September 4, 2011

Dear Senator Shaheen,

Today, Sunday, September 4th, my husband spotted you, then quietly, as you were getting into your vehicle, told me who you were. We were also stopping to get coffee and tea at St. Joe’s Coffee in York, Maine. We live in York, so you are not our Senator. But we share many of the concerns of our neighboring New Hampshire. And I recently read with great interest the article in the Portsmouth Herald about your granddaughter, Elle, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and her involvement (along with your daughter, Stefany, and you) with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Congress. Type 1 diabetes, its causes, and management is something I know a great deal about.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 40 years ago in 1971 when I was 16 years old. Today children are being diagnosed more frequently and often at a much earlier age. But why? Is it because there are more victims of random accidents of nature? My very active research for the last 35 years have led me to conclude there are very specific causes. Changing the way we live can heal (not just cure) and/or prevent much, if not all, instances of the condition known as Type 1 Diabetes. Contrary to the official stance of the FDA, the CDC, the American Medical Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and countless others, I am convinced that these causes can be corrected if we summon up the courage to do so. But in order to identify these changes, we must first examine what changes have occurred that have been strongly linked to the increased incidence of Type 1 diabetes (as well as a panoply of “diseases” that are now the mainstay of current health care practice throughout the civilized world).

• The introduction and rapid rise in immunizations over the last half-century. -Even newborn infants are now being immunized in the mistaken belief that it will prevent any and all disease. However, research has not borne this out. Instead, pediatricians offices are now filled with children labeled with autism, ADHD, ADD, depression, dyspraxia, dyslexia, and a long menu of others, including Type 1 diabetes. Have we traded the “prevention” of infectious diseases that were relatively rare and even more rarely fatal for a confounding array of conditions and syndromes against which doctors are ill-equipped to deal? Some have suggested that immunizing an infant guarantees a lifelong dependency on the pharmaceutical industry. Autoimmunity, and its many faces, is rampant today but unheard of only two or three generations ago. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. Aside from the unproven efficacy of immunization, the injection of highly toxic heavy metals like mercury (the second most toxic substance in the world) and aluminum, both of which are used as preservatives in the immunizations, into the bodies of infants and young children and their developing immune systems is unconscionable.
• Significant Changes in diet which have occurred over the past six to ten decades – Below is a list of major changes in diet and nutrition, most of which have become commonplace, especially since the end of WWII:

Virtually all dairy products are now pasteurized. Before widespread pasteurization, many people consumed milk and dairy products directly from

the farm, either their own or the neighbor’s. Raw milk and cheeses contain beneficial bacteria and enzymes that help us digest and utilize the powerhouse of nutrition in these foods. Pasteurization degrades these enzymes and kills the bacteria, so digestion is then incomplete. This results in large, free-floating proteins that enter the bloodstream and confuse the immune system, prompting the body to treat them like an invading foreign substance. The body then creates antigens that attack the protein and other parts of the body that resemble

them—like the beta cells in the pancreas, the very sub-organs that produce insulin. Yet the USDA and the FDA, in order to protect the powerful dairy industry, and emboldened by legislation from Congress, demonize small family farms that attempt to sell raw milk and its products to informed, intelligent consumers who should have the sovereignty to make their own dietary choices.

There’s been a dramatic rise in the dependency of the U.S. population on grains, especially highly processed grains, for their caloric and nutritional needs. At the turn of the 20th century, grains like wheat and corn made up a small portion of daily calories for most Americans. At that, they were not highly refined nor reengineered into a myriad of food-like products as they are today. Wheat was carefully aged before processing and corn was consumed as a food, not as a constituent in virtually every type of food and beverage now sold in any grocery store. The combination of overconsumption and intense processing has given rise to a new phenomenon unknown only a few years ago: gluten intolerance and its many variants, including Celiac disease, IBS, and a host of other conditions. Like the dairy mentioned above, industrial practice has produced a renegade protein (gluten) that wreaks havoc in the gut and immune system, giving rise to more confounding “diseases.” Yet the treatment for these diseases is most often pharmaceutical in nature unless the gluten intolerance is discovered. Are you aware that throughout the world, physicians and alternative practitioners are finding that newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetics who are taken off all gluten and fed a healthful whole food diet low in dietary carbohydrates either get completely off of insulin or never need it to begin with? This is another example of “low hanging fruit,” in which the simplest and most obvious solution is usually the very best. But the established medical monopoly almost always opts for external, technological, and pharmaceutical solutions over dietary and lifestyle choices.

While there’s been a significant rise in the consumption of grains, processed foods, and pasteurized dairy, the consumption of saturated animal fats has dramatically dropped. Have you noticed that there was an entire generation that routinely lived into their 80’s, 90’s, or even past 100, but now people are fortunate to make it into their 70’s? Why has this happened, even though official government statistics tell us otherwise? Don’t deceive yourself but trust your eyes: people who are alive today and were born since around 1930 are not nearly as healthy as our grandparents and great-grandparents. Yet those old-timers were reared on high animal fat diets without exception. As of around 1920, Harvard Medical School had no curricula for coronary heart disease, oncology, diabetology, immunology, or any of the other medical specialities that we now know as standard lines of study at any and all allopathic medical schools. During the 1930’s something changed drastically that had perhaps a greater impact on human health than anything before and since—the widespread use of vegetable oils that has gradually replaced animal fats as the primary source of fat calories in the human diet. It began with the invention of hydrogenated fat in the form of Crisco shortening and margarine, and then spread until virtually all cooking, baking, and any other recipes use vegetable oil instead of lard, tallow, cream, and all the other animal fats our great-grandparents had relied on. Today, the most powerful agricultural corporations in the world are producers and processors of grains and their many derivatives. Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, and ConAgra control virtually all grain derived foods, hold patents on GMO seeds and pesticides, and reign over the American food system in a near-dictatorial fashion. The FDA, the USDA, and many members of Congress and the Senate, are beholding to the influence of these monopolistic giants. And through the combination of clever marketing, government mandated grain-subsidies, and the ruthless power of the courts, the American food system and the farmers who participate in it are held hostage by these self-serving corporate kings. With the full endorsement of weak and faulty science, one of the puppets of big Farming, Ancel Keyes, foisted a false belief on the entire population through the unwitting partnership of the USDA. The belief that saturated animal fats from animals raised on their natural diets is the cause of coronary heart disease, is not only false but dangerous, and has contributed to the meteoric rise in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and aging diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Low fat diets that are also high in carbohydrates have been shown to cause alarming rises in everything from hypertension to schizophrenia. Yet, the American medical system continues to build giant hospitals in nearly every community in the country while ignoring the simplest, “low hanging fruit,” of changes in diet and lifestyle that would reduce the size of the “health care” crisis dramatically while increasing the real health of every single citizen. The courage to face down the triumvirate of the Medical/Corporate/Pharmaceutical establishment is sorely lacking in elected officials. But when the health crisis hits home, as it has in your own family, it seems time to take a closer look at how and why we find ourselves in this healing crisis, even though we consistently trumpet the American health care system as the “greatest in the world.” Where’s the proof of that?

Relatively few mothers breastfeed their babies for 1-2 years, yet have introduced toxic soy into their infants’ diets. For countless generations, human infants breastfed on mother’s milk for the first years of life. This allowed these children to build strong immune systems from the combination of nutrients, enzymes, and beneficial bacteria contained in the milk. Today, infant formulas and early feeding of solid food, in combination with immunizations and irresponsible use of antibiotics, creates compromised immune systems from the early days of life and places children at risk for autoimmunity from a very early age. The addition of soy foods, both to infant formulas and to the adult food supply, has been especially pernicious in creating hormonal imbalances. Much of this soy comes from the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) advocates that has created consequences to health that can only be imagined. Soy, corn, & wheat and their derivatives have become the dominant source of calories in the American population from the cradle to the grave. This dependency, which wreaks havoc to both the health of the gut and the metabolism in the form of blood sugar imbalances, guarantees a health crisis as long as we ignore the verifiable consequences of overconsumption of grains and soy.

