Lessons Learned- Trip to Crete, Greece

When I was extremely sick with chronic Lyme disease, one of my most debilitating symptoms was environmental and food sensitivities. I could spot a mold problem long before any diagnostic test. Cleaning products with ammonia or bleach would trigger a severe asthma attack within minutes. Toxic, non-moving air in closed hotel rooms would keep me up all night with an overwhelmed liver. It was very hard for me to eat out in restaurants. Ingesting conventional animal products would cause me to vomit within the hour. Glyphosate laden wheat products would cause diarrhea and an inability to properly digest food for a week. For these reasons, I developed an intense fear to traveling and eating out. I could recover from symptoms when I had my clean “safe space” of a home and home cooked meals. Traveling became panic inducing and out of the question for a couple of years.

3 years, 32 liver flushes, hundreds of coffee enemas, and an impeccable plant based diet later, my health had vastly improved and my husband and I planned our first trip as a family to Crete, Greece where much of his extended family resides. Oddly enough, I had no anxiety or fears traveling across the world with a toddler to stay on an island for two and a half weeks. I was not concerned about our living arrangements, as staying in someone’s home with good air flow is enough to get a good night’s rest. I was not concerned about the food, because the Mediterranean diet is put on a pedestal in the health world. I was excited to dive into the mineral rich, tasty produce. I was not afraid of any hiccups or issues that may arise, because we were going to be with lots of family who has our best interest in mind and willing to help resolve any issues that may arise.

Lesson #1

When you let others cook or prepare food for you, you risk acute illness and disease.

Right after we arrived at the airport in Crete, we were expected to go straight to my husband’s grandmother’s house to meet the relatives and eat a meal. Even though I wanted to go straight to where we were staying and rest, I obliged as this was a new culture and felt it best to go with the flow. I quickly learned that the familial expectation was to eat lunch together everyday that had been prepared by an aunt or grandmother. I felt uneasy as I am used to preparing everything my toddler and I ingest. I obliged with this expectation for several days. I felt “off” during this time and was quick to blame any malaise on jet lag and being introduced to a new microbiome. It wasn’t until my baby, Athena, was vomiting for the second day, I was extremely nauseous with stomach cramps, and my husband felt digestive discomfort, that I decided to say enough was enough. I was no longer willing to let someone else prepare food for me. Soon there after, everyone recovered and we were finally able to enjoy our stay.

Lesson #2

There is junk food everywhere. Living a healthy lifestyle is now a choice, even in the Mediterranean.

The food we were ingesting that made us ill was still plant based and gluten free. When someone else prepares food there is risk for poor quality ingredients, rancid ingredients, poor preparation methods, and additional unwanted ingredients. Even though some of the dishes were similar to what I prepare at home, we were exposed to refined sea salt that contain anti-caking agents (hello aluminum), rancid olive oil in large quantities, and refined sugar. For example, we were given what they call “Greek candy”. I was told it consisted of roasted sesame seeds and raw honey. Later I found out that they add brown sugar and “fructose”, heavily refined sugar derived from fruit, to bind the bar together. My family has not ingested refined sugar in months, so it reeked havoc on our systems.

Lesson #3

The Mediterranean has Westernized.

I was sitting in the Venetian port when I opened my first restaurant menu. I could not believe what they were selling: hamburgers, ice scream, soda, and most dishes containing some sort of animal product. This was surprising to me, because Greeks are known for eating animal products sparingly. Their cuisine is typically vegetarian unless there is a holiday or special occasion. This menu was something I would find at a restaurant in America that I would never chose to visit. The disease inducing food we frequently see in restaurants in America is also widely available in Crete. As a consequence, the health of their population is quickly deteriorating. Although their rates of obesity are lower, a visit to the beaches will prove that most people are now overweight and carrying excess fat around their mid section. Beautiful healthy bodies of a healthy weight are becoming the exception when just a few decades ago they were the standard.

Lesson #4

When the land offers you an abundance of fruit, simplify your diet and life by eating mono fruit meals for optimal hydration and health.

As soon as we started sourcing and preparing our own food, we found an abundance of fresh fruit at produce stands across the city. It is near impossible to find seeded watermelon in Boston, so we were stoked to dive into copious amounts of watermelon. We decided to start each morning with a watermelon cleanse. We cut a large watermelon in half and ate straight from the bowl until we couldn’t eat anymore. Our kidneys would feel slightly overwhelmed when we hit our limit, so we would lie down until it passed. This type of breakfast hydrated us for the whole day, prevented our skin from burning, and has had lasting effects boosting our kidney health. We snacked on mono fruit meals of sweet doughnut peaches, cucumber, tomato, nectarines, and fresh squeezed orange juice. When fruit is allowed to fully ripen on the tree and be eating soon thereafter, the flavor is so rich that there is no need or desire to add anything extra.

