I know, I haven't been updating my blog :-(
I find that time just gets away from me so I am moving to Twitter which I am told is quicker to use. Now I just have to read how to use it :-)
So be sure to follow me on Twitter where I will retweet wellness information that I find interesting and valuable.
Thanks!
Carolann
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VACCINES - Get the full story, Doctors, Nurses and Scientists on
Protecting Your Child and Yourself.
http://www.naturalnews.com/031173_vaccines_science.html
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Injuries and Physiotherapy
I am blogging about my own injury and my experience with Physiotherapy.
About two years ago I foolishly helped build a rock wall in my driveway. As I held onto the wheelbarrow with a large load of rocks aboard, it rolled down a hill taking me along with it. I was scared to let go as our driveway is steep and I could imagine the wheelbarrow going into the cul-de-sac where we live and crashing into a child, or an animal, so I hung on. It began to swerve and tipped over injuring my left shoulder and right knee. Being a person who always “fixes” things, including myself, I just put my arm in a sling, took some natural homeopathic remedies and hobbled around for a few weeks. Even though my shoulder still bothered me periodically, I thought that I had worked my way through it successfully.
A year later, while doing heavy garden work, I re-injured the same shoulder, but this time it did not disappear and the pain kept waking me up at night. I decided to visit a doctor and was told that it was probably a torn tendon in my shoulder, and then prescribed pain medication. I respectfully refused a prescription and decided to go for acupuncture instead. Once my acupuncture sessions used up all of my insurance coverage, I continued to go and paid out of my own pocket. During that year, it did help the pain on the day of my visit, but I was back to suffering terrible pain the next day. I couldn’t sleep at night because every time I turned on my left side, the pain in my shoulder would wake me. I noticed that I was losing the use of my arm more and more and this really concerned me. Simple actions like getting dressed or washing and drying my hair took quite a long time and I was constantly in pain. It is very difficult to dry yourself, dress yourself, or wash your hair with one hand! I decided it was time to go back to the doctor for an X-ray and Ultrasound to see what the heck was going on. I had the X-ray done and then that same week I decided to try and find a good physiotherapist to see if that would help.
I began with the yellow pages, scrutinizing each physiotherapist listed there and trying to narrow down the one for me. I started with their credentials as I wanted a skilled professional. I chose a few of the therapists based strictly on their credentials, and then I decided to make some telephone calls to find a therapist with many years of experience in the field as I believe experience in dealing with many types of injuries and many individuals is important. I chose Glenda Loo, a therapist at a clinic called Stability, in Mount Pearl, NL.
I have been seeing Glenda Loo now for a few months and the recovery I have made thus far is amazing. When I began treatment, my pain level on a scale of 1 to 10 was at about 8 most of the time, but there were occasions when it went off the charts. I could not lift my arm at all in any direction. My level of pain now is sometimes at about a 2 when I overwork my arm, but many days I feel normal with no pain at all. I can reach my arm out to the front and up almost all of the way, to straight and out to the side at about a 90 degree angle; not bad for only a couple of months of therapy!
My X-ray results showed calcification in two areas of the tendon in my shoulder, so the doctor believed that I had torn the tendon and it had healed with scarred tissue. She was amazed that I was doing so well and that my range of motion had improved so much in such a short timeframe.
Glenda Loo is a very skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate professional and I am very glad to have chosen her for my therapy. I hope to continue to improve, and should I have any other related complications, Glenda Loo will be uppermost in my mind for the help and assistance I need.
Carolann Hamilton
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Buyer Beware!
CSA is an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a system whereby the customer pays up front for fresh, local, organic produce that will be delivered during the growing season. The prepayment is necessary to assist the farmer with early season cash flow. This particular CSA plan included 11 bi-weekly deliveries of organic vegetables between early June and late October. There were two choices:
• payment for a “half share”—enough produce for one person for two weeks at $200; or
• payment for a “full share”—enough produce for 2 persons for two weeks at $350
This sounded amazing to me and to one of my friends, so we both joined—it was anything but amazing! We later discovered that an additional 20 people had also joined, paid the fee upfront, and were having the same problems as we were—little or no produce delivered.
We began to discuss this situation with others who had joined in previous years and learned that they, too, had been through the same scenario. We wondered why we had not heard these stories regarding others who had paid for goods and had not received them.
I decided that the only way to get answers was to contact the farmer and I did that in July as the produce was not being delivered as promised. He advised me that things were a little late, but would be delivered soon. I continued to telephone and email him throughout the whole growing season, and managed to receive five deliveries valued at approximately $50. Others had only received one delivery and, yet others, none at all. Among these others were a few university students who had saved the money in order to be able to eat fresh, local, organic produce.
