natural girls
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I am like you Viv... I have three acres...:)
I got the Stevia plant from a local nursery. I have never seen it nor looked for it before. I love dandelion....hehe.... I eat raw most.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE KALE... It gives me the calcium I need.. without dairy.. anywhoo... we should swap ideas sister!
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Hi Everyone...
I started a thread on melatonin elsewhere....what do you all think of it. I read that i addition to helping with sleep, it helps recurrance. Anyone any experience and what dosage is recc.
Thanks
Judy
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On Curcumin, this months Prevention magazine says, the yellow pigment of the herb tumeric, is as effective as potent anti-inflamatory drugs in improving morning stiffness and joint swelling without the side effects,the recommended dosage is 400 to 600mg 3 times a day. This is is a study dobe akso with RA paitents.
Not sure if this helps anyone, but had to include as i just read it!
Donna
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Estepp...so chemo i am in is causing my sweet craving as my ovaries are being shut down! I have been cravin sweets and only on TX 2! Good to know! Thanks!
Healthy Thoughts,
Donna
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Fairy, I take Inositol, it's also called Vit B-m, of all things!
Laura, I have a Stevia plant (found at Lowes with the herbs) in the ground too! I don't know what to do with the leaves though! Are you going to cook with it? I have taken a piece off, and BOY is it SWEET and FRESH!!! Let me know what you end up doing... Mine is growing gang busters!
How do you make Kale? I mean, just steam or boil? add anything? I should try that I think...
Spring.
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I love kale- I sautee w/ a bit of olive oil & garlic. Sometimes add toasted pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, dried cranberries. I could (and do) eat bowls & bowls of it!
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I love to throw kale in my soups too!
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I am recommending "Real Food - What to Eat and Why" by Nina Planck. It is not a book specific for BC diet, but it is explaining why we need to eat all the foods.
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I use Kale daily as my main leaf lettuce in my salads...
Spring,, I am excited to grow the stevia. I am going to put it fresh leaf in my tea bags when I make tea.. to sweeten it some... I will also hang it to dry and then put it in my food processor to powder it ... then store it in a glass container for the winter... I am tired of buying it for 6 bucks a box.. this way... almost free...hehe...
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loved catching up with all the post....it is so wonderful to see our thread growing, I have never been exposed to Kale....but have heard a lot about it..tempted to buy it at the grocer just not sure about preparing it......and I take a dandelion supplement when I notice swelling...and it is a great natiural diuretic.
I appreciate those who shared leading a pretty healthy lifestyle before diagnosis....with my sister having BC at age 32, (10 years ago)....I tried to be careful to implement a lifestyle of prevention....My gyn MD couldn't have said it better that the number one risk factor for getting BC is "being Female".
I was thinking of having a total hysterectomy because of the estrogen factor and my gyn explained that I still needed estrogen...and that all women have estrogen....
so in my mind it becomes clearer that synthetic estrogen mimickers. in our environment are the bad estrogens....
for years I would have a diet dr. pepper in a plastic bottle most every day....now I think about that plastic....and there are lots of other things too. so many foods are bagged in plastic...
Ladies you are inspiring....thanks for sharing!!
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It is hard to keep from all of the plastic wrapped everything. When I store things in my refrigerator now, I use glass jars....so far those are supposed to be safe. It makes freezing a challenge though. I remember my mother used a thick wax paper to freeze things in. But it does not solve the problem of how to freeze home made soup, for example. Maybe corning ware....or has anyone heard bad things about corning ware?
Also does anyone know if aluminum foil is safe to use?
Thanks for your suggestions.
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Oh thank you all on the Kale, I didn't know it could be used as lettuce leaf in salad, Laura! EWB, will copy out that recipe!
This has nothing to do with Natural girls, but here are some shoes I just ordered. LOL. Wanted to share!
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LOL Spring....Beautiful!
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Nice shoes Spring
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I want to thank all you couragous, intelligent women. It's not easy to think 'outside the box' when up against the box. You have given me inspiration and I totally appreciate it
I am going to find a naturopath. I'm not sure if that's what they're called. It just 'makes sense' to take the best care of your body as possible.
BTW LJ13 you sound like a doctor, maybe you are... Science is a great thing, but is also continous. Many things have yet to be discovered. You must keep an OPEN mind.
