Health & Vitality - My Ongoing Search

In order to understand Dr. Mercola's Fat For Fuel approach, we need to delve a little more into the mitochondria, those little powerhouses in our cells which convert our food and air into energy.  Mercola's extensive review of the medical literature, in conjunction with interviewing many experts in the field, led him to believe that nearly all chronic disease is caused by defective metabolic processes in the mitochondria.  What we eat, as well as what we are exposed to in our living environment can cause these defects.  When too many are damaged our health takes a downturn.  However, healing can occur by carefully choosing nutrients as well as other strategies.  This is why Mercola calls his approach Mitochondrial Metabolic Therapy.  Because it is an emerging field, he continues to research and revise by reviewing new studies.  He posts updates in his newsletter and on his website.  Okay, general science lesson finished for now.  Those who ar...

I've been on my share of diets over the course of my lifetime.  In my teens, I can remember doing one I probably read about in a magazine.  I think it was mainly grapefruit, cottage cheese and tuna from what I recall.  Of course, I lost weight, but it was not sustainable nutritionally. Probably until my mid-forties, dietary strategies were for the primary purpose of losing weight, and mainly the weight I had gained during my pregnancies.  The high protein ones, like The Scarsdale Diet, for example, seemed to be what would give me the fastest results but still maintain the energy I needed for my busy life. I don't remember exactly when my annual bloodwork started showing elevated cholesterol, but it was certainly in the years when the low fat diets became very popular, and along with them, a spate of related cookbooks came into existence.  The tasty but fun books, Looney Spoons and Crazy Plates, became a staple for family cooking which would satisfy everyone....

As a means of introducing the nutritional aspects of my ongoing search in the past several years, here is a list of the cookbooks still on my kitchen shelf, in their chronological order. The New Complete Book of Cookery The Chatelaine Cookbook These two are basic, traditional cooking references. The Lighthearted Cookbook Lighthearted Everyday Cooking Looney Spoons Crazy Plates Meal Lean Y Yumm These ones are all low fat recipes from the days when that came into high popularity and also related to the years where I thought that was the best way to manage my elevated cholesterol. The Schwarzbein Principle Cookbook The Hormone Diet The Autoimmune Solution These reflect my early days of studying aspects of nutrition as it relates to hormonal balance, inflammation and disease symptom management in my perimenopausal years. They are not just cookbooks, but are lifestyle approaches. Chef Michael Smith's Kitchen Michael Smith's Fast Flavours These are easy delicious ...

Over the years I have tried different forms of meditation with varying degrees of success.  There are so many styles available which range from simply paying attention to your breath on one end of the spectrum, to spending an hour or longer on paying attention to a very specific guided technique.  I've had experiences from one end of the range to the other. I have such a busy mind that, simply watching my breath is not very successful for me.  I tend to multi-task, trying to pay attention to my in and out breath while also making a to do list in my head or analyzing something else. What seems to work best for me are guided meditations, particularly if they have music in the background.  This distracts my mind enough to allow it to relax. Today I'm going to mention two styles that I've used on an ongoing basis.  Part of the reason for today's post being on this topic of meditation is, that there is a free online 21 Day Meditation Experience starting tomorro...

I mentioned Yoga Tune Up briefly in my post about keeping my feet happy.  It is the name of another fitness class which I attend on a weekly basis.  I've been going to this one for around five years.  In the past I have attended basic hatha yoga classes where we would do routines including familiar sequences like Sun Salutation or poses like Warrior in a gentle flow way.  I've never done hot yoga or power yoga but have tried kundalini yoga a couple of times when that was the style a substitute teacher offered at a fitness studio I attended in the past. Yoga Tune Up is different from other yoga classes.  To quote their website:  "Yoga Tune Up is a fitness therapy format built around the three P's - Pain, Posture and Performance.  It helps eradicate pain, improve posture and enhance performance through a unique blend of yoga, Corrective Exercise, Self-Massage and Breath Strategies. By helping to identify your ' body blind spots';  areas that are m...

