This afternoon I visited my local library and spent much needed quiet time browsing through some of their magazines and searching for some books I’ve been wanting to read. As I sat down in one of the plush chairs available, I dreamed of the places described in the current edition of the Sunset magazine I was looking through. Pictures of big sequoias, sea glass gathered during a morning walk on the beach, meadows of wild flowers, and beautiful mountain settings flooded my mind with the desire to escape to nature, somewhere. I looked up from the magazine to the outside landscape on the other side of the floor to ceiling windows. From my position, I could see a beautiful green lawn decorated with several trees full of busy little birds, and the majestic mountains in the distance that covered the east. I took in the scenery before me for a few moments when all of a sudden I realized that the library computers had been placed along all the big windows. Why oh why were the computers facing that beautiful view when the users will never look at the landscape on the other side of the screen? I believe there needs to be some redecorating on the library. Move the computers somewhere else, and in front of the windows place instead comfortable chairs to sit down with a good book while looking at the mountains in the distance.
I thought for a moment about our lives and how cluttered often it is with things that hide the beautiful views around us. When I say views, I’m not just talking about looking at nature, though I believe that’s important, but also of people, relationships, plans, and goals for the future. Sometimes we’re so busy with the things around us now, that we don’t see what is truly important and what will give us the abundant life God desires for us. Just think about the typical family or group of friends going to a restaurant all busy each with their cell phones, when right in front and around them, are amazing people to get connected with, relationships to be nourished, and dreams to be shared.
We need to regularly take a break from our busyness in order to evaluate our priorities and reset the life button. Someone once told me when talking about working extra hours, that there is no money that can buy our peace. Perhaps the extra hours at the office are not worth it if our family is living family life on their own without us. Perhaps the many hours on the couch watching TV are not worth it if it means our waist lines are growing bigger and we are getting sicker. Maybe it’s not that important to spend mindless minutes on Facebook if that means our children are being ignored and our dreams are being left behind.
We are given one life and one life only. There may be many incredible experiences we may be missing because the view is covered by our daily busyness, just like the amazing view outside the library windows was covered by the row of computers. I believe it’s time for some redecorating! Life redecorating that is.
I’m sitting here in front of the computer writing this about 10 pounds lighter than I was a few months ago, and I wasn’t even looking to loose weight. Just this past week I lost two more pounds. Clothes that were set aside for donation have been brought back out and I’m wearing them again. I had just cleaned my closet and was going to donate several items, but I think I may have to do some reorganizing and donate the clothes I thought I was going to keep instead!
Loosing weight has been nice, but it was never my intended initial goal. I had a different purpose when I first embarked on this journey, one of the many God has been putting before me. Maybe it’s all part of the same journey, just with different stops along the way, and this has been a fantastic stop.
You see, several months ago I was introduced to a book by Dr. Joel Furhman titled Super Immunity. As I started reading it I could not put it down! In fact, I have read it three times already. I wanted to absorb every word, wanted to learn it all, and wanted to check if what the author was saying was really true. There is a lot of evidence based information with references to many health studies, and I checked several of them to see if I would get from the studies the same conclusions as Dr. Fuhrman.
The book talks about building a body that is as disease proof as possible. It goes on to explain how the Standard American Diet (SAD) provides hardly any of the nutrients our bodies require for optimum health. We have been so focused on macronutrients such as protein, carbs, and fats, that we forget the extremely important immunity building micronutrients.
The book made a lot of sense and it seemed easy to follow. I had learned before that a plant-based diet was the best for us, but never truly understood how to rip the most benefits from such a diet. Having been a vegetarian all my life, I thought I was pretty healthy and ate well. However, small little things started changing in my health, making me think that maybe my immune system was not as strong as it could be. Frequent colds, allergies, dermatitis, and the new increasingly strong pain on my right abdomen that radiated to my back and up my shoulders made me realize that my body was complaining about something. I stumbled about Super Immunity at just the right time.
The book strongly encourages a plant-based diet, although it does give guidelines if one prefers to include animal protein in their nutrition, but the author goes a lot further than just promoting a more natural nutrition. He literally explains why, how, when, and what to eat and makes it simple to follow. What captivated me the most about the book is that it made a lot of sense!!
I wanted to tell the world what I’d learned, but I decided to see for myself if the principles shared were true. I began avoiding all processed food and began eating large quantities of fresh and cooked vegetables and fruits every day. If I needed to fill my body with good nutrition, I needed to eat lots of foods that would give me the macro and micro nutrients I need. The author uses the term G-BOMBS to explain the foods we should be consuming the most: Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. This was not a diet, a temporary fix, or a fad. This was a lifestyle change. Dr. Furhman uses the term nutritarian, for those who eat as he recommends. I was going to become a nutritarian for a while and see what would happen.