Senator Shaheen, what I have observed in my years as a Type 1 diabetic and researching health is simply this: The American Health Care system has become a system driven by high-tech attempts to solve perplexing health conditions, even though these conditions are not helped, and in many case, exacerbated by this approach. Pharmaceuticals, surgeries, expensive diagnostics, and extended hospital stays have done nothing to improve the quality of our lives. While many of the techniques and procedures of the current health care system were born of the battlefield and trauma care, these methods are not appropriate to the care and treatment of disease, especially diseases of our modern lifestyle. True health care reform requires radical changes in lifestyle, and in many cases, a return to the diets of our great grandparents and beyond. Below, I’ve suggested a few of the simple yet difficult changes that we all can make to further the health and well-being of ourselves, our families, and of generations yet to come.

These practices, when applied to newly-diagnosed Type 1 diabetics, have been very successful in returning them to complete health. Yet—a cautionary note—they cannot return to the kind of diet they ate before diagnosis! This is very important.

• • • • Stop eating all grains and gluten-containing foods;
      • Stop the consumption of all sweeteners, especially high fructose corn syrup and sugar;
      • Buy all meat, eggs, and fish from farmers and fisherman that allow their animals to eat their natural diets. No grain-fed animals! The only way to truly insure this is to buy directly from farmers;
      • Get tested for heavy metals and consider seeking out alternative practitioners to assist in cleansing these metals from the body;
      • Be very active physically!;
      • Regardless of whether or not you take insulin injections, eat a diet very low in carbohydrates and high in saturated animal fats and Omega-3 fatty acids, all from the kinds of sources listed above. Keep protein consumption to moderate levels since excess protein is converted by the body into glucose.

These suggestions can be found in numerous locations throughout the health research literature and by researching the Internet. Some excellent sources would be:

• • The Weston A. Price Foundation and its many publications;
  • www.westonaprice.org
  • Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudes;
  • Deep Nutrition by Dr. Katherine Shanahan, M.D.;
  • http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820124038.htm;
  • http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/58/8/1723.extract.

There are many more, as well. I wish only the best to you, your daughter, and especially your granddaughter, Elle, and her journey to health. Please share this letter with them. I hope this letter will inspire you to tell other elected officials that we do have choices that can restore our health and the health of all Americans. With your help, we can find the power to heal that is our birthright.

Most sincerely,

Aimee Perrin, with Denny Perrin

September 4, 2011

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned an interview Aimee and I heard with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride on www.oneradionetwork.com. We were struck by her forthright answers and insights and went right out and got her book. Just finished it this week and feel compelled to comment on it before I get to the major topic on my mind. The premise of DCM’s book is this: the human digestive system, from opening to opening, is populated by a spectrum of bacteria and yeasts that perform a variety of functions. When this population is in a healthful balance, it controls everything from immune function to neurological and cognitive health, thus the title of her book—Gut and Psychology Syndrome. But when this balance goes awry, and the unfriendly critters overgrow and gain the upper hand, a cascade of dysfunctional conditions follow, and she is quick to reiterate the list throughout the book. For this a little editing would be recommended. But it is a minor irritant in what is otherwise an incandescent and edifying book that I unreservedly recommend. For us it has irreversibly altered our thinking about health and set us on a course toward the complete rebuilding of our gut health and, by extension, our overall health. Read this book and be prepared for a course correction!

Now to the subject at hand: Has Science been a help or a hindrance in our advancement as a species? I approach this topic with my tongue firm against my cheek, for I am sitting comfortably in our favorite coffee house, sipping the coffee of the day, while writing this blog on my brand new MacBook Pro laptop, shielded from the harsh elements outdoors, enjoying a perfect indoor climate. Part of me feels grateful for the scientific advancements that have made all of this possible, and that I am. But let’s step back for a moment and take a larger view of life on earth, how it has changed over the past several hundred years, and what impact that has had on human health—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. At the center of this change has been the revered (in some circles) and feared (in others) system we call Science. Unless you: live outdoors in a tipi or a yurt; have no electricity, running water, sewage or septic service; cook and heat only with wood; have no phone, computer, television, radio, stove or oven; and hunt, forage, or otherwise cultivate all of your food, make your own clothes (or wear none!)— then you have fallen under the spell of Science and its child, Technology. Of course, you wouldn’t be reading this otherwise! So let’s assume that you and I and everyone else we know lives within the bubble that we’ve created using Science and Technology. The questions before us are: How has this impacted our lives and is it, in the main, beneficial?

An analogy is appropriate here. Let’s look to the Martial Arts for clarification. The neophyte Martial Arts student enters the dojo to study with the sensei with an immature and naive view that he or she will learn the techniques of fighting and self-defense in order to become a respected classmate. If the sensei is only interested in attracting students, that is probably what the student will learn—techniques. There will be little or no understanding of the spiritual significance of the training imparted, only an achievement of technical proficiency. But the true teacher ensures the student is deeply trained in the real purpose of the Martial Arts—the creation of a peaceful, spiritually-centered warrior who never uses his lethal training for harming others or furthering his or her own agenda. The true teacher sees to it that the student is given both knowledge and wisdom. The student eventually becomes the Master, and the cycle of tutelage continues for generations.

Now let’s look at Science and how this analogy applies. The Scientist is like the student seeking only knowledge about the techniques of life, the mechanics, the surface of things. The Scientist obtains a little knowledge, publishes the information, then leaves it up to others to decide its application. Or worse, accepts monetary remuneration from a commercially interested party, and hands the knowledge over to that party in order for them to further a personal agenda. The “impartiality” of the Scientist precludes them from developing an ethical or spiritual relationship with this information. Thus, immature Souls, armed with little bits of information compartmentalized from the Greater Wisdom, are given powerful tools to wield with little or no concern for consequences.

The question becomes this: Is it the commercial interests and their application of Science that has muddied the ethical waters? Or is the Scientific paradigm flawed at its core? The first place I look to examine this dilemma is the field of diet and nutrition. For countless generations, wise peoples across the planet thrived on diets that were a natural extension of their surroundings. If they lived in the tropics, their diets were primarily a combination of animal and plant foods that could be hunted and gathered within a brief walk from their home or village, probably fish and other seafood, as well as fruits born by local trees and other plants. The food was always local and seasonal, existed in its natural state without tinkering by nutritional scientists, and consumed with minimal processing. These principles would apply to peoples of other regions of the earth, temperate climates where half the year temperatures were cold and plant food was scarce. These peoples ate large quantities of animal fat since they knew, from accumulated wisdom, that this was the food their bodies needed to best survive the harsh conditions where they lived. Although both cultures, and all the others as well, existed largely free of the rampant diseases of civilization that plague contemporary man, their diets were not determined by current scientific thought on what constitutes ideal human health. None of these peoples ever heard the terms protein, carbohydrate, fat, essential fatty acid, Omega 3 this or Omega 6 that, linoleic acid, vitamin, mineral, RDA, or any other lingo common to the world of science as it applies to nutrition. Their food choices were based entirely on availability and cultural wisdom. Regardless of where one stands on the questions posed above, should we come to the conclusion that science has advanced our understanding of nutrition and its relationship to human health even one iota?

