My name is Barb.
I live in New England with my husband and our dog.
My goal for myself and my family...is to grow older without the ailments normally associated with aging, and without the need for pharmaceutical drugs.
This blog is where I describe the things I am doing to achieve that goal.
I'm not willing to sit back and hope nothing happens, that somehow we won't be afflicted by the same ills our ancestors were, even though we have their genes. Your genes do not necessarily determine your destination - epigenetics has proven that some of them can be turned on or off. Using this information, I make the effort to reduce the likelihood that we will suffer.
Primarily, that involves eliminating the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis. I can't eliminate them all, unfortunately, so I DO THE BEST I CAN and I don't stress over what I can't. I call this "Controlling the Controllables." In other words, if you address those things you have control over then those things you can't control, like aluminum in the air, won't have as great an impact.
Secondarily, I source the healthiest food I can, and prepare it in healthy ways.
- Most of our food is biodynamic, organic, wild, or pasture raised.
- I do not eat soy, peanuts, corn or potatoes because they aren't good for my blood type. My husband does eat them but you won't find recipes for any of these foods on this blog.
- We DO eat healthy fats. Your body NEEDS fat. Fat-free food is not healthy!
- I do not cook (i.e. heat) any fats except ghee, lard, tallow, and coconut oil. If I use butter or EVOO, I pour it on after I've turned off the heat.
- We drink raw milk; and I use it to make raw butter, yogurt, quark, and sour cream.
- I make 90% of the food we eat "from scratch" including all condiments.
My philosophy, with regard to 'what's best' is that my family's heath takes precedence over everything else, even the environment. For instance, if toilet tissue made with recycled paper (high in BPA) is bad for our bodies, I will look for an enviornmentally safe alternative (bamboo!), but if I can't find one, then I will use virgin paper because that is better for us even though it's worse for the environment.
Our budget is next - I won't allow us to go into debt, and constantly look for ways to save money.
And, finally, the environment. If I can manage to create a healthy environment without breaking our bank AND take care of the environment, I do.
COOKING
I love to cook! Before I retired, I would spend every free minute planning, shopping, cooking and serving food. Now, I devote most of my day to it. I'm very lucky I'm able to do this and I recognize that most people are not so blessed. So, again, do the best you can....As much as I love to cook...
one of my biggest challenges is to cook tasty food using
healthy ingredients and processes.
Most recipes don't use either, so I "hack" them.
The main thing I do is swap out the unhealthy oils for healthy fats. I also eliminate any processed ingredients like Worcester Sauce (yes, I am singling it out because it's full of MSG, which causes brain damage), salad dressing, catsup, mustard, sausage, artificial sweetener, etc... In most cases, I replace them with homemade versions, or I eliminate them completely.
If you've been eating conventional food all your life, it will take about a month to re-train your taste buds to 'like' healthy foods. Most processed foods are engineered to foster addiction, and your mouth will have to get used to not tasting salt, sugar, and MSG.
The other, harder, thing I do is buy chemical-free and GMO-free food. As more and more people insist on organic and pasture raised food, more and more farmers switch to those methods; but...some of them do so only in name! They take advantage of every loophole in the Organic Standards to avoid producing a truly organic or pasture raised product. Chickens and their eggs are NOT free range - they have one tiny door in their overcrowded barn and they NEVER go outside. The Cornucopia Institute has several 'scorecards' you can use to determine which products are what they claim to be.
Several years ago, the butcher at Whole Foods had the audacity to tell me there was little difference between their 100% grass fed beef, and their conventional beef. While it's true that conventional beef spends the first 12-18 months of it's life on pasture, it's the last few months in a feed lot that alters the omega 3:6 ratio from healthy to unhealthy. Ergo, don't trust anyone. Do your own research.
BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE USES NO GMOs and NO CHEMICALS!
Animals on biodynamic farms
with minimum stress
Fortunately, there are several biodynamic farms in this area and I support them all. I use as much of our biodynamic CSA farm's products as possible, and buy other biodynamic products online. If you'd like to find a Biodynamic CSA near you, The Biodynamic Association should be able to help you.
DISCLAIMER
As I state in the footer, the opinions voiced on this blog are my own, and do not reflect the current state of medical care or knowledge. They are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any symptom or disease and should not be used as a replacement for advice from a medical professional.
I'm documenting what I'M doing and WHY I'm doing it. If you have information that will help me, please leave a comment. I realize that my opinions will rub some people the wrong way so all comments are moderated and if you get snarky (i.e. NOT helpful) I'll just ignore you.
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