I'm going to wax more philosophical in this post and may ramble on a bit.  Because of various things that have come into my awareness this week, thanks to different things I do, listen to or read, I was kind of stopped short this morning with thinking about what really nourishes and sustains me. This does not just refer to food.  I'm thinking about being nourished physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It won't be long, now that Hallowe'en is almost upon us, before we start seeing all the warm, fuzzy advertising and Hallmark moment movies of the holiday seasons which promise us that magic is in the air and all our dreams can come true.  I get sucked in as much as the next person. But, what is it we're looking for, really?  Don't we all just want to feel safe, comforted, nourished, healthy, loved and fulfilled in our lives? These stem from primal needs we are born with as human beings living here on this earth.  We all come from different root...

This morning I had the opportunity to go to the Columbia outlet store with a friend.  I had been looking forward to getting a new pair of waterproof hiking shoes.  There were several styles to choose from and I found a pair that fit well.  The most recent pair I had lasted me a few years, so they were well worth the price.  A few winters ago we had barely any snow and I wore them most of the winter instead of boots.  But, they are ideal for cold, wet days here in spring and fall too. Since I have not worked much in several years, my main need for foot wear is more athletic ones, to pair with my fitness clothes when I am going to and coming from class.  Though I don't need them for any of my classes, they are definitely what I wear for most walking or any hiking, especially on uneven terrain.  My feet feel well supported in them and I feel safe from slipping or tripping. I still have several other pairs of shoes and boots for different occasions but...

On Wednesday mornings I attend  a small Pilates class, and have been doing so for a few years now.  I had certainly heard about Pilates but it struck me as something very difficult to do.  When I was a member of a studio which offered different classes, I opted to give it a try.  This was mainly because one of my friends from another class was the teacher. My impression was that it would be about core strength and I thought the other classes and exercising I did already addressed that.  Little did I know!  At first, it was very challenging, one of those classes you are relieved to see end.  But, with great teaching and guidance I came to enjoy it and now rarely miss a class. I've had a low back issue for several years which persistently caused me discomfort, despite various treatments and body work.  Although not completely resolved, I have felt a tremendous improvement since making Pilates a part of my regimen. There are different schools a...

For a long time I had heard the word 'reiki' mentioned in conversations, but did not really know what it meant, except that it was some kind of energy work.  I did have a couple of reiki sessions with a friend who was doing training in it.  They were pleasant experiences but did not entice me to learn further at the time.  But, as the saying goes, the teacher will appear when the student is ready. As my circle of friends expanded to include more people interested in different forms of body work and energy healing my curiosity about Reiki expanded too.  One of my NIA teachers (NIA is described in a previous post) is also a Reiki practitioner and teacher.  So, I dipped my toe in and took an introductory class about Usui Reiki. There are a number of styles of Reiki healing which were developed and practiced in Japan in the early 1900's.  The Usui system is the one my teacher trained in.  Reiki means spiritually guided life energy.  The Master tea...

First of all, I do not claim to be any kind of expert on crystals.  However, my awareness and enjoyment of them has increased quite a lot in the past several years. My understanding of crystals in my younger years was limited to hearing or reading about those designated as birth stones or gemstones. I own very little in the way of valuable jewelry and my purchase in the past of what would be called costume jewelry was mostly synthetic.  In the last ten years or so that has changed quite a bit, as I explored in metaphysical stores or attended sales of handcrafted jewelry along with friends.  What began more as an interest to find attractive and affordable necklaces and bracelets expanded to learning about just what gemstones, crystals and minerals made up these pieces. Some friends have been well versed in crystal knowledge, and they would identify stones and properties to me.  Shops and sales often have books on hand to look up the source and meaning of particula...

On the long drive back home today, after our mini-vacation, I amused myself by reading a cozy mystery novel.  I enjoy reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction from serious to light topics.   For reading in the car though, unless I am deeply engaged in a non-fiction book I just may nod off. Cozy mysteries are a genre which still have an interesting plot but, unlike the forensic thrillers, tend not to be so gruesome.  I used to read that type in the past as I found the personality analysis of the killer rather interesting.  But now, I don't want to immerse myself in someone's murderous psychotic behavior. I'd rather read something that has a mystery to be solved but also contains the humorous or more mundane aspects of people and life.  There is quite a wide variety available in many different areas of interest from cooking, to knitting to history, and many more. Many of these books are written as series, with recurring characters and themes.  The o...