Remember the friend who joined with me? She contacted a lawyer and was told that it seemed to be a case of fraud and that she should contact the police. We did contact the RNC in St. John’s, and the RCMP outside St. John’s. We, and one other lady, were the only people to file a complaint. I did contact others involved to ask if they would file a complaint with the RNC and/or the RCMP because the police officer had indicated that it would be to our benefit to have as many people involved as possible. Most said that they would file a complaint, however, they never did—and so, this farmer is able to continue with the CSA plan.
Copies of all of my contacts with the farmer, along with his Facebook page stating that his crop was very good was not enough for me to proceed as the police officer advised that we had entered into a contract with the farmer that stated “By paying up front the customer is entering into a contract with the farmer, and taking some of the risk. The customer trusts the farmer that the food will be there throughout the season, and is helping out the early season cash flow. As with all forms of farming, there are risks involved in small-scale market farming. Poor weather, insect outbreaks and labour issues can all contribute to a poor harvest just as good weather, healthy crops and willing helpers can lead to a bountiful harvest.”
If this farmer had lost a crop, I could understand the risk I had taken, but he indicated on his Facebook page that he had a bountiful crop—this is what makes this so unjust. He was actually selling the crops he had grown with our prepaid funding from the CSA in his own community, thereby receiving payment twice for these prepaid goods.
I can only hope that he will eventually realize what he is doing to others, and stop taking hard-earned money from unsuspecting and trusting people.
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St. John’s NL Restaurant review
One of my favorite things to do is to eat out. I cook every day and to be able to take a little time to sit and enjoy someone else’s cooking is one of my small pleasures in life.
I have been eating organic foods for many years and only purchase organic for my household…..nothing else will do. After all, we are what we eat and even if sometimes you pay slightly more for organic foods you get a great savings on your health!
I used to eat out in restaurants occasionally. I would try to choose the best available food on the menu and though the food was not organic I could at least avoid genetically modified organisms by avoiding foods containing soy, corn and canola and since I only did it occasionally I reasoned that my healthy body could surely handle a little non-organic food? Servers in restaurants would look at me in an odd way when I asked what kind of oil they were using on their grill and in the foods. If it was canola, corn or soy I would not eat there. Then it became more difficult to eat out as more foods became genetically modified and I had to avoid grain to be sure I was not eating genetically modified organisms which many animal studies show adversely affect immune function and I do not want to be the human model of guinea pig as these studies are now being conducted on the human population. So I avoided all grain. Then a couple of years back I read that some vegetables and fruits were being genetically modified so at that point I stopped eating out all together.
Recently, I was given a gift card for a high end restaurant in St. John’s, Blue on Water and I decided to call them up to ask if they had any organic food I could eat there. I spoke with two persons before being passed on to one of the chefs and our discussion began. I asked about organic offerings there and at first he said they had none and he commented that there was no demand for organic. After we spoke awhile he mentioned that they did have some greens and maybe eggs. So I asked if I were to book a reservation, could they possibly bring in an organic dressing for the salad greens. I also asked if they had any “wild’ fish, wild berries? He said they did have some wild fish and if I could give him a few days notice he would bring in some dressing and see what kind of a dessert he could come up with for me. I was elated! I told him I was going to book for the coming weekend…..Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and he said he would pass me on to the girl to take my reservation.
Saturday came and I was excited to be going out to dinner, something I hadn’t done now in a few years and a friend was joining me.
When we arrived at the restaurant I mentioned my telephone call earlier in the week to the server and she had no idea what I was talking about. She went inside to ask the chef I had spoken with earlier in the week however he was not on duty that day, my heart sank. All I could think was I come all this way downtown on a cold wintery day for nothing. I spoke with the owner, who was a friendly man, to express my disappointment and he said there should have been a note put on my reservation and that there must have been lack of communication. He did say he would work on having more organic offerings available in the future should I come again.
They managed to put together a nice meal for me. I had wild cod, cod tongues and a nice green organic salad with organic olive oil. They did not have dressing but the olive oil was fine. I had a glass of organic red wine, the only organic beverage they had available. I would have liked to have a dessert and a cup of tea but they did not have organic tea or organic coffee. They did not have even one organic dessert however the owner did say he would work on having at least one organic dessert available in the future.
I am disappointed in the fact that local restaurants offer so little this day and age when there is so much information available about the importance of clean sustainable foods and I feel this should be their top priority. I understand that some fresh foods are a little difficult to find during the winter months but hey organic coffee, organic tea, organic salad dressings, organic flour, organic cane sugar, organic cream etc etc? These products are available in our local supermarkets so surely restaurants have access to these products also. And surely I cannot be the only one who would like to consume quality foods when I eat out?
A great dessert could have been made with wild berries, organic flour, organic cane sugar and organic cream.
As for rating Blue on Water, I will give them three stars out of five for having some organic offerings and at least appearing to listen to my suggestions.
I will continue to look for restaurants that offer organic foods and I will post reviews in the near future.
