Everything effects everything…hmmmm…interesting!

The premise of this blog today, will be just that, that ‘Everything effects everything’…a very very empowering and conscious-enlivening notion!

FACTS: 
1. No one, not anybody, not any person knows why a fibroid seeds itself within the muscularture of the uterus only ‘to bloom or not to bloom’ (that is the question) into a fiendishly ferocious fibroid!! However, fibroids are at the mercy of hormones and the endocrine system…and that’s a good/bad thing, depending!!
2. Every single day, each and everyone of you (and ALL life-forms) may come in contact with (all or some of) the 80,000 chemicals that abound within this earthly-stew!! And thousands (1000’s) of these chemicals have the potential (separately or in combination with eachother) to raise complete havoc with the endocrine, reproductive and other ‘naturally’-working systems in LIFE!

WOW! Omygoodnessgracios!!! Do you still believe FACT #1. ~~ that nobody knows why fibroids are ‘born’…hmmm?
And just to really nail this premise home, these thousands and thousands of chemicals that interact with us daily are NOT regulated (or labeled) and certainly have not been tested (for safety) when ‘mixed’ with each other!! Perhaps the body (and other life-forms) can handle, without any lasting harm, each (one) chemical at a time. Perhaps! But bit-by-bit-by-bit-by-bit of chemical exposure can push the body over the edge into the land of ill-health!! That is the real problem, the constant gnawing and bombardment of these chemicals every single day! Alittle bit of ‘poison’ is okay, but not this constant onslaught…and an unclear, unwritten and unlabeled onslaught, at that!
‘”I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” Remember this line in the movie “Network”?…well, this is exactly my sentiment…only, we ARE gonna do something about it!
Through my gardening I have learned (many moons ago,) that you do not need to use chemicals (ever,) IF you strenghthen the host…keep the plant  healthyand it will ’take care of itself’!!! This ’lesson’ has been woven into every aspect of my life, and the obvious carryover to humans, is at the core of dis-ease/health.
Sooooooo, after this rather lengthy set-up, the following is a list of pro-active things/ideas that YOU can do (today!) that will help the planet and YOU…all at once…to stay strong-’n-healthy! Everything effects Everything! (Remember??)

1. Use white vinegar as your sole cleaning product. It works like a charm on every surface (not wood) and its inexpensive and not the least bit harmful…stop using chemicals, pleeeeez!
2. Make a mixture of alcohol (3 parts) and witch hazel (1 part)…use this as a hand sanitizer, only! There are very very harmful chemicals (mostly unlabeled!) in those ’other’ drugstore handwashes!
3. Use lemon (yes lemon) and/or baking soda (yes baking soda) as a SAFE and affective deodorant. It’s cheap, and it works without any harmful chemicals.
4. If you insist on getting clothes dry-cleaned, let them air out in a well ventilated spot for several days to allow the off-gas of toxic chemicals to neutralize. Putting them directly in your closet (in your bedroom) is so harmful!
5. I love bugs!! But if you don’t want them in your house, use boric acid or bay leaves (for the tiny ants), as those household insect sprays are pure death…for you, too!!
6. Water…[sigh]…this is a real problem as there are so many ‘allowable’ chemicals, as well as those that aren’t allowed, that seep into the aquifer (water) system. Oh, for example; dioxin, triclosin, the “pill” and other pharmaceuticals that manage to poison our water supply. Get a home filter system, and stop using those BPA plastic bottles…they are killing you, us, the animals and the ocean…[sigh] It drives me koo-koo to see people with those plastic bottles. Buy a re-usable stainless waterbottle carrier, it’s so much more sensible and health-affirming!!
7. Cooking in those non-stick pots and pans is a bozo-no-no, for sure! Cast iron, ceramic, stainless or glass is your healthiest choice.
8. Buy organic whenever possible…but especially when ‘fat’ is involved ~~ie: protien sources and oils and butters, as toxins tend to nestle and remain in fats!
9. Do you really have to eat those mammals that are so intelligent and high-up on the food chain? Even the fish, the higher-up on the food chain, the more toxins.
10. Stay away from canned ANYTHING…the linings are BPA-toxic and leach out into your food!! (More on this endocrine-disrupting BPA subject in another blog…so much info!) Make food from scratch…it’s easy and much tastier and cheaper!!