It’s obvious that science today has been greatly corrupted by commercial interests, since the currents of thought and practices have steered us toward food choices that feed the coffers of powerful corporations, while leaving an unsuspecting population vulnerable to compromised health on a pandemic scale. “Science,” through flawed and biased research, determined that dietary cholesterol is a major contributor to heart disease, foisting a largely grain-based diet on generations of people who now “enjoy” not only rampant heart disease, but morbid obesity, cancer, diabetes, auto-immunity, and a host of other diseases that exist at rates astronomically higher than at any other time in history. In fact, most of these disease were virtually unknown as recently as 50 years ago, when western diets were much higher in meat and animal fat than they are today. If and when Science sees the error of its ways and admits to a colossal mistake, should we then place our faith in scientists that advocate some other way to eat? What credibility should we give them then, when their failures have been so catastrophic before? And this only applies in the field of nutrition. What about nuclear technology, petroleum and its various ravages on the planet, the proliferation of EMF’s through wireless and wired technology, pharmaceuticalism, and short-sighted, slash and burn medical practice?

Beautifully, the following illustration fell neatly into my lap this morning when Aimee read a short column, “Stay Healthy,” from the Sunday paper’s Parade Magazine. The subtitle reads, “New Wisdom for Healthy Hearts.” It goes like this:

Old Advice: Thirty minutes of daily exercise is enough to keep your heart healthy.

New Advice: The latest research shows that women need a full hour of moderate activity each day to reduce their risk for heart disease. But this doesn’t have to mean logging time at the gym—it could include doing yard work, washing the car, or taking a brisk walk around the neighborhood.

Old Advice: All adults should take a daily aspirin to help prevent a heart attack.

New Advice: Take daily aspirin only if you’re over 65, have had a heart attack, or are at high risk for heart disease. Otherwise, the potential benefits are likely outweighed by health risks [like gastro-intestinal bleeding] that come from taking too much aspirin.

There’s more of course. But this excerpt should suffice to illustrate my point. “Science” is constantly changing its mind because it, by its very nature, only looks at small, compartmentalized, short-term viewpoints. It would be like looking out a small hole cut in the wall of your house, making an observation about the weather or the birds or the trees or the sky, then issuing a pronouncement that you recommend such and such. There’s so much more to see and know that any declaration would be silly, at best, and potentially dangerous. Yet that is exactly what we get from Science—short-sighted, myopic “studies” that steer us in one direction, for a time, then careen us off in another, with little or no concern for the consequences of either!

There’s a spiritual caveat that I want to throw into the mix here. It’s based on the premise that we, as spiritual beings/Soul, agree to the conditions that exist whenever we incarnate into this or any other world. Consider, also, that the true purpose of this or any other reality is to act as a classroom where we are schooled in the fine art of divine love. So whether the scenario involves science and technology, living in and with Nature, or coming up against the actions and practices of the other people who co-inhabit the earth with us, the underlying purpose remains the same—gathering experiences that will prompt us to unfold more deeply into our divine nature as Soul. This could mean choosing to live apart from the technological world. Or it might also be a doorway into becoming a greater channel for God by developing tolerance and compassion. Stepping up to the task of bringing to others an awareness of how to live with greater wisdom in the information age is certainly a spiritually noble way to serve Life. The balance, of course, exists between actively and passionately campaigning for this kind of change while developing a true acceptance that everything that is now, ever has been, and always will be the very best conditions for the spiritual growth of all concerned. That is exactly how I view the world.

Just one more analogy to further the discussion. When a wise parent sees the child developing toward maturity, the parent is careful not make the path too smooth, knowing that pebbles in the road will serve to strengthen and prepare the child for the difficulties of adulthood. The reality is this: each Soul will eventually learn all it needs to become a Wise One. In traditional cultures, the Greater Wisdom was woven into the fabric of the culture. Each member was imbued with this wisdom literally at birth, guided in the maturation process by wise elders that themselves had been taught by those who had gone before them. This Wisdom was built on generations of experience by those who had lived closely with Nature and its fundamental laws. This included laws that govern spiritual as well as physical growth. These cultures understood that the physical appearance of things is only the start, never the finish. What lies beyond the surface is always where the most importance lives. As I observe it, Science has only delayed, deterred, or completely blocked the natural unfolding of wisdom. It has “enabled” us in the psychobabble sense of the word, giving us shelter from difficulties that are intended for our growth into mature spiritual beings.

Although I’m reluctant to admit it—for it means doing more for myself and my sustenance and sustainability—I no longer wish to live inside this protective bubble created by Science and Technology. I’m ready to start growing up now.

Reaching for the Sky?

Are You Covered?

The other day, Aimee and I met a couple of dear friends at our favorite coffeehouse. These two delightful people, who share with Aimee the affliction of Type 1 diabetes, struggle with a variety of conditions that are directly related to having diabetes long term. All three of these wonder women have had the condition for over 40 years. We both love to get together with “Margot” and “Hayley,” because they are just fun to be with and have great attitudes despite being chained to blood sugar control for 4 decades. As we chatted, and the conversation turned toward Medicare and “health care?” coverage, it slowly dawned on me that here is the seed of my next blog.

“Margot” was about to transition from private medical insurance to Medicare. She recently qualified for disability, which made her eligible for Medicare coverage. She and her husband began to explain the convoluted coverage plans that would soon take effect, providing Margot with prescription medication, doctor visits, even hospitalization, if needed. The amounts they discussed seemed astronomical to us. Over the course of a year, the Medicare plan would pay up to $3000 for prescriptions. If the amounts exceeded $10,000, it would start paying any amount that exceeded that limit, leaving a “hole” of around $7000 uncovered! Margot’s husband also carefully explained how the Medicare coverage would be saving them greatly from their previous private coverage, which was a monthly premium over $1400. Our other friend, Hayley, recently went through a three-year marriage and divorce which, in her words, gave her full medical coverage. As she put it, “I gave up three years of my life so I could get health care insurance.”

I grew quiet as the stark contrast before me became apparent. Here was Aimee, who had eschewed doctors and insurance for well over thirty years. She has always opted for being her own doctor, choosing to research health and healing and following her own prescription for managing her diabetes. The other two, for all their wonderful qualities, had always been medical “insiders,” relying on doctor visits, doctor’s recommendations, “proven” dietary plans and insulin regimens, and all the latest technology to manage their diabetes. Both had fairly severe complications, including some blindness, nerve damage, heart disease, surgery, all fairly routine scenarios for long term diabetics. Aimee, on the other hand, rarely visited any type of doctor, used the lowest tech tools for glucose management (syringes, vials of insulin, a simple glucose meter) and relied on strict dietary protocols that she researched herself through reading and the Internet. Yet she had virtually no diabetic complications. No heart disease, no nerve damage, no eye damage, very little skeletal damage, and only a hand condition that her father had that is aggravated by diabetes. This is not coincidence.

We totaled the amount of money she spent on diabetes management each month: around $50! This wouldn’t even approach the deductible or the copay for most insurance plans. Here in this microcosmic coffee house scene was the playing out of the great American drama—for all the exorbitant money spent on so-called health care, personal, individual responsibility for one’s health far exceeds all the embarrassingly expensive high-tech, pharmaceutical driven, corporate fixes that are only made possible by “Health?” Insurance. When an individual has to rely on their own creativity, both economically and spiritually, they are empowered to create health. Yet when they surrender that power to well-intentioned “providers” who have very limited resources, the results are nearly always a predictable downward health spiral. (I’m reminded of the wise phrase: When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail!) When surgery and pharmacy and MRI and CAT scan are all you have, everything looks like a candidate for surgery or a prescription. There is no deep understanding of the energetic systems behind human health. And of course there is no example of excellent health held up as a model to aspire toward. It is simply cut, burn, medicate, with very little thought for tomorrow’s consequences.

