How 2 health at my house!

Logan's new cast, and Hunter
Originally uploaded by heather reilly hiemstra, metalsmith

i've been so busy the past month with my custom jewellery work and the regular infirmary I've been running with John recovering from outpatient surgery, Hunter with a six day stomach bug, and my baby girl Logan with a fractured tibia and fibula!

Anyway here's pic of my babies after they set Logans' cast at Rady Childrens Hospital (thanks again everyone, you rule) from Flickr, where i have a bunch of jewelry pics as well.

You can guess I have a lot to say about all this from my perspective on the health front, and I'll be happy to give it all here after I finish up the rest of my current engagement ring clients and get those photos up as well--

there's a preview up of my favorite platinum ring so far on my blog, http://handforgedcustomjewelry.blogspot.com right now!

Alkalize, Oxygenate, De-Stress & Detoxify!

As I sit down to write the next installment of my blog – I suddenly recall the title of a book, "Alkalize or Die". I don't remember the author, I never read the book, but the concept clearly left an impression.

And with that said, let’s turn to the course of events after I had my tumor removed.

After my surgery, I stayed in the hospital for five days. Before I checked out on the Saturday morning, John, my mom and I met again with the oncologist.

We discussed possible treatment options and he recommended future screening.
The doctor was brilliant, and had a kind and gentle demeanor. He delivered complex information in a way that was easy to understand. Which was, in essence:

~ This is the kind of chemo that you should have.
~ Radiation isn't appropriate for this type of cancer.
~ There really aren’t any statistics on someone so young (36) with no tangible history of colon cancer in the family.
~ In the case of someone with your stage II B colon cancer, with no indication of metastasis, there is a 98% chance that the chemo will not do anything but make you really, really ill
~ There is a 2% chance that the chemo will kill off some rogue microscopic cancer cells that might potentially proliferate and cause another tumor (some schools of thought say we all have microscopic cancer cells in our body, it is just the ones who get the message to grow and spread that cause us harm)
~ If you are amongst that 2%, you will still get really sick from the chemo, but we recommend that you have it anyway. Just to be sure...

There was no talk of the devastating effect that chemo has on the immune system. Seriously, chemotherapy has a time and a place, and it should NOT be recommended lightly. The fact that it was advised despite the fact it was going to make me really sick, reminds me of the over-prescription of antibiotics! It’s like a rote-response.

There was no talk of diet.

No talk of proactive ways of preventing another tumor. I never heard the words: antioxidants, scavenging free radicals (the militia of cancer), and certainly no talk of creating an inhospitable environment for cancer (alkalinity).

Sooo, I immediately turned to the tool that, funny enough, doctors advise against.
The internet is rife with information regarding alternative treatments to chemo/radiation.

Let me say, for the record, there is a lot of information out there that is extremely controversial. Since I was so intent on continuing to breastfeed Hunter, I ruled out most of the various radical alternative treatments (graviola, for example) and focused my studies on nutritional facts regarding the body's reaction to food, chemicals, water, air, and anything we come into contact with in our daily lives. If it had to do with what goes in or on my body, I wanted to know about it.

[Note: I don't know if I would have embarked upon this study with such zeal if I did not have a baby to think of. Hunter's presence changed everything for me. Everything.]

If someone were to ask me, in a few words, what can you do to prevent cancer?
This is what i would say...

Alkalize, Oxygenize, De-Stress and Detoxify.

Why? Here are the scientific facts:

~ Cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment.
~ Cancer cannot thrive in a highly oxygenated environment.
~ Cancer thrives in an acid environment.
~ Stress hormones make us acidic. Literally.
~ The chemicals that bombard our bodies daily, have the power to mutate cells.

And so it’s quite simple really.

In my next post, I will enumerate the various changes I made in my life that I believe gave my body the "green light" to conceive Logan Anelyse Hiemstra (totally by surprise, mind you!) a mere six months post surgery.

RELAX, BREATHE AND FEEL JOY

On Soy Products.

The public's perception of soy as health food just got a boost from the FDA with a newly published rule permitting soy beverages, soy-based cheese substitutes, and soy- based butter substitutes to be fortified with vitamin D.

Right now, Vitamin D is the superstar of the supplement world.  Study after study has revealed the remarkable health benefits linked to the sunshine vitamin.

You can be sure you'll soon be seeing "Now with Vitamin D!" on soy-based milk products (etc.) at your local grocery.  Another false prophet in the health food world!

It is important to understand, fermented soy is not bad for you, in fact, it is great for you. Tempeh, Miso, Natto and unpasteurized soy sauce are fermented soy, and they are fine for consumption. But, phytates in unfermented soy products impede the absorption of protein, and four key minerals: calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. You need those minerals if you want to stay healthy.

So this is what you need to understand:

The soy products in your traditional grocery store (e.g. soy milk, soy cheese, soy yogurt etc) are not fermented.
The products will be fortified with vitamin D2.
Ring the bell – this fight is over.

Fish consumption and exposure to sunlight deliver much-needed vitamin D3 to your body. 