Well, that’s it for today, as there are thousands and thousands more of  those endocrine-disrupting chemicals that I could talk about…but…just remember to keep it simple, it’s how nature intended AND life-supporting. Oh, and…Everything effects everything (including YOU)!!!!!!
Everything Effects Everything♥♥

The article shared a few tips which I wanted to pass along:

1) Reviewing Treatment Options with Your Physician

Rather than showing up with a stack of papers, patient advocates recommend studying information online prior to your appointment, such as our treatment options chart, and then asking, “I’ve read about this other type of treatment for uterine fibroids. What do you know about it?”

2) Dealing with Your Insurance Company

Write Everything Down! Make sure to capture the date, what you asked, and the information you were provided.  It helps to have a paper trail, especially if you are appealing a denial from your insurance company for Focused Ultrasound.

3) When You Have Been Recently Diagnosed

Patient advocates recommend searching online for an advocacy group for your specific disease or condition. Since you’re already reading my blog, you’ve found Fibroid Relief!  Make sure to take advantage of all of our information, tools, and events, and patient support network via our Facebook page.

Remember, when it comes to your health, you are your own best advocate!  I’m sure that Oprah would agree.  

Until next time,

Tina

“There is an evolutionary advantage to the brain’s system of mind wandering. While the person is occupied with one task, this system keeps the individual’s larger agenda fresher in mind. It thus serves as a kind of reminder mechanism, thereby increasing the liklihood that the other goal pursuits will remain intact and not get lost in the shuffle of persuing many goals. But you also want to be able to catch yourself at the Eureka moment!”

Well my Eureka moment (at least for this blog) ‘ah-ha-ed’ when I saw the words “persuing many goals”…oh the wandering mind, indeed! For creativity you need your mind to wander when in the persuit of ANY goal…you simply wander productively!
Keeping the general theme of FIBROIDS in (our wandering) mind, please just meander with me for a ‘train-of-ideas’ and thoughts that, at least for today, are not ‘trackless’! Anyway, please be sure to fasten that seatbelt and hold on cause ‘this’ mind is wanderring! H-E-R-E we go…

♥ ♥♥It’s nearly the 4th of July and patriotism abounds…Patriotism has it’s origin with its ‘cousin’, paternalism(whose essence is male-related) a subtle, but life-important inequity (for women)… If  it was named and ‘lived’ in heart-’n-soul, then Maternalism (not patriotism),  might allow us to live with NO more  ”Wars On ~~ everything!”…Testosterone is a very very VERY dangerous drug (in the wrong, ugh, ‘hands’)…If women were more respected (yes, respected), there would not be ridiculous ‘Hysterectomy-Made-Easy’ pamphlets (with drawn cartoon-like characters) so cavalierly handed-out (to a woman) after a fibroid diagnosis (HA! Crazy!)…The non-invasive treatment of Focused Ultrasound is still NOT insured yet, hmmmmmm ~~ I wonder if that was a womans decision?…Women and children (absolutely) should be the utmost top priority of any ‘civilized’ society…It is uncivilized and barbaric to remove a woman’s uterus simply for a benign condition like a fibroid, forsooth!…Women make up 52% of the population, and still, women are NOT offered ALL of their choices/options in EVERYTHING!!♥♥♥  The end (sorta) of my mind-wanderings!
And just to clarify, I LOVE MEN, I really really really love men!!!
But, I love ‘real men’…the gentle and kind and caring and non-violent and nurturing and respectful-of-women (and children) and the kind of maternal-like male…the ‘REAL MEN’…that would try with all of their heart-’n-soul to save (not rip out) a woman’s uterus. Real ‘gentle’men! Gentlemen!!