Some time later, Aimee and I saw Hayley again at the coffee house. I told her I talked about her in my latest blog. She was excited about this and was very forthcoming with her thoughts. When I told her what I was writing about, she said, “It’s a game, and I’m locked in the game. I don’t want to be a player, but I am a player. I have to get prescriptions, but I don’t need them [I think she means the doctors]. But they’ve got me now.” Wow!

I’m fond of saying, “everything is a trade-off.” By trading personal empowerment for “security,” many of us have completely given up the ability to control our own lives, particularly our health. Even the insurance scheme, which initially proposed a relatively low monthly insurance premium in exchange for the comfort of knowing unexpected medical exigencies would be covered, has taken a dark turn. As costs have spiraled upward, and corporate insurance bean counters look to deepen bottom lines, “health?” insurance has become virtually unaffordable for most people. It even dictates career choices, leading many to follow their “heads” over their “hearts” for fear they will be left as uninsured medical “pariahs.” An entire population is shaking in their boots over the catastrophic medical scenario that will wipe out their life savings. Yet, the reality is, despite coverage, many are left hanging out to dry by the insurance companies who hide behind a host of riders and pre-existing exemptions to avoid paying up. So a Catch-22 of enormous magnitude now darkens the skies over Medical America, as citizens quake with fear of being without coverage, then hope that, if disaster strikes, the whimsical insurers will follow through. If it weren’t so sad, it might be funny.

Still to be addressed is the spiraling costs of “health?” care. How did we go from a scenario where most people paid out of pocket for medical treatment as recently as the 1960’s and 1970’s to the astronomical costs facing even the simplest procedures today. I decided to look at the common diagnostic procedure of an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). I came across this statement on a website (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_the_average_cost_of_an_MRI_of_the_lumbar_spine) from someone who experienced the convoluted pricing system that faces today’s patient:

“I recently had a lumbar spine MRI with and without contrast. My insurance company was charged $4,307 plus an additional $700+ for the radiologist’s fee. When I saw the bill, I laughed thinking there must have been a mistake. Nevertheless, the insurance company actually approved $2,500 of the charges. I’ve had several other MRIs in the past which cost anywhere from $500 to $1750, including the radiologist’s report. Since receiving the bill, I called some local imaging clinics whose charges range from $500 to $600 for a cash-pay lumbar spine MRI with and without contrast including the films and the radiologist’s report. 

My conclusion is there is no such thing as an ‘average cost’ for a lumbar spine MRI. The cost is whatever the clinic wants to charge. Unfortunately, the doctor who orders the MRI usually sends you to the MRI clinic associated with his practice and he has no idea of the cost. And the patient usually trusts the doctor and doesn’t bother asking the price ahead of time or shopping around. That was what happened in my case, and now I know why insurance premiums are so high. The moral: always shop around..”.

My massage therapist, who is from Thailand, said it’s very popular for Americans to visit Thailand on a kind of “MRI Vacation.” There the cost of an MRI is around $300. So Americans, who may be forced to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket for one, take a vacation to Thailand with doctor’s orders for an MRI. They’re able to pay for an airplane ticket, take a mini-Thai vacation, get the MRI, and often pocket a few hundred dollars saved in the bargain.

Where would medical costs be if they had been allowed to rise naturally with patient needs, scientific advancement, doctors’ ethical cautions? Without the insurance scheme/scam, would pharmaceuticals be so aggressively marketed with little regard for efficacy or long term impact on health? Would giant hospitals, filled with multi-million dollar high-tech equipment that must be used in order to be paid for, be dominating the cityscape of nearly every community across the Western world? When is the last time you drove by a hospital that was not either under construction or proposing the new addition of a wing devoted to this or that condition? And how about the physicians’ offices that surround the megalith like satellite moons invisibly tethered to a giant, lumbering planet? All of this is only possible by the clever insurance scheme that now dictates the behavior of the entire population of planet earth. Play our game and we’ll take care of you (maybe, if it suits our bottom line). Opt out and you’re on your own, left to care for you and yours using just your own resources and your wit. Actually, this could be the best choice.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Aimee and I are reading the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Doctor Natasha Campbell-McBride. (Ever noticed how those of us critical of the medical establishment trot out the “Doctor” moniker when it’s needed to lend credibility to our argument?) She came from deep inside the system as a neurosurgeon to become perhaps the world’s leading authority on the relationship of gut health to overall health, especially as it relates to mental health and all things neurological. It’s a compelling argument, backed up both by research, clinical practice, and personal experience with her son, who was autistic. Like so many “breakthroughs” in health, this one began as a search by a loving parent to free her child from the dungeon of autism. As she began this personal journey, she uncovered principles of universal human health that she then began to implement in her own practice. Hundreds of cases later, her personal discoveries were confirmed as patient after patient showed remarkable responses to her “radical” treatments of dietary changes that led to the elimination of confounding diseases that modern science had no answer for. Of course all of this falls outside of the medical holy trinity of doctor/pharmacy/insurance that sucks fearful patients into its web and won’t let them go unless and until they break out and discover there is another world of treatment available to them.

Here’s how Dr. Campbell-McBride puts it in her chapter on the treatment of epilepsy:

“The way the health system is structured, the parents are locked into repeat appointments, where the child has to visit their epilepsy treatment team every few months to review the drug prescription. If the parents do not turn up for appointments, or do not administer the drug to the child, they feel they will get into trouble with the authorities.” p. 78

When we walk through the doors into the halls of the holy trinity, we surrender much of our power to decide for ourselves what the keys to true health are. A caveat is in order here. I am not saying the individuals who work within this system are sinister in either motive or action. Quite the contrary. I know many who do, and they are kind, compassionate, loving souls who give their hearts and minds to the cause that they serve, that being the health and well-being of the patient. And if I am carried in on a gurney after an accident or such, I have no doubt that the treatment I receive will be of the highest and most professional available. The intentions or the actions of individuals within the “health?” care system are not the objects of my complaints. It is rather the paradigm that enables the unsuspecting patient, weakening their ability to care for themselves, in much the same way a well-intentioned parent weakens their own child or children by “caring” for them even into adulthood instead of allowing them to care for themselves—even if that involves stepping back as they crash into themselves and their choices on the journey to maturity. When we trade in our creativity and sovereignty for the “security” of “health?” care, we give up the divine mandate to create our own world and stand on our own spiritual legs.

This trend toward personal empowerment in health is a rising tsunami across the planet. But there is so much more that is to come. A couple of threads are weaving through today’s blog, brought on by real time events around me.

In today’s morning paper was an article about a local man, a member of the military who recently made the news when he returned from Afghanistan to surprise his daughter at a staged event at her school assembly. But the warm feelings from this heartwarming event soon turned sour when this man, who had long suffered from ulcerative colitis, died only a few weeks later at age 43, succumbing to a little understood condition of the lower digestive tract. Admittedly, UC is a complicated disorder, primarily characterized by acute and intense inflammation of the colon or large intestine. But common sense tells us that this condition is intimately tied to dietary factors, even though the Crohn’s and Colitis Society flatly states that no evidence exists to support the direct connection to diet! Hello? Is the intestine not a conduit for everything that we put into our mouth? Of all the conditions for which modern medicine persistently denies a dietary connection, this one has to be undeniably caused or at least influenced by our diet. Our contemporary diet is replete with unidentifiable, food-like by products of the industrial food supply. An infinite number of uber-new processed substances, when passed through our guts, wreak untold havoc to the delicate linings of our digestive system. And how about the number one offender of all: gluten! This anti-nutrient, so prevalent in our grain-happy food system, has been pinpointed as causing or contributing to virtually every debilitating condition known to mankind. The destruction left in gluten’s wake makes the plague of the Middle Ages look like the latest sniffles that made the rounds at the schoolhouse. And if gluten, which is so much a natural part of a common plant used for millennia for sustenance can be so destructive, what about some of the freakish products of the nutritional mad scientists’ labs like GMO corn and its endless permutations and “buy” products? Or even pasteurized and homogenized cow’s milk? This misguided practice, which dates back to the 19th century, has taken an excellent and nutrient-dense food and turned it into a prescription for health care disaster. The hospital beds are filled with conditions, syndromes, and complex disorders that were completely unknown only a generation or two ago. What has gone so terribly awry that today we call the broken and incestuous system “health care,” when it is simply a holding tank for debilitated and confused people and doctors?