But according to a brief history of vitamin D research that appeared in a 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists created a synthetic form of the vitamin in the early 1920s when they manufactured vitamin D2 by exposing plant foods to ultraviolet light.

Within a decade, researchers began to notice that D2 was quite a bit less potent than D3. 

D2 was useful in eradicating rickets when added to milk in the 1930s, but as research methods were refined, it became clear that D3 was the superior form. In addition, the body retains D3 for longer periods and in higher concentrations than D2.

In their conclusions, the authors wrote: "The public expects to derive the equivalent effect per unit dose of vitamin D, whether it is vitamin D2 or vitamin D3.  The scientific community is aware that these molecules are not equivalent. Therefore, vitamin D2 should no longer be regarded as a nutrient appropriate for supplementation or fortification of foods."

The scientific community is aware…but apparently food producers and the FDA are not.

thanks to the HSI e-Alert for reminding me to write about this confusing deception.

Why HOW 2 HEALTH?

Five months after Hunter was born, when I first became sick with the tumor, I began a massive crusade to educate myself. I learned all that I could about how to eat in order to boost immunity (how to give myself and my family really strong immune systems) and how to prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. And in the midst of childbearing, the other thing I was concerned about was how to maintain a healthy body weight!

One of the most important things for me was how to be really happy about everything we ate. John and I love to eat and I have an intense empathy for anyone who is about to undergo a radical shift in what they put (or don’t put) in their body. I have experienced first hand, and observed John experience deep emotional loss when fasting or "giving up" a food. We still eat chocolate - masses of it actually ;-) we make little cashew or almond "butter" cups! We still have treats is what I’m trying to say.

I don't want you to read something I have to say and then reject your greatest culinary pleasures. I just want to show you ways to incorporate some seriously powerful ingredients into your daily life, making everything you do to your body a positive and concerted step towards your own physical health.

Be your own doctor. Take control and understand your body.

This is where I feel I fit in. I did so much research after being told that I most likely had stage 4 colon cancer and that I should have chemotherapy. After surgery, my new oncologist told me that in her opinion, diet really didn't figure into a proactive protocol. This approach, I think, is craziness!

The concept behind what I believe is this: There is a certain environment in which every living creature thrives. Mother Nature is brilliant. There are thus various environments in which every living creature suffers or dies. And cancer is no exception. Cancer cells can thrive in the body or they can be destroyed in the body.

I now have a lifetime ahead of me to learn, discover, and try new, super tasty ways of creating a body that is inhospitable to disease. A body that feels good, a body with increased energy and vitality, a body that maintains a healthy weight, and enjoying life all the while! By the way, I consider myself a total hedonist! I really like to feel good, and have the energy to dance around whenever and wherever. I was a Deadhead in my early twenties :)

I am also one of those people with an incredible capacity to research, retain, and sort through medical research and data. This stuff fascinates me. How the body reacts to what we put in it and on it, is fascinating to me.

I’m lousy at remembering details with regards to other aspects of life. I have a strong resistance to learning computer functions, I don't pay attention and remember directions, I am shit at math....and still have to ask John how to figure percentages.

BUT, I am really, really good at understanding how the gut works, how the immune system works, how our blood sugar level affects our body, how to prevent infection and how best to fight infection. And I have come to learn that this sort of information is overwhelming to many.

I am forty years old. I was raised in the "better living through chemicals" era. Hamburger Helper, Chef Boy Ardee, Ritz crackers, the Keebler Elves and all their tasty little chemicals and preservatives, Twinkies and Suzy Q's, Sara Lee, and Pepperidge Farms, Nestle (there will be more info to come on these bastards), Campbell's soup (one can has enough MSG and sodium to kill a rat), pop tarts and High Fructose Corn Syrup coated granola bars.

Now that's the shit that killed Elvis...

We were the generation of Teflon cookware, non-stick pans! Did you know that if a parrot were to be sitting on your shoulder while you are frying something in a Teflon pan, the fumes from the pan can kill the bird? Brilliant.

Now there is so much more information available to us, and thanks to the internet, we can share that information. There is a lot to weed through however, and again, this where I come in. I do this research as religiously as anything. It is part of God to me. We have access to so much of Mother Nature's bounty nowadays, thanks to the internet and the ability to source products from all over the world.

For example, purple corn powder. Ever heard of it? I can teach you how to make a really tasty hot drink from this powder (and tell you where to get it) that is such a potent antioxidant, so insanely good for you and makes you feel so good. And cancer cells hate it.

Do you understand cancer cells? Do you understand the way your blood sugar reacts to different foods?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT 85% OF OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM RESIDES IN OUR GUT?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT 60% OF EVERY PRODUCT YOU PUT ON YOUR SKIN IS INGESTED IN YOUR BODY?

Are you comfortable with the idea of eating the lotion you put on your body to moisturize, tighten, or tone?

