Mary


NOTE:
I have read a lot about various subjects and I feel everything on my site is true, but, I am only human. We can only see things from the view of our own eyes. Your view may be different, so if you have ways to get well that work for you, by all means keep doing it. I can only share my personal experiences.

If I throw something out there that is totally new to you, you might want to research further before you act on that information.

MCS Sites ---- updated March 28, 2009

Articles ---- updated January 2, 2009

Miscellaneous Links ---- updated January 2, 2009

Toxic Chemical Lists ---- updated March 28, 2009


Coping with MCS

Non Toxic Products that I Use ---- updated January 6, 2009
added some pet products, cotton mask, sewing oil, and garden stuff

Guides to Non Toxic Products ---- updated March 28,2009

Catalog Lists ---- updated May 2005

MCS Buttons, Posters, Signs, and T-shirts ---- updated April 2009

Non Toxic Homemade Recipes ---- updated April 2009


Healing the Body

Healing Recipes ---- updated November 2007

Body Diagnosis ---- updated April 8, 2009

Cause of my MCS ---- updated October 10, 2009

My Journey to Wellness ---- updated October 2009

What I Am Doing to Heal My Body ---- updated ---- May 2008

The Moral of this Story if there is One ---- updated May 2008





Other Pages on This Site

MCS Organizations ---- updated March 27, 2009 -- see bottom of that page for what I changed and why
Many of these organizations have websites that contain tons of links.

Non Toxic Recipes --- updated December 30, 2007 ---
cleaning and personal care recipes that I use

Non Toxic Catalogs --- updated Feb 2006 ---
Cotton clothes, gardening supplies, household items, wood toys, cotton mattresses, kitchen supplies, organic food, organic fabric, etc.

My Shopping Mall --- updated April 2009 ---
These are web stores where I personally shop.

Kid's Fun Stuff --- updated Jan 2006 ---
Recipes for play dough, clay and that sort of thing

Recycling --- updated February 2007 ---
How to reduce buying, reuse items and where to recycle things

Reference Section --- added April 2006 ---
One of the things I miss about not being able to go into public, is going to the library. I use the web now to look up what I need to know. This page has links to reference materials that you would find in the reference section of the library. I have also included other useful information sites. Feel free to let me know about your favorite informational sites.

Home Improvement --- updated September 2007 ---
I have added this page back. It is a mostly list of items I should have done to my house because of having MCS. Some for health reasons, others for aesthetic reasons, the rest are just regular maintenance items. I believe if one spends all their time at home, the home should be a relaxing place. Someone once criticized me for asking for donations of any of these items. I offered to test the items for tolerability by a severely chemically sensitive person, ME. I would report results on my site, positive or negative. I can not deal well with criticism, so I removed the page. No one ever took me up on the offer so it is a mute point. I mostly added this page back to give you an idea how many items need to be replaced due to MCS. This is financially impossible for most, including me. I am sure I have missed a lot of items too. Some are for my sanity (like reading material and aesthetic items), since I am home bound. Being home bound is MCS related, so sanity items are still pertinent. Feel free to submit me to one of those fix it up shows. I see no other way of ever getting wood floors throughout the whole house, and replacing all particle board furniture.

Gardening --- updated April 12, 2009 ---
I have listed some of the sites that have helped me the most with my new hobby of gardening. This page is a work in progress. I will mark this page as updated when I add more gardening links. Maybe one day if I get motivated, I will add some pictures of my garden, which is mostly winter squash and black eyed peas.

Free Sewing Patterns --- added July 07, 2009 ---
I have had my sewing page on-line since 2003, just never have linked to it from my MCS site.

There are almost 1000 free on-line patterns listed on my sewing page. They are very well organized. If you are having trouble finding something in 100% cotton in the store, or on-line, please look on the page for a pattern. If you do not know how to sew or are too ill to do so, perhaps a friend or relative could make it for you. I would love it if I had I friend like that. I really hate to sew. I know, I know, why do I have a sewing site? I started to find free patterns on-line, for my own purposes, and decided to share them, but this whole thing got out of hand. I guess I am a tad Obsessive-compulsive. Ok, more than a tad.


If you need to Contact Me

Read or sign My Guest book

or just send me an e-mail form

If my site has helped you in any way I would love to here about it.

If you just want to chat, I am here for that too.

April, 2009

I fixed or removed all dead links on this page.

When I add new links to a section, I take that opportunity to check all the links in that section for dead links, or links that go someplace other than where they are supposed to go. This is the only way I know of to even attempt to keep up with the constantly changing web world.


How to remove internet ads
I am sending you to my sewing stuff site, so that I don't have to repeat the same information twice.
Please hit back arrow to get back to this page.

Environmental Illness - Our Little Place
Definition, coping, fragrance info, de-tox baths, articles, resources, book list, non-toxic guidelines, tons of helpful links, etc

MCS for Beginners
Definition, symptoms, triggers, resources, coping, personal tips and ideas, etc

The Wall of Personal Testimony - HERC
Personal stories of many that have MCS

Resources for the Chemically Injured, Chemically Sensitive or Environmentally Ill - Lassen Technology
Articles, books, building info, carpet, catalogs, clothing, definitions, doctor and dental resource list, food, making a safe room, labs, lawyers, support groups, pest control, product lists, etc.

Chemical Injury Survivors of Minnesota
Great description of MCS and what we go through. Their photos are worth a thousand words. A great link to introduce the un-informed to MCS.

May 2004

Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases Information
Articles, info about fragrances, cosmetics, latex allergies, MCS, housing, etc.

MCS Resources - Rocky Mountain Environmental Health Association
Support resources, housing + travel info, product resources, health + disability info, etc.

Nova Scotia Allergy and Environmental Health Association
Coping with MCS, allergy cooking recipes, book reviews, advice on making your home and garden less toxic, disability issues, articles, fragrance info, pesticide info, etc.

March 27, 2009

Dr Rapp's site
what to avoid, tips, links to environmental doctors


More MCS links can be found on my MCS Organization List

Invisible Cripples - Do No Harm (archived)
- You won't see them at the store, or anywhere...

Scents Are Not What They Seem - NEAEHA
- "Fragrance Chemicals as Toxic Substances"

Poison in the Grass - Chem-Tox
- The Hazards And Consequences of Lawn Pesticides

Birds at Risk from Garden Pesticides - Rachel Carson Council
- "Are individuals responsible for "taking" or killing migratory birds with (lawn) pesticides guilty of breaking the law?"

Radiation Ovens - Association for freedom of choice and Free information
- The Proven Dangers of Microwaves

MCS Under Siege - Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
- Chemical companies paying big bucks to try to get MCS to go away

Toxic Ingredients - Vaccine Information, Wendy's Story
- Vaccine's Toxic Ingredients and how they affect us.

Environmental Chemicals and Environmental Illness - Weston A Price Foundation
- " ...lack of vitamin A is a precondition for the development of many if not all autoimmune diseases"

The Next Industrial Revolution - Environmental Wellness
- "The model may be in our own backyard" --nature.

Why Shoes Make a Normal Gait Impossible - Parents for Barefoot Children
- Well see, there is one good thing about having MCS!

(some of us can't wear shoes due to toxic chemicals used to make them, and toxic leather tanning process)

May 2004

Sodium Fluoride used in Fluoridation is NOT Pharmaceutical Grade - Fluoride Action Network
- "...obtained from the scrubbing system of the phosphate fertilizer industry"

Finding Tolerable Clothing or Fabric - NSAEHA
- "Sensitivity to clothing chemicals leaves many of us feeling like ragged Cinderellas waiting for a fairy godmother to appear!"

June 2004

School Environment - Healthy or Hazardous? - Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
- the toxic environment in which we expect our children to learn!

Drugs, Stoned by Prescription - KOS Publishing
- "In Canada and the US (drug) research is primarily funded by drug companies whose contracts always contain gag clauses preventing researchers from reporting negative findings, should these occur... Interestingly, these same companies also make the pesticides, which cause all of the diseases in the first place, either directly by ingestion, skin contact or inhalation, or indirectly by dangerously depleting the nutrients in the foods. What an amazingly effective business strategy! ... Always assume the drug prescribed is toxic unless proven otherwise."

Salts that Heal and Salts that Kill - Cure Zone
- Unrefined Sea salt is good for you, denatured table salt is not.

July 2004

Economies for Life - Yes" Magazine
- "Living economies are made up of human-scale enterprises locally owned by people who have a direct stake in the many impacts associated with the enterprise."

Billboard Control: Fighting Visual Pollution - Scenic America (archived)
- "While some may think billboards are harmless, their negative effects on our health and our safety have been documented."

August 2004

The Seven Essentials of Recovery - by Debra Lynn Dadd
-"You can recover from multiple chemical sensitivities on your own, without modern medicine. Indeed, the antidote for this illness is to remove your body from modern life, and let it heal naturally."

December 2004

How We Become Chemically Sensitive - Health and Certainty (archived)
-"...Simply by overloading the waste management system."

Electromagnetic Field Poisoning - Craig Reese (archived)
-"Some of the worse offenders are: computers, T.V., stereos, clocks, electric blankets, hair dryers, electric ranges, microwaves, fans, heaters, any electric motor, florescent lights, etc."

Moldy Material - Health and Certainty (archived)
- What to do about mold

March 2005

The Problem with Pressure Treated Wood - Raw Food Info
-"Pressure treated wood, also known as copper chromium arsenate (CCA) wood is a wood that has been placed in a vacuum where all the water and air is removed, then the wood is injected under pressure with chemicals."

Formaldehyde Toxicity - Grisanti (archived)
-"Symptoms associated with exposure to formaldehyde fumes include mucous membrane irritation, upper respiratory tract irritation, eye irritation, skin rashes, itching, nausea, stuffy nose, headaches, dizziness, and general fatigue."

How to Legally Avoid Unwanted Immunizations of All Kinds - Mercola
- It is actually very simple. Just write a letter stating you object to immunizations for religious reasons, get it notarized and give it to the school nurse. This has to be done each year. This works as I have done it with my daughter.

The Oiling of America - Weston A Price Foundation
- "Animal foods containing saturated fat and cholesterol provide vital nutrients necessary for growth, energy and protection from degenerative disease ..."

I would call MCS a degenerative disease.

The Fluoridation Fiasco - Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
- "We would not purposely add arsenic to the water supply. And we would not purposely add lead. But we do add fluoride. The fact is that fluoride is more toxic than lead and just slightly less toxic than arsenic.""