Another thread comes from a book Aimee’s been reading aloud over the last week. It’s called Diabetes Rising, written by Dan Hurley, and chronicles the history of diabetes as it has gone from a rare disease to a worldwide pandemic. Hurley, himself a Type 1 diabetic, a science writer, and journalist, attempts to bring an investigative reporter’s high perch to his observations. But his humanity, especially that part of him that struggles with the challenges of diabetes, keeps him teetering on the edge of editorialism throughout the book. To his credit, he does his very best to bring in all sides to the picture. But like virtually anyone who looks to science for guidance, his book is crippled by a huge blind spot common to virtually all researchers and science writers. So while he and those he writes about carom about looking for “cures” and simple culprits and scapegoats, the identifiable trends in nutrition and lifestyle that have characterized all that is modern culture and society go completely unnoticed. By the way, has science ever cured any disease? Ever? I challenge you to name a single major or obscure disease that the application of science and its children, like technology and pharmacy, has truly “cured.” Yet every disease foundation is always holding walks, runs, marathons, bake sales, etc., to raise money for the “cure.” Where has this misguided trust in science and medicine come from, since it has never shown itself to be effective at anything except to perpetuate diseases and the industries that flow from them. This brings up the cure vs. healing dichotomy. Those in the “cure” camp say, “I want this disease to go away. It causes me nothing but misery.” The belief is: “Today I have the disease, tomorrow it’s gone. No change necessary on my part.” Those in the “healing” camp say, “This disease serves a purpose in my life. It’s a signal that I need to change physically, mentally, or spiritually. It’s an opportunity to learn something about myself and my relationship with others.” The changes that result are PERMANENT changes and are beneficial for all concerned. This is a much higher viewpoint, but one that completely escapes the science/technology/medical/pharmaceutical block. But I digress .

Mr. Hurley enumerates the many hypotheses that have been put forth in attempting to explain the disturbing and meteoric rise in the incidence of diabetes of either type. But he—as well as all the other writers and researchers—have completely ignored the following explicit and documentable trends that coincide exactly with the timeline of “diabetes rising.” They are:

1. The nearly complete abandonment of traditional diets in favor of highly processed, industrialized foods;
2. The movement of entire populations away from agrarian, family-centered lives toward polluted, over-crowded cities;
3. A wholesale adoption of a lowfat, plant-based diet as recommended by the USDA which emphasizes grains, vegetable oils, lean meats, margarines, with most calories coming from carbohydrates;
4. The rise to prominence of the immunization/inoculation protocol over the organic development of the human immune system. Immunization, which literally punctures the body’s natural defenses with toxic organisms accompanied by questionable or even certifiably toxic compounds (like mercury, for pete’s sake!), likely scrambles the immune system;
5. The one near-target factor he and others point to is the prevalence of POP’s, persistent organic pollutants that act directly on the human nervous system and endocrine system. Behind this scenario is the dominant industrial food system which produces gargantuan quantities of meat, eggs, and dairy from tortured animals which are caged or corralled in their own feces and fed diets derived from a deranged, grain-producing, corporate monolith that has a chokehold on the entire food chain, including holding patents on genetically-modified seeds that force genuine farmers into compliance or face court-ordered jail or worse;
6. The first use of amalgam (mercury-containing) dental fillings was in mid-19th Century France. The first reported incidence of Multiple Sclerosis was reported in France in 1860. Coincidence? Many researchers have drawn a direct connection between the incidence of autoimmune diseases and the increased use of amalgam fillings and root canals. The dentist and researcher Hal Huggins (http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/) is perhaps the best source for this info.

These are six obvious trends that could easily explain radical changes in virtually any disease. Yet these have all been invisible to the science-geeks that perpetually look for technological, pharmaceutical, “silver-bullet” solutions to health and disease. I would love to hear Mr. Hurley’s take on these trends and their relationship to diabetes, and the plethora of chronic diseases that are all “rising” at a light-speed rates.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just heard the most amazing interview with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride on www.oneradionetwork.com. She’s the one who invented the GAPS diet. (GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome.) Her contention is that many conditions and diseases, even ones that appear to be psychological or psychiatric in nature, have their origin in the delicate bacterial balance of the gut. I don’t want to give it all away, but she said so many things that resonate. How about this: 90% of the genetic material of the human body is comprised of gut bacteria. The other 10% is the skeletal frame that carries this colony around! No wonder our health is so dependent on a pristine and secure intestine.

She also had the very best explanation of the whole cholesterol/heart disease relationship and how the myth about cholesterol came about. I’ve come up with my own description/analogy/metaphor. It goes like this:

Imagine a busy “artery” cutting a swath through a major metropolis. Normally traffic, although heavy, moves constantly in both directions along this thoroughfare. When one driver, who is momentarily distracted trying to answer a text, plows into the back of a car in front, a snarl develops. With injuries in the cars as a result, the EMT’s are called to the scene. But before they arrive, several more cars plow into the disabled cars and the snarl widens. More EMT’s are called. By now the artery begins to “clog.” More cars careen into the pile and more EMT’s are called. By the time the police arrive on the scene, the entire artery is at a complete standstill. There’s carnage everywhere and EMT’s, in bright yellow jackets, are swarming the scene, attempting to pull the victims from the wreckage and administer emergency medical help. When the police arrive and survey the scene, they come to the conclusion that with this many EMT’s present, they must have been the cause of the crisis. They call in the wreckers, cut through the wreckage, and clear the scene. Traffic begins to return to normal, and the artery is flowing smoothly for now—until the next inattentive driver plows into the car ahead and the whole thing starts over.