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I just love this thread. I always have to take lots of notes when I come here. Have any of you heard of kelp root? It's touted as a great thing in Japan to prevent recurrance. I think it is the high iodine content.
I joined an organic food delivery right after my diagnosis. It just feels better to me to know that all my fruits, veggies and dairy is organic now. Love my leeks, beets and collard greens that came in my box yesterday!
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Simvog, thanks. I use clear glass jars.
There is so much to think about.
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Hi All,
Like so many of you, I lived a very clean life and still developed breast cancer. Since my diagnosis, I've definitely made changes for the better (e.g., taking additional supplements, decreasing dairy, eating even more organic foods, exercising more, being even more diligent about staying away from dangerous chemicals and xenoestrogens, etc. By the way, this website: www.cosmeticsdatabases.com has been very eye opening--many "natural" products that I assumed were safe actually contain carcinogens and endocrine interrupters). I try to view my diagnosis in a positive light--thinking that with the changes I've made, I'll live a longer, healthier life than I might have, had I never been diagnosed. Also, I'm hoping that the changes I've made for our family will help decrease the chances of my daughter getting breast cancer.
Since my mastectomy, I've been extremely diligent about using natural products and massaging the scar to maximize healing and minimize scar tissue, adhesions, etc. I've used organic coconut oil (often with rosewood essential oil, which is supposed to be good for healing), pure organic cocoa butter, pure organic shea butter, and pure organic aloe vera. A few months ago I started seeing a physical therapist, who has been doing scar massage. The physical therapist always comments that I have very few adhesions, that my scar is really pliable, that it's healing well, etc. In spite of this, I've felt that it's not healing well, and has actually been looking worse as time has gone on. Yesterday I saw my breast surgeon for my six-month check up, and she said that my scar is keloiding, and that it looked a lot better at my three-month check up! Once again, I was in disbelief, as I felt I did everything I could to try to foster excellent healing with all natural, organic products! I know that individuals are just prone to keloids, and that no matter what I did, I probably would have developed them, but it is a bummer. My doctor recommended seeing a plastic surgeon, as one treatment option is surgical removal of the keloid. Having had bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction, I thought I was done with surgery for the foreseeable future! Plus, when keloids are removed, they can come back, and can often be worse when they grow back. I'm going to try silicone scar sheets for a while and see how it goes. I already bought some today and have started using them. My question is--have any of you used these silicone scar sheets? And, if so, did you use them in combination with any natural products--for example, did you remove the scar sheets a couple of times a day to apply cocoa butter, coconut oil, or something else? If you did use them, did they help flatten out your scar? Thanks for listening, and thanks in advance for any posts about experiences with silicone scar sheets.
Audrey
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Audrey is the rosewood oil you used called Rosa Mosqueta? I have heard that it's oil is very good for scars although I have no idea whether it is OK for us to use.
In moments when I allow myself 'why me' kind of thoughts I note that there are lot of people who eat badly and drink a lot and don't get cancer. However, I have learned a lot since I was diagnosed and perhaps I was not eating as well as I had thought. For example, while I ate lots of fruit and vegetables and rarely ate processed food I did eat lots of dairy and non organic meat. I used birth control pills for years (although not in the last 11 years before diagnisis). I drank in moderation. I loved my sweets. Over the years I used all kinds of cosmetics and body lotions which I now know contain parabens, ptalates and goodness knows what else. I ate non organic as I thought it was a waste of money to buy organic. I took meals to work in plastic containers and warmed them up in microwave etc.
I hope that the changes I have made since will make a difference.
On another topic altogether I have read on this site that, apart from grapefruit, pomegranate is not good for us either. Does anyone have any further information on that?
Ta very much
Nena
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Hi Nena,
Yep--there are definitely things I could've done differently, pre-breast cancer, as far as my health is concerned. Plus when I think about my childhood, I totally cringe--we ate meat every night for dinner with canned vegetables. The snacks in my house were all processed. We did have fruit, which I love, but I ate loads of Doritos, Devil Dogs, Chips Ahoy cookies, and my favorite of all--candy of all types (especially Now and Laters--also why my teeth are not the greatest!). My parents are very conventional, so we used soaps and shampoos with loads of chemicals, and horrible household cleaners. It wasn't until about 12 years ago that I really started to think about the chemicals I was exposing myself to. Well, hopefully all of us have been successful in cleaning a lot of the toxins out of our system with our new "natural girl" practices!