May 2005

Polio: The virus and the disease - The Web Inquirer
- There is evidence that polio is actually caused by pesticides. Polio is now occurring more and more in third world countries where we ship the now US banned pesticides. Polio is still occurring in the US, but doctors just diagnose it as something else to make patients think the vaccine is working. They make tons of money on vaccines.

The SARS Epidemic: Are Viruses Taking the Rap for Industrial Poisons? - Weston A Price Foundation
- "SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) disease symptoms are identical to pesticide and air pollution disease symptoms. And these poisons correlate in time and place with SARS epidemics..."

...WNV (west Nile Virus) epidemics occur annually in air-polluted petrochemical regions (such as eastern New Jersey and St. Louis) during the warm spring and summer months... and these epidemics don't spread infectiously to other regions."

Food For Thought: Malcolm Beck (archived)
- Some Observations on the Relationships Between Soil Health and the Physical and Mental Health of Humans

Pushing up Daisies: Malcolm Beck (archived)
- We used to decompose into the earth from which we came, but sadly, not any more!

Other Malcolm Beck articles (archived)

Hospitalization for the Chemically Sensitive Patient - A MCS site
- guidelines for hospital staff

The Murky World of High Fructose Corn Syrup - Weston A Price Foundation
- " HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) has the exact same sweetness and taste as an equal amount of sucrose from cane or beet sugar but it is obviously much more complicated to make, involving vats of murky fermenting liquid, fungus and chemical tweaking..."

"Consumers trying to avoid genetically modified foods should avoid HFCS. It is almost certainly made from genetically modified corn and then it is processed with genetically modified enzymes."

Agriculture and Nutrition - Weston A Price Foundation
- " When crops grown for high production produce less nutrition, it would be logical to think that animals bred for high production would also produce less nutrition."

Finding Health Close to Home - Weston A Price
- "Anonymity tends to bring out the worst in people. It is much easier to put out inferior products, even unhealthy products, when you cannot see the people they affect."

Dec 2005

Natural Gas and People with Chemical Sensitivities - Medical-Environmental Report
- "The use of natural gas is recognized as one of the most important sources of indoor air pollution and sensitizing agents. There is evidence that the use of natural gas appliances has an adverse effect on human health. Furthermore, it is known that individuals with environmental sensitivities react adversely in the presence of natural gas and its combustion products. Natural gas contributes to the development and exacerbation of chemical and environmental sensitivities."

How Nature Cures - Doctor Yourself
- "When we begin to see germs more as scavengers trying to clean up refuse, as opposed to being little deadly gremlins out to get us, we can begin to take confidence that nature does heal and that our body will clean itself of the roots of illness. If your body is clean and healthy, germs are irrelevant. There is a lack of conclusive proof that germs are the primary cause of any disease. The bibliography in this book lists references that show that malnutrition, medicines and wrong living are more basic, underlying roots of disease. "

Hidden Allergens in Foods - Allergy Advisor
- lists ingredients that may indicate the presence of eggs, dairy, soy, wheat, peanuts, or fish

Poison for Profit - Red Flags Weekly
- " The same chemical companies that produce toxic chemicals also produce prescription drugs, veterinary medicines, a wide array of medical products and imaging technologies, hold cancer treatment and medical device patents, and a produce a staggering assortment of over-the-counter palliatives. "

What's Wrong with Food Irradiation? - Organic Consumers
-Irradiation covers up the increased fecal contamination that results from speeded up slaughter and decreased federal inspection, both of which allow meat and poultry to be produced more cheaply.

Dec 2006

People With Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Are Becoming the New Homeless - E Magazine
- Stories of those that have to live in their cars or mobile trailers, to try to escape toxins.

I thought hyperbaric oxygen might be a good idea until I read this article
Problems associated with use of the hyperbaric chamber in sports - Project Air
-" Why would there be problems using the hyperbaric system? The system is totally cut off from the outside atmosphere. A natural ion count of 5000 ions per cubic centimeter can be measured in nature. This count can fluctuate but no matter where we go, there are ions. In the hyperbaric tank the ion count would be zero. There is no natural or artificial way to produce ionization in the chamber since the corona discharge from an ionizer would cause the oxygen to ignite. Every human being must have ions to survive. It is this reason why the hyperbaric system is so dangerous."

Teflon – Is it Good or Bad - Dr Rapp (archived)
- "It lasts indefinitely in the environment and it never breaks down, even in the human body."
- "here are thousands of substances that can be found in typical sewage sludge, including any of the 100,000 or so chemicals produced and used in industrialized nations, many of which illegally end up in sewers. "

Dec 2007

Sludge - Anarac (archived)
- "...the municipal waste industry hired a public relations firm named Powell Tate, who re-named the waste as "beneficial biosolids", to be used for fertilizers, and dust suppressants to be spread on farmers' fields and country roads. The EPA then reclassified sludge from "hazardous material" to "compost"."

The Sludge Scam: Should Sewage Sludge Fertilize Your Vegetables - Riles
- " In Rutland Vermont, 24 months after spreading sludge on his 99 acre farm, dairyman Robert Ruane's cow's started getting arthritis and milk production dropped from 18,000 pound per year to 14,000 pounds per year. Over a two year period, 66 cows died. "They told me how much money it was going to save me on fertilizer.""

fasting to cure depression - Health Freedom News
- " There may be other ways to cure depression, but if any of them work, I’m sure its because they are close to the “give nature a chance” school of thought." Words of the author


Dec 2008

I know this article has little to due with MCS, but it is very informative.
True cause of world hunger - Anuradha Mittal
- " There was no shortage of food, but the people were too poor to buy it. So what did the U.S. and other countries, like Australia, do? Smelling an opportunity to unload their own surplus wheat in the name of "food aid," they gave loans to Indonesia upon the condition that it buy wheat from them. And Indonesians don’t even eat wheat."

January 02, 2009

Pollen and Mold Guide - Men's Health
Lists places, times of day and weather conditions where the pollen count is the highest and the lowest.

Soft Drinks - Tuberose
"The soft drink usually contains the following components: phosphoric acid, caffeine, sugar or aspartame or saccharin, caramel coloring, carbon dioxide, and aluminum. Ingesting a soft drink does not cause any immediate warning such as stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea that would normally occur when a poison enters the body. Instead, there is the energizing feeling of caffeine, the sweet taste of sugar combined with the sour taste of phosphoric acid, and the playful feeling of the carbon dioxide bubbles. Those ingredients cause imbalances in the body systems that result in debilitating diseases that show up after many, many years of abuse.."

Soft Drinks: America's Other Drinking Problem - Weston A Price Foundation
"Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of the stomach and duodenal lining which becomes quite painful. Over the long term, it can lead to gastric lining erosion. Another problem with sodas is that they act as dehydrating diuretics, much like tea, coffee and alcohol. All of these drinks can inhibit proper digestive function. "

Safe House Tips - CHEC

Healthy House Check Lists - CHEC

Resource List for Pesticide Alternatives - A Better Way - IPM Solutions (archived)
- list or resources for alternatives to pesticides (books, periodicals, sources of beneficial insects, organizations, articles), MCS links, safer products, affects on wildlife, list of safer places to stay while traveling

Web Sites Pertaining to Housing and MCS - The Garden (archived)
Places to live or vacation, safer building ideas

November 2004

Burning Issues
- "Burning Issues provides public education about the medical hazards of exposure to wood smoke and other fine particulate pollution. Smoke from residential burning of wood and coal, wood burning restaurants and outdoor burning of wood, leaves, crops, tires and debris is permeating our neighborhoods, resulting in high ground-level concentrations of toxic air pollution."

March 2005

Plastic: A Problem of Global Proportions - International Plastics Task Force
- "As plastic is non-biodegradable, toxic and not recyclable in the true sense of the word, the need for an international coalition against plastic waste is paramount."

Trade Secrets - PBS Program
- "Trade Secrets reveals how the public's right to know the truth about thousands of chemicals that surround us has been compromised."

Connective Disorder Site
- A well researched, easy to read site on ways she has found to overcome most of her health issues using natural means. I highly recommend this one. Contains info on the following conditions: scoliosis, fibromyalgia, muscle tension, insomnia, TMJ, pain, nose bleeds, MCS, etc.

This women noticed that her son did not react to chemicals as much if he avoided chemicals in foods, especially school lunches.

Understanding & Accommodating People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in Independent Living - ILRU
- An on-line MCS book

May 2005

Organic Directories - Organic Consumers
- web sites that list organic sites.

Score Card
- find out who is polluting in your area

March 2006

The Healthy Flooring Network Guide to Healthy Flooring
- lists flooring alternatives

Mercury and Nature - National Wildlife Foundation

Old Timers Page - Walton Feed (archived)
- the way folks used to do things

Food Cholesterol Chart
- to get more cholesterol in your diet - cholesterol helps to de-toxify the body

The Safe Playgrounds Project (archived)
- is there arsenic treated wood in your back yard?

A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home - EPA

California Department of Health Services Indoor Air Quality Info Sheet- Mold in My Home: What Do I Do?

Epilepsy and Diet - Dogtor J
- avoiding the offending foods helps epilepsy (in dogs and humans)

The Hypoglycemia Health Association of Australia
- articles about hypoglycemia, depression, food allergies, serotonin, diabetes, etc.

Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Foods - Food News - PDF (archived)
- lists foods that you should always buy organic

List of KOS Health Articles (archived)
- The inside story on various health topics including: asthma, the cancer industry, autism, prescription drugs, GMO foods, modern medicine, MCS, organic food, etc.

January 2, 2009

The Dangers of Natural Gas - Alkalize for Health
A personal story on how an undetected natural gas leak just about ruined her and her family's lives.

The Breast Cancer Deception - Natural News
"This report that exposes the scam of today's breast cancer industry, revealing how conventional breast cancer detection and treatment programs are actually designed to ensnare women into a very harmful (but highly lucrative) system of toxic treatments that will only cause permanent damage to her health."

Safe and Effective Natural Control of Flea, Ticks, Bed Bugs, Lice and other Pests
"Products intended to kill fleas and ticks can also poison pets and the people who handle them."

Managing Fleas Without Poisons
"Flea control insecticides are a hazardous group of chemicals. Looking at twenty flea control chemicals, over two-thirds are neurotoxic, and almost that many have caused reproductive problems in laboratory tests."