The analogy may or may not be obvious. In a human artery, an obstruction develops when inflammation (the initial crash) damages the walls of the artery. This inflammation is caused by insulin circulating in an attempt to maintain a safe blood glucose level following a meal of high carbohydrate content. So the liver releases a dosage of cholesterol (EMT’s) in order to soothe the inflammation. But before the inflammation subsides, more carbohydrates are ingested, the inflammation is increased, so more cholesterol is sent to the scene. This cycle continues as the cholesterol, in a vain (or is it “vein”) attempt to secure and heal the wound, begins to pile up, reducing blood flow and ultimately creating an obstruction. The artery is blocked and the crisis is out of control, causing the doctors (the police) to intervene. When they arrive at the scene and witness the cholesterol that’s piled up in the artery, they conclude that the cholesterol is the cause of the obstruction. They cut away the blockage and smugly conclude that they’ve solved the problem, for now. The patient is advised to reduce their animal fat intake and eat a low fat, high carbohydrate diet in order to prevent a recurrence. A complete misunderstanding of the body and its processes leads to this incident being replayed at an ever escalating rate. An entire population of humans have fallen prey to the Cholesterol Myth and is now at an extremely high risk of arterial heart disease as a result. As described by Dr. Campbell-McBride and others, the formula for heart health is simple. Eat lots of animal fat from animals that have been pastured eating their natural diet, and greatly limit or altogether eliminate high-carbohydrate foods. These include pasta, pastry, wheat, corn, sugar, potatoes, grains, even some root vegetables and fruit. Bone broths and meat stocks made from meat cuts that are rich in bone, marrow, and joint cartilage, and even fish stocks that include the whole fish, are highly recommended. Lots of lactobacillus fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut are also included. When eating dairy, be sure the animal is grass fed and is a heritage breed animal. Just like humans that develop an imbalance in gut bacteria when eating high carbohydrate foods, cows will develop an extreme imbalance in the bacterial content of the rumen (digestive organ), with a cascade of disease conditions the result. That’s why corn-fed animals require antibiotics in order to simply survive. It’s the same process in humans. High carbs equal high disease. Simple.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, shared with family and friends. But here I would like to tell you about the food. Out of all the food that was served, I would say 98% was grown locally in Maine with a small percentage from New Hampshire, yet all from farms within 100 miles from our house in York, Maine, where it was enjoyed.
A little history to our Thanksgiving story. My husband, Denny and I have been on a quest for health for the last 30 something years. For many of those years we were vegetarians, and for 7 of last 8 years we were Raw Vegans. This means that we ate only foods in their raw state, and that all the food we ate was a plant source. I learned many delicious recipes and invented them mysel,f and even wrote a book of Raw food recipes. My point being is that we were happy on the raw food diet, completely satisfied and happy. We thought we were doing something important. That was until we saw the movie “Food, Inc.” and then discovered Micheal Pollen’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. The reading list that followed was Nora Gedgaudas’ Primal Body—Primal Mind, then The Vegetarian Myth, by Lierre Keith, followed up with Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, and, lastly, Deep Nutrition, offered by Catherine and Luke Shannahan. Last January, after reading most of these books and while continuing with the rest, we decided to change our diets. One of the biggest factors in making this decision was that eating only raw food, especially through the winter in Maine, we depended on food being transported 1000’s of miles from places we had never been to and would never hope to go. What were we doing eating food that had travelled that far, depending on petroleum, possibly even wars to get this food to our table. What was I responsible for? So we decided to start eating food that we could grow ourselves, but mostly, food that we could buy from farmers we personally know, who we could have a conversation with about how the animals are fed, how the goats are cared for, what was it like to work the land and love what you do?  And if we were buying food from a store, at least the source would be a farm within about 100 miles that we could know by reputation or pictures on a website.
So we just had our Thanksgiving. We have used most of this year developing our diets and the sourcing of our sustenance. On a daily basis, well over 98% of our meals are from local farms—some even in our neighborhood. Breakfast is: 3 eggs from a farm down the street, or even from Trish, who works for me in my home business. These are fried in bacon drippings, from our farmer friend, Ed from Wright’s Haven Farm in Limington, Maine.  And of course, a couple of pieces of bacon from Ed’s farm. As we finish our delicious breakfast, our cats greedily wait to lick our plates. From our reading, we learned— and because I have type 1 diabetes, and Denny has hypoglycemia—to both eat a very low carbohydrate diet. Eating close to 100% from local farms can be fairly easy and much easier than if we were looking for ways to make locally sourced muffins, biscuits, pancakes, etc.
       Then for lunch we usually slurp bone broth-based soup. We read about bone broths in several of our reading list book. Meat cooked on the bone, and broth made from meat on the bone, is where traditional diets get their much needed minerals like iron, calcium, phosophorus, and even unknown substances in the marrow, which promote vigorous health (which I believe helps to prevent Leukemia). We boil these bones in a stockpot for 24 hours in local water we have collected from a nearby mountain spring, the same water we use for drinking. Sometimes the smaller bones become soft enough to chew, and then we benefit from all the minerals in the bones. We add onions, cabbage or other greens when available from our farmers—like kale, or Swiss Chard—which will continue to be available from local farms even in Maine for most of the winter. We are now buying large amounts of cabbage and onions that we can store in the cool basement all winter, which will keep us in veggies all winter.
For supper we usually eat local grass-fed beef liver ‘n onions and local yogurt. For dessert, I actually eat a few tablespoons of local butter, which I may make myself from raw cream that I buy from a local farm. With this butter I mix in the only unlocal superfoods I have yet to give up—powdered colostrum (Surthrival.com), mucuma (for brain health), and powdered stevia (a natural calorie-free sweetener that I order from far away). That’s my cheat from afar. Denny’s is chocolate that I make for my business.
I drink yerba mate and Denny drinks coiffee.
So, back to Thanksgiving I wish I had realized I was going to write this article so I would have taken more pictures. Here’s the menu for Thanksgiving, 2010.

Turkey, from Wright’s Haven Farm in Limington, Maine, delivered to our house, along with cream, liver, ground pork, for our cats and bacon.
Cornbread Stuffing,
Cornmeal, from a Maine farm, bought at Lois’ Natural market in Scarbourough Maine,
Chicken stock made last week from a baked chicken, from Sumner Farm, bought at
the Portland Farmer’s Market,
Onions, from Freedom Farm, Portland Farmer’s Market
Butter, from a farm in New Hampshire, just over the border
Mashed Potatoes from a farm in Maine
Cream from Wright’s Haven
Butter, see above
Salt, Coast of Maine Sea Salt
Rolls, Mom’s recipe, quick surprise rolls with Potatoes
Wheat berries grown on Maine farm, ground into flour in Vita Mix, Thanksgiving
morning
Cream from Wright’s Haven
Potatoes
Yeast, from  our local Health Food Store
Swiss Chard and Kale from Brookford farm, Rollingsford, NH, brought by a friend
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin from Portland Farmer’s Market
Greek yogurt, Swallowtail Farm, Maine
Eggs, Brookford Farm
Stevia, who knows where?
Crust
Wheatberries, grown in Maine, ground into flour
Butter, NH farm
Water, Spring in Buckfield, Maine
Beef Stock Vegetable Soup brought by a friend
Beef from a local farm, our friend bought half a cow, made a stock and added local
veggies. It was delicious!
Steamed yellow and red onions from Freedom Farm, from Portland, Maine Farmer’s                        Market.

Turkey gravy
Drippings from the roasted Turkey from Wright’s haven, I had spread raw butter from
New Hampshire farm over the turkey before putting it in the oven, it was cooked
and basted for about 3 hours
Cream from Wright’s Haven
Ground wheat berries from Maine farm
Water from the spring
Maine Coast Sea Salt

Morgan’s Cranberry sauce – our friend Morgan made the crranberry sauce from cranberries and apples bought at the Portland, Maine, Farmers Market. She stirred it over a low heat and then added a little stevia. Everyone loved it!

All the food was delicious! Everyone appreciated that we made the effort to have all the food from local farms. It made us feel good that very little fuel had to be used to get the ingredients from across the country. Standing in line at the grocery store, feeling the stress of an awaiting Holiday, is a thing of the past for us.  This new local food/local farm sourced paradigm feels amazing and so calming by comparison.

Everyone arrived early and started helping prepare dinner together. We sat around the table, each telling what we were thankful for and it all felt so genuine. We had a few tears, One son, thankful for his girlfriend and her two sons being in his life, one daughter pregnant, due the first of May and thankful for her family and the new member of the family growing in her belly, and our almost 20 year old son, celebrating 2 years of sobriety and being thankful that he CAN be present and feels so loved.

