Healthy living is three fold

Sometimes in the quest for good health, we miss the reality that good health isn't just about caring for our physical well being. In fact, sometimes we forget to do even that. And trust me, I have been there. When you're raising 3 kids on your own, followed by helping to parent your grand-kids, you kind of get left in the dust sometimes. Anyway....

Here I am, 56 years young, trying to recover my lost physical, mental and emotional well being. Yes, being healthy is three fold for sure. Right now, my main concern is the Lupus and Rheumatoid that runs in my family. It caught up with me when I was busy looking after the kids/grand-kids and making sure they were healthy.

Still, it has become clear to me that my emotional and mental health have suffered some serious blows over the years too. In some ways, they're harder to heal than the chronic illnesses I've been saddled with. Emotional scars run deep.

I've also always had a hard time communicating with other people, you guys. Writing helps for sure, but at some point you have to deal with (gasp) real people. And heck, I have a hard enough time just ducking the blows on social networking.

I'm getting better at this, though. I've actually even worked up the nerve to come out about being HSP. That's a fancy term for being overly empathetic and sensitive. I'm not bragging, believe me. I would much rather be “normal” sometimes.

It would be great not to feel everything so deeply that it's distracting. Or not. I guess what I'd really like is to be my same caring self but be able to detach a little too. So that's what I'm trying to do. And for me, it feels a little like not caring, but I know the reality is that I need to focus on healing myself and let other people do the same.

Because of course, that's healthier for them too. Also, I am not immortal. Surprise! Who knew? So if my peeps have issues after I'm gone, I'd like to know that they are up to the challenge. Practice makes perfect, yes?

So maybe my readers, who are used to me bubbling, gushing or bellyaching over every little thing have noticed the change. And maybe you haven't. Because, hey, you have your own lives, right? But I'm trying like crazy to focus on self improvement lately.

Because physical health is not the only kind of health that matters. Healthy living is three fold and all my folds need help! LOL

It's all about balance, I think....

What is a healthy balance, exactly?

Now, folks, I abhor it when people hit me with that “everything in moderation” crap. You see, to me, that's just another way of saying you have no intention of giving up your bad habits so you're just going to engage in them a little bit. You know. Not enough to kill you, but just enough to satisfy you. That seems like a cop-out to me. But I do believe in healthy balance for sure. And yes, there is a difference.

Hard work is good for you. Goofing off is good for you too. But neither one is good for you if you do it too much, or leave the other one out entirely. You feel me?

So when I talk about healthy balance, I'm talking about doing good things in moderation, not doing everything you want to in moderation. Because not everything you enjoy is good for you. Got it?

But wait, let's back that up. Because I want to assure you that in no way am I perfect in this department. There are plenty of things that are bad for me that I engage in, in moderation. The point is, though, I know that's not a good plan and I'm working on it. I'm not allowing myself the luxury of complete defeatism just yet.

I guess I'm just not built that way.

But neither am I perfect, as I said. Oh man, I sure wish I could live the way my Dad did sometimes. He pretty much always “stuck to his guns.” He really made sacrifices in order to assure that he was doing the right thing. Always.

But being as how I have not yet achieved the status of his greatness yet, I must humbly admit that some of my balance does include those bad habits. It's just that I know it shouldn't. You know?

I now find myself struggling to strike a good, healthy balance, by leaving behind those bad “everything in moderation” theories and striving to do better. It's a journey, folks. But I will get there.

And what I'm trying to say here is that I believe a healthy balance should not include unhealthy things. Do you agree? I'd really like to know.

Where do I begin to get mentally healthy?

Somebody must a' kicked me around some.

Lately, I'm really on this peace kick. But what's my first step toward peaceful mental health? Where do I begin? Well, they say let peace begin with you so I'm working from the inside out. I don't know if anyone noticed, but I've been trying to be a lot nicer lately. And folks, it ain't easy or natural for this fed up Grandma to be nice.

I used to be super nice before the world started using me as a soccer ball. Oh, I've been kicked around some alright, Tom Petty. And then some more after that. But you know what? I'm not one to lay around and revel in my abandonment, either. I do not plan to live like a refugee like the song says.

What I plan to do is to restore that nice little girl I used to be to her former glory. Or at least as close as possible. Because being nice to people is what I'm best at. It makes me feel good about myself. It makes me happy to see other people happy.

Now, I'm also not taking it too far this time. I'm not planning on helping people to the point where they no longer deem it necessary to help themselves. Because, first of all, that's not healthy for them. And secondly, it leaves me resentful and miserable.

There is a fine line.

Sometimes being nice to people means saying no because it's the best thing for them. Standing on one's own two feet is the greatest feeling ever. So why would I take that away from someone I care about? Well, I did and I have and let me tell you, it's not the smartest move for my health either.

So, here we are, back at the starting line. Step one toward being mentally healthy for me is to be nice to people without being an absolute pushover. Now, step one for you might be different. But for this Grandma, it's the perfect beginning to a happier, healthier mental state.

Naturally healthy grandma with Lupus?

Taking gentle hikes keeps me healthy.