42 Common Toxic Chemicals and their Effects - Rowatworks (archived)

Glossary of Products with Hazards A to Z - EPA

Chemical Glossary -Lifekind

Soy Alert! - Weston A Price Foundation

Health risks of chemicals labeled Danger, Warning or Caution - CHEC (archived)

Toxin Technical Information Index - Total Environment Centre (archived)

June 2004

MCS Chemistry For Non-Chemists - MCS for Beginners

List of Fragrance Chemicals- Immune Web

Household Product Database - National Institutes of Health

March 2005

Fabric Softeners Equal Health Risks from Dryer Exhaust and Treated Fabrics - MCS World

Nov 2005

Skin Deep - Have your personal care products been assessed for safety?

March 28, 2009

Chemicals in the Household - EPA

Carpet Chemicals - Natural Home Products

The Toxins in Cigarettes - Cure ZONE

Dakota Free Lip Balm   non toxic - produced my a MCS person.

To get a 10% discount off any Dakota Free product:

go to Dakota Free order any product that you need, then enter 10%MCS into the comment area of the order page.

The Solution    full strength as a shampoo and 1:3 with water to clean with

Widu Wooden Hair Brush    Has a wood handle, removable wood bristles, no glue.

Bentonite Clay - instead of toothpaste

Most toothpaste has toxic fluoride and I can't deal with it anyway.

The baking soda, that I was using was beginning to give me a rash. I think it is because I am high in calcium according to my last hair analysis (who knows?). Before the baking soda, I used peelu powder. That gave me a rash as well.

When selecting a clay to use for my teeth, I picked one that was higher in magnesium than calcium since I was low in magnesium on my last blood test. I have no clue, but had to pick one someway. There are a lot of clays out there. And yes it tastes like dirt. Baking soda was not all that yummy either. If you can't use anything a wet tooth brush will have to do. I might go to that soon.

Silver Water Gel.   Used for burns, cuts, acne, sun burn, deodorant and feels nice on skin
   do a search for "silver water gel" on the site

Paper First Aid Tape   I use this with a cut piece of 100% cotton T-shirt as a bandage

Toms of Maine Unflavored Dental Floss    naturally waxed with beeswax, Carnauba and Jojoba waxes, also contains a few herbs

Natracare feminine products   The grocery store kind of feminine products are so irritating.
   The regular kind are made from synthetic fibers and usually have masking scents, UG!
   can be purchased from Goldmine Natural Foods

Organic Essentials Cotton Balls    normal cotton balls have added chemicals

Organic Essentials Cotton Swabs    ditto

Macadamia nut oil   for dry itchy skin
   any organic non-solvent extracted cooking oil or fat will do.

Nov 2005

Edge Unscented Shaving Gel    my hubby uses this.
   I am sure it has toxic stuff in it, but at least it is unscented.


Cleaning

The Solution   Very concentrated all purpose cleaner - works out to 9 cents an oz. great stuff!
   I use this for my laundry too.

Cal Ben Dish Washer Powder    Only kind of soap based dish powder that works and I have tried about all of them. It contains some chlorine, so I hand wash most of the time.

Cal Ben Dish Soap   Has a hint of coconut, feels nice on hands

Bi-O-Kleen Glass Cleaner   This brand must have changed its formula because it steaks now. When this stuff runs out I will try to use a dilute tea solution.

20 Mule Team Borax   to clean the toilet
   can be purchased from Vermont Country Store


Food and Kitchen Stuff

Steel Wool   instead of SOS pads

Sea Salt   instead of denatured table salt. I prefer the Peruvian salt.

Natural Cellulose Sponges   For cleaning - normal ones are plastic and contain chemicals

Frontier Organic Spices   instead the, irradiated grocery store kind. You can get these at your health food store.

Pyrex Glass Food Storage   instead of plastic

Wide Mouth Glass Canning Jars   to store my homemade beef broth

1 Quart Wine Decanters   I use as a water pitcher, I bought mine at a thrift shop


Cotton Items

E G Smith Cotton Boot Socks   It says 100% cotton on the site, but the label says 99% cotton.

They are so yummy though. So thick and warm and go all the way up to my knees. They do not bother me despite the 1% spandex. I believe the spandex is only in the elastic at the top, and it is covered in cotton. I sleep in these because I get cold feet at night.

I will fix this link when they start making them again. There factory has shut down temporarily. (I hope)

Organic Cotton Towels   Need to stay away from the formaldehyde in traditional cotton

Organic Cotton Sheets   to avoid formaldehyde (wrinkle guard) and toxic flame retardants

100% Cotton Barrier Cloth Mattress Sack   to block some of the toxic bedding materials from reaching me
  can also be purchased from AEHF

100% Cotton Ironing Board Cover and Pad

Heating synthetic fabrics and foams release toxic fumes into the air, and deposit them into the clothes that you are ironing, and your lungs.

Organic Cotton Bath Mats    instead of vinyl lined polyester

January 6, 2009

I Can Breathe Organic Cotton Face Mask - When pollen and mold is really bad, I also stuff cotton balls into my ears. This mask helps but it does not block all pollen. I need to find something that does, since gardening is all I have to do to keep me from going nuts.


Household Stuff

Jojoba Oil

To oil hinges.

Never use jojoba oil to oil a sewing machine. I used to do that and it gummed up the machine. It is fixable if you have done this. Either bring it in to a sewing machine repair shop to be thoroughly cleaned, or take the machine apart and clean it out yourself. We did both. The repair shop barely got any oil out, so my husband sat down with the machine and a lot of q-tips!

BioShield Wood Stains and Finishes   Most of their products have a nice citrus scent.

Dry Iron   Has a stainless sole plate without the toxic non-stick finish of most irons.

I love this iron. It does not has a steam feature. There are no steam holes to get clogged up. The iron seams to get hotter than normal irons, so I don't miss the steam. When I need steam I mist them with a spray bottle. The iron is small, light and pointy, making is easier to get into small areas.

January 6, 2009

Sewing Machine Oil - scroll almost all the way to the bottom

Pharmaceutical Grade clear oil made by an Australian company. It does not stink, or smell at all. It does not make me sick. Not sure what it it made of, but I am pretty sure it is not a natural oil. It works great, my machine flies now. It used to crawl along when gummed up with the jojoba oil.

Here's their website helmar in case you want to ask them questions.


Pest Control

Leather fly swatter    flies

Yard and Garden Stuff

Charcoal Chimney   instead of lighter fluid

Whole Foods Real Hardwood (lump) Charcoal   instead of charcoal briquettes with chemical additives

... it seems from the above review there might be a better brand out there. If you know of one, please let me know.


EZ Digger   instead of herbicides

January 6, 2009

Natural Beginnings Seed Starting Mix - most starting mixes contain synthetic fertilizer and often Styrofoam pellets. This mix contains: coconut coir, worm guano, perlite, and mealworm guano.

Compost Sifter - Made of metal and wood

Garden Goggles - to keep pollen and garden dirt and mulch out of my eyes.


Pet Stuff

April 2005

Swheat Scoop Natural Cat litter - clumping cat litter that is safe for kitty.

for more info:
cat litter a deadly convenience
list of clumping litter alternatives

Dry pet food is so not good for animals. It is as bad as dry breakfast cereal is for humans. But every attempt we have made to wean our cats from dry food, has resulted in one or both cats to stop eating entirely. Then they have to go to the vet to be re-hydrated and force fed. Both have almost died because of this.

Cats will starve themselves if they don't like the smell. If a kitten is started on raw meat to begin with, it won't be a problem getting them to eat it. Cats tend to like what ever they are weaned onto, and hate most everything else. Dogs, tend to eat anything you put in front of them, even if not food (shoes, carpet, their own poop, etc.).

November 2007

In the summer of 2005 we got a Corgi. He loves the ground organ meat sold by burgundy pasture beef.

In the summer of 2007 our 9 year old cat named pumpkin, died of kidney failure. He was very fat. We tried to get him off the horrible cat food (Iams and Fancy Fest) he and the other cat were on, but both would have rather starved than the give up the highly addictive processed pet foods. The dog eats dry dog food in the morning since hubby feeds the dog at that time. He gets the raw organ meat at lunch and dinner. He and my daughter refuse to touch the raw pet food. It "is" on the gross side. I would rather the dog not eat breakfast cereal for dogs but, this is out of my control.


for more info:
do dogs and cats need grains?
the truth about dry pet food
what's really in pet food (archived)
all about raw pet food

January 2, 2009

Orijen dry dog food - grain free dry food made from local free range chickens and local vegetables

We had to switch the Corgi onto a better food since the food we had him on (Nutro sensitive Stomach Formula) was making him very ill starting in Feb, 2008. He drank huge amounts of water and was getting us up 2-3 times nightly having to pee.

I thought, he might do better on a grain free formula. While searching for a grain free food, by accident I found out that many dogs were actually dying from the same thing our dog had and Nutro food was to blame. Here's a few links describing the problems others dogs had while eating Nutro food:

Why I don't feed Nutro dog food anymore

String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets

A string of mostly negative ratings of Nutro food

Discussion of Nutro / Natural Choice Dog Food Products


After having him on the new grain free food for 3 weeks, he was still needing to pee all the time. I knew I should probably give the new food more time to heal his body, but I was desperate and exhausted, since my husband and I had been getting up multiple times at night with the dog, to let him out. So I gave him a herbal product called Tinkle Tonic and within 3 days, he started to get up only one time at night, and after a week he did not have to go out at all at night. I gave him the drops for 1 more week, but since it has diuretic properties he started to have to go out again at night, so I discontinued the tinkle tonic.

Orijen dry cat food - grain free dry cat food

Ziwipeak canned cat food
Grain free canned cat food made from ranch raised meat and wild caught fish from New Zealand

After reading about all the horrible ingredients that go into pet food, I thought I would give changing cat foods one more try. But this time change the food very slowly. So far so good. We switched her over to Before Grain dry food by 10% a week, and by the 3rd week she was beginning to act like a kitten again. She is 10 years old. She has been completely switched over for about a month now.

At about the half way point of switching her over to the new dry food, she started to stick her nose up at the fancy fest canned food, so I began switching her over to Before Grain canned food at about 25% a week. She did experience a few de-tox symptoms, like vomiting and runny stools, but for the most part, the switch went well.