Extras
Suggestions for getting through the holiday season, happily, healthy, and the same weight or lower than when the holidays began.
Eat 90-98% from local farms. Make friends with local farmers. Many areas have winter Farmer’s Markets. Ask around, read the paper, look on line.
Restrict all of what you eat to homemade, non-factory food. Trans and fake fats and high-fructose corn sweetener can only be made in a laboratory/factory. Fake foods and additives can be what is making you heavier than you want to be or even ill.
The only sweetener which could possibly be local is Raw Honey. And even that should be limited, as it can cause an unhealthy blood sugar rise. Our next project is growing our own stevia, drying and powdering it. I have been using factory processed stevia for about 15 years, and while it’s great because it has no calories, and also comes from a natural source, I still really can’t trust the manufacturing process!
Remember taking a walk or even a nap is better than eating more that you need!

Aimee Perrin, lives with her husband Dennis, who is a painter, and their 3 cats, who loved the turkey. Aimee owns Aimee’s Livin’ Magic, manufacturing gluten-free, raw and organic snacks and chocolates in her York, Maine home, which sits in front of the scenic headwaters of the York River.

Then I eat it with a tiny spoon so I can make this delicious goo last as long as possible. I got this idea from my daughter, Camille, who is practically famous for her goos or mashups. My recipe came to me through my taste buds and the desire for low carb cookie dough. But… I wonder if it’s one particular ingredient or the synergy of the combination? Mucuna is definitely a brain food, used as a supplement for treating Parkinson’s disease & other brain issues. Colostrum helps growth hormones to become active & is high in probiotics, so maybe it could clear up candida in the brain-gut connection. And then there’s the butter’s role in adding saturated fat to create healing in the brain which is practically made of fat! This whole experience has brought with it the realization that I may have — well I do have the very real ability to heal a condition that I have had for a long time. Which means to me that future healing could possibly be the type 1 diabetes…
Ok, we were just served coffee and tea. Yeah, I know, airplane coffee and tea—yuck!. But we’re not often on airplanes, so….’nuff said. Anyway, our flight attendant, a pleasant man, offered “dairy dust” when Denny asked for cream. When Denny declined, he said, “You know, better living through chemistry,” sarcastically quoting an old Monsanto commercial! It’s nice to see someone somewhat aware out in the “other world.”
Several thoughts have been ruminating for a while now. They center on the idea of the damage all grains are doing to human and animal health. So many people at the Longevity Conference were on gluten-free diets, not because they have an allergy to gluten, but because the over-consumption of gluten had made them sick, as it will eventually do to virtually everyone. But there were many people off all concentrated sweetener. So could I question, are gluten-containing grains concentrated sweetener? Remarkably the volunteer they assigned us to assist at our booth had been really sick with a low thyroid condition, exacerbated by gluten sensitivity. She was getting no help from the many medical doctors she had gone to for help. So she took her health into her own hands, doing her own research and seeking the help of alternative practitioners. Her health has dramatically improved, which brings up another point, self-healing is possible, finding your own way is also possible!
So now I’m back on the plane flying from Fort Worth to Boston. I’m remembering something Truth Caulkins said on an incredible panel with David Wolfe and Daniel Vitalis. Truth was saying something about that you heal in layers, and all you have to do is heal the next layer, that you don’t heal all at once. Heal the next layer, keep setting the intention, and then research and heal the next layer. I found that idea so very inspiring! So this was my next layer! I also noticed on this trip that I no longer minded sitting by someone I didn’t know. I used to make Denny sit next to people on the plane. So some of this healing may be because I now own a business. But I was newly brave enough to start a business and even write a book! Where did that bravery and willingness come from? I choose to believe that was a layer of healing, maybe even spiritual healing. But why separate the forms?
“Healing always depend on the individual: How conscious is that Soul?” The Language of Soul, by Harold Klemp.
” Spirit acts in a way that is for the good of the whole, sometimes bringing a healing of the emotions or the mind instead of the body, because that is in the best interests of that particular Soul’s unfoldment.” The Language of Soul, Harold Klemp

I’m looking at more layers of healing and being grateful. Sometimes you need to look back to see that you have had improvements. They happen so gradually you may not notice. I just realized that on the whole trip I did not have a headache from traveling. Usually my neck would go out & I would get a horrible headache, but my neck & head felt great for the whole trip. This is the first time I can ever remember this happening! So, I am just looking for what is going to be my layer of healing, but maybe you can’t know ahead of time. Just go for the goal & whatever comes, comes! Truth said see your goal fulfilled. So, for me that would be living without insulin injections & having full use of my hands. But, before that I would love to improve my eyesight, because writing this on my new phone is a real eye strain, & for that matter my hand is really cramping!
The first step to the next layer of healing is to get off GMO insulin. I freaked out when I found out that human insulin that I’ve been on for at least 14 years is genetically modified! Do I really want that in my body? I found some pork insulin from Canada. It’s not available in the US yet, so don’t get me started! My health, blood sugar control & condition of my hands have gotten worse & worse since I started on the GMO stuff. Would that have happened anyway? Who knows?

I want to acknowledge how grateful I am for people like David Wolfe, Daniel Vitalis, Truth Caulkins, Joseph Mercola, Donna Gates, and the many others that have given their lives in service to help seekers find their personal truth. This sense of divine purpose, of serving others while setting aside personal comforts, is an inspiration. I witnessed this gratitude etched on the faces and hearts of many people throughout the weekend. Bravo to these torchbearers of wellness!