The first few days were not easy as Dr. Fuhrman had predicted would happen. I cut most of sugar, oils, and decreased the amount of salt intake. My stomach would hurt and I had no energy. Such was the process of detoxification. I knew this was going to happen, so I was somewhat mentally prepared, but those first few days were not very pleasant at all. Yet I continued eating very healthy, drinking plenty of fresh water, and filling this body I had been given with large quantities of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds. After a while I began feeling better until I was feeling great! All of a sudden I had a ton of energy so much so that eventually I had to start exercising. In less than two weeks I lost six pounds, and that uncomfortable pain on my right side began decreasing until I didn’t feel it anymore.
One of the many amazing things about a nutritarian lifestyle, is that by eating right, one can eat large amounts of food and not gain any weight. In fact, we loose weight. I eat huge bowls of delicious salads or soups, and the next day the scale will notify me of more weight lost. I’m also never hungry as the foods are filled with fiber and healthy nutrients that keep me full and satisfied, sometimes even until the next day. This lifestyle is not restrictive at all and I don’t have to count calories, weigh my food, or cut on carbs.
Although I like the weight loss, the best of all is that the abdominal pain I had been experiencing, (which I believe was a sign that my gallbladder was going to need to come out) is completely gone! I used to have sinus problems and would often be bothered by allergies, but I noticed recently I haven’t had any allergies this summer. I used to have occasional flare ups of itchy dermatitis on my hands, and just last week I realized that I haven’t had a flare up in months! My mind is also clearer and I have a lot more energy. Sometimes I have so much energy that I have to go jump on the trampoline or go for a jog. However, all these health benefits have happened simply from the way I eat and not from exercise. I am loving this lifestyle!
I have a friend with whom I had been sharing some of my findings with, who decided to give it a try as well. He began changing the way he eats and has lost so much weight that he had to go buy a whole new wardrobe. His energy levels have increased in such a way that he now jogs every day. Another friend who I’ve talked about this has been dealing with diabetes and high blood pressure for several years and is on multiple medications. Although she’s not 100% committed to a nutritarian lifestyle, she has noticed that when she eats this way, she does not need as much insulin.
These are just some of the results me and two close friends have personally experienced. There are multiple others I have met along this journey who have shared how they are off all kinds of medications, who have been told they no longer have diabetes, who have overcome depression, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and even certain forms of cancer.
These past few months have been quite the journey, but I’m so glad I came across Super Immunity. It has been life changing. This way of eating is very enjoyable, tasty, and simple to prepare. I understand in this world a long healthy life is not a guarantee even with the healthiest lifestyle, but I must say it has been a most pleasant journey trying.
A few days ago I was watching a video of the evening beauty routine of a celebrity make up artist. The video was 8 minutes long and I know it was edited. The woman sharing her beauty routine used 8-10 different products on her face. That must've taken her way longer than 8 minutes to apply. I can't and don't want to dedicate so much time to a beauty routine. Most of the nights I go to sleep when I can't stay up any longer. A beauty routine is usually the last thing on my mind. I just want to go to bed!
Most of the nights I just wash my face with a moisturizing soap and apply either olive or coconut oil to my skin. But it is nice to get pampered once in a while, so I've been on a quest to find simple, quick, and healthy products that I can make at home and that deliver good results without all the added unknown ingredients.
I'm sharing with you one of such products with easy to find ingredients that you can quickly make at home.
Exfoliating rids your skin of dead cells and makes it feel smooth and healthy. This scrub must be used gently on clean face and you can use any left over to scrub your hands too.
Lavender Face Scrub
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs coconut oil
3-5 drops of lavender essential oil
Melt the coconut oil slightly in the microwave and mix well the rest of the ingredients. Rub the mixture gently on your clean face. Use any extra to exfoliate your hands. Wash your face and hands with cool water and pat it dry. You can then apply to your skin the moisturizer of your choice and enjoy healthy skin with the soft perfume of lavender. The lavender smell is great to get you relaxed and ready for bed. Use this scrub once a week.
This afternoon I visited my local library and spent much needed quiet time browsing through some of their magazines and searching for some books I’ve been wanting to read. As I sat down in one of the plush chairs available, I dreamed of the places described in the current edition of the Sunset magazine I was looking through. Pictures of big sequoias, sea glass gathered during a morning walk on the beach, meadows of wild flowers, and beautiful mountain settings flooded my mind with the desire to escape to nature, somewhere. I looked up from the magazine to the outside landscape on the other side of the floor to ceiling windows. From my position, I could see a beautiful green lawn decorated with several trees full of busy little birds, and the majestic mountains in the distance that covered the east. I took in the scenery before me for a few moments when all of a sudden I realized that the library computers had been placed along all the big windows. Why oh why were the computers facing that beautiful view when the users will never look at the landscape on the other side of the screen? I believe there needs to be some redecorating on the library. Move the computers somewhere else, and in front of the windows place instead comfortable chairs to sit down with a good book while looking at the mountains in the distance. 
