ABOUT ME

My name is Barb.

I live in New England with my husband and our dog.

My goal for myself and my family...is to live without disease and without the need for pharmaceutical drugs, and to grow older without the ailments normally associated with aging.


This blog is where I describe the things I am doing to achieve that goal.

I'm not willing to sit back and hope we'll be OK.  

Disease is striking down so many more people these days  - it's unreasonable to think it will bypass us.  It's also unreasonable to hope we won't be afflicted by the same ills that plagued our ancestors even though we have their genes.  Your genes do not necessarily determine your destination - epigenetics has proven that some of them can be turned on or off - and, knowing that, I must make an effort to reduce the likelihood that we will suffer.   

I have to be proactive with regard to prevention.

If your ancestors didn't suffer don't think you're in the clear: your ancestors weren't exposed to the toxins we're exposed to todayThey might have dodged the bullet but you probably won't. You should be proactive, too....

Why I created this blog

In the years that I've been researching my solution I've read dozens of books and visited hundreds of websites and blogs.  I learned a lot from them, but most of them were so big and cumbersome it was hard to get to the crux of whatever point they were trying to make.  They were also full of ads and sales pitches muddying the message (and sometimes withholding crucial information).  I started taking notes, but when my friends would ask me for advice, it was hard for me to find the kernel of knowledge I was looking for.  I needed a better way to organize and share what I knew.

I'm using the blog to consolidate what I've learned 
so others who want to follow the same path
can do so easily
without having to wade through those same hundreds of books and websites
and without having to deal with all the ads and sales pitches.
I believe this knowledge needs to be free and simple.
Most people don't want minute details
they just want to know what to do,
why, and how.

Here's what I'm doing, in a nutshell:

Primarily, I reduce or eliminate the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis.  I can't eliminate them all, unfortunately, so I DO THE BEST I CAN and I don't stress over the rest.  I call this "Controlling the Controllables."  In other words, if you address those things you have control over then those things you can't control, like aluminum in the air, won't have as great an impact.

Secondarily, I source the cleanest food I can, and prepare it in healthy ways.

And, thirdly, I had my genome decoded.  When I received the results, I had them analyzed by Opus23 and have been making the changes they recommended to overcome my genetic SNPs (a nice word for 'defects' which compromise my ability to eliminate the toxins I'm exposed to).


COOKING
I love to cook!  Before I retired I would spend every free minute planning, shopping, cooking and serving food.  Now I devote most of my day to it.  I'm very lucky I'm able to do this and I recognize that most people are not so blessed.  So, again, do the best you can....

As much as I love to cook...
one of my biggest challenges is to cook tasty food using
Most recipes don't use either, so I "hack" them. 

  1. First, I find recipes that are close, since too many changes usually aren't successful.
  2. The main thing I do is swap out the unhealthy oils for healthy fats, and greatly reduce ingredients high in omega-6, like nuts and seeds, and nut/seed oils.  We do still eat nuts and seeds, but much less than we used to.  
  3. I eliminate or replace all processed ingredients like Worcester Sauce (it's full of MSG, which causes brain damage), salad dressing, catsup, mustard, sausage, artificial sweetener, etc...(avoid hidden MSG).  Most of these I can replace with homemade versions.  Here's a recipe for homemade Worcester Sauce.
  4. I replace all canned ingredients except for canned beans and jarred tomatoes.
  5. I replace black pepper (high in mold and very acidifying) with cayenne, and 'salt' with pink salt. 
  6. I prefer not to eat soy, peanuts, corn, potatoes and wheat so I eliminate or replace them. (It's not that I don't like them, they aren't good for my blood type so I minimize consumption.)
  7. I don't cook anything in the microwave.
  8. You don't need me to hack your recipes!  Given these 'rules' you can do it, too.

If you've been eating conventional food all your life it will take about a month to re-train your taste buds to 'like' healthy foods.  Most processed foods are engineered to foster addiction and your mouth will have to get used to not tasting large quantities of salt, sugar, and MSG.   

This is not a recipe or cooking blog! 

Although I do post my favorite recipes
the blog is not meant to be a cooking blog, it's an information blog.
Part of that 'information' is how to prepare healthy food.

The blog reflects the current state of my knowledge and is not set in stone.
I add to it constantly as I learn new things.

It's also very "high level", just enough to jog my memory.
If I (or you) want more information on any topic mentioned, click one of the links.
If you still have questions, post them in the comments.
I promise I will respond.



PHILOSOPHY
 
My philosophy with regard to 'what's best' is that my family's heath takes precedence over everything else, even the environment.  For instance, if toilet tissue made with recycled paper (high in BPA) is bad for our bodies I will look for an environmentally safe alternative (bamboo); but, if I can't find one, then I will use virgin paper because that is better for us even though it's worse for the environment (cutting down old growth trees is killing the lungs of the earth).

Our budget is next - I won't allow us to go into debt, and constantly look for ways to save money.

And, finally, the environment.  If we can live a healthy life without breaking our bank AND take care of the environment, we do.

DISCLAIMER

As I state in the footer, the opinions voiced on this blog are my own, and do not reflect the current state of medical care or knowledge. They are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any symptom or disease and should not be used as a replacement for advice from a medical professional.

I'm documenting what I'M doing and WHY I'm doing it.

If you have questions, or information that will help me, please leave a comment.  I realize that my opinions will rub some people the wrong way so all comments are moderated.  If you disagree with something I've posted, please do so with supporting documentation.  If you are disrespectful (i.e. NOT helpful) your comments will not be posted. 


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