I have learned, by necessity and desire, how to live without chemicals. Whether it be cleaning my house, sanitizing my kids hands at the playground, or beautifying myself (shampoos, scrubs, makeup, moisturizing skin, etc.). I would like to share this wealth of information in the hopes of educating people on how to free their bodies (and our planet!) from toxic residue. We have had enough of the chemical age. People are ready to become pure again :)

How I survived colon cancer

It was on my 36th birthday, the 31st of January 2005, that I discovered the tumor in my colon - five months after the birth of my first son, Hunter.

Since then, I have amassed an insane amount of knowledge about food and its affect on the body (digestion, gut health, antioxidants…you name it). I have changed my entire way of eating.

For 23 years, I had been a strict "no meat "vegetarian, eating fish sparingly. I ate so much processed soy (this alone, I now believe, can destroy a body.)

I was lying on my side, nursing my son, and massaging my abdomen. I found a lump the right side of my colon (ascending colon/cecum), and at the time just thought I was constipated (the reason I was massaging my stomach in the first place) and I wished I could have a colonic, but I didn’t want to since I was nursing, and therefore didn’t want to cleanse too vigorously.

My digestion had been off since Hunter's birth, so I knew something was seriously amiss. By April I thought it was perhaps a gluten or wheat sensitivity… maybe even Celiac's disease. Or even that I might have a parasite. My bowels were sporadic and then prolific, and I had the stinkiest gas ever!

Plus, I had been feeling really terrible for the previous eight or so months. I was constantly exhausted, and couldn’t even walk to the top of the stairs with a load of laundry without tiring myself out completely. I would say things to John, my husband, like, “I don't know why I have such dry skin, I am taking all my good oils, but I just don't feel like I am absorbing them.” Now I know it was because the tumor was in the ascending (beginning part of the) colon and received everything I consumed right away.

I would crave crazy things like sesame seeds. I virtually became addicted to raw cacao nibs, and high mineral content water. Notably, all these things are very high in minerals and tumors really crave minerals.

By May 2006, my family physician recommended I see an oncologist for a CAT scan. My blood work was alarming. I was severely anemic, my hemoglobin was a 7 (supposed to be 13-14), and the inflammation markers were all up. However, the CEA (Cancer Enzyme Antigen) was negative, and if cancer is present, the number is usually positive.

[This makes sense to me now, since the tumor was isolated. I like to think that I isolated the tumor, mainly by pounding the green drinks. More on Chlorella later.]

Colon cancer is known as the "silent killer" as it usually goes undetected until the point of 'intestinal blockage', by which time the tumor is large enough to notice, and the cancer cells have proliferated, metastasizing throughout the body.

As soon as the doctor referred me to an oncologist, my parents sent for me to return to the east coast for a colonoscopy, and a full body CAT scan. Within ten days the tumor had been surgically removed.

Dr. Joseph Bardenheier, who retired last year after a lifetime in surgery, removed my tumor. Afterwards, standard procedure is to biopsy 18-21 lymph nodes looking for more cancer. He biopsied 61 nodes, and all were clean and clear - working to keep my body alive and healthy, in the face of what it was battling.

So it was removed, and I immediately felt better. Even in the hospital, recuperating, I felt better - and no it wasn't the morphine, of which I actually took very little, since I was breastfeeding Hunter exclusively (no bottles, no plastic!). This was of the utmost importance to me, and more than once I was scolded for not self-administering more morphine.

The CAT scan had revealed a tumor over 7cm large that had grown into the bowel wall. The radiologist suggested that I move home to New York (from San Diego) for chemotherapy treatment at Sloane Kettering or perhaps Dana Farber. His diagnosis was that metastasis was surely present.

This I refused to believe, even though I only had from a Friday to the following Tuesday to digest all this information… I constantly reaffirmed to everyone that this cancer had not spread. Yes, I had a really yucky "piece of shit" stuck in my colon, but I did not believe that this cancer - simply mutated cells - had spread within my body.

Definition of Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).

Before I became pregnant, I had been living in Firenze, Italy, and despite eating like a good Italian...everyday :) … I was very thin. At the time, I attributed this to teaching Pilates rigorously, walking 45min to and from my metallurgy/jewelry school, wholesome food and fabulously simple wine. I never felt any tumor, and I had such a flat stomach that if the tumor had been that big, I’m sure I would have felt it.

As it turns out, pregnancy is known to accelerate tumor growth. The mother’s body is using so much energy that her defenses, normally firing with all guns, have to watch over the growing baby instead. Thus a tumor is able to grow and sometimes metastasize.

So, pregnancy accelerated the growth, but what pushed it out? To that, I attribute Chlorella, which I began consuming in very large quantities. I think Chlorella exacerbated the tumor and ultimately pushed it to prominence.

I will post more in another blog entry about Chlorella, since it is a huge subject to cover. If you are interested in learning more now, then follow this excellent link:

http://www.chlorellafactor.com/

I did not have chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Instead, I have used food, supplements and peace of mind to heal myself. This is why I want to share my story and my knowledge. So many people come to me now, asking me about what to eat, what supplements their children need, and how to keep their family healthy, that I have decided to create a blog of information, as a reference tool and guide.

I can’t wait to share it all with you.