Carolann Hamilton
Conception Bay South, NL
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For those of you who still believe there is nothing wrong with factory
farmed (supermarket) animal products.....meats, poultry, dairy
products and eggs you had better take a look at these links:
http://farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Meat-Poultry-Health-Risk.aspx?utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
People are confused.....they are asking for "grain fed" animal
products but they need to be asking for free-range or grass-fed.
I have been fighting to get free-range, grass-fed animal products into
our local supermarkets now for about a decade but I CANNOT DO IT
ALONE!
I have been told by Sobeys and Dominion that the demand is just not
there!?! Wake up Newfoundlanders!! We are the only province in
Canada that cannot get these products in our supermarkets! PLEASE ASK
FOR GRASS FED ANIMAL PRODUCTS EACH TIME YOU VISIT YOUR SUPERMARKET OR
WE WILL NEVER GET IT HERE! Asking only once is not enough. Why are
we allowing ourselves to be treated as if we were a third world
province in Canada. Demand better or you will never get it. Contact
head office of the supermarkets that you shop in by phone or email to
demand better. Stop buying factory farmed garbage and see how long it
takes to get grass-fed animal products.
If eating chemically laden produce and factory farmed animal products
is good enough for you, your children and families then that is all
you will get!
If you want positive change then please speak out!
Why grass-fed animal products are better for you:
http://www.mercola.com/beef/health_benefits.htm
http://www.nwhealth.edu/healthyu/eatWell/grassfed.html
http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html
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Dear Reader,
How did Harvard get it so wrong?
Harvard Medical School recently attempted to explain it all for us in a book titled Healthy Eating: A Guide to the New Nutrition.
Their basic idea is sound. The authors state that research over the past two decades has transformed the accepted principles of nutrition.
And here's what they get 100 percent right. They say, "Beyond all doubt...you can lower your risk for the most serious diseases of our time by following a healthy diet." With you all the way on that one, Harvard.
Too bad they miss the boat on important specifics. Too bad, because when people see the word "Harvard," many will take this stuff as gospel.
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Don't mess it up
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Here are five ways Harvard got it wrong...
1) Soy. They completely miss the important detail that unfermented soy should be avoided. Sure, there's less breast cancer among Japanese women who consume lots of soy. But most of the soy products consumed by Japanese women are fermented. In the U.S., the opposite is true.
2) Genetic engineering. Harvard is cautious on this one. They don't come right out and say GE foods are okay. But you get the feeling they want to.
They quote a 2004 National Academy of Sciences report that admits GE "may produce unintended changes in the composition of foods." Uh oh. Not exactly reassuring. They also state: "In most cases you won't be eating the genes themselves." In most cases! And I believe that IS supposed to be reassuring.
Finally, they highlight this dubious statistic: In 2003 more than 80 percent of the U.S. soybean crop was GE. They don't mention that it was genetically altered so it could survive saturation with weed killer! (Another excellent reason to avoid soy.)
3) Red meat. Harvard instructs us to shun pigs in a blanket. But that's just junk food. And Harvard knows it. There's no comparison between a lean cut of red meat and pigs in a blanket.
Harvard's problem with red meat is saturated fat, of course. There's simply no way to convince some nutritionists that saturated fats are not evil. On the contrary. As William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. reminds us, animal fats boost energy and immunity. They also help build stronger, more resilient cells.
4) Vitamin E. Do I even have to say it? Harvard hasn't caught up with the important difference between the single- form vitamin E supplements used in so many damning studies, and the mixed tocopherols that are absolutely the only way to take your E.
5) Eggs. Instead of eating whole eggs, Harvard suggests you eat egg whites or egg substitute. Yeesh! Egg fear is so 20th Century, Harvard. Nature gave us this nearly perfect food. Don't mess it up!
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Back on track
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"Added vitamins have lost their sheen, and there are more doubts than ever about taking them in pill form."
The sheen is gone? Well, that's how someone at Harvard tells it in a recent Harvard Health Letter. They grudgingly make two exceptions: Folic acid for young women and vitamin D. Other than that – no sheen!
The Healthy Eating book follows the same line, cautioning that only a "tiny handful" of studies support supplement use. Then, throughout the book, the authors cite study after study that cast supplements as extremely useful.
Vitamin D supplements get a nod, of course. Omega-3 fatty acids? Absolutely. Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc get special note for preventing age-related macular degeneration. In Harvard's own take on the USDA pyramid, calcium supplements are included.
And folic acid for women? Of course. But they also offer a study that shows how folic acid and vitamin B6 reduce risk of heart attack or death due to heart disease. Then they feature additional studies in which folic acid curbs memory loss and reduces colon cancer risk.
Gee...that tiny handful of studies turned out to be fairly important.
Harvard! Good call!
Source: http://hsibaltimore.com/
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