Right now I am in some kind of control of my diet and my lifestyle. I cook my own food, buy my own produce and so forth. But the future could be frightening. Imagine I have to go into a residential or care home, whether that be 10, 20 or more years ahead. Will they provide me with a raw salad or will they force met to have mashed potatoes and over-cooked veg? Now if I had limitless funds then surely I could get the care I choose and need. But will care homes of the future bother caring for my dietary needs.
Also at that time will they take control of my medication and usurp my wishes without my knowledge? Perhaps they might argue, with support from doctors, to relatives, "of course he needs sleeping pills", or whatever.
In essence will they treat the symptoms - or the cause?
There is no doubt that with sufficient funds anyone could choose the exact care they need. But will I be in that position? That, I doubt.
Fortunately I am becoming aware of Blue Zones. These are places in the world like Okinawa where most people live beyond 100 years of age in great health, perhaps riding motorbikes, exercising regularly and probably more exercise than I do now! Fortunately my diet is already on its way to fulfilling the Blue Zone goal.
However Blue Zones are more than just diet. It is a social goal. Eynsham, beware! If I am to have a future then encouraging a Blue Zone community around me is a must.
Add the RIGHT foods to your diet to REDUCE arthritic pain and inflammation.
Include the WRONG foods to your diet and INCREASE arthritic pain and inflammation.
My choice? A life-journey based on a low-oil whole-food plant based diet.
Whatever your current state of health, make yourself healthier - you deserve it. Start your plant based diet journey today.
Sunday 9 October 2016
Thursday 6 October 2016
Knockdown and no clipper to be seen!
My apologies to readers. I don't do well posting when things get bad, and the last few weeks have not been easy. Just before that I was getting healthy to the point of thinking I was a fraud, in that pain and inflammation was diminishing and I was really coming together as a quasi-normal human being. I was re-entering society and was beginning to look back on the previous year as a very bad dream. Had it happened? Had I exaggerated my own illness and struggles? Had I at last overcome some major hurdles? At this point I perhaps became complacent, possibly arrogant. Perhaps I could begin to venture outside my safe food zone and experiment more with "normal foods."
And then my knock-back happened. I quickly pressed dietary reset button (cucumber and celery juicing etc etc) and hoped that the fault was only temporary. However it has been longer and deeper. With significant pain, latterly and especially in my ankles. Initially my left wrist blew up and looked like an exceedingly undesirable but well-risen cake, with pain to match.
Any hope of quick recovery seemed to disappear as days and then weeks seemed to have rolled by with very little venturing out of doors. Are we at the point of recovery? Only time will tell. One thing I have learnt is predicting how well I will feel is not worth very much. I can be lying in bed feeling comfortable at say 4am, and then by 7am I am struggling with pain to even get myself sat up on the edge of bed.
But recovery does happen. The skills I have learnt about listening to my body, a very careful attention to its dietary needs and most of all patience.
As the days roll by I can feel the inflammatory blood serum travelling from one part of the body to another. The soles of my feet, the ankles, the wrists, the hip joints, knee joints, elbows, and for one horrible day even my back. Unlike, say 6-9 months ago, now I only tend to have pain etc in one place. That's not nice, but at least most of the time I find my mind is clear. I have very little brain fog - touch wood.
But I have to learn the lesson of the last weeks. As yet I do not know what I have learnt except that I am far from clear of RA yet, and possibly if ever.
If I had a guess at the lesson it would be that when RA kicks in badly it is because of multiple trigger events. So not just one meal, but a range of things. Perhaps too much (or contaminated) oil or fat on one day. Perhaps an inadvertent nightshade vegetable on another. Perhaps some egg in a falafel on another. Each of these takes its toll and then like a pack of cards I collapse.
This is not proven science, just my best guess.
What is true is I need more protection around myself. To this end I have prepared a dietary card to show when I go to a restaurant.
And then my knock-back happened. I quickly pressed dietary reset button (cucumber and celery juicing etc etc) and hoped that the fault was only temporary. However it has been longer and deeper. With significant pain, latterly and especially in my ankles. Initially my left wrist blew up and looked like an exceedingly undesirable but well-risen cake, with pain to match.
Any hope of quick recovery seemed to disappear as days and then weeks seemed to have rolled by with very little venturing out of doors. Are we at the point of recovery? Only time will tell. One thing I have learnt is predicting how well I will feel is not worth very much. I can be lying in bed feeling comfortable at say 4am, and then by 7am I am struggling with pain to even get myself sat up on the edge of bed.
But recovery does happen. The skills I have learnt about listening to my body, a very careful attention to its dietary needs and most of all patience.
As the days roll by I can feel the inflammatory blood serum travelling from one part of the body to another. The soles of my feet, the ankles, the wrists, the hip joints, knee joints, elbows, and for one horrible day even my back. Unlike, say 6-9 months ago, now I only tend to have pain etc in one place. That's not nice, but at least most of the time I find my mind is clear. I have very little brain fog - touch wood.
But I have to learn the lesson of the last weeks. As yet I do not know what I have learnt except that I am far from clear of RA yet, and possibly if ever.
If I had a guess at the lesson it would be that when RA kicks in badly it is because of multiple trigger events. So not just one meal, but a range of things. Perhaps too much (or contaminated) oil or fat on one day. Perhaps an inadvertent nightshade vegetable on another. Perhaps some egg in a falafel on another. Each of these takes its toll and then like a pack of cards I collapse.This is not proven science, just my best guess.
What is true is I need more protection around myself. To this end I have prepared a dietary card to show when I go to a restaurant.
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