Mind wanderings are indeed intersting and valuable, just as  the New York Times spoke of…very very important way to be creative!! Hey, my racing thoughts began with the ’starting-flag’ of PATRIOTISM and ended with the final lap of OPTIONS FOR WOMEN!!
And I leave you with one important thought…it has been almost 7 years (seven years)  and Focused Ultrasound is still not insured…NOW, is that veryPatriotic?!!? I think NOT!! ♥

Click here to read the article.

Recently, there was an experiment conducted (regarding exercise) and scientists  were able to see how much being FIT changes your ability to burn (baby-burn) fat…the kind of fat that stores estrogen, especially (I repeat ‘especially’) prior to the onset of menopause when estrogen levels tend to INCREASE anyway!! Omylanta!!

The experiment was published in Science Translational Medicine and researched from Harvard University and other major institutions. The experiment looked at metabolite molecules (those ‘little guys’ that feed and nurture your entire body ~~ metabolism) and how influenced they are AND will change both during and after exercise!
Blood was drawn from 3 groups of people: 1. Normal, healthy   2. Unfit  3. Marathon runners.
The blood was drawn right before AND then right after each group exercised for 10 minutes. What the researchers found was astonishing!
After 10 minutes of treadmill jogging or stationary-bike riding,  the normal healthy adults showed an increase of 100% of their fat-burning metabolites; the unfit group displayed a 50% increase of elevated fat-burning metabolites; and the marathon runners showed a 1000%  increase in their fat-burning metabolites!!
Soooooo, the findings suggest that exercise has “both acute and CUMULATIVE  effects on your body’s ability to use and burn fat,” says Gregory Lewis, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an author of the study.
After only 10 minutes of exercise, even the least fit individual showed evidence that their bodies were burning fat! The experiment also showed that the more fit that you are, the more fit you will be in metabolic fat-burning. The MORE you use…the MORE you use!!!

Exercise has complicated chain-reaction metabolic effects deep within our cells, that in turn act on our genes in ways that can change them very very  positively ~~ combating all kinds of chronic diseases that are negatively influenced by fatty acids and (excess) estrogen!

So it is with a huge Cheshire-styled grin that I announce MY addiction…ha ha ha happily so!
Hey, pssssst…you want to try? Come on!! Get up!! Start moving! !
Yes, I know…it is oh so (pleasurably) addicting!! But so what…IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!! ♥

Over a decade ago, my mother avoided having a hysterectomy due to uterine fibroids.  Many of the conversations I have had recently with patients bring back memories of conversations I had with my mother years ago. She had been proactive and found a physician who was open to working with her to spare her uterus.  She was only in her mid to late 40s at the time (so young). However, until I interviewed for this position, I was unaware that my grandmother had had a radical hysterectomy thirty years earlier due to fibroids as well.  And when I mean radical, I mean RADICAL.  My mother recalls my grandmother having to leave church one Sunday, blood running down her legs, soaking her dress. But no one said a word. It just wasn’t discussed.

With this family history, it makes me wonder, why at age 38, have I been clear of fibroids up to this point? I feel very fortunate.

Uterine fibroids are an interesting thing.  There is a clearly a genetic component since they appear to run in families.  However, solid research is lacking to help explain why some women in one family develop fibroids and why others do not.

Researchers at the Center for Uterine Fibroids at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston are looking for female relatives to participate in a clinical research study to help identify the causes of uterine fibroids.  If you are interested in contributing to this study, please click on this link for more information.

This is a wonderful way for you to give back and possibly help researchers identify some of the genetic markers that are just waiting to be discovered.  Perhaps this research will help our daughters and granddaughters be spared some of the suffering our relatives, past and present, have endured and continue to endure.

Until next time,

Tina