It's another brisk fall day.  This morning we took a country drive from our cottage location into the town where our brother-in-law lives.  We drove past lakes, marshes, stands of trees and farms.     There is something different about the quality of light in the autumn.  When the sun is shining everything seems to have more clarity.  The colors of the leaves on the trees stand out in clear contrast to the evergreens and hold my attention.  It's bucolic and mesmerizing. Once in town we met up and headed to the local farmers' market, which is almost finished for the season.  I wondered what we would find at this time of year.  I was not disappointed. We came away with farm fresh eggs, duck eggs this time, which I have never tried but look forward to at breakfast tomorrow.  Also, into our bag went home made bread and date squares.  Further along we got apples and pears.  Last but not least, and so plentiful at this time o...

At present my husband and I are on a little getaway to cottage country, thanks to the hospitality of our niece and nephew who have a couple of cottages they normally rent through Airbnb.  We were hoping to catch the peak of fall colors but have missed most of it probably a week or so too late.  Nonetheless, we still saw some lovely leaf colors on our drive to get here. This morning we went to a nearby regional park for a hike.  It's been a long time since I hiked on an actual trail in nature over rugged surfaces of granite and large tree roots where you need to keep your eye on the ground or risk tripping or losing your footing. We clambered over large outcroppings of granite and walked between deciduous and pine trees over needle coated ground while listening to the sounds of the nearby river current moving water downstream.  Most of the wildlife was pretty quiet in midmorning.  We only heard a couple of birds calling. The weather is sunny and briskly coo...

I met Jocelyn Rasmussen five or six years ago or so at a nearby café.  She overheard a conversation I was having with some friends, and being at the next table asked if she could join in.  She had hopes to start meeting with people in groups for inspired conversation.  I gave her my email to be notified.  In those early meetings we learned that Jocelyn had lived and worked in New York city for many years as both a singer and a vocal coach. She was offering private voice coaching here, as well as group lessons.  She had plenty of experience with both and in fact, published a book entitled Meant To Be Heard to share about how her learning about the voice and vocal coaching techniques had evolved.  She describes it as the art of transformational voice work and it truly is. Although I had been aware of her group classes for awhile it took me some time to have the courage to join and to start singing again.  At first I felt quite intimidated because man...

When I was growing up we had an old upright piano in our living room.  My mother had learned to play piano and organ as a young girl.  She continued to enjoy it as a past time during her years of homemaking and raising a family.  Often she would play from one of her songbooks and some of the children, usually the girls, would stand nearby singing and looking over her shoulder to read the lyrics. Those were fun times for me and I enjoyed singing melody lines and sometimes trying a harmony.  In elementary school I learned some basic sight reading of music and had some time in the school choir.  But, most of my singing happened at home or at church. I was raised as a Catholic and in my pre-teen and early teen years what were then known as folk choirs and now are better known as contemporary choirs came into vogue.  Our small town choir seemed to have limited access to that spiritual music genre and struggled by with a limited number of hymns/songs.  I...

Not long after starting school I was prescribed my first eyeglasses after not being able to read the blackboard.  I've been myopic or nearsighted most of my life.  Now I am farsighted after having cataract surgery a couple of years ago. We tend to take our vision for granted until we start losing it.  For much of my life, if I could not see well enough it usually meant it was time for a new prescription.  I have had many pairs of glasses in my lifetime and also a short period of time when I wore contact lenses. In the last several years my vision was becoming less clear, but it wasn't something that could be corrected by new eyeglasses.  The issue was with the lenses of my eyes, which were forming cataracts.  I went through a frustrating period of three or four years when my optometrist was monitoring the cataracts.  There was no point in referring me for an ophthalmologist consult until they reached a certain point of maturity.  During those ...

Most of us are probably now familiar with the concept of probiotics being good for our digestion, thanks to wide marketing of yogurts with added probiotics.  But, our bodies can use, and probably need way more of those good bacteria than the miniscule amounts in your cup of yogurt. I also hope that it is becoming more mainstream knowledge that the health of our gut has huge influence on our overall well-being.  There has been a lot of research in recent years about how many inflammation based illnesses, which express in both body and mind, may actually begin with sub-optimal functioning of our digestive system.  You may have seen articles talking about the gut as the second brain for example, or that in large part our immune system responses begin in the gut. Our ancestors used fermenting and curing of food as a means of preservation in days when less refrigeration was available.  Fermented foods, like pickles and sauerkraut, for example, would be stored in jars ...

