It's The Little Things

Life as we know it. Has it become easier  yet less dense? Have we made many strides to make technologies, medicine, life in general advance to the best of our abilities? I think so. My question is;  at what cost? I watched the movie Sicko by Michael Moore this morning for the first time. If you are not familiar, it is about the Health Insurance Industry and how it is administered in the US as compared to the universal healthcare systems in Canada, England, France and Cuba. This movie first aired in mid 2007 before the affordable care act but for the most part the stories that were shared were still current situations happening right in our backyards. The difference in the healthcare systems were so blatant and made me ashamed to be living in a country where we do not take care of each other in these ways; free public healthcare, free day care, extended vacations, long family leaves for maternity. The list goes on and on. The points that stuck with me were that doctors in the public facilities are paid more for taking good care of the patients and having the lowest incidences. The people that were interviewed in the waiting rooms stated that the waits were around 20-30 minutes and in some cases right away. They said it was very organized in the hospitals. The best part is that they will take care of anyone no matter what. It is a human right. People can lead a less stressful life knowing that they are being taken care in this way and they do not have the financial burden of high medical insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical procedures and doctors visits. Some of the doctors even made house calls!

I realize that these government programs have to be paid for by the people thru taxes, however this system really seems to work and people are taken care of first and foremost. We were ranked 37 in healthcare at the time and that is where we are today according to the World Health Organization.

Per CNN:

The United States spends more than 15 percent of its GDP on health care -- no other nation even comes close to that number. France spends about 11 percent, and Canadians spend 10 percent. 

As Americans continue to spend $2 trillion a year on health care, everyone agrees on one point: Things need to change, and it will take more than a movie to figure out how to get there.

Since I have become more involved with health and wellness in the last 5 years, I have learned so much about our standard medical system and how it really does not focus on the health and wellbeing of our people in the safest and most effective way. My focus is on nutrition: "Let Food Be Thy Medicine".  I have heard story after story about how nutrition has healed so many with every kind of disease and condition. I know that nutrition is a very small part of medical school. More and more doctors are jumping out of the box and learning about nutrition in an effort to help their patients in a better way as opposed to pharmaceutical drugs which have many side effects and cause more pharmaceuticals to be prescribed to counteract the effects. I realize that there are many incidences where this is really necessary but I think everyone will agree that we are a severely overmedicated society and the norm is to reach for the miracle pill at every turn. If we would take the time to learn the power of our food we could substitute so many things with no side effects and overall improved health and wellbeing. Healing thru nutrition takes time and most are not willing to work thru it and give the time needed to heal. Pills are immediate but only last so long and always have some residual effects, either immediate or further down the road, wreaking havoc on our bodies in ways we will not feel until it is too late. I truly believe that prevention is the key to a happy and healthy lifestyle. My hope is that we will continue to move towards more functional medicine doctors who will identify and treat for the cause of disease and not the continued bandaid system we have only treating the symptoms continuously and never getting to the root cause.  Most functional medicine doctors will offer up nutrition, natural supplementation, healthy lifestyle, exercise, and low stress as solutions before going in the direction of any pharmaceuticals and/or surgery.

We are at a very volatile time in our lives here in the US. Too much racial tension with the police. This crazy presidential election coming up this November. Isis attacks everywhere. There is so much on the table and my hope is that we will all come together and realize the power of caring first and foremost for our people, their health, and well being. Personally I am excited at the prospect of free public college, more improvements in our current health insurance programs, equal pay for women and all, and the continued uphill climb combatting global climate change.  I know we all do not have the same political views but I would hope that we are all concerned for our fellow man. It is the only way we will prosper in our great nation.  We must be a people of WE and not ME.

I hope everyone is having a great summer amid the extreme heat. Stay cool and hydrated with lots of fresh water, fresh fruit, seasonal veggies, and refreshing foods. I can't seem to get enough watermelon myself!! Infuse your water with fruit of your choice (cucumber and mint is good too), to keep it from getting boring and tasteless. You also get the nutritional benefits of whatever you add to the water!!

I leave you with this: Laugh and smile as much as you can. It is infectious and will only bring joy to those around you. Think of what can you do for the next person who needs help.

Remember it's the little things!!


Your Nutrition Coach
Susan G

Those Raging Hormones (part 1)

Around the age of 40 I started having moderate hot flashes and night sweats, which, obviously affected my sleep patterns. I ran into an old friend who shared her same experiences and told me about some over the counter, natural remedies, which contained black cohash and soy. I experimented with a few different ones to see which would have the best effect. The regular strength seemed to be the best. I used this for a number of years, and it worked in the beginning but as I got closer to 50 the hot flashes, skin crawling, and anxiety got considerably worse. I had been asking my gynecologist each year to test me to see where I was in the world of menapause but I was continuously told that as long as I was still having periods, I was not in menapause, only peri (early) menapause. As you can imagine, this was frustrating for me, knowing how much worse I was feeling and getting no real answers.  About 2 years ago I felt so bad that I called my doctor in a panic. In my quest to just feel human everyday, I was willing to do just about anything. We all want to rely on our healthcare professionals, as I did. Immediately, I started taking the ever popular drugs that have been relied upon for many years, but eventually cause cancer. I was told that I could not stay on this for more than 5 years due to the risk. This did not sit well with me, but at the time I would have done anything to feel better. Ultimately, I did get rid of the hot flashes and night sweats, and slept better as well. The downside was that I gained weight uncontrollably, and bled every other week. I tried another version which was stronger, under my doctor’s care, and there was really no change. I was finally at the point of no return. I realized, as many of us do, that we are dealing with the lesser of two evils. Do I enjoy the taming of the hot flashes, night sweats,and anxiety, at the risk of getting heavier, feeling bloated all the time, and bleeding every other week, not to mention the cramps and other lovely PMS symptoms that go along with it. My answer was clear. I forgot to mention that when I asked my doctor about bioidentical hormones, he was so opposed and negative about it that I dropped it like a hot pancake. I trust this doctor and respect his opinion as I have been going to him since my kids were born. It was time to take me and my hormones into my own hands. I immediately stopped taking the cancer causing hormones and made an appointment with a new doctor who had been recommended by a friend at work. My point here is that even though we feel that we are in the hands of our doctors we must take charge of our own destiny. There are no other choices for FDA approved hormones other than the ones I was offered, as far as I know. This new doctor was in the early stages of learning about hormone replacement therapy and bioidentical hormones, which was just what I had been looking for.  I have been under his care now for about a year and a half and I feel great. He is a bone density and weight loss specialist as well as an MD. After a complete physical, bone density test, blood tests, saliva tests, colonoscopy, and the sharing of much info about any and all symptoms I have and have had, we are very close to getting it right. In other words, this is not a quick fix process. It takes time to get the right combination of each hormone. This was explained right from the start. We have repeated blood tests, and saliva tests a couple of times now to see what the change in hormone levels are after taking the recommended doses early on. Changes were made each time to adjust the hormone levels. I am not an expert on this subject but I do know that you need to have the correct combination of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in order to function properly and feel healthy. Please continue to Part 2