Like the high-altitude perspective that illuminates those human vs. Nature contrasts, I wish to seek a similar atmosphere from which to view the events of the weekend. I was struck by how many speakers advocate using any and all means to gather materials that promote healing and wellness, and I applaud this effort. Only one speaker that I heard (and I was not able to attend all the talk), Daniel Vitalis, spoke eloquently in favor of seeking local solutions to health. Many of the speakers have an impressive mastery of healing traditions and systems from around the world, yet the first suggestion to a questioner seeking health advice is not to look into their own backyard. Like the linear geometry I’m witnessing that’s been imposed on the landscape far below, the western mind embodied in these eloquent researchers has a blind spot toward the natural order of things and simply seeks to solve the problem being faced. At what cost, though? Is it really wise to send out an order to the universe and expect it be filled by plane, train, or automobile? What about the environmental stress this causes in a time when the clock is running out on fossil fuels? I once heard an herbalist, Tommy Priester, say that when you move into a home, by the third season you’re there, herbs that are specific to your needs will begin growing, if allowed to, within 50 feet of your door. It really is possible to overthink all of this. Based on the wisdom of the ancient and traditional cultures as described by Weston Price and others, health begins very close to home. When we eat whole food, in season, that is indigenous to where we live, whether it be animal or plant sourced, we begin to build a foundation for our health. If we find and drink water from a nearby spring, walk and exercise in our natural environment, and CONNECT with the earth right where we live, this foundation begins to broaden and deepen. And if we sleep and dream, giving our bodies a chance to replenish, and our essence, Soul, the opportunity to play in Its natural playground, we move into a greater state of BEING. It’s only from this state can true healing begin. It’s here that the exotica of Chinese herbalism or Amazonian superfoods can bring us to a higher degree of health, IF NECESSARY.
Having been a longtime vegetarian and raw vegan, I’m well aware of the impulse to seek high quality nutrition from any and every source. Our bodies crave saturated fats and the building blocks of protein, as well as minerals that we can shuttle to our rebuilding cells. Despite what some may claim, goji berries and cacao beans are not excellent sources of protein. The facts, as revealed by numerous research studies and researchers, leads to the inevitable conclusion that many humans require animal fats and protein in order to thrive. Even more importantly, future generations are exceedingly dependent on proper dietary preparation by BOTH parents. A raw vegan may thrive for a while as the body cleanses and detoxifies from previous poor eating habits, but their children will undoubtedly be affected, as will succeeding generations. When David Wolfe says the longest living people on the planet are those who eat cacao—and he says it with such conviction that you want to believe it—does he then discount the people of Siberia, the longest living peoples on Earth? Many there are documented to have lived well over 150 years. And the Hunzas, the great mountain culture of central Asia who live well beyond 100 years. What about the Australian aboriginals, or the New Zealand Maoris, or even the Inuit before the arrival of Western diets? All of these cultures could produce long-living, robust peoples free of disease. In these cultures lies the secrets of longevity. The common threads? They ALL lived and ate close to home, consuming a diet of whole, fresh or dried, completely unprocessed, NATIVE foods. And, yes, they all ate animal foods. They lived close to and in harmony with the natural world. They lived in communities that were supportive in ways that we can scarcely imagine. If they ate cacao, it literally grew in their own backyards. That is the secret sauce to vibrant health and longevity.
When we incarnate onto planet Earth, we are given a variety of conditions which we have earned through our karmic journey spanning many lives. The place, time, culture, family, body type, blood type, hair color, gender, socio-economic stratum—all these and more are determined entirely by choices we’ve made along the way. In this life, we are presented with challenges that are intended to stimulate our inevitable spiritual unfoldment, moving us closer to a state of pure, divine love. Health challenges are part of this equation, especially in this place and this time. But traditional or Wisdom cultures had their big issues with facing the challenges of the natural world, and they developed sophisticated strategies to live in and thrive under the harshest of conditions. Most importantly, they recognized the many gifts they were given that existed all around them. Plants that gave medicine, animals that gave nourishment, springs that gave healing waters. Oceans and streams teemed with live-giving nutrients, as they still do today. They didn’t flinch from the prospect that their life and that of their own depended on other living beings to give of themselves. Herein lies the fatal flaw of veganism: All of life on earth is dependent on the surrender of another life to the cause. This paradigm, indisputable when one looks across the spectrum of Nature, is an adult viewpoint. When an animal, a cultivated plant, a wild herb, or even a fungi is harvested for food, a life is snuffed out so that another may thrive. If a forest is cleared so a field of perennial grasses grow in rich soil teeming with organisms, providing a herd of ruminants nourishment, then trees have made way for the feeding of countless lives, as long as the field is properly stewarded. A skilled and conscious farmer will tend that field so that it feeds generations of local residents indefinitely. If, however, a field is cleared—and make no mistake about, many creatures including mammals will die in the process—in order to plant grains or other annual crops, that field is destined for fallowness. No amount of compost from an outside source, like the herding of animals, will restore the nutrients to that soil once it has been tilled for planting. And where will this replenishment come from? It must come from sequestered carbon, either in the form of petroleum or off site composting. It’s a downward cycle that’s doomed to destroy the soil. Inevitably, the carbon bank account is drained.
If one abhors the killing of animals—and who can argue with that—then what about keeping health vibrant by borrowing from the traditional cultures around the world, their secrets of health and longevity? How does one reconcile the carbon expense it takes for these substances to arrive at our door? Do we really want to spend our future on our own personal health, simply so we can step outside the laws of nature and soothe our philosophical conscience? Adhering to a “philosophy” of eating is a luxury unknown to all of the world’s wise and traditional cultures. Their lifestyles were determined entirely by the environment in which they lived. Nicely harmonious. Not necessarily cushy, but extremely sustainable. The laws of nature haven’t disappeared simply because we’re unable to face up to them. We’ve developed strategies to buy our way out of the natural world, for now. But I’m pretty sure there is a price to be paid. And when we borrow these secrets from the wise cultures, and use them out of context, do they really operate any longer the way they did when in context? Are we truly privy to the dance between people and place that nature does to its own music? If we live in Rio de Janiero, and we find out that Inuits lived long and robustly healthy lives eating seal blubber, would it behoove us to import the seal blubber so we could do likewise? Or would a better strategy be to study the indigenous cultures of the Amazon and take steps to live like them? Since I live in New England, and I’m guessing my body is synchronized with that climate’s vibrational energy, why would I seek to heal by importing exotic foods and herbs from the tropical regions? It’s a fool’s mission on many levels. If we’re living disconnected from our natural environment on all fronts—in buildings, in cars, supported entirely by technology—and our health is suffering, do we then look to more technology for the solution? Borrowing from other cultures just because we can does not bestow on us the magic of health. This is the pharmaceutical paradigm: If our health fails from a life removed from the laws of Nature, let’s find a medicine somewhere that will allow us to continue to defy these laws.
Make no mistake about it. I’m not advocating eating or participating in the industrial food culture in any way. I am exceedingly grateful I stepped outside the omnivore’s world for the last 30 years until the consciousness of local food sourcing emerged. Had I eaten toxic animals that were disrespected in every imaginable way for the last three decades, I shudder to think what condition I may be in today. But veganism is not a simple choice between eating veal or beef or chickens or pork that has been shamefully treated as commodity and no more, and not eating them or their by-products. Being aware of the interconnectedness of all life, with a maturity that accepts the natural order, allows for the humane treatment and slaughter of animals for elevated levels of well being on all fronts. Choosing to eat meat, dairy and eggs from grass-fed and pastured animals is not an anti-life choice. It’s a recognition that life is profound on many levels and our choices must often be profound, as well. Is there a vegan out there who believes that a Native American, who revered all of life to a degree we can only imagine, was less of a person because they killed and ate the meat of animals?
September 29, Back in Maine
So happy to be back home in Maine, a truly amazing place to live and be! As we woke up to sun, clouds, sky, and nature, Aimee and I sat on our porch to eat breakfast. Like every morning we had bacon and eggs from our favorite farmers who live close by. I even have them in my phone contacts. I go to their farms or the farmer’s market to pick up our food. Since January 1 of this year, Aimee and I have been moving closer toward the goal of eating an entirely local diet. We rarely ever go into a store anymore, even a health food store. As I begin to assimilate all that we heard and experienced over the weekend with our attempts to eat entirely locally, this thought occurred to me as we were walking on the beach this morning. When we live in any area and make it our home, and especially if we make a connection with Nature in our area, we establish an energetic relationship with our natural environment such that it will present us with opportunities to further ourselves on every level—physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. If a mullein plant is growing in my backyard (and one really is right now as we speak), isn’t that the mullein I should be using for medicinal purposes rather than mullein harvested thousands of miles away? Or, if I want to be true to this ideal, do I opt for a substance that only grows in the Amazon if an even better substance, tailor made for my needs, exists within a few miles from where I live? Should we scour the world over for the plants and substances highest in certain minerals, phytonutrients, polysaccharides, etc., simply because analysis shows them to be beneficial to some? I’m searching here for that reconciliation I proposed earlier, because even Aimee and I are engaged in a business that moves substances all over the planet in order to create unique products that have marketplace appeal. By taking food and medicine away from natural sources and placing them into the open marketplace, we are opting out of the laws of Nature. Technology, which includes transportation, has broken down climatic barriers in the same way the GMO crowd has brought down interspeciel firewalls.
We in the health and wellness industry, always quick to criticize the medical/pharmaceutical establishment for seeking quick solutions to complex problems, may have fallen prey to the same impulse. Scouring the earth for magic bullets, under the guise of “natural,” is the same paradigm. The Wisdom Cultures had it right, even if it was only by default since they had very little choice. Live, work, and be in your own backyard, for there, right under your nose, are the gifts you’ve been seeking. May the Blessings Be!