I'm wide awake.  My low back and hips are complaining and preventing me from finding a comfortable position in bed.  My lower legs and feet are acting like they may cramp somewhere soon. All this usually does not happen until close to my regular wake up time.  It's Sunday, so I did not set an alarm.  But it must be time.  I sit up, flip off my sleep mask and look at the clock.  3:35 a.m.  Crap!  I'm quite annoyed because last night was the first time I took melatonin before bed and I was hopeful for a longer sleep.  I lie down again, try to prop pillows for more comfort and spend the next 90 minutes or so pondering what the sleeping glitch was until I finally get up. Having a solid night of sleep is such a rare occurrence for me that it feels like a miracle when it does happen. Aside from the insomnia of the early parenting years, I had some pretty decent years of sleep until the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause.  Sinc...

Currently there are over 300 emails in my inbox and the majority of them are not personal messages.  This happens to me because I subscribe to many different sites which send out newsletters or briefer posts on a frequency that ranges from daily to weekly.  Some are for fun, such as Merriam-Webster dictionary's word of the day, or the daily Buddha Doodle from artist Molly Hahn.  Many are things I've signed up for in relation to my health and vitality search. One is Green Med Info - the Science of Natural Healing, which reviews scientific articles in many areas of health and wellness. The boon of the internet is that there is SO much on offer, but this can also become the bane of the internet.  You can probably have a similar experience in many different areas of interest.  In the health and wellness field in recent years there have been a plethora of summits.  These are events hosted by one or two individuals who interview several experts on the topic of ...

I've tried different exercise strategies over my lifetime, from looking at and trying to copy exercise routines shown in magazine articles as a teenager, to joining volleyball and track and field teams at school, to running on my own and swimming laps at the university pool or the Y, and eventually to doing group classes of different types as an adult. You may wonder why someone who identifies as an introvert would like group classes.  I think it's because it is a very focused, guided activity and I am 'just one of the crowd' unless I do something glaringly different, which believe me is rare.  I've never been one who could stick with going to a gym and using a lot of equipment.  And, one of the big appeals to me for the particular class I'm discussing today is that it is choreographed to music. In the 80's sometime, I started going to aerobics classes at the Y which were routines done to music, often loud pounding music to motivate us.  This was a combi...

Sometimes it's just better to be quiet and to have a quiet environment.  I personally have a pretty quiet home environment during the day.  I'm not someone who has the TV, radio or stereo on for background sound as I go about my activities.  I seldom turn the radio on when I drive the car.  I like quiet. It's not that I never enjoy those things, but I prefer them in small controlled doses and usually paired with a specific purpose.  We usually have music playing during our dinner hour for example. The meditations I listen to nearly everyday have a musical background.  And, one of my favorite fitness classes, NIA, is music based. (Another whole post will be devoted to talking about that class.)  Likewise, I am not a person who enjoys a noisy party atmosphere or any kind of group where there is constant loud talking going on. The reason for these preferences is likely both biological and environmental.  Some of us are born with a more reactive n...

I do not use that title in a facetious or comical way.  I believe it to be true.  After all when any being close to us, whether they be animal or human, departs this earthly plane, our lives are shifted. In the past year or so there have been several deaths in my circle of family and friends.  Some have been relatives or acquaintances and others have been very beloved pets.  Whether it is an expected death or not, it makes us stop in our tracks.  It's the physical end of a relationship, no matter what form that relationship took.  It creates a change in the dynamics of our relationship to others in our family or extended circle. As a young adult, when I would make the trip home to visit my parents who lived a distance away, one of the first conversations we had would begin with "So and so died, you remember them".  "Um, no I don't think I do."  It may have been someone who lived in my small home town, or an acquaintance or friend of my parents...