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Lesson #5

Your health is more important than any societal expectation.

In most culture, the food traditions are an integral part of social experiences. People want to cook for you as an act of love. People want to dine together and discuss the cuisine. There are expectations to eat together from similar dishes. These traditions are worthless if and when they lead to disease and a decrease in vitality. Each individual is solely responsible for what they put in their own mouths. While awkward and uncomfortable, I no longer hesitate to bring my own food to social gatherings and refusing to eat anything that I know will not nourish my body and lead to a greater state of vitality. It is a form of self-love and self-respect to choose to ingest only what properly nourishes your body.

Lesson #6

Traveling Abroad can create an increased need for breastfeeding a toddler.

Before our trip, I was nursing Athena in the morning, once or twice during the day, and at night. I was finally able to leave her for an extended period during the day without having to worry about nursing her. I have been delaying weaning, as I knew it would be very helpful to breastfeed during our international flight. I was surprised by how often and how much Athena wanted to nurse abroad. We went from almost weaning to a breastfeeding relationship reminiscent of that with a 3-month-old infant. She was attached to my boobs night and day. After the rough adjustment to Greek cuisine, she became very picky about what and how much she would eat. She rarely drank water, so she nursed for food, hydration, comfort, and security. It was a very difficult stress on my body, but I was grateful for the ability to nurse her on demand to smooth over any difficulties while traveling with a toddler.

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In conclusion, my trip taught me very important life lessons and help to solidify much of the health and wellness wisdom I have gained over the past few years. The food that we eat lays the foundation for the state of our health and wellness. It is an individual responsibility to take care of our bodies and fuel our bodies with nourishing food to the best of our ability and knowledge. It is time to create new recipes and new traditions that will lay the foundation for healthy individuals and therefore healthy populations.

Unleashing the Healer Within

Earlier this week, I received an email from a kind soul who had been struggling with chronic infections and had taken my advice and ran with it. As I read his email, the scripted words transformed into tears in my eyes, and in that moment my purpose was clarified. He wrote,

“I can’t thank you enough for sending me down this rabbit hole of a journey. It’s brought me comfort, energy, and confidence to take on my healing journey by myself rather than relying on practitioners who know bits and pieces of beneficial information but also could be doing harm as well. I have a renewed hope for good health, and a much better timeline for achieving that than I could have dreamed of. This all started with discovering your blog, which prompted me to try something new and different and now has led me to a ton of additional research on root/underlying causes and answers I was not finding anywhere else.”

My goal is to give others the tools, resources, and confidence to be their own healer. I am here to inspire and to teach. I want to be an inspiration, a guiding light, and a giver of hope. If you are suffering from a chronic illness not caused by acute trauma, then you can heal yourself. It is going to take time, effort, resources, and persistence, but it is possible. You are given one body, one vessel to house your soul. Only you intimately know your feelings, sensations, thoughts, memories, consciousness, and sub consciousness.

If you wish to hire a healthcare practitioners, I urge you to remember that they are consultants you are paying. Legally, all medical decisions require your informed consent. For this reason, it is your responsibility to own all health related decisions. This is a concept I did not grasp for many years.

When I was working with a functional medicine practitioner, I thought he was solely responsible for my health and wellbeing. I thought this was a puzzle I could not figure out or fix on my own. And while I did learn a lot from him, such as muscle testing, I didn’t really start to heal until I was no longer directly under his care. My health deterioration led to a serious relationship ending, an inability to work, and forced me to move back home. My trust in doctors was already extremely low due to personal experiences, and the one doctor I trusted was hundreds of miles away and I could no longer afford his services. This was terrifying. The situation I found myself in forced me to realize that nobody cared about my body or my health and wellbeing as much as I did. I made a vow to rid myself of the victim mentality and dedicated all my coherent time and energy into being my own doctor, my own science researcher, and my own healer. I stopped looking for love and validation on the outside and began to love myself unconditionally. Within weeks my health improved, my seizures decreased, my energy increased, and I felt a new sense of calm within the storm. Two years and a half years later, and I have yet to walk into a doctor’s office. They no longer offer a service I desire.

