This is a personal journal of a personal journey. I used to have a blog called "Saving Knees", but I have come to realize it's just not about saving knees, it's about saving me. Taking care of my whole self. Knees aren't the only body parts that cause me hardship. I get Colon Polyps, bad ones, "very high risk ones". The kind where doctors say we have to watch her very closely. In the last 4 years I have had 5 colonoscopys, 4 to treat a large polyp. I also have had kidney stones. NOT FUN. I have every reason to change the way I eat, and no reason to stay the way I am. I think if someone were to look inside my body they would probably say, "this woman is sick or on her way to death".
I have every reason to want to be here on this planet for a very long time. I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a grand mother. I have an active family, and I often have to stay on the side lines and watch. I hate that. I am 50 years old this year, and I want to be here for at least another 40 years, healthy and happy. So how do I do that? Whose responsibility is it? MINE, and MINE ALONE.
I'm also Mormon and yes this blog will be a spiritual blog as well, because being a Latter-day Saint, isn't just a religion, it is a culture. The Word Of Wisdom is a large part of that culture, it sets us apart in many ways from the rest of the world. The Word of Wisdom is about embracing whole foods, mostly grain and plant based with little meat. "only in times of winter and famine". I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject, books that I will share later. I am not a professional, nor am I a missionary for vegan living. This choice I have made is a personal choice for my own health.
Excited about your journey, Carol! I have made my own journey of sorts... into being an 80% raw vegetarian for a year, then because of a doctor's screw up, I ended up with kidney failure and dialysis, which changed my diet from anything healthy to a meat- loaded pile of yuck. Recently a transplant has enabled me to begin my health journey again... and like you, it is a journey to save me. I have become convinced that we dig our graves with our forks. Sadly, I ate the SAD diet-- the Standard American Diet for years and had developed type one diabetes, carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia and reoccurring shingles before I got the kidney failure and congestive heart failure. I learned about white flour and hydrogenated fats and all those things... too late! Well, better late that never, right? I now eat 80% raw... however I'm moving to Washington State in a week, since it's cold weather, I'm going to try and eat 100% vegetables and fruit...0% processed foods, no animal products, and about 50% raw and 50% cooked. I'm going to use your journey to inspire mine, if you don't mind. By the way, I am a 58 year old wife and mother of 8, 12 grandkids, and I am also LDS. I believe the "conspiring men" that the Word of Wisdom talks about are those men in the food industry who seek to line their pockets at the cost of OUR health!!
ReplyDeleteBest of wishes on your journey!!