I study a lot of herbal medicine. It has helped keep me alive, in my teens, I conquered even a skin problem using
comfrey compresses and grew a
comfrey plant behind my parents house. I am using B-vitamin drops and due to recurring thrush, from using
ADVAIR--[an inhaler for lungs], I know I am going to have to swish some colloidal silver in my mouth, I have never ingested
colloidal silver--there can be the side affect of turning blue
LOL, but have used it on skin ulcers with great success. However if the day ever came where the antibiotics failed for my leg, I would take some internally. There are books, where you can grow your own herbs, even in your apt, and just got one from the library and very pleased to have it. Our food is being adulterated. Right now, an overhaul of the lifestyle seems in order, but some of us try our best with what resources we have.
One thing I did discover, and this is going to sound really odd, is that I am allergic to MSG, or something that occurs more in processed food, and food eaten at cheaper restaurants. I made the HUGE mistake of eating some less then spicy chili, at a local restaurant and spent 4 days barfing and unable to eat but the bare minimum. When one is diabetic and has gone without food for 18 hours where water
doesn't even stay down, things get scary. This used to happen all the time, now maybe once every three-four weeks, due to a slip up of
some kind. Eating at a fast food restaurant means I will get very sick...it doesn't matter what it is.
Some thing people would be crying to
have to eat at my house, there is no dairy in here, pizza is a foregone conclusion, and being allergic to eggs, potatoes and fish means none of those foods are in here either. Add to that, having to stay from all high fat foods-- so I am not barfing my guts out means a pretty rigid diet, but I do like to make tasty vegetable soups. This means having to cook everything from scratch though I can get the occasional
Japanese noodles that are
pre-made and a certain brand of vegetarian
stir fry sauce with no MSG or fish sauce added to it.
The doctors say severe
IBS, I made the decision to forgo a colonoscopy for now. Other
possibilities are
Crohn's or maybe even gall bladder disease but all the the pain is far lower down. In my case because of other health problems, any surgery has a very high death risk, this means I have to do what I can, to maintain my life. In other words, I have to weight the risks and do my best. I did have a blood occult test to make sure I was NOT bleeding inside and that was negative. What is odd is I can go from normal for even
couple weeks, to full blown feeling like I am going to die. The fatigue is bad when the bowel stuff hits too. For years I have had serious food allergies, that have gone way beyond that of normal people and even tried a
celiac gluten free diet for an entire year to see if that would help my problems and it did not. If any of my readers have suffered anything like this, please share.
One thing I am doing is switch more to organic food. I can't eat processed so this has been a natural outcome. All I can tell you is that it tastes FAR FAR SUPERIOR, I do not know why, but it does. Eating spaghetti sauce I have had reactions, but a can of organic tomato sauce is far better. The organic chicken has such superior taste, I ate some chicken burgers last night I made with ground organic chicken, I can't even explain how much better they are. This stuff costs money but wanting to stay alive is a great motivator.
I wish I could afford a 100% organic diet, but food allergies and more are pushing me into a different way of life via necessity. It takes work to eat this way, I have to plan every meal carefully, eating out for me is dangerous so often prepackage sandwiches and fruits for any trip where a meal would be required.
This is a very interesting article that deals with that issue, the affordability and availability of fresh and good food. I have realized where I live most of the restaurants except the most expensive ones, and one good Chinese one, where they use no MSG, that the quality of the food is negotiable. One thing I have noticed is acquiring good food, especially in the ready-made markets is near impossible. Some towns are more fortunate and have health food stores and better resources. We do have some good fruit and veggie markets which is a blessing.
Whole Paycheck and Organic Food Deserts: The Challenge