Tag Archives: #knowledge+action=power

The “Healthcare” System

25 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Books, General

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I believe with all my heart that if people in leadership were focused less on making money and more on doing the right thing the “healthcare” system reform our country so desperately needs would come to fruition. Unfortunately for us…that is not the case.

While once upon a time, I do believe that it was not the intention of people in leadership (aka: government) to screw-up “healthcare”….it now is and has been for a long while.

In my opinion, the federal government has no place and no business regulating and profiting from “healthcare” in this country. I remind you that the federal government was developed to do three things only: 1) govern foreign affairs, 2) conduct war, and 3) regulate currency” (http://www.history.com/topics/constitution). My personal belief is that…we need to break-off “healthcare” and big-pharma from the government placing them into a free enterprise system.

It has been a while since I was in high school….so just as a reminder…”free enterprise is a type of economy where products, prices, and services are determined by the market, not the government. It’s capitalism, not communism……prices go up and down because of supply and demand. Private companies compete for profit without government interference” (https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/free%20enterprise).

I do know that while our “healthcare” system, I call it our sick-care system, is fantastic at acute emergency care…it really really sucks at long-term HEALTH care. The word ‘healthcare’ implies that the system promotes and encourages health. In its current model it doesn’t.

The word “doctor” from its Lain root doc(ēre) means “to teach”. It wasn’t too very long ago that doctors would travel around helping people and teaching people….providing care for people. That isn’t the case these days for sure; the government created system won’t allow it! Doctors are forced to spend approximately 10 minutes (if you are lucky) with each patient and prescribe the latest and greatest drugs that the FDA approved for whatever symptom the patient comes in with or run the risk of losing their license to do business (I can’t even say the word ‘practice medicine’ anymore).

The system is broken and the people of this country are suffering for it. Yet all most people do is complain about it, most people don’t actually do anything. It is a large problem…very overwhelming for the average person to take on. What we have is the Federal Government, Medical Insurance Companies, Big Farma, and the FDA calling the shots, making tons of money while holding our doctors hostage and watching the citizens of this country get sicker and sicker. By the way, this is also where food subsidies comes in, but that is a whole other rabbit hole.

Where is the justice? It will take an uprising to change this big money-making-machine! Is this likely? No. Is it possible? Yes.

I am fortunate to have found (through hours and hours of research) a relatively progressive thinking primary care physician that as actually tested me for nutrient deficiencies and “prescribed” vitamins to me. I currently choose to pay a $225.00 annual fee (per person) to my doctor that allows her to provide medical insurance to her staff and it also allows her the ability to spend 30 minutes with me each time I visit her. I also work with a functional medicine doctor who is also a nutritionist and chiropractor. Most of her services are outside of medical insurance coverage, because the medical insurance providers somehow get to dictate to me what services I need for the money I pay them. She is my true health care….identifying the root-cause of the symptoms I have, not just managing or covering-up the symptom. Be aware that making a symptom go away doesn’t make what is causing the symptom go away.

This is where self accountability comes in. Vote with your dollar. Doing what you need to do to make and keep your body healthy so you are not fully dependent on this broken down sick-care system.

I know how difficult it is; I am presently dependent on the system. My body isn’t fully healthy. You can bet I’m working on it. I’m spending my money and effort where it matters most. I’m doing everything I can to give my body what it needs to heal itself. Our bodies are created to heal and regenerate. What a glorious creation we are.

The sick-care system isn’t going to fix itself. I do not think that we can rely on our government to do what is our best interest. We have to take responsibility for our part in the system and our part in our own health or lack thereof. Do what you need to do for your body to be healthy.

Learning Opportunities – Applied Knowledge is Power

Check out these two articles by Chris Kresser

  1. Healthcare vs Disease Management
  2. Two Reasons Conventional Medicine Will Never Solve Chronic Disease

Article: The American Medical Nightmare: Are We Ever Going to Wake Up? by: Steven Wright

Below are a few books you may be interested in reading:

Podcast: Joe Rogan & Chris Kresser on Paleo and the Modern Healthcare System

If you want to make some noise…..here are a couple of links to contact congress men and house representatives. Keep and email template in your ‘drafts’ box and shoot them out an email every week!

Pressures and Expectations

15 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by in General

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I’ve touched on this subject little in a previous post called “My Thoughts on Feminism”, but after listening to JJ Virgin speak with Sean Croxton on one of his podcasts (which I highly recommend) it got me thinking again about women and myself and what pressures and expectations we perceive to be.