As many on health and spiritual journey will attest, it is just as important to unlearn what we have been taught as it is to learn new information. The healthcare practitioners are not the experts on your body. They are experts in literature taught in school. This literature is very limited, and if it is of the western philosophy, very lacking in knowledge and understanding of health and wellbeing due to its foundation built on the germ theory and intimate relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. One of the most important myths to unlearn is that you must suppress all symptoms of discomfort. Often times, the healing process involves discomfort. For long term health, it is important to quiet the desire to suppress symptoms and instead support the body during healing crisis with nutrition, rest, hydration, and a few tools to support elimination organs.

Resist the psychological warfare of our western culture and remind yourself that you alone are good enough. You are powerful. Your body is amazing. You can heal. Whole foods, water, sunshine, physical movement, and rest are the foundation of health and the healing process. You are capable of unleashing the healer within. If you are struggling with this, then take time to meditate. Ask yourself what it is that you need. What nourishment do you need in this moment? What is your body trying to communicate to you? Open up a daily dialogue between your mind and body. Take the first step on the journey to health with confidence and hope.

Intro to Cancer: Causes and Treatments

What is Cancer?

Cancer is a survival mechanism that occurs only when all other protective measures have failed. A cancer cell is a normal, healthy cell that undergoes genetic mutation in response to an environmental change. When there is a drastic reduction or shutdown of vital nutrients and accumulation of toxic, metabolic wastes, then a cancerous tumor will form. Cancer cells are able to survive and provide energy to the surrounding tissues in an acidic environment lacking oxygen. They thrive on fermenting metabolic wastes, such as lactic acid. If cancer cells did not remove lactic acid from the cell environment, then the accumulation of this strong acid would lead to the fatal condition, acidosis—a condition that involves the destruction of healthy cells due to high level of acidity. Without cancer cells, lactic acid and other waste material would enter into the bloodstream and cause septic shock and consequent death.

It is important to note that a cancerous tumor is neither the cause of progressive destruction nor does it actually lead to the death of the body. To be able to heal the body of cancer, you must first acknowledge and trust in your body’s innate healing wisdom and ability.

What Causes Cancer?

Cancer only strikes when a part of the body is no longer alive physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It develops when channels of circulation and elimination have been consistently blocked for a long time. Anything that prevent nutrients, such as oxygen, water, and glucose, from reaching cells can cause cancer. This primarily includes the thickening of the blood capillary walls and the congestion of the lymphatic ducts.

Research shows a diet high in animal products greatly increases the risk for developing cancer. The biological mechanism for processing excessive dietary protein leads to the thickening of blood and the lymphatic system. With regular consumption of animal proteins (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk) intrahepatic stones form in the liver. These stones decrease the liver’s ability to breakdown protein, so the level of protein in the blood increases. When these acid-forming and blood thickening proteins circulate the blood, the body thins the blood by depositing these proteins in the fluid surrounding the cells (intracellular fluid). The thinning of the blood prevent imminent dangers, such as heart attack and stroke, but hinders the ability of nutrients to flow from the blood to the cells. The reduction in nutrients increases the risk for cellular starvation. To prevent cellular starvation, the body removes these proteins from the intracellular fluid and coverts them to collagen fiber that is used to build the basal membrane of blood vessel walls. First, the capillaries thicken, then the blood vessel thicken, and ultimately, the arteries thicken. This thickening action blocks nutrients from reaching the cells and increases metabolic waste production.

The ducts and nodes of the lymphatic system are designed to remove or detoxify normal amounts of metabolic waste products, which includes 30 million worn-out cells daily. These old cells are composed of proteins, so additional dietary protein may overtax the lymphatic system by reducing lymph flow and increasing fluid retention. This increases the concentration of metabolic waste products in the intracellular fluid and leads to a phenomenon called a toxicity crisis.

In very simple terms, there are two broad components that cause cancer: nutritional deficiencies and toxicities. The following list includes a wide variety of lifestyle factors that may lead to cancer by decreasing nutritional availability or increasing cellular toxicity.