Sometimes I wonder if people who read this blog look twice at the title and think, “What? How on earth can she call herself a naturally healthy grandma? Doesn't she have Lupus, Rheumatoid and Reynauds syndrome?” Why yes. Yes I do. And so, for my new readers, who might not know my reasoning behind the blog title, I decided to write this, as an FYI.

Lupus runs in my family. So does Rheumatoid. Not sure about the Reynauds, but I'm assuming that since it's often a companion of the other two, it's likely that some of my ancestors suffered from it too. So, even though I'm sick, I have healthy habits now. Pl,us, my inherited Lupus came mainly from my ancestors.

But wait. Lupus is a tendency of sorts. And if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle and follow an unhealthy diet, you increase the likelihood that the tendency toward Lupus will flare into a full blown disease. Unfortunately, I used to have very unhealthy habits, which caused Lupus to take the upper hand, so to speak.

Now, though, I truly am healthier, even though I'm sick. I move more. I eat right. And just an aside, I have been a vegetarian, leaning toward vegan, for a long, long time. That has nothing to do with it. The problem was never that. The problem was junk food.

I ate cheese and chips and cookies. Lots of them. I drank gallons of soda pop. So, even though my diet did not include meat products, it did include tons of fat, salt, sugar, white flour and all the other food evils of a modern society. I'm doing much better now. I'm keeping myself better by doing better. And yes, I still eat some of those things. Just not so much of them.

The other issue was and is having the forced sedentary lifestyle of a writer. So many of my writer friends are sick like me. In fact, probably about ¾ of the people I know with chronic illness are writers. Therefore, I am really making an effort to get up and move, even when I don't feel like it or I have work to do.

Some day, the temptations will take a back burner, so to speak and I will transition all the way to Veganism, which I believe is about as naturally healthy as one can get. And some day, with practice and perseverance, I will be able to move a lot more than I do now.

But you know, even as it is now, I get healthier every day. I am on the path to better health now. And that's why I call myself a naturally healthy grandma. I am using naturally healthy ways to keep myself healthier than I normally would be if I didn't change my lifestyle.

How do I know it's working? Well, sadly, as mentioned above, I have a lot of friends with chronic illness. And even more sadly, the reason that I know I'm doing the right thing is that when I compare their struggles to mine, I see that their illnesses are much further along and progressing more rapidly than mine, even when other factors are identical.

And yes, I know, chronic illness is not always predictable. It can come and go for no reason at all. But I still think that by adopting a naturally healthy diet and lifestyle, I am increasing my longevity and slowing the progress of these illnesses considerably.

So, there you go. That's why I call myself a naturally healthy grandma, even though I have 3 chronic illnesses. It's because despite or even because of those illnesses, I am healing myself gradually and naturally, one step at a time.

Is it really possible to cure Lupus with diet?

Recently, this naturally healthy grandma ordered a naturally healthy cure book for “her” Lupus. The book is by a doctor who has been Lupus free for 10 years. She used a raw vegan diet (tons of fresh fruit and veggies) (no processed foods allowed) combined with powerful green smoothies and a gallon of filtered water a day to rid her body of all signs of Lupus.

Now, this doctor was much sicker than I am now, which is saying a lot for her amazing recovery. I'm pretty freaking sick, you guys. However, her Lupus had escalated to the point where her kidneys were impacted. She had blood sugar issues and had also suffered several mini strokes. Right now I am on a journey to follow her lead and try to cure my Lupus with her “Goodbye Lupus” diet. I figure that if it worked for her issues, curing mine should be no problem.

So, is it possible?

Well, to be honest, I have no idea if this will lead to a permanent cure. There are no guarantees in life, after all. However, I am showing some improvement already after just a few short weeks. Also, to be fair, I have cheated on the raw thing a few times, so my results may not reflect hers until I become more disciplined and/or until more time has passed.

What kind of results am I seeing?

The main issues that have started resolving themselves at this point in my journey are digestive. Before I started this diet, I was, to put it bluntly, worshiping the porcelain god on a regular nightly basis. Most nights of the week would find me awake and suffering from extremely painful acid re-flux, unable to digest most of what I had eaten that day. To put it delicately, what won't go down has nowhere to go but back up.

Now the good news.

Since about a week after starting this diet I am no longer having those late night episodes. You have no idea how much of a relief that is. This week, I had one night where the acid re-flux reared it's ugly head for what I am hoping was the last hurrah. It was a very mild attack, though and not nearly as intense as it used to be. So at least where the digestive issues are concerned, I believe this diet is helping.

So, even if that's all the benefit I get from purchasing this book, it's certainly worth the time, money and effort. It's no fun feeling as if you have a horrendous case of food poisoning on a nightly basis for sure. I'm so thankful for the reprieve from that issue.

To what do I owe this relief?

Well, those green smoothies are an absolute powerhouse of nutrition. In addition to the dark leafy greens, they also contain organic powdered greens with added vitamins, chlorella and spirulina, which, among other things are wonderful for moving things along, if you know what I mean. And then there is that gallon of daily water. That certainly doesn't hurt the digestive process. It likely provides extra lubrication and also flushes a lot of toxins from the system. Not to mention the fact that banishing chemical ridden tap water from the diet is always a good plan.