I also wrote a post called “Your Power, Your Control, Your Responsibility”. The intersections of what I wrote in these two posts and the pressure and expectations we perceive is where I believe the magic can happen.

I think that a lot of women if not most women or all women perceive pressure and expectations are put upon us….from society, parents, spouses, children, bosses, ourselves….etc. There is pressure to do it all and do it all well.

BUT, the beauty is we don’t have to! Let me say that again….we (YOU) don’t HAVE to!

In my opinion, this concept is real feminism.

YOU ARE NOT WORTH LESS because you can’t or don’t want to do it all and do it all well! YOU ARE NOT WORTH LESS because you don’t want to conform to others expectations nor succumb to outside pressures.

You DO NOT have to do it all and do it all well!

You do what you can do the best you can do it and the rest will be there tomorrow. Ask for help where you need it to get things accomplished. The unrealistic expectation of doing it all yourself it not only ridiculous but is tearing women down….physically, mentally, and emotionally.

 

It is your choice to accept the pressure and expectations of other people outside of yourself. It is your choice to set your own expectations, your own rules, your own thoughts and feelings. You do not have to accept what others want to impose on you. If you do, that is your choice too.

BUT, if you don’t like what others want you to do, want you to be, want you to say, want you to look like…..then you can choose to politely decline and then go do, be, say, and look whatever and however you choose and want. (caveat: provided none of it causes harm to anyone else around you)

Side thought: You also do not have to explain yourself to anyone you don’t want to. You can simply say no. You have the right to say no; do not feel guilty about that.

Stop giving your power away. Take control of yourself. Be you. Be happy being you.

While I’ve made tremendous strides in the right direction, I still struggle with all this on the regular.  I tell myself exactly what I’m telling you, which turns it around for me. Then I move forward one day at a time, one mistake at a time, one thought at a time. It is in my control. It is in my power. It is my responsibility. It is my choice. To be me. To be happy being me. To live my life how I chose to live my life. Not doing it all!

Here are a few short videos clips by Girls Gone Strong that are so great!

  1. Kelly Coffey – Part 1 The Manifestation of Shame and Blame
  2. Kelly Coffey – Part 2 The Manifestation of Shame and Blame
  3. Neghar Fonooni – Rewrite Your Reality

I pray that each woman reading this post receives this message to change their perspective and take action to elevate any pressure or expectations that they don’t want.

Get to Know Your Coffee

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Lifestyle, Nutrition

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Between 50% – 60% of Americans drink coffee. These coffee drinking Americans drink on average between 2 – 3 cups of coffee per day. (all stats provided by Googling articles) Folks….that is a massive amount of coffee being consumed every year in this country.

According to Healthy Organic Woman, “250 pounds of chemical fertilizers are sprayed per acre on non-organic coffee beans”. Coffee Review says that if someone is concerned about unwanted chemicals in our coffee (which I am), we should buy coffee that is “free of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, and other potentially harmful chemicals”, buy coffee from “Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sumatra Mandheling”, and look for the word “sustainable” on the label.

Coffee Questions to Ask and Consider:

  • Is it Certified Organic?
  • Is the process being monitored by an independent agency?
  • Where is it grown?
  • Is it grown in the shade?
  • What altitude is it grown at?
  • Is it from a single origin?
  • Is it sustainably grown?
  • Is it Fair Trade?

There is a lot of back and forth on the web about whether mycotoxins in coffee is something we should worry about. It seems unlikely this is a major issue, but I think…better safe than sorry….so buy the best quality possible.

Side Note: Please think about not using coffee pods. Do you really want to be drinking coffee made through heated plastic? Do you want to fill-up our earth with used coffee pods? Purchasing coffee beans and grinding them yourself produces a very fresh yummy cup of coffee.

I challenge you to spend to little time on the web researching coffee brands and how their beans are grown and processed. This action can yield for you peace of mind and better long-term health. I hope you choose to spend the time to get to know your coffee.

As you may have noticed there are themes throughout my blog posts….quality matters…even/particularly with your coffee, vote with your dollar, and knowledge is power!

 My morning coffee…

Right now we are drinking coffee made from Certified Organic Fair Trade beans from Peru that we purchase at Sprouts. We grind our beans fresh every day and set a timer on the coffee pot so we have fresh yummy coffee every morning.

Coffee Cup

I LOVE coffee, however I choose to drink only one 8oz cup per day in the morning.

My Coffee Additions