What is the end goal here....

There are several reasons that I have taken on this journey to get as fit and healthy as I can......

Of course, one of the reasons is so that I can live a long and healthy life.  However, my main reason for taking on this endevour is so that I can hopefully remedy a couple of issues that I have been dealing with for way too long.  I am the type of person that hates to take any type of longterm medication because I believe that most ailments are caused by some type of imbalance in the body which needs to be addressed rather than just using drugs to cover the symptoms.

Get off of Hormone Meds:
The only longterm prescription medication that I am on currently is Synthroid, which is a synthetic thyroid used to treat hypothyroidism.  Hypothyroidism basically means that your thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormones, which can have an effect on many other hormones in the body.   I do not want to replicate information here on the causes, symptoms, and treatments since Wilkipedia already has a fantastic  explanation of this issue..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothyroidism.

Another issue that has come up recently has been that my testosterone levels have been coming in extremely low.  I think that this could be tied to the hypothyroidism and I am hoping that rebalanceing my body will address this as well.  Some people say that this is a natural part of getting old, but I do not buy that.  My levels are off the charts low and I have been using a cypionate testosterone cream to fight the effects of low T.

Get off of Allergy Meds:

The other issue that I would love to resolve and be able to get away from are my seasonal allergies which have plagued me since I moved to TX 7 years ago.  I have had both skin testing and blood testing for allergies and it appears that I am allergic to just about every grass and most trees in TX, as well as Dogs.  So, rather than moving back to IL (which will never happen), I need to come up with some way of instructing my body that trees and grass and dogs are not actually going to kill me and there is not need to freak out when confronted with these allergens.  I have tried accupuncture, allergy shots, nasal steroids, and many different OTC and prescription meds.  Nothing seems to resolve the symptoms without causing a ton of other issues.

Solve the Un-solvable:

The third and final thing that I would like to solve is a sudden loss of taste/smell, which came on about 2 years ago.  You have no idea how annoying it is to not be able to smell or taste foods or many of your favorite scents.  I have had an MRI, CT Scan, and a camera shoved up my nose to try to diagnose the problem with this, but doctors have been unable to find anything wrong that would cause this.  The initial theories included tumors on my pituatary gland or nasal cavities,  nasal polyps, trauma to the head (which I have not had), etc., but noone has been able to find any causes.  Therefore all of the doctors have said the same thing they always say when they can not figure out what the problem is..... "It must be viral....there is nothing we can do".  The transalation for this is "I am too stupid or too lazy to figure this out......or there is no money in it for me to help you".  Bastards!

I am hoping that I can boost my body's healing abilities by removing toxins and chemicals from my life as much as possible and feeding it with natural healthy foods, thus allowing it to heal itself instead of having to constantly fight toxins.  I'll keep you posted on any changes in these three areas.

Here's what I am changing....

It is unrealistic for anyone to expect that we can cut out all of the bad things in our lives, but we are attempting to learn what they are and avoid them as much as we can.

Things we have removed from our diet so far.....

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Trans Fats - Includes Partially Hydrogenated Oils
• Refined Sugars - I now use organic honey or raw blue agave.
• Artificial Sweeteners - Avoid Aspartame/Nutrasweet, Splenda, etc.  These are man-made chemicals that simulate a sweet taste.  That should be all I need to say.  Try using raw organic honey or blue agave or natural sweeteners like Stevia.
• Sodas, especially Diet Sodas - Not only do these have the bad sugars and chemical sweeteners, but they are loaded with other chemicals that are toxic to your body.  These are liquid death.
• Fast Foods - Most of this stuff is not even food anymore.  Watch the movie "Supersize Me" and you will discover that mold will not even eat a french fry from McDonald's.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - Beware....manufacturers are now listing this as just "Corn Syrup" on labels since it has become known that HCFS is so bad for you.
• White Processed Flour - I am still struggling with this (I love Chipotle Burritos), but I intend to cut this out.  We use only whole grain wheat at home.

Changes we have made....

• Drinking only filtered/purified water - Dont drink from that tap.  Get a list of the things in your water from your local water treatment plant and you probably would not even want to wash your feet in it.
• Switching to organic foods - We try to at least control what we eat at home.  Just need to make healthy choices when eating out.
• Eating Free Range Poultry and Meats - Have you ever seen a documentary on the conditions that cows  and chickens live in while they are being grown for your consumption.  I dare you watch one and then tell me that the meat they produce is okey dokey.
• No Farm Raised Fish - Same reasons as Poultry and Meats
• Avoiding the use of microwaves - I have always felt that these devices alter the structural makeup of foods and now there is research to prove that microwaved foods become toxic to the body.  Have you ever nuked a breadstick and then tried to eat it a couple of minutes later once it has turned into a rubber paper weight.
• On Day 9 of a 30 Day Colon Cleanse -  Using an herbal product named Colonix. I hope to post the results in a later post.
• Chlorine Filter for Shower Head - Water treatment plants put tons of chlorine into our water supply to poison and kill all the bad organisms in our water.  The problem is that we are also organisms and it is poisoning us as well.
• Swtiched to Organic Cleansers and Detergents - You would be astounded by all of the carcinogens that are in the detergents that you wear on your body all day long after washing your clothes.  Your skin is your largest organ and it is soaking this stuff up all day long.  Also, bath soaps are full of junk that is soaked into your skin.
• No Dry Cleaning - Dry cleaning is accomplished by dousing your clothes with chemicals.  I don't want to wear that stuff all day.
• Using Natural Deodorants - Anti-perspirants and deodorants contain nasty poisons, most notably Aluminum and Alchohol.  You are putting this directly on some major lymph glands that are absorbing it into your body.
• Eliminated Air Fresheners - We did this a long time back since they always irritated my nasal passages.  Once you look at what is in them, you understand why this was happening.