Common Causes of Cancer

  • Intrahepatic stones (Gallstones in the liver)
  • Restrictive Clothes
    • Wired Bras
  • Inactivity
  • Environmental Radiation
    • Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF)
    • Microwave Frequencies
    • MRI
    • CAT Scan
  • Irregular Lifestyle
    • Out of sync with circadian rhythm
    • Irregular meal times
    • Irregular sleeping habit
  • Processed Food
    • Soy
    • Trans Fats
    • Synthetic chemicals
    • Artificial Sweeteners
    • Sugar
  • Non-Organic Food
    • Pesticides
    • Herbicides
    • Antibiotics
    • Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
  • Heavy Metals
    • Silver Fillings
    • Aluminum from Chem Trails
    • Mercury from Fish
  • Environmental Pollution
    • Mold neurotoxins
    • Household cleaning products
    • Cosmetics
  • Lack of Sunshine
    • Low Vitamin D
  • Pharmaceutical Drugs
    • Prescription Drugs
    • OTC drugs
    • Illegal street drugs
    • Vaccinations
  • Diet containing Animal Products
  • Unresolved Emotional Conflict
    • Lack of self-love
  • Dehydration
    • Lack of clean water
    • Excessive Caffeine
    • Excessive Diuretics
    • Excessive stimulation (TV)

How to Successfully Treat Cancer?

The cause of cancer is specific to each individual. Therefore, it is up to you to become mindful and aware of your personal lifestyle factors that could have led to the development of a cancerous tumor. As you become more in tune with your body, you will find an understanding of what it needs to properly heal and recover.

The first place to start is adjusting your perspective and attitude. Dr. Andreas Moritz kindly reminds us that “Healing is accepting, allowing, and supporting, not fighting or resisting. This is how spontaneous remissions occur. The body uses its maximum healing capacity when it is not reoccupied with a fight or flight response which occurs when you are under stress or feel threatened.” Be patient, kind, and loving to yourself.

Choose to spend your time, money, and energy on therapies that support the healing process through nutrition and detoxification. Remove as many negative and stressful energies from your life as possible. Let your intuition shine. You are in control of your healing journey. Doctors, family, and friends may be there to guide and support you, but ultimately the decision is yours. Choose wisely and listen to your heart.

Elements of a Comprehensive Treatment

  • Light therapy
    • Sunlight
    • Infrared saunas
    • Rife Machine
  • Rest
    • Sleep for at least 8 hours beginning at 10pm
  • Regular Meal Times
    • Largest meal between 12pm-1pm
    • Dinner 3 hours before bedtime (7pm)
  • Light to moderate exercise
    • Keep lymph flowing
    • Yoga
    • Rebounding
    • Walking
  • Individualized supplement therapy
    • MMS
    • Cannabis Oil
    • Apricot seeds
    • Magnesium
    • High dose Vitamin C
    • High dose Vitamin A
    • Iscador (Mistletoe)
    • Pau D’Arco
    • Aloe Vera
    • Graviola
    • Red Clover Tea
    • Essiac Tea
    • Digestive Enzymes
    • Probiotics
    • Bentonite Clay
    • Diatomaceous Earth
    • ASEA
  • Individualized Diet
    • Juice Fast
    • Reverse nutritional deficiencies
    • Food according to body type (Vatta, Pitta, Kapha)
    • Organic, whole food, vegan diet
    • Healing Fats (Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Avocados, Nuts & Seeds)
    • Alkaline Diet
  • Detoxification
    • Coffee Enemas
    • Colonics
    • Epsom Salt Baths
    • Infrared Saunas
    • Dry Skin Brushing
    • Liver Flush
    • Colon Cleanse
    • Kidney Cleanse
    • Parasite Cleanse
  • Other useful therapies
    • Acupuncture
    • Antineoplaston therapy
    • Royal Rife Machine Therapy
    • Gerson Therapy
    • Hyperthermia
    • Liquid Cellular Zeolites
    • Cannabis Oil
  • Resolving Emotional/Spiritual Conflicts
    • Laughter
    • Self Acceptance and Love
    • Healing is accepting, allowing, and supporting not fighting or resisting.
    • Cancer has the potential to cause the most important and positive changes in the lives of cancer survivors.
    • Meditation
  • Guidance by a Functional Medicine Practitioner
    • Muscle Testing

Recommended Resources

Cancer is NOT a Disease: IT’S A SURVIVAL MECHANISM by Andreas Moritz (http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Is-Not-Disease-Mechanism/dp/097679442X)

The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush by Andreas Moritz (http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Liver-Gallbladder-Flush/dp/0984595449/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)

Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz (http://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Secrets-Health-Rejuvenation-Andreas/dp/097927575X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)

The Quest for the Cures…Continues by Ty Bollinger (http://thetruthaboutcancer.com/)

Coffee Enemas by Dr. Lawrence Wilson (http://www.drlwilson.com/ARTICLES/COFFEE%20ENEMA.HTM)

The Gerson Therapy by the Gerson Institute (http://gerson.org/gerpress/the-gerson-therapy/)

The Cancer Shame Connection: Church and Societal Influence.