After I reordered a whole case of Before Grain canned food, she decided she did not like it now. The new food was much dryer and grainier. So I mixed Before Grain canned with Ziwipeak canned food that I was also trying with her and she loves the combination. Hopefully, I can wean her off the Before Grain canned, since the Before Grain is 100% tuna. Cats are not supposed to eat that much fish. Apparently, fish is missing certain nutrients that cats need.

March 2009

Kitty is now eating Orijen dry and wet cat food like the dog. She likes it better. I think we are over the hump now. I think she has forgot all about the old yucky foods.

Guide to Choosing Less Toxic Personal Care Products - HEAL.

Less Toxic Cleaning Products - HEAL

Resources for the Chemically Injured - Lassen Technology

Guide to Less Toxic Products - NSAEHA
homemade formulas sprinkled in

Unscented or Mildly Scented Products Generally Tolerated by Most Persons with MCS - CND.

Non-Toxic Alternatives to Common Household Products - CCAT. (archived)

March 2005

Safer Products for Home and Personal Care - HERC

Resources and Shopping for the Chemically Sensitive - MCS World

March 28, 2009

Debra’s list
select a category on left menu, you have to scroll down a page or two to see it

Non Toxic Catalog Lists

Non Toxic Product Catalogs - MCS Help Site
Cotton clothes, gardening supplies, household items, wood toys, cotton mattresses, kitchen supplies, organic food, etc. - I have not used most of these.

My Personal Non Toxic Shopping Mall - MCS Help Site
These are web stores where I personally shop. Most are family run and environmentally conscious.

Building Materials - Lassen Technologies

Various Catalogs - Lassen Technologies
Personal care, masks, curtains, bedding, tents, garden supplies, clothing, mattresses, supplements, building supplies, filters, kitchen stuff, etc.

Cotton Clothing Catalogs - Lassen Technologies

Organic Food Catalogs - Lassen Technologies

EI Resources - scroll about half way down - Share Care, and Prayer
exotic foods, air filters, masks, bedding, clothing, beds, heaters, etc.

MCS Resources - Our Little Place
Personal care, building materials, bedding, cleaning, garden products, pest control, cotton clothes, filters, furniture, masks, cloths, mattresses, etc.

MCS Product Resources - Massachusetts Association for the Chemically Injured
air filters, organic foods, bedding, fabric, furniture, clothing, masks, saunas, tents, etc.

Less Toxic Products - MCS NYC (archived)
Personal care, cotton clothes, household items, cleaning, bedding, building supplies,etc.

no perfume buttons and a door poster - Our Little Place

no fragrance (poster) - No Fragrance PDF

beware of occupant! - chemically sensitive occupant known to bite stinky people! (signs) - zona's zone

the sweetest smell is nothing at all (poster) - The Lung Association

MCS posters - Artists with MCS


Other Stuff

MCS patches - Crafty Delights

MCS T-shirts - Zona Zone

Its the Chemical Stupid (bumpers stickers) - Ohio Network for the Chemically Injured

Nov 2005

Organic Garden Please Do Not Spray (sign) - Peaceful Valley

November 2007

Pesticide Free Zone (yard sign) - The National Coalition for Pesticide-Fee Lawns

Pesticide Free Yard (yard sign) - Thurston County Washington Public Health and Social Services

Pesticide Free - This area safe for children and pets and other living things (yard and garden sign) - Willy Frog

April 3, 2009

refrain from wearing perfume sign - MCS Advocacy PDF

chemical free zone sign - MCS Advocacy PDF

The way I did it, was to boil 2 oz of lightly pan roasted whole barley (not pearled) in 1 quart of water, then simmered for 20-30 minutes. Then I strained and tossed out the barley. I drank 1 cup of barley water about 4X a day.

Un-roasted barley has a laxative effect. If you suffer constipation, do not roast it. The way to pan roast is to put the whole barley in a dry pan. Heat over burner, shaking the pan every now and then to keep from burning, 'til it is aromatic.

I drank it room temp and stored it in a glass container. I gained 12 pound in 3 months. It also improved my mood a bit. I feel the reason it helps you to gain weight is not the calories, but the mineral content of the water helps to heal the intestines and you absorb your nutrients better. I am gluten intolerant but this did not bug me. I think since the actual barley grains were discarded maybe the gluten got discarded too? I am only guessing on this, so if you are gluten intolerant, please ask your natural doctor.

Whole barley is not readily available in health food stores. So, I purchased mine from gold mine natural foods . I chose the buffalo black barley because it is an heirloom variety.

November 2007

I have been thinking just recently, that the carb content of barley, must be the reason that it helps you to gain weight. Grain is used to fatten up cows for market. I also think this barley water must have gluten in it, if barley has gluten. I think the reason that I was not bothered by the barley water was because, I have trouble with grains (due to my hypoglycemia), and am probably not gluten intolerant, per se.

Powers of the Taheebo tree

It is supposed to strengthen the liver, and be good for lots of other stuff, like infections, candida, cancer and parasites.

If you choose to try it, make it weak. Full strength, it can be too strong for folks like us. I make it with 1 teaspoon to 4 cups of water and low boil it for 20 minutes then take off heat an let sit for 1/2- 1 hour and strain. I drink room temp as it is supposed to be more effective this way. It can make you very tired due to de-tox effects, so start slow.

I only used this a few years ago when my candida was acting up. I stopped using it when it began to make me loose weight. That is the last thing I need. I drank it daily for a few months.

The quality of the tea is so bad in health food stores, that is is totally ineffective, so look here to find a good source Purchasing notes...for Pau D'Arco (taheebo) .

Tongue Diagnosis - Al Stone L. A. C.
- an introduction to how to diagnose health problems by looking at your tongue

Fingernail Diagnosis - Care2
- nails reflect the condition of the inner body

Diseases that show up in the fingernails - Essortment
- "our fingernails are a window to our bodies' health"

What your face says about your health - Bebest (archived)
- face diagnosis

Chinese Face Reading - Positive Health
- face diagnosis

January 2, 2009

How to Perform Muscle Testing - Allergy Scape
This site shows you how to muscle test for allergies.

Kinesiology - How it Can Work, How it is Often Misused - MCS Allergy Help
How to test yourself for allergies.

April 8, 2009

Interactive reflexology maps of feet and hands - Dorling Kindersley Book
Maps of hand and feet.

I believe if the area indicated by the map is painful, there is a problem with the corresponding organ. Most areas of my feet used to be painful if pressed on that area. Now, hardly any areas are. To me that indicates that my health is improving. I guess I am doing something right.

Pulse Diagnosis - Institute for Traditional Medicine
"Pulse diagnosis is one of the original set of four diagnostic methods that are described as an essential part of traditional Chinese medical practice"

Urine Diagnosis - Wrong Diagnosis
Medical conditions associated with different urine colors

Body Diagnosis - Dog Woman Blog
Body Diagnosis - hands, nails, skin, mouth, gums, eyes, throat, heart, legs

In the United states Chinese doctors mostly perform acupuncture. This is sad. I don't feel this the best way to help a patient. I tried it. It can be relaxing, reduce pain and allergies, temporarily (for a few hours or sometimes days). Acupuncture seems to block symptoms much like drugs do.

The underlying problem should be found and addressed. Because regular and alternative doctors are unwilling or unable to help us, we are left to try to diagnose ourselves, like with methods in this section. Every once in a while I check my state of health using body diagnosis. I am doing a lot better. Mostly what I have done to accomplish this, is to eat better, and get plenty of sleep.

I believe that going down the wrong road has lead me down the road to illness. I feel by selecting better paths now, will send me on a journey to wellness. It has been a rocky road, but I am healing, slowly. I hope, some of my discoveries, might help you too.


PROBLEM:
When I was a baby and child, I suffered from almost daily leg pain, that the doctors could never figure out, ear, hearing problems, lots of horrible colds, nose bleeds, and I was a fussy eater, probably due to unknown food allergies.

Wrong Path #1

1. antibiotics
2. aspirin
3. ear tubes
4. tonsils out
5. leg braces

1. more aspirin
2. more antibiotics
3. cough medicine with codeine for 2 months
4. not fond of fast food, but learned to eat it

1. allergy medicine
2. paxil
3. chiropractor
4. aspirin

1. more antibiotics
2. they doubled my zoloft
3. food based supplements by way of a natural nutrition doctor

1. valium
2. neurontin
3. aspirin
4. neck brace
5. more chiropractic

1. more chiropractic
2. neck brace
3. TMJ splint
4. acupuncture
5. NAET allergy treatments
6. thought field therapy
7. NET (neuro emotional technique)
8. aspirin and tylenol alternating every 2 hours
9. physical therapy
10. colon, liver, and kidney cleanses
11. colonics

1. ditched all the doctors (traditional and alternative)
2. ditched all prescription drugs. (except the zoloft. I will taper off that soon)
3. ditched all over the counter drugs (namely pain killers)
4. ditched all processed food and supplements (not that I could tolerate them at this point anyway)
5. I get rolfed when my muscles are tight and after dental appointments.
6. I only eat Real food.

   pasture raised beef, organic beets, green beans, broccoli, peas, winter squash, spring water, home made beef broth, and sea salt
   (would eat more foods but allergies and digestion problems prevent it at this time)

1. I rarely have any pain, but I do get a little stiff sometimes (pain, a sign of poor circulation)
2. My scoliosis has improved --(My shoulders are even and I have almost no back or neck pain.)
3. My mood has improved (mood reflects liver health)
4. My muscles are no longer flabby
5. I gained the weight that I so desperately needed to gain. (up to 112 now)
6. I rarely get infections or colds
7. I do not get nose bleeds as often
8. I am not thoroughly exhausted all the time
9. I rarely have reflux (for me reflux is a sign of constipation)
10. My body is warmer
11. My feet no longer hurt all the time
12. I rarely get facial acne
13. My digestion is a lot better
14. BM's are better
15. My hair is growing back in since I stopped neurontin
16. I have gained the fat in my face that I lost tapering off neurontin
17. My skin tone and color is better (skin and hair reflects state of health)
18. My eyes are clearer
19. My vision is a little better (poor vision a sign of liver problems)
20. My lips are returning (thin lips means poor digestion)
21. The darkness between my lips and nose is going away (dark upper lip area, sign of poor digestion)
22. The acne on my back gone! (back acne, a sign of liver problems)
23. Way fewer rashes

1. MCS
2. food allergies
3. depression - much less (depression sign of poor liver health)
4. anxiety - not much though
5. obsessiveness - it is much less now
6. hypoglycemia - seems worse (hypoglycemia - adrenal glands weak)
7. insomnia - but much better now (insomnia - poor liver health)
8. hearing problems when background noise is present (poor hearing - weak kidneys)
9. buzzing noise in ears
10. poor peripheral vision in the right eye
11. poor eye coordination
12. memory problems - a little better now (poor memory - poor liver health)
13. confusion at times, but much less
14. receding gums - does not seem to be getting any worse (caused by neurontin and toxic body)
15. sensitive teeth - almost gone (caused by receding gums)
16. fast growing plaque (caused by neurontin)
17. rashes (caused by weak immune system)
18. constipation - not constant
19. fatigue - sometimes worse than others
20. I lost the moons on my fingernails - but not my thumbnails (no moons - weak thyroid)
21. Half my eyebrows are missing (a sign of weak thyroid)
22. Puffy under my eyes (a kidney thing)
23. Peripheral Neuropathy type symptoms
    Parts of my body go numb or are in pain, if I sleep on a seam or a sheet wrinkle
    I get nauseous
    I get very cold
    These symptoms started after I started neurontin

I'm still on zoloft, so still have the same symptoms to overcome.

