Going Organic

Some of my readers may not know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with this at around 18 years old. Not much is known about the causes of FMS, and many things circulate around the internet about causes, cures, and coping tactics. As each one circulates, I give it a shot, providing I can afford it, and find it to help a little, or not at all. So far, I can say I've been coping pretty well with a rigid exercise plan, and a minimum of 10 hours sleep a night--carefully planned and with the help of 6g of melatonin! The other things are variables; drugs, physical treatments like massage & accupuncture, and supplements. They come and go. My most recent attempt at an antidepressant newly-marketed as a treatment specifically for FMS, failed miserably. I was sad and dry-mouthed for less than a week, unable to sleep AT ALL. I quit it pretty fast, and went back to just hurting, thank you very much! At least I was used to that! 

Anyway, my mother-in-law got me started on a supplemental acai berry blend drink while she was visiting. I entered into a 2 oz. daily regime warily, looking at the $45/bottle price tag, and secretly hoping it wouldn't work. :( But it DID!!! I am amazed at the solid sleep I have been having. I actually DON'T WAKE UP ALL NIGHT LONG!! I haven't slept this solidly since I was 13 years old! So, that was the first symptom I noticed. In general, I feel better, mood-wise, and I'd say I have a lot less problems with fatigue, too. The pain on a very general scale is slightly less, though it's only been a couple months, so I'll withhold final judgment.

All this has led me to reconsider my health a bit, just in light of the fact that a simple blend of berries and nuts has given me such a boost! I looked more carefully at our diet, and with the spur towards natural toothpaste that I recently had from a conversation/google session with Ben, I also began to scrutinize the toiletries our family was using. I began looking at ingredients--especially the ones I couldn't pronounce--and googling them. What were these chemicals? Where do they come from? Have they been tested? What are their side-effects? In the next few weeks I think I'll be posting little blurbs of shocking things I've read for you to digest. (pun intended)

I believe that people sometime (perhaps) during the Industrial Revolution lost the concept of  health and wellness being derived through food and exercise, and medicines coming from things that actually grow in the ground, and instead took on a mentality of inventing new foods, new drugs, new "magic pills" for diet, new machines and gadgets for every aspect of life In general, threw out the baby with the bathwater. (i.e., they threw out Good Sense Health with the hard work that usually went with it.) Perhaps in an effort to "get rich quick" (You know, the American Dream?) people began to concoct things in their basements with the hope that it would one day be marketable and they'd make millions. Thank God for bleach and the sewing machine, but I could DEFINITELY have done without artificial sweeteners and toothpaste!

Today we have stores loaded with products that reek of man-made ingredients that have either never been tested (MSG) or been tested only "just enough" for paychecks to pass the right lawyers'  hands, signatures to get written, and the promise of enough profit to be made that it lands in every "diet" drink in the world (almost). This time I'm speaking of aspartame, a shamefully poisonous substance that only through limited testing, lawsuits, and huge profits, has made it onto grocery store shelves. 

But not to harp on any one product, here, I'm more interested in the mentality behind these inventions. Because fibromyalgia is a "new" problem, there's nothing yet been "invented" to sell to "Cure" it. So, I'm going the opposite route, and I'm trying to return to a state of harmony with my body and its God-made surroundings in an attempt to leave FMS behind in this millenium. I'm going backwards in time to try to find a cure for this new condition, and by golly, it's beginning to work! :) 

So far, I've cleared my closets of bath/body products that contain parabens, and replaced them with organic, natural stuff. I also shopped 80% organic this week, focusing on my meats, dairy, and oils being all-organic (since toxins [including chemicals fed to animals] are stored in fat & you're more likely to encounter them in meats & dairy than in fruits & veggies). I saved a little by just not buying other types of foods like, corn-chips and other snacks that we can just do without. I found an AWESOME bread that uses sprouted grains called Dave's Killer Bread It's a great humanitarian cause, too. :) 

So this is the beginning of our Switch to Organic......I'll keep updating as more happens! Thanks for reading!