Thursday, May 20, 2010

Not angry anymore!

I spent three weeks in detox recently. No, I didn't go to Betty Ford and no, I wasn't addicted to anything serious nor was I drinking too much (well, some might argue with that!). However, I did want to get off the prescription meds I had accumulated in the last 10 years - from Trazadone to help me sleep to Lexapro to be happy to hormones to keep me cool to blood pressure meds to ....well, that is obvious.

So, I detoxed at Clearsprings Health Center near Harrison. Lots of exercise, healthy shakes, whole food and time in a low-temperature sauna. I learned a lot more about healthy eating, thanks to a set of DVDs by Sally Fallon (Nourishing Traditions author and part of the Weston A. Price Foundation). If you haven't heard of Weston Price, you should check him out - he was a dentist in our country in the 20s, 30s and 40s and he went on a trek around the world to try and understand why his patients had so many cavities and crooked teeth. He found that cultures uninvaded by processed foods which were still eating traditional diets (regardless of what they were) had nice broad faces and straight teeth with no cavities. So, I'm a believer now and I'm eating animal fats and butter and raw milk, along with grass-fed beef and organically fed, pastured chicken. So far, I have been successful to avoid sugar completely, which can be a challenge in our culture at present. Thankfully I have no craving for sugar - being off of it for three weeks at Clearsprings and replacing it with nutrition dense foods has removed it (which, IMHO is a miracle - I have always craved sweets!).

In addition, I'm sticking with lots of exercise - hiking up a local hill the days I don't go to Curves. And, as of today, I am the proud owner of an infrared sauna, so I can do my maintenance sauna at home! I'm doing two hours, three times a week for the first month, then will reduce to two hours, twice a week for the next 100 years! The sauna has a CD player and FM/AM radio, so I got a few books on CD from the library. Listening to a book makes the time go by quickly and when I come out (30 minutes in, 5 minutes out), I can sneak a frozen grape or ten from the refrigerator and refill my water bottle with ice and water!

The premise is that the detox process resets my immune, metabolic and neurological systems. Doctor Broeg can explain the scientific facts as to how it works (epigenetics), but all I can tell you is that it works! Not only am I off all the meds and feeling great (and yes, sleeping through the night), but I'm losing weight kinda fast, which is definitely a miracle! Other patients have found relief from many diseases - fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, just to name a few common current maladies. If you have any kind of immune, hormone, metabolic or neurological illness, I would encourage you to contact Dr. Broeg (www.clearspringshealth.com) and talk about what his program can do for you.

So, I'm not just "not angry" anymore - I'm pretty pleased about drugs being in my past and better health being in my future. I think my knee and hip joints will most appreciate the weight loss, as they won't have to haul around as much weight. Maybe they'll last me a few more years!!

1 comment:

  1. It sounds as if it was time SO well spent. And the sauna sounds delicious! Keep us posted on how you are doing. I HATE working out, but I'm doing it to strenghten my bones.

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