2009 - age 47

Here's the Good News:

I have added the following to my diet: rutabaga, carrots, and an occasional cooked radish. When my garden is producing, I also eat, fresh black eyed peas, lima beans, wax beans. I can't eat these beans dried or canned, and they are not available fresh or frozen.


Here's the Bad News:

1. My hair is falling again since I began tapering off zoloft in January 2009.
2. I am also having back acne and strange dreams, which is also related to the zoloft taper.

I fell from a ladder in October of 2007. I sprained and strained muscle in both feet. I was unable to walk for 6 weeks. This fall caused more than pain.

1. My outdoor allergies are horrible. I had to start using a cotton face mask. It helps but only a little.
2. Each night I get post nasal drip if I even went outside for a moment that day.
3. I wake with rashes on my chest over my sinuses and sometimes my whole body itches.
4. Takes till 1 AM or so to fall asleep.
5. I can't seem to wake up before 10:30-11:00 AM, and sometimes at late as noon.
6. Increased allergies are causing my nose to bleed.
7. Digestion seems slower now
8. Trouble reading at night

My feet stopped hurting about November 2008 so I hope that means my body in now not so stressed so maybe my added symptoms will take a hike.

I believe processed food and medications are the major cause of MCS. Once weakened by poor nutrition and toxic drugs, the body is much more susceptible to the toxic chemicals the world throws our way. I believe this is why when exposed to the same chemicals, once person will get terribly ill and the other will seem unaffected.


Once I was weakened by processed foods, prescription and over the counter drugs, I was made worse by:

Man made chemicals in pesticides, cleaning potions, and personal care products
Not drinking enough pure water
Lack of exercise
Not enough sunshine
Not getting enough sleep
Dental work
Minor surgeries
Supplements
Eating food I did not know I was allergic to
Having a baby when too weak to do so - it drained me
Concussion

I slammed my finger in a car door, then I got tired and tried to lay down, but did not make it to the couch, (was trying to make it to the bed) and I fell head first into the corner of the coffee table. This is what my daughter tells me. I don't remember anything between the feeling tired and waking up a minute later on the floor. The day after the concussion, I was allergic to almost all foods!

Four car accidents in a row - I never had time to heal between accidents
Colon, kidney, parasite, candida, gall bladder cleansing
Colonics
More stress than I am capable of handling, given my depression, and weakened state .

Basically anything that depletes the body further. (poor nutrition, illness, injury, stress, and toxins)

1. water
2. sleep
3. exercise
4. sunshine
5. food
6. avoidance of supplements
7. avoidance of all drugs updated October 9, 2009

• getting off zoloft
  and
• mercury fillings

In June 2004, I started to drink Mountain Valley Spring Water in glass bottles, instead of filtered water from BYOB Water Stores . I think Mountain Valley Spring Water tastes great! The first few days, it was like I could not get enough of this water. It was like this was what my body was looking for all along and it was making up for lost time. But I did level off after a while and now drink normal amount. The same thing happened to my husband. He drank a lot of it at first too. But now he thinks the water tastes too minerally for him and went back to the filtered water. I think this is common. Deficient people need minerally water and the more robust folks need the cleansing qualities of filtered water.

I have read to avoid drinking distilled water, because it is toxic to the body. I think this is because it is totally devoid of minerals and leaches them from your body. Not good!

May 2008

Here are some articles about the dangers of drinking distilled water:

Early Death Comes from Drinking Distilled Water
Miraculous Messages from Water - scroll down to see a picture of ugly distilled water.

Personally, I think even filtered water is depleting to the body. Even my husband, who used to like BYOB filtered water, is now drinking tap water. I have been told that filtered water is dead.

Back in 1997 I brought two bottles of water to be muscle tested at my kinesiologist. I did not label (except with a 1 and a 2 so I knew which was which) either bottle so he would not know which was which. I did not look while he tested so I did not know either. The highly filtered BYOB water tested weak for me, and the tap water tested strong. I was not going to drink "Tap" water! So I continued to drink the empty water. I should have listened to my body, and stopped drinking the filtered water. In 1999, I began to drink "Rain fresh" brand water, after I tasted it my acupuncturist. It is reverse osmosis water with added oxygen, so still an empty dead water. We switched to mountain valley spring water, after we moved and rain fresh was no longer available. The water tastes great! It may take a while for my body to remineralize after 7 years of drinking dead water.

The earth provides water with the minerals a body needs, so I believe that is the best way to drink it. It is too bad that most don't have access to fresh mountain streams. If you can not afford spring water, it might be beneficial to add a touch of sea salt to your water so you can at least be getting some electrolytes when you drink. Add the salt according to taste, your body will tell your when it is the right amount. Salted water has a softer feel in my mouth. I like it a lot better.

Given a choice, my dog prefers rain water, to tap, filtered or even spring water. Animals are usually wiser than we are. My potted plants and veggie garden also prefers rain water. Maybe one day I will take my dog's advice and get some rain barrels.

Country Water Action: Thailand Promoting Rainwater Harvesting, Preserving Rainwater Jar Culture
We have asphalt shingles, so roof collection would not be a great idea.

Recently, I discovered that I was not getting enough water. I thought that I was drinking plenty of water, but the only thing it seemed to accomplish was to make me pee. So I drank less, to see if I felt less tired and weak. I felt terrible. So I tried something else. Instead of drinking a full glass of water at a time when I felt thirsty, I drink 1/2 a glass at a time. Oh my gosh, all the difference in the world. Now, I digest my food way better and I am not running to the bathroom all the time. I think drinking too much at once was upsetting my electrolyte balance. My kidneys were very busy dumping water to make things right again, and I was still dehydrated.

I found that drinking a full glass of water when I first get up (sleep is dehydrating, and so is taking a bath) is very helpful. I read in these articles

summary of the book: Your Body's Many Cries For Water
Profound Life-Giving Therapeutic Himalayan Crystal Salt - Shirley's wellness cafe

that salt and water are needed to make Hydrochloric acid (HCL) for the body to make HCL, which is needed for digestion. I avoid drinking for at least 1 hour after meals so that HCL is not diluted. After supper, I try not to drink to much water after supper because I found it is hard on my kidneys to drink at night. Each person needs a different amount of water to to feel well, so use your own body as a guide. When the weather is hot, or I am more active, I drink more water than usual. When I garden, I get so tired and sometimes lightheaded. I find if I drink water while I am outside, I feel a lot better.


Sleep The liver cleans the blood between 1-3 AM each night and the gallbladder is the most active from 11 pm - 1 AM. The blood is cleansed by the liver all the time, but at night it is really focused on this task, by moving a large volumes of blood to the liver. It is best to eat at 6 pm or before, and here is why: After food is ingested, it takes 3 hours (5 hours or more if you eat a large meal or you have slow digestion) for the food to leave the stomach, then 3 more hours to move from the small intestines to the large intestines. Now that puts us at midnight. If we add one more hour for slow digestion and we are now at 1 AM. If food is consumed after 6 PM, the liver thinks: "you want me to digest your food tonight, not clean your blood". Among the many tasks the liver performs, the liver creates digestive enzymes. Plus, when food is eaten, more blood will go to the intestines to help the intestines digest the food. Now, the blood it is supposed to be in the liver isn't it? If the body is busy digesting your food when you should be sleeping, you will not get much sleep. Because the body needs to be sleeping to do its best job of de-toxing, I try to be in bed by 10 PM.

A wealth of information on how the liver functions, the cause of food allergies, and a few other things like that can be found at this site:   www.sensiblehealth.com

I did try the cleanses that are on her site, but they made me loose too much weight, 30 pounds, and I was only 123 lbs to begin with. I spent the next year, trying to put it back on.

I now believe, that the way to health for me ,is not in various cleanses, which tear down the body, but in a chemical-free whole food diet which will build up my body. The liver uses saturated fats and animal proteins to de-tox. They are also use to build and repair the body. In my opinion, I am malnourished and cleanses make a person more so, especially if painfully thin.

The body regenerates at night. It performs tasks such as: repairing damaged cells, growth in children, reorganizing memories, resting the brain and muscles, as well as de-toxing the blood and cells. It is important to sleep during the night not during the day (like if you are a night owl and go to bed at midnight or later) because these functions occur naturally at night.

May 2008

After reading Doctor Wilson's book called Adrenal Exhaustion, I also try to lay down in the afternoon to recharge my batteries, which are getting quite low at this time. I don't feel tired at this time, but when I lay down, I feel like saying ahhhh.

I remember when I quit working to be an at home mommy (about 18 years ago), I thought the best part of not working, is to be able to lay down when ever I wanted to. Gee wiz, you would think I could think of a better reason. I guess I have had adrenal exhaustion (eastern medicine calls it: kidney yang deficiency ) for a long, long time.


Updated July 2005

Exercise helps to move the blood, thus bringing more nutrients and oxygen to the cells. It also moves the lymph fluid. The lymph fluids have no pump like the blood does. Exercise also causes deep breathing, allows sounder sleep, builds muscle, improves mood, increases physical stamina, and assists in digestion and elimination functions. The liver and kidneys will filter the blood of more toxins if the blood is moving.