Things that we are preparing to do in the near future....

• Liver & Kidney Detox -
• Candida Cleanse - Taking antibiotics causes a candida yeast overgrowth in your body, which can cause a number of ailments.
• Wholehouse Water Filtration System - It is amazing the amount of chemicals in our water these days.  Did you know that you probably have E. Coli and Arsenic in your water?
• Replace plastic food containers - Plastics are not natural and they are full of manmade chemicals that leach into our food and drinks.  Go with glass or something similiar.
• Replace old metal cavity fillings - The old-school metals (including mercury) in your fillings is poisoning you and could be causing some of your illnesses.
• Non-Flouride Toothpaste - Still researching this one.  Flouride is a toxic chemical and toothpastes have silica (sand) in them that wear down your teeth and gums.  Also they have gunk in them that makes it hard for your teeth to rebuild enamel.
• Avoid Non-Stick Cookware - Remember when your mom used to make mashed potatoes in a teflon pan and they were a grayish color from the teflon leaching into the spuds?  (Maybe that was just my mom.)  That can't be good for you.  Look at your teflon pans......do you see scratches where the teflon coating has come off?  Where do you think it went?  It's in your family's food!

This post turned out to be much longer than I had planned (and I am sure there are several other things I have forgotten to mention), but I could not help but throw in some helpful tips to people who might think this is all a bit over the top.  You have to take this stuff seriously for you and your family if you want to live a long and healthy life together.

Some other things to be aware of are foods/drinks that say "sugar free" or "fat free".  How exactly did they remove that stuff......and what did they replace it with to make it not taste like crap?  Could the answer be chemicals and more chemicals?  I think so.

What should we believe?

There are so many reports out about different foods and supplements that contradict one another....so what do we believe?  I think that the best way to figure this out is to use common sense.  I can still hear my grandmother saying these words when I asked her why she eats so much butter, so many eggs, and whole milk when the FDA had just come out with reports saying this stuff was bad for you......  She said "I have been eating butter, eggs, and drinking whole milk my entire life and I am fit as a fiddle at age 60, the FDA can kiss my butt."  I loved that woman.  :)  She was the queen of common sense.

If you hear a report from some doctor or from some institution or some company.....just ask yourself what they have to gain by coming out and saying what they are saying.  Are they possibly selling a product?  Are they working for an organization that has an interest in a billion dollar industry such as pharmacueticals or food sales?  Also, does what they are saying make sense or is it against what you believe to be true based on your experiences? 

Sometimes, the information that is being passed on is good and you would be prudent to heed the advice of these professionals, but you need to do some research and verify this information first using other sources.  Be aware that there is a ton of propaganda and misinformation out there about food and drugs.  Imagine if you had a marketing budget of millions and millions to put together a campaign for your products, how effectively you could brainwash millions of people to use it.  Those of you out there that understand marketing and advertising know how easily it is to program someone to use a product that they do not need and that is potentially harmful to them.  You just use testimonials from people they want to be like (happy, strong, sexy, wealthy, famous, etc.) and use repitition to drill it into their mind.  Perhaps in a later post I will go into the specific ways that we are all brainwashed everyday to buy these products.

One of the best ways to find out what you should and should not do is to find someone who has had success in this arena in their own lives and imitate them.  You would not go to the guy that is 200 Lbs overweight on wife number five to get health and fitness tips or relationship advice right?  You probably have a friend out there that has more energy than you, has a better physique than you, or seems happier than you.  Start changing what you are doing to model yourself after that person and make positive changes in your life. 

Stay away from overnight success products.  If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.  Use Common Sense!  Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.....  lol, I just realized that I sound like my parents, but it is so true.  You did not get unhealthy or unfit overnight, and it is not something that you are going to fix overnight.  You have lived a certain way for years and years, so you are going to have to make lifelong changes in order to repair the damage that you have done.

Go out there and start making those positive changes in your life and use common sense when deciding on what you should do.

Let the Journey Begin...

Why is it that doctors don't seem to be able to cure anything these days?  Are they stupid?  Are they lazy?  Are they victims of the quick fix society that we all have come accustomed to?  Are they being programmed by the FDA and the pharmacuetical companies to only prescribe medications to address symptoms so that the billionaires in these organizations can continue to feed off of the illnesses of the sick and huddled masses?

I think that the latter is the best explanation of what is going on in America today, although I will admit that many doctors are also stupid, lazy, or just pressured by their patients for a quick fix.  I for one am fed up with just being one of the ignorant masses that plays into the hands of the ultra-wealthy that run this country and exploits its people.  I have made a decision to get off the pharmacuetical ferris wheel and get back to basics in order to regain my health and vitality that I once had as a younger man.

In my journey to get back in tip-top shape, I am not going to go off the charts and become a complete psycho about all of the things out in the world that are killing us (which is easy to do when you start to open your eyes to everything that is out there).  I am simply going to make some lifestyle changes that I think will allow my body to properly repair and heal itself without the use of pharmacueticals.

My hopes in starting this blog are the following:
1.  Track the changes that I am making in order to see what works and does not work for me.
2.  Allow those that are helping me along to way to see what I have tried so that they can help me decide what needs to be pursued next.
3.  Possibly help lead someone else down this path of self discovery so that they can heal themselves as well.

Feel free to join me on this journey and to make any comments that you think would be helpful to myself or others on this topic.