli sprouts. I just opened a new package of broccoli seeds, enough to last a few years.