Stagnation of the body fluids is much like a scummy pond that does not flow. The body has 5 organs devoted to ridding itself of toxins: the skin, lungs, liver, kidneys and the bowels. In the Chemically Sensitive, the bowel, the liver and the kidneys do not work so well anymore, so exercising is all the more important. Excessive exercise can be harmful though. It can deplete the body of vitamin A and fats, which are needed for energy and de-toxing. I also believe that most of us with MCS are malnourished, due to much of our nourishment going to de-tox functions. So, we must be very careful not to overdo things. I often overdo and I do pay the price, mostly with exhaustion and depression. Here are some symptoms of malnutrition

I used to go to the chiropractor at least 1-2 times a week until he ticked me off one last time! (there is a point here, really) He said, "If you would do something about your problem (MCS) then maybe you would improve!". So I did. I stopped going to all doctors (except the dentist)! I am the boss of my own healing now, and I think I am doing a much better job of it.

I have tried so many therapies, most of which did not help, or made things worse.

Here's the list

orthopedic doctors (leg braces as a child)
md's (antibiotics, aspirin)
stomach doctor (stomach meds)
arthritis doctor (he gave me a huge bag of pain pill samples and said find out which one works, jerk!)
chiropractors (thousands of adjustments, neck traction, orthotics, neck brace, X-rays and more X-rays)
trigger point therapy
psychiatrists (antidepressants, thought field therapy, EMDR)
environmental doctor (P&N testing, homeopathics, vitamins)
nutrition doctor (vitamins, acidophilus, flax oil, flax seeds, homeopathics, parasites herbs)
hydrogen peroxide therapy
acupuncture (NAET, pain therapy, NET)
counseling
supplements of my own choosing
iridology (more for diagnosing problems by looking at the eyes)
herbs
dentists (got mercury fillings out, cavitation surgery)
color therapy box
massage to relieve pain
TMJ dentist (TMJ splint)
ion generator
physical therapy
liver, colon, parasite and kidney cleansing - Lost 10 lbs with liver cleanse, and 10 more with kidney cleanse. (I did not need to loose weight!)
chi machine
barley water to gain weight - gained 12 pounds in 3 months doing this - barley water recipe
rolfing/cranial sacral - got rid of TMJ pain entirely!
colonics - this made me severely constipated for at least 6 months and weakened me terribly
whole food diet - no processed foods at all.
sunshine
exercise - walk and Y-Dan tape
fresh air
spring water in glass
colloidal silver to control systemic overgrown candida - temporary use only
taheebo to control candida - temporary use only

The items in bold, I feel helped me.

Y-DAN   is a series of gentle stretching exercises I do in the morning before breakfast. Sleeping is dehydrating, so I drink 1-2 glasses of water (that how much I loose after visiting the bathroom in the morning) first. A lot goes on while we sleep. The liver cleans the blood all day, but more so at night, so up to 70% of the blood is in the liver between 1-3 am. This is part of the reason we need covers at night. (melatonin also cools the body) The blood warms the body. Doing Y-Dan will help to get the blood circulating again. When I am cold, I move around and I feel warmer. In addition, exercise encourages bowel movements, by exercising the bowels. Since morning is nature's time to eliminate, this is a good time to exercise. Eating breakfast first would just shove more food down there and bowels move better when not compacted.

Sometimes I am kinda pale in the morning, but after I do the tape, I usually get my color back and do not feel so sluggish and stiff. It also seems to help my mood. If I am still pale, I know it is time to get rolfed. If I skip just one day of the Y-Dan, I am so stiff and if I skip two days, then the constant pain that I used to have, returns, and the next time I do Y-Dan it is painful to do.

Actually, now I can skip a few days and the pain does not return. I must be getting better. But I do get constipated and sometimes depressed, when I skip too many days.

I learned Y-Dan very slowly. I had had 4 car accidents in the period of 2 years, so I was in quite a bit of pain. Even just putting my arms above my head was painful. I only added about 2 movements (exercises) a week, and ended up skipping those that were just too painful or exhausting, and stopped when I got too tired to go on.

As time went by, I could do more and more of the movements without so much pain and fatigue. And I eventually added the movements that were just too painful to do before. If putting my arms over my head was painful, I just raised them as high as I could get them. There is this one exercise where I had to touch the floor with my fist, yea right! I just went as far as I could get and one day, low and behold, I did it, I touched the floor. I could not even do that as kid!

I believe Y-Dan is helping to improve my scoliosis. I have no more pain, unless I skip the y-dan for a few days. My shoulders are now even, and my head no longer tilts to one side.

When the weather allows and I feel up to it (emotionally and physically), I take a walk in the sun. Sometimes I just go around the block and other times I end up walking 20 minutes. I find I feel so much better if I have gotten outside that day, even just for a short time.


Sunshine feeds every cell of the body and it is nature's de-toxifier.

The sun helps the body to: regenerate the cells of the eyes, energize the body, improve the mood, kill cancer cells, make serotonin, melatonin (melatonin is made from serotonin in response to darkness), make vitamin D and makes plants grow. It can help us in much the same way that it helps the plants to grow and the outside air to smell fresh.

We need at least 1 hour of unfiltered sunshine a day to stay healthy. It is very important to avoid sunscreen, sunglasses and prescription glasses while outside, because all these block UV rays. We have been told that UV rays are harmful, but consider the source - the sunscreen and sunglasses companies!

I think 1 hour is probably optimum, but if I get out for only 5 minutes, it is way better than no time at all. I have noticed that walking in the sun is way more effective than just laying out in the sun. Maybe if I just sit in the sun the vitamin "S" (vitamin sunshine) just stagnates on the surface and if I move around, the sun finds its way into the cells. I know it is not just the exercise that makes me feel better, since I do not feel near as good if I walk after dark.

The best time to grab some beneficial UV is between 10am and 2pm (more UV rays then) That might be a great time to grab only 5-10 minutes to avoid that sunburn, and sweating half to death if you live in a place like Texas as I do. To assist the pineal gland to make its hormones, the sunlight must enter the eyes. For the cholesterol in the skin to make vitamin D, the skin must be uncovered. Making enough vitamin D through sun exposure in many parts of the world is not possible, especially if you have dark skin, so best to look for a good dietary source, such as cod liver oil.

May 2008

I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and trouble sleeping. I have found early morning sun, is very effective in helping me to be less depressed during the day and to sleep better at night. I think it is because the sunlight is a different color in the morning. The reason does not really matter. Morning sun also helps that left over morning melatonin, (making me still sleepy), turn into serotonin, so I feel more awake. Nice warm dandelion root tea also makes me feel better.

updated - April 10, 2009

We have installed, an electronic balist and full spectrum lights in the kitchen. The new lights do not have a flicker and don't hum at all. I appreciate that, but was hoping it would help me with my depression, but it hasn't.


A few good sources of the health benefits of the sun can be found in these 2 books:

Health and Light - John Ott
Light: Medicine of the Future - Jacob Liberman

and the following articles:

Full Spectrum Light: Energy and Health Builder - PPNF
"Sun phobia arose after investigators anesthetized animals, propped their eyes open and shined intense UV light into them. There was retinal damage. "

Sun - Friend or Foe? - Dr. Craig Reese (archived)

"Ultraviolet light needs to pass through our eyes so that the pineal and pituitary glands are stimulated which helps in the production of important hormones like Serotonin and Melatonin. "

April 10, 2009

Healing Cancer With Light - Healing Cancer Naturally
"Light is the basic component from which all life originates, evolves, and is energized. Light and health are inseparable. Because we have managed to disconnect ourselves from the sources of light with our fluorescent lights, indoor lifestyles, glasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, tanning lotions, flesh foods, processed foods and even cooked vegetarian diets, many of us suffer from chronic “mal-illumination.” Like malnutrition, “mal-illumination” deprives us of a level of nutrients and rhythmic stimulation that is essential for living as fully healthy humans."

Facts of Light - Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
- "Light is like food. The wrong kind can make us ill and the right kind can keep us healthy."

Seeing the Light - Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
- "...stories of spontaneous remissions from cancer, achieved soon after patients threw away their sunglasses or tinted lenses and soaked up the healing rays of the sun."

Healing Power of Sunlight - Shirley's Wellness Cafe
- "The sun is the source of energy for all plants, and indirectly, for all animals. If the sun causes cancer, man wouldn't be here today. Contrary to popular belief, sunbathing actually helps heal cancer of the skin while sunblock increases cancer risk. "

Full Spectrum Sunlight and Inner Health - Second Opinions
"There are neurochemical channels from the retina to the pineal and pituitary glands, the master glands of the whole endocrine system that controls the production and release of hormones. This regulates your body chemistry and its growth, all organs of your body, including your brain, and how they function."

Health Benefits of UltraViolet Light - Jaguar Enterprises
"A study published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet and a Russian study found fluorescent light rather than sunlight promotes melanoma, proportionately to the time of exposure."

Medical Benefits Supporting the practice of Suryayog (archived)
"Sunlight speeds the elimination of toxic chemicals, including metals and pesticides. "

John Ott, light pioneer - Find Articles
"...when a drop of human blood is placed on an ultraviolet transmitting microscope slide and then placed directly in front of a video display terminal for five minutes, it will cause long-chain clumping of the red blood cells... "...

"...we think this problem is due to the magnetic fields magnetizing the iron in the hemoglobin, causing them to have a polarity that makes them line up just like a bunch of little magnets. "However, we find that getting the person outdoors or seating them directly in front of our full-spectrum lighting with ultraviolet reverses the condition. The ultraviolet seems to be an important factor in breaking up this clumping."

Athlete's Foot, Toenail Fungus, and Similar Repugnant Topics - Doctor Yourself
"When we were finished with our swimming lessons, we were a lot dirtier than we ever got at the "Y." We sat on the ground in the sun and quickly put our socks, without time to dry our feet, before catching the bus back to camp. No disinfectant in sight, just the occasional cow cookie.

Immediately that summer, my athlete's foot went away.

Looking back, I think it was the sunlight that did it. Fungi in general and athlete's foot fungi in particular love shade. When we swam outside and dressed outside, the sun got to our toes. Sunlight did what sanitation couldn't. "


Updated March 1, 2005

Processed food, feed-lot meat and dairy and all chemically grown food are the #1 way to illness I believe. Well, it is a toss up between that and prescription drugs. More on those later.