So there you go. Cross your toes and fingers for me. This naturally healthy vegan grandma is taking things to a whole new even healthier level. I may just beat this Lupus thing, after all. And even if I don't, at least I will be getting some awesome nutrition to help me fight it and feel better doing so. Wish me luck!

Note: This is not a paid revue. The author of this post has no affiliation with the author of the book mentioned.

Just another crazy day in the life at Grandma's house

Let me take you through an average, awesomely crazy day for us here at Grandma's house. It was February and I believe, if my sensory perception is correct, it was at least 70 degrees out. But that's not all. Gary spent the day serving on a jury, which necessitated me giving him a ride back and forth. There was also the matter of getting Tia back and forth to work. Nope, that's not all either.

On the way to buy home-school workbooks, we brought “our” found cat to Pet Smart where they discovered she had a microchip. So, after a bunch of phone calls, etc. she's back with her new owners.

It was also spring poop-scoop day. Which generally occurs when it's been hot enough and dry enough to make it a more pleasant task, if you get my wind drift.

So, off I went to the backyard with rake, shovel and contractor bags in hand to start that fun as heck job. Meanwhile, I had mentioned to my oldest grand-daughter, Amber, that it might be fun to build a tiny fort for the younger two, which she started gathering scrap wood for.

The idea was that she and the littlest grand-daughter, Aja would build the little house while I spent the afternoon scooping poop. Fun times and a great plan, right? Turns out, though, they needed more than my not-so-technical advice.

So, before you know it, I was hammering away with them, having done only 1/3 of the yard. Surprise! Building a tiny play house is way more fun than scooping poop. Who knew?

Now, due to the fact that our nail gun was malfunctioning and we couldn't find the saw to cut the boards to size and a few other issues, like the umbrella nearly taking Amber off to sky-land, we had to settle for a really, really, tiny house play house (with a tarp roof instead of the cool umbrella roof we were going to make.)

In the process of all this, I heard my phone ringing in my pocket. Turns out that I had butt dialed my brother in NY. In fact, my sister-in-law called to inform me that my butt had called so many times in a row (her estimate was 20) that she took the phone off the hook, thinking it was a telemarketer. Yes, they still have an old house phone. And they do have caller ID, but for some reason my name didn't show up on it.

We had a great laugh over the whole thing, then my brother got on the phone. Now, anyone who knows my brother and I very well, knows what that means. We are the thinkers of the family, for sure. Some might even go so far as to use those two dirty words (conspiracy theorists) when referring to us. Really what we are though is just two compassionate people who are good at connecting the dots.

We don't think anyone is conspiring against us, not really, anyway. We don't believe aliens are trying to kidnap or poison us or anything all that crazy. We just basically think the planet is fucked and humans are responsible. Well, that's the short of it, anyway. If you want the long of it, you'll have to listen in sometime. Because this blog is too short for that.

In fact, I'm about at the end of my page. So, the rest of the day was filled with doing housework, picking up Gary and Tia, buying girl scout cookies, making spaghetti and watching re-runs of Stargate Atlantis, during which, Gary started snoring loudly, then sat up and declared he was going to bed. Yup. Just another day. And believe it or not, I left a lot of stuff out!

Setting a healthy example

Healthy and yummy! It's a win/win.

You know, the older I get, the more I realize the importance of passing on good, healthy habits to my kids and grand-kids. Doing so may save them from chronic illness or at least keep the symptoms of any inherited illnesses they may acquire down to a dull roar. And for me, that's doubly important.

The Lupus and Rheumatoid that I'm fighting are both prevalent in my family. I'm told that they come from my Dad's side. That means my kids and grand-kids may unfortunately inherit those Lupus and Rheumatoid tendencies from me, as I did from him.

But you know, that's not all. You see, even if I didn't have these chronic illnesses, I would want the healthiest future for them. Doesn't everyone want their descendants to live long, happy, healthy lives? And of course, the more we learn, the more we realize that healthy habits are vital for disease prevention.

I've even heard that lifestyle choices can impact the physical condition of the future gene pool. In other words, unhealthy people produce unhealthy people. Who knew? But even if this weren't true, there's something else to consider.

Monkey see, monkey do? We all know that kids whose parents smoke often pick up the habit themselves. And so it follows that people who have unhealthy habits are likely passing those on, not just through physical changes, but through example.

I always say it's the best teacher. Example, that is. I'm sure I could find a study that proves it, but I think it's fairly obvious, don't you? We've all seen whole families of athletes or whole families of couch potatoes, right? It's pretty common.

So, when I make these positive changes for my health and the health of the planet, I'm not just doing it for my own sake. I'm doing it for my kids and grand-kids too. So they don't ever have to go through what I do with these illnesses.

Because I know that focusing on my own good health isn't just good for me. It's good for them too. Plus, I'm not ready to say goodbye to them yet. We have a whole lot of good times to look forward to and a lot of moments to share. Throwing that all away for a lousy ice cream cone just feels selfish to me.

Stay healthy, my friends. If not for yourself, than for your loved ones. Because one of the best gifts you can give them is a healthy example to follow.