The thing is, nobody can tell you when you're going to die, and I don't like doctors who put that thought into my head. Thoughts are very powerful! As I mentioned in my very first blog, I could die tomorrow by stepping off the curb and getting hit by a bus. Short of that, the rest is my responsibility as it is yours to keep yourself healthy. Doctors are salesmen. It's like going to eat at the lunch counter and having the waitress tell you what kind of pies they offer. We are responsible for the things we choose and the results we get from that.
To say that I have worked at my health would be an understatement. And to say I've lost work at times when it was very important for me to work would be a gross injustice to how much I have sacrificed to do alternative protocols: but I did it because I see the benefits daily. When you just do allopathic medicine, you may be missing some alternative protocols that together with allopathic protocols can give better benefits. This "integrative" approach is utilizing the best of both worlds!
Add to that just a few "side-dishes" that are worth mentioning - some of these probably should've been a blog onto themselves (like the dangers of EMFs, for example.) Some of these will just make your quality of life better as well as help you to mentally or physically boost your integrative approach! But all of these are worth mentioning. I'd be remiss to not put these thoughts into your mind so that you can do further research!
Skin brushing and soaking in a tub of baking soda and sea salt: Soak in hot water with one cup baking soda/1 cup sea salt for half an hour then rinse in the shower. You should also skin brush before you soak! Do the brushing on dry skin with a natural bristle brush - brushing from your finger and toes in towards your core. Not only will this mixture neutralize a very acidic body, but relaxing in a tub can help de-stress you! It's "me" time!
Sleep: Can't emphasize enough the importance of sleep. Sleep helps lessen stress, joint pain, and depression - to name a few things sleep helps alleviate! Your body regenerates while you're sleeping; it also rebuilds and heals. Sleep is very important!
Spiritual: Dr. Gonzalez was very big on the spiritual aspect of being ill. I think it was because believing in something bigger than you, and focusing on bringing that good into your life and the life of those around you helps to lessen the focus on yourself and increase a peaceful feeling. People who are spiritual may get a boost to their immune system, a decrease in their blood pressure, are more peaceful, and stress less. I think you're now beginning to see how insidious stress is – not just because of hormones, or because of acidity, but because stress overall just eats away at quality-of-life.
Smile/laugh: A minute of laughter stimulates the immune system! I know that some of these blogs are long – but I just want to give you lots of things to think about. Things that will help you in your life; things that will help you if you're sick. My friend Michael gave me the most awesome mental exercise to do: he called it "homework." He asked me for a happy memory from my childhood. Right at the moment, I couldn't think of ONE happy memory. He said, "Come on, give me a belly laugh moment that you had as a kid." I went blank. When I couldn't remember, he told me to go home and think about all the fun times I've had and up with a real belly laugh moment from childhood. That "homework" in itself made me happy. But when I found a new belly laugh moment each day, it was not just awesome – it was a useful tool. I would remember that moment every time I was about to walk into a room. It changed my face, it changed how people dealt with me, and that changed how I felt. So smile. It reduces stress and it makes you feel better!
Balance: It's very important to have balance in your life. The problem is most people don't know what it is they are balancing. The body needs to be balanced acid/alkaline to be pH neutral. But at the same time, you mentally need a break sometimes from worrying about whether or not you're doing the right thing for the body. Sometimes you just need to do something bad if you're doing good things 80 to 95% of the time. But if you're going to do something bad, you need to know how to counteract it! In other words, if you're going to occasionally eat cooked food, eat digestive enzymes. I love when people say to me "I eat in moderation," or "I smoke only when I drink, " or "I drink in moderation." Good things should be done in moderation because you should do lots of different good stuff: mixing it all up. But doing bad things – even in moderation - is just bad. The example I like to give is Socrates' death sentence: one drop of hemlock. Well, under any other circumstance, one drop of anything might not do anything. But when it is something bad, it can certainly be a killer.
Saunas: Saunas promote the death of weaker cells; cancer cells can't dissipate heat; it promotes the killing off of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and cells laden with radioactivity; and it promotes the killing off of any kind of damaged or weaker cells.
Care about something outside of yourself: If you stop thinking about yourself (as we spoke above about spirituality), and if you have to take care of someone/something else, it gets your mind off your troubles. Especially if you're doing a lot of protocols. Sometimes a mental break from thinking about protocols is miraculous. Becoming a hermit or hiding because you're not well is not good. I, for example, adopted two cats: not only do I feel the peace I have that I saved their lives because they were rescues, they pay me in spades every day because they allow me to play, laugh, and love.
Watch what you put on your skin: Your skin protects you from the world, but it still has to let in certain things like air, moisture, etc. When you cover yourself with chemicals, your skin absorbs it: you more or less eat it. Imagine that every time you shower and prep with skin care.
Eat fats: I know this is counterintuitive, but vegetable fats are the most perfect food. Raw veggie fats are even better. Eat them in the forms of avocados, Udo's choice oils, cold pressed olive oil, virgin spun coconut oil, MCT oil, cacao butter, nuts (especially macadamia and pecans), seeds, DHA (if you do an Udo oil, you will get lots of seed oils plus they have a DHA version), and raw animal fats as well as raw butter and raw fish (eating the smaller fish are better: anchovies, sardines, roe, mackerel, salmon).
Wishing you all the best in your search for health and wellness. For more help and info go to CarolAlt.com every Monday and Wednesday for my up-to-date health blogs.
Also, request your library to bring in my books to help you learn to eat healthier! Find raw recipes, understand why raw foods are more nutritious for you, and to learn other protocols not mentioned in my blogs.