I grew up in the church. My father was a pastor, and I spent more time in the classrooms and gymnasiums of religious affiliated schools, the church office, and in the sanctuary than I did at home. I am very proud of my upbringing. It gave me a wonderful foundation full of strong morals, love for community, humility, and compassion.

However, this experience also opened my eyes to church politics and the shortcomings of the human element of religion. I’ve encountered a large number of self-proclaimed Christians who feel compelled to judge and shame others. They profess a need to control the actions and thoughts of others and do so in the name of God. Although this is an unfortunate method practiced by Christians, it has absolutely no biblical basis. We are to “love thy neighbor as thou lovest thyself” and leave the final judgement to God.

As I sit in church, I listen to the pastor as he prays for the members. I observe the increasing list of members afflicted with cancer. I observe the coffee and sugar laden food and beverages that are served at most church functions. As a pre-teen, I fondly remember looking forward to eating a donut or two and drinking a cup of coffee during Bible class.

I also remember being told that only whores wear eyeliner and nail polish, unmarried couples who live together deserve the silent treatment until they change their sinful ways, a girl’s worth is determine by her sexual purity, and people who associate with other Christian denominations are going to hell. I won’t mention other twisted philosophies regarding homosexuality, divorce, recreational drugs, and other religions. It is very important to separate the biblical teachings from the flawed human interpretation.

In this moment, I am sitting at a coffee shop sporting eye liner and a crop top that exposes my midriff to the glorious warmth of the sunshine. I have learned to love and appreciate my body, including my sexuality. Last night, I befriended a man who used to strip and struggled with a drug addiction. A few weeks ago, I befriended a man who had just gone through a divorce, and his partner who used to be a powerful drug dealer in Boston. Through self-acceptance and love, I have discovered a universal love: one love that applies to all of humanity, the earth, and its inhabitants. I no longer feel bound by peer pressure and have no desire to conform to society for the sake of feeling accepted.

I feel compelled to write on the topic of shame, guilt, and controlling behaviors, because I have received a large amount of hatred, personal attacks, and emotional abuse from people I used to consider friends and family. The more I love and accept, the more hatred and ridicule I receive. This has been very difficult for me to understand and process as I am a sensitive soul with no room for hatred in my heart. I have been told that I am a rare form, one that is appreciated by those who embrace humility and threatening to those with an inflated ego. I’ve been reminded that the people of this earth crucified Jesus, shot Martin Luther King Junior, and poisoned Socrates. Why do people feel the need to silence those who preach peace, love, and acceptance?

Furthermore, what effect does this have on the health of individuals? What happens when someone succumbs to the fear tactics of church or society? They reject who they are and sacrifice their own needs and desires to conform. They do so in search of love and acceptance. Unfortunately, the church and society only offer conditional love and acceptance. As long as you abide by their man-made rules, then they will acknowledge you as a valuable member. If you stray from the common census, then they may subject you to isolation, condemnation, or dehumanization. The fear of suffering the consequences of living a life true to oneself may overwhelm an individual. If left unresolved overtime, these fears will physically manifest in the body as an illness.

If they (cancer patients) sacrifice and neglect their own wellbeing to avoid facing any shame, guilt, or unworthiness within themselves, they are actually cutting off the very limb they are hanging on to. They are “selflessly” devoted to please other so that, in return, they may be loved and appreciated for their contributions. This, however, serves as an unconscious acknowledgement of not loving oneself. This may lock up unresolved issues, fears, and feelings of unworthiness in cellular memory of the organs and tissues of the body.

—Dr. Andreas Moritz, Cancer is Not a Disease It’s a Survival Mechanism

Throughout his 30 years of treating cancer patients, Dr. Moritz found that all cancer patients had one thing in common: they all experienced feelings of unworthiness, lacking in self-love and self-acceptance. The mere act of a cancer patient verbally acknowledging self-love has turned off the fight-or-flight response and incited a healing response that has led to spontaneous remission of cancer. Often times, healing cancer is much more complicated, but the power of the mind should not be underestimated.

What can we do as church members and individuals contributing to society to decrease the suffering associated with cancer and other chronic illnesses? We can start by choosing to love and accept ourselves in the midst of our imperfection. This will allow us to freely love and accept others, eliminate judgment and shame, and provide a positive support system where others are encouraged to do the same. Eliminating sugar-laden processed foods and animal products at social gatherings would also help, but let’s take one step at a time.