Yesterday was our big Thanksgiving turkey dinner here and I knew there would be leftovers.  I wanted to have leftovers.  After dinner we got everything except the turkey into containers and stuck them where they would fit in the fridge.  Some food was sent home with one son.  When everyone was gone I stripped the turkey carcass of most of the remaining meat and put all that in containers for freezer and fridge.  Everything else except the skin went back into the big roasting pan along with chunks of carrot, onion and celery, some thyme, salt and pepper and a splash of apple cider vinegar and a little bundle of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme.  Lots of water was added and brought to a boil, then covered to simmer for almost 18 hours to make a delicious broth for soup. Today I took everything out of my refrigerator freezer to reorganize.  It was getting pretty crowded in there and I threw some things out.  Then I rearranged things in my fridge to a...

In the past few years I have become interested in learning more about astrology and also to a small extent about astronomy as a hobby.  I consider it as an intellectual pursuit and also somewhat spiritual.  In the past, as a younger adult I was mostly guided by religion and general cultural mores or rules.  But now my interests in life guidance or philosophy are more eclectic. A few years ago I had a complete astrological chart and reading done by someone who does this as a significant part of his career.  I received a printed manual through which I could learn a lot about my sign, my chart and the meanings of the planets, their aspects to one another as well as the meanings of the zodiac signs.  I found it very interesting and could see patterns that carried through my life. After learning from that experience it became easier to follow general forecasts I might read online.  I have come across some which I now consistently follow.  This is not be...

Sunday is one of the only days of the week that I am not on a timeline to be somewhere or do some household chore in the morning.  I do not sleep in on Sundays.  I am an early riser, a morning person, always have been and even without an alarm I most always wake up at the usual time. For the past 20 years my husband has worked a job where he needs to arrive by 7 a.m.  We set our alarm for 5:15 and even on weekends I wake up around this time or even earlier. (There will definitely be future posts about sleep issues and strategies!)  My husband does sleep in on weekends, so I have two or sometimes three hours of quiet solitude before he gets up. Here is my early morning routine, and admittingly I do this every morning but can linger longer with it on Sundays.  I go to the kitchen, empty the dishwasher and fill the kettle to heat for our morning green tea. (Though I still love the smell of coffee I gave it up several years ago because it affected my sleep.)...

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  As such, food and grocery shopping gets planned around that big celebration meal.  For us, that shopping was today. Several years ago, when finances were tight either due to unemployment or, in my case, being on strike twice, I got into the habit of meal planning and making a shopping list.  Meals and shopping were planned in large part around items on sale as we had to be very frugal.  Flyers were perused for the stores of choice not too far from our home and I went from there into my list making. Obviously, things have changed quite a bit from the years when we had three boys at home to now when there are just two of us.  However, I still scan the flyers and choose recipes mostly based upon items on sale.  Although it takes more time up front, the shopping itself is pretty efficient as there is little standing around in store aisles wondering what to get.  Also, it is less likely that things are forgotten ...

Welcome to Day 1 of Health & Vitality - My Ongoing Search! Today I'm going to talk about my current experience of bodywork, by which I mean appointments where I have someone physically manipulating my body in some way.  This is currently very relevant to me because I've had three of those appointments this week.  Normally, I try not to schedule them all so close together, but sometimes it happens. First off this week, I had what was only my second appointment with an osteopathic manual practitioner.  Here in Ontario they are not called osteopaths, something to do with how they are licensed I think.  I decided to see an osteopath as one more practice tool in my health and wellness tool kit.  It is a fascinating practice and experience for me.  They do a history of course to have a background of just what kind of things your body has been through in life which may still be impacting you now.  Then, your standing posture is reviewed from front, ba...

Hello There! This post is a prelude to what will be a 365 day project to blog on this topic of my ongoing search for health and vitality.  The one year project is inspired by another blogger I follow who is about to complete her first 365 day theme.  This will be a different experience for me, as I have only blogged before in a format mainly of book reviews.  This time it will be snippets from my current life and how my personal research has affected my day to day living. As I mention in my profile, I am 64 years old and have been dealing with various physical challenges in recent years, though no significant diagnosed conditions per se. I'll be addressing topics like exercise, nutrition, body work, meditation, sleep, energy and more as they arise and describing what I've tried, what has worked for me, what has not and so on. Each day will be titled by number, as well as the topic area I'll address on that particular day.  I'll be starting on October 5th and ...