As far as the rosewood oil is concerned, I don't use Rosa Mosqueta--just rosewood essential oil from Aura Cacia. Before my mastectomy, I researched various essential oils, and this one seemed to be good for healing and tissue regeneration. According to the information I read, it's non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-estrogenic.
As far as pomegranate goes, I think, as with so many things, there's conflicting information. On the one hand, it's high in ellagic acid, which is supposed to be a cancer inhibitor. On the other hand, pomegranate seed oil is a apparently a "rich source of bioactive estrogenic steroids". One article I recently read indicates that there's a broad range of estrogens in pomegranates, and that the estrogenic compounds are found throughout the pomegranate--in the juice, seeds, peel, leaves and flowers.
I love pomegranates--in the fall, I eat tons of them. I also love pink grapefruit, and eat them like crazy in the winter. I'm thinking I might not do that in the future!
Audrey
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Calypso - I have to smile when you mention taking notes. I got overwhelmed with the amount of email notifications and information I was saving, that I made a tabbed 3 ring binder for all my notes and information I grab out of this post.
Ladies - I am so grateful for all of you and the wonderful well reserached information that we share with one another. This natural road is a tough one because the masses do not support us. Having all of us in one spot makes this so much easier - the support is incredible.
Thank you!!
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It is great to see all the new comments and lots of great information from everyone. The only problem is, is keeping everyone straight. So I just want to say that I hope people will keep making comments, even if they are not acknowledged because we are all reading them, but we do not always remember to comment back. I am getting lots of great new ideas from you all. Do not be afraid to reiterate if you think you are being ignored!
It is especially interesting to me to see how others have determined what they feel were causes of their bc and how you are as dedicated as I am in changing things
. Nena, I could have written your summary, almost word for word. I guess things in the USA and merry ole England aren't so different after all! I wish they would have warned us more about those birth control pills!
As for all the controversial foods like soy, grapefruit, and pomegranate. I feel that foods that are whole and fresh, cannot possibly be all bad for us. If a food is controversial, and I really like it, I just try to consume it in small amounts. However, I do believe there are foods like sugar or diary, and alcohol, that I think have enough studies that prove they are really unhealthy, so those I stay clear of for the most part. But a glass of wine now and then, and some imported cheese once in a while will not do any harm. As I said, I go for the goal of 80% clean living. I am not looking to be a martyr.
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I was bad today.....I had a BIG..BIG.. portugese bun with Mozzarella cheese,tomatoe,light mayo and proshiuto. OMG!!!!
I am no martyr..lol. Oh well!
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Patmom, truth be told one dog is 12 so short walk around the block! The other two are plenty to handle!
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Vivre, here, here I second everything you had to say in your last post!
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As far as pomegranate, I just read that one lab study found that pomegranate juice, extract, and oil were able to block estrogenic activity by up to 80% and prevent several different types of breast cancer cells from multiplying. Another study found a similar effect on prostate cancer cells. I love adding the seeds to my yogurt!
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I hope people don't mind me revisiting the water question. I thought I read hard plastic bottles are okay. Does this mean water cooler bottles are fine? Thanks.
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Vivre, I like the 80% clean living. I think I can do that!
Go Pomagranates !!
I am still struggling to get off dairy. But it is next on my hit list.
I like the idea of occasionally, some really nice imported cheese with some really good red wine. But I haven't yet had any alchohol since last July. I'll report back if I do it. lol!!!
Spring.
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Hi Everyone,
I am now looking for new make-up since I just read about the parabene....you guys are awesome. I'm so glad I found this thread. Since my dx I have cut out sugar, alcohol (I was a 3 glass red wine/night girl...Ugh!) and have really tried to be conscious of everything I use. I always ate whole grain....at least the past few years, but made a lot of mistakes. I worry that the alcohol got me into this.
Anyway, my make-up is the next thing to change. What are thoughts on nail polish? I also use it regularly.
Thanks so much for your expertise and help!
Judy
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