When we got internet access, I hunted for a connection to all my problems. I knew there was a reason and a connection, I just had to find it. I lived on the internet a few years until finally I put it all together, especially after I ran into the The Weston A Price Foundation Site in 2001. This site has so much great info, that I decided to purchase a book written by the founder of the Weston A Price Foundation. Sally Falon's book, Nourishing Traditions , has done a great deal for me to help me in my journey to be well. Part of the book contains recipes for whole non food industry foods, but the first part is devoted to dispelling the myths of the food industry in an entertaining style. Much of this same information is located on the website, but I have trouble sitting at the computer for long periods of time. It makes me sorta dizzy, irritable, and keeps me from sleeping at night.

I discovered that the food industry has been very busy brainwashing us for its own purposes. They have been lying to us since they learned to develop fake foods. They tell us to eat, lots and lots of processed grain, no saturated fats but to use canola oil and margarine instead, etc. Truth being, we should eat the exact opposite: plenty of saturated fats in the form of animal fat such as butter, cream, whole milk, fats and fatty meats from pasture raised animals. Coconut oil, and palm oil being saturated fats are good but the vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, canola, and soy oils are bad. Olive oil is high in mono unsaturated fats, so I believe it to be a compromise. I can't tolerate it though. They suggest soaking all whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds to remove phytic acid and to avoid white flours, white rice, and soy (high levels of anti nutrients and plant estrogens. Excessive estrogen makes little girls develop at extremely early ages like 8 years old. It sometimes does not let boys mature at all.). Soy is not meant for man or beast.

The Weston A Price Foundation, along with its newsletter   Wise Traditions   are non profit so they can be free to be totally honest about dispelling the myths of the toxic food industry. In June 2001 (now age 40), I began to eat eat whole foods in their natural state. I am unable to eat all the things that are mentioned in the Nourishing Traditions book, due to my food allergies. I actually eat closer to a caveman diet. I eat lots of meat, veggies, but no milk, grains, fruit, nuts or seeds. Each person has their own tolerance for things like milk and grains. I think it depends on how worn out your adrenal glands are. Mine is shot. Probably from all that sweet tea and zoloft. Antidepressants are stimulants. Stimulants are very bad for the adrenals.

Updated June, 2005

Animal fat has the cholesterol (and other types of fats) that your body is craving. Your body is made up of cholesterol and will make it if you do not eat it. It makes it even if you do eat it. This is why if you stop eating fat you crave bread. The body can make cholesterol from carbs and sugars. But carbs tend to hang around as fat. More on this in this article More Proof Good Fats Help You Drop Weight

In the past, it seemed that, sometimes no matter how much I ate I didn't feel satisfied. I rarely have that problem now. I add quite a bit of the fat which rises to the top of my broth, back to my soups. When making my broth, I try to not to let it boil. If it gets too hot the broth will not jelly up after cooling it in the refrigerator. Adding fat makes the soup taste a lot better, and I am eat less since my hunger is satisfied earlier.

I do feel that a big part of my improvement is due to abandoning all processed foods (even processed organic food) and factory farmed meats. Factory farming is not only inhumane to the animals it is inhumane to us. You are what you eat and you are what your animals eat as well. If your animals eat grain laced with antibiotics, hormones, meat from other animals that died of disease, chicken dung, municipal garbage, feathers, cardboard, restaurant grease, expired grocery store food stuffs, and bubble gum including the foil wrappers, then that is all in the meat, and you are eating all that too. Since the animals get very ill on these horrible diets, the meat is far from nutritious. Many of the animals can not even walk because they are so weak!

Actually, factory raised animals are expected to be sick! The human way of raising animals is to let them eat from pasture that way they were designed to. Ruminants (grass eating animals) get very ill on grain. They can't digest it, and many of the cattle die due to this. The feedlots have to give the animals tons of antibiotics, antacids and other meds to try to keep them alive long enough until slaughter. The meat lady I get my pasture raised meat from, said "if they kept the feedlot animals for about 1 more month, they would all die. They just can't survive on what they are feeding them."

I purchase my pasture raised beef, lamb, chicken and eggs from local ranchers at

Burgundy Pasture Beef  and  PaiDom Meats

Locating non feed-lot meat, and raw dairy is not as hard as it used to be, one only has to visit   Eat Wild   and   Real Milk   to locate a source anywhere in the United States and Canada. I get my organic produce from my local health food store. Well, actually, my wonderful hubby now does this for me, because some of the employees and other customers wear cologne, and because of the scented petro chemical products in the cleaning, personal care isle are noxious.

The health food store is generally not a safe place to buy personal care and cleaning products. The products may have names like green this or organic that, but if you check the ingredients you will find a whole bunch of no nos from the Toxic Chemical Lists . Many of the health food stores are being bought out by the same folks that own the toxic old grocery stores. This is such bad news. This puts in danger our ability to purchase non toxic food and other products.

I can only give you the tip of the iceberg on all the things that are out there on a good traditional diet. Here are a few links so you can really understand what the processed food industry would rather you did not know!

Weston A Price Foundation

Low cholesterol: overlooked health risks

The Paleiolithic Diet - contains an alternative food pyramid

Introduction to the Palio Diet (caveman diet)

Guts and Grease: The Diet of Native Americans
- Has a picture of a beautiful Navajo Native American

Factory Farm Project


Updated April 2, 2005

Supplements can seem to help in the short run, but even if made from natural ingredients, natural vitamins contain chemical fillers and preservatives. If you want to know about all the yucky stuff that goes into most of your "natural" supplements read   Dietary Supplements - What the Industry Does Not Want You to Know .

Supplements are fractioned foods. Fractioned foods are those no longer in their whole natural state, for example: egg whites, white flour, white sugar (is separated from the food it came from), brown sugar (it is mostly white sugar), corn syrup, white rice, fruit juice (missing the pulp), powdered milk (missing the fat), low fat and skim milk, veggie juice, most supplements except maybe cod liver oil (it's whole), and anything from the food industry in the form of processed food.

Processed food consists of almost anything in a bag, box, jar, bottle or can. Processed food has been so manipulated that it is not really food anymore. The body does not know what to do with fractioned foods, but it does the best it can. If sugar is ingested, the body will need to steal from something else that than was eaten to digest the sugar. If an organic apple is eaten, everything needed to digest the apple is in that apple. Nature really knows best. More on fractioned foods can be found in the book   Nourishing Traditions

I took supplements for two years under the guidance of a natural nutrition doctor, and although they seemed to help at first, in the long run, I felt so much worse. Supplements can create vitamin/mineral imbalances. Personally, I developed allergies to many of them. So, I have turned to food to heal me as I have found herbs to be much too strong for me. Herbs should only be used short term anyway. They can also create imbalances in the body if used too long. I use herbs rarely, but when I do, I will boil them as a tea, so I can control their strength. I believe, herbs in pill form, are more like a processed food.

Man can not even come close to guessing the amounts of vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Why guess, just eat organic, biodynamic, or pastured animals in their natural state and you will do a lot better than mega dosing on vitamins. Some chemically raised oranges have been found to have no vitamin "C". The crops will only contain nutrients that the soil contains and chemicals deplete the soil. So, I am not sure what is worse, what the chemically raised produce has in it, or what it does not, namely nutrients.

Unfortunately, even organic foods can be low in nutrients, if it is not grown in a sustainable way. I read that produce that tastes the best, ends up being the most nutrient dense. So seek out sources of fresh produce, and compare the taste. A man in an article which I read, used a brix meter to test quality, but his grandkid's, taste buds were just as good an indicator. The kids liked the foods best that were highest in brix, not even knowing the brix numbers.

The Pottenger cat study, proved that cat dung from cats that were fed processed foods, produced sickly beans, verses the healthy bean plants from cats fed a optimum diet (for cats) of raw meat and raw dairy. Some compost and manure products at the garden store are pasteurized, thus killing everything bad and all the good guys too. Micro-organisms in the soil make the plants healthy.

In my garden, I use a notil method. Digging in the soil upsets all the little critters down there. I use no sprays or fertilizers. I allow the weeds to add nutrients to the soil. The weeds are beneficial in many ways so I don't pull them up. They shade the cultivated crops, which is very useful here in Texas. They also keep humidity higher, close to the ground, by respiration. Humidity is low here. The roots of the weeds go much deeper than the cultivated crops. The roots of the food crops follow the weed's roots down to a much deeper level, so the crops don't need to be watered as often. The weed roots also share their nutrients with the food crops. Beneficial bacteria live on roots. The plants feed these bacteria, and in gratitude the bacteria share energy and food with the plants (weeds and crops). The weeds mine minerals from deep down and share this with the crops. I find the less I do for my garden, the healthier it is. Nature is a much better gardener than we are. During the world wars, gardens were largely neglected. The men were at war, and the women were building weapons. The interesting thing was, under all those weeds, they found the biggest crop ever. I kept reading stuff like that. I have found blogs to say things like, "despite all the weeds the crops are producing like crazy." I began to think; maybe it is not despite the weeds, but because of them!

I guess the point is, organic is not good enough. Many organic farms use all sorts of sprays labeled organic. Many are really over processed chemicals that may have started as a plant, but are now far from it. What we really need is more mixed small family farms. Mixed, means, that the farm raises both animals and food crops. The food crops are not mono cultures of one vegetable. This is bad for the crop and attracts insects and disease. If crops are diseased, then we eat those crops, guess what happens.

Prescription and over the counter drugs are made from petro chemicals (that is a polite way of saying motor oil), and are usually so concentrated to the point of being toxic. There are a few biological prescription drugs, but they are a rare exception. Even if natural, they often contain chemical preservatives and fillers, and also common allergens such as: lactose, corn, and soy but in any event they are all fractioned.

A lifetime of using antibiotics for my numerous ear and throat infections (probably caused by pasteurized milk!), aspirin almost daily for childhood leg pain (probably caused by the antibiotics) and finally antidepressants for the depression the other toxic drugs caused, has played a big part in my MCS. I no longer take either aspirin or antibiotics and I am trying desperately to get off the antidepressants. Since 1999, I have slowly been tapering off the antidepressants.

Some would say that antidepressants are not addictive, but anyone that has ever tried coming off them either all at once or very slowly, knows that is just not so! The withdrawal symptoms can be severe and even dangerous, especially if one has been on SSRI's as long as I have, 15 years. Because of antidepressant's EXTREMELY addictive nature, the longer one takes them, the harder they are to come off. When I tell folks of the dangers of these drugs, They assure me, that I am wrong, so as always, I have a few links to back up my words.

Addicted by Prescription
Adverse SSRI Reactions - while still taking them
Serotonin and the Pineal Gland - How SSRI's really work. It's not what you think.

link (and my babbling about it) - added July 20, 2005

Citizens Commission on Human Rights - "Psychiatry Industry of Death. Enter at your own risk."

I feel like I died a long time ago. Suicide is bad, but what seems to be neglected in the SSRI controversy is the living dead: drug induced zombies these toxic drugs create. The psychiatric industry is like the drug cartel in that, it wants all of us hooked for life, and cares little (I mean not at all) for our lives or happiness. I am very upset at the president for closing his eyes to this. I know he has his hands full, but umm.. Folks are suffering here. You are concentrating on the wrong war. Big pharma is killing and maiming plenty of folks here at home! Wake up! Ok, I don't usually get political, but write to President Obama (in a nice way), your congressman, senators, governor, and anyone else in the position of power to stop this, and don't stop until this madness ends. A huge fund needs to be set up to allow folks to find a non drug way to taper and heal from this evil drugs. No new Psych. prescriptions should ever be written. The current addicted people should of course be directed to a proven non-drug way to get off, and allowed enough of these drugs to safely get off. Then the psych. drug factories should all be burned and the owners of these companies incarcerated, or at least made to pay for treatment of all suffering at the hands of these drug pushers. In the meantime, if no one, I mean no one ever allows a loved one to get put on these drugs, and assists their loved ones in finding them a way to taper off these drugs, the psych. drug cartel will have to shut down.

Useful information on how to taper is hard to come by, so I will throw a few links your way along with a few things I have learned on my journey.

The Book, The Antidepressant Solution gives suggestions on things you can do, to help you to survive getting off the antidepressants. It is great except the speed in which he suggests that you taper. He suggests tapering by 1/4 each time, putting you drug free in about 4 months. If you read the book, none of his examples with real patients took the drug longer than about 2-12 months. If you have been on an SSRI for a short time like that, maybe you could try that, but I would definitely not recommend it for long time users like me. I have been on various prescribed mind altering drugs for 13 years. Coming off for me, has been a sort of a living nightmare.

Here are some sites that offer help on getting off this crud:

Tapering Off SSRI/SNSI) AntiDepressants - antidepressantsfacts.com
quitpaxil.info - personal stories with SSRI withdrawal
SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome - bipolar.about.com
You experienced a negative reaction to an (SSRI/SNRI) Antidepressant, what to do Now? - www.antidepressantsfacts.com
www.paxilprogress.org - a forum to talk about getting off SSRI's

I found a great site on how to get off anti-anxiety drugs, and a little about getting off the antidepressants. Here is that site: Benzodiazepines: How they Work and How to Withdraw She suggests a faster rate or withdraw for antidepressants than the anti-anxiety drugs, but I am not sure that is wise. She also suggests, coming off one drug at a time and to get off the anti-anxieties first. This is because getting off anti-anxieties causes depression and your anti-depression drug will help you through it. I agree with that, but I don't suggest getting on an antidepressant if you are not already taking one! neurontin is not listed as one of the anti-anxieties (Benzodiazepines) but it works by increasing gaba levels, as do the anti-anxieties so following her schedule should work. An herbalist told me neurontin is the hardest drug to come off, harder than even street drugs. If this is so, I have already been through the worst of it.

I have read that antidepressants can cause MCS by using up liver de-tox enzymes, so, I am very motivated to get off them. I have hope that after this toxin (zoloft) is not ingested daily, that my MCS will improve greatly. You see, I did not have MCS before these drugs. I often long for a better time in my life. MCS homebound-ness gets to me at times. I wish I could just sleep through getting off this evil addictive drug, but, I just have to live through all the horrible withdrawal symptoms.

My secret dream is for MCS to completely vanish. I would like to forget these hermit years of my life ever happened.

To the makers of zoloft and all similar drugs, I would say, there is a way to vindicate you from ruining people's lives. You can admit that you messed up and develop and publish (free of charge) a non-drug way to get off these drugs safely without loosing one's mind in the process. If you do these things maybe, just maybe the good Lord will forgive you. And to the Psychiatrists (AKA drugs pushers), there is plenty of proof out there for you to realize that you need to stop poisoning your patients! For your patients that are slaves to these drugs, it is your moral responsibility to help them get off, even though that would mean for you to give up all those drug kickbacks and the special treatment the drug companies are entitling you to. You can be a compassionate person or be a slave to the, "the more money the better" mentality. It is your choice, but know that, for every crime that is committed by a person under the influence of these sorts of drugs, you (the drug makers, and drug pushers) are personally responsible. If they killed someone, you killed them. The song "Amazing Grace" was written by a captain of a slave ship. He looked in the mirror and did not like what he saw. Ironically, drug makers and pushers are captains of slave ships too. Change is possible. Let it begin with you.

All drugs are toxic! They are all made from toxic waste from the oil industry. Isn't it funny how hazardous waste becomes legal and safe if dumped into our medicine, cleaning and personal care products, pesticides, synthetic clothing, fertilizers, etc.? I think plastic must have been invented by a guy at the oil refinery trying to find a way to make toxic waste seem useful. Another interesting fact is, prescription drugs have been found in our water supply. So, if you need birth control, viagra, or antidepressants, you don't need to go to the doctor to get a prescription, Just drink the water! All these have been found in municipal water! Think your city water has been filtered of this stuff, read this article: Drugs in the Water (archived)

Here is my experience with Psychiatric drugs and my long journey getting off them ....

I began to take paxil in 1993 due to severe depression. This drug made me so dang sleepy, I slept all day, and gained 20 pounds. One year later, I was switched to prozac, but this drug made me shake uncontrollably. The doctor that prescribed this for me was on vacation, so only after 2 days on this drug the on call doc (over the phone) took me off this drug. My regular doc came home 1 week later, but in the meantime, I was left to shake in bed with severe withdrawals. Course she just said I was severely depressed. I was then put on zoloft. One year later, after a move from Tennessee to Texas they doubled my zoloft dose to 100 mg a day.

In April 1999, I went off zoloft cold turkey after a series of very stressful things happened to me.

• the cat died
• I was the victim of a crime - attempted kidnapping at gun point
• I had a concussion by landing head first into the corner of the coffee table after fainting from the pain of slamming my finger in the car door. The concussion caused the typical concussion symptoms for about 1 year, like not being able to remember what stuff was called, headaches, fatigue, confusion, panic, obsessive thoughts, depression, vision disturbances, dizziness, etc.
• I had a few mercury fillings removed causing severe mercury de-tox symptoms, including suicidal depression.
• my daughter became a teen and started acting out - nuff said

• Brain shocks (the zaps)
• anxiety
• depression worse than the original depression
• dizziness
• severe confusion
• severe insomnia
• severe constipation
• hearing things
• very loud tinnitus

• anxiety
• Over the top depression
• being paralyzed by severe lack of motivation to do anything
• uncontrollable crying on the the floor
• feeling like I could not go on
• feeling like screaming most of the time
• severe panic attacks which felt like my heart was being squeezed from the inside!
• severe confusion
• severe insomnia
• severe constipation
• very loud tinnitus
• feeling like I was possessed

In October, 1999, I said, enough of trying to be brave, and I ended up in the hospital!

They put me back on zoloft plus even more drugs! Let's see if I can remember them all: serazone, valium, neurontin, elbutrin, and zoloft all at the same time! I started to refuse to take some of them, (serzone caused severe anxiety, and welbutrin caused me to be a zombie) because, on all those drugs, I could not much more than crawl - literally. I am surprised that the toxic drug soup did not kill me. I pretended to be well (I was far from well. I was a pure drug induced zombie), so they let me go home and I had to start all over again, trying to get off this toxic stuff. But now, I had a job ahead of me that was three times worse. Had to start somewhere, so I picked 1 drug and tapered like a good girl this time. I thought I could handle the withdrawals cold turkey before, but I was so wrong. Telling you this is personal, but if it helps just 1 person, not to do what I did, it will be worth it. These additional drugs have made my life a living nightmare.

In November 1999 - almost the minute I got home from the hospital, I started to taper off the valium. It took 2 whole years to get completely off it! I took a well-deserved break from tapering off the poison, (oops, I mean anti-anxiety/antidepressants) for a few months, then I started to taper off neurontin. My husband said I shoulda picked the neurontin to get off first, because he said that it made my whole personality change. He said I stopped talking. And when I did talk I made no sense at all. I wish I had listened. It turned out to be way more addictive. The longer you are on an addictive drug the harder it is to get off. Since it was way more addictive, it took longer to get off, 3 years. It is more addictive due to its shorter half life (2 1/2 hours verses about 1-3 days for the valium). Two down and one to go. Just the zoloft is left. I would love to toss all of the poison in the trash, but this is how I ended up on it in the first place.

In November 2004, I got completely off the neurontin. (I purposely do not capitalize drug names, as they do not deserve the added status!) It was hard but, I am beginning to feel more like me already. The drug robbed me of me! Now, I will only have 1 more drug to go. This one will be the hardest to come off because I have been taking it for 12 years (1/4 of my life!).

After, getting off the neurontin, I decided I needed at least a year off from tapering to rest and allow my brain to heal. More on my zoloft taper in a bit.

February 2005

I feel my physical symptoms of withdrawal are getting less. I feel more like me. Way less repetitive thoughts are going through my little noggen and I am less depressed. I have gained 5 pounds (that I needed to gain), my hair is getting thicker and less dead looking. I think the stress of drug withdrawal causes the hair loss. TMJ no longer hurts and I am in almost no pain when I wake up in the morning. I am sleeping better now, especially since I try to be on the computer less. Computer use messes with the function of the pineal gland, which makes Serotonin which is converted to Melatonin at night. Melatonin allows the body to fall asleep. I still have that buzzing in my head but it does not seem to be so loud. It gets louder with computer use, when I lay down or when I sit next to the very old upright freezer (freezer has been replaced now) in the kitchen. My muscles don't seem to twitch at night as much either. My memory seems to be improving a little at a time. I do not trust myself with mental tasks yet so, I do not drive, do the bills, or touch the mail. I might put it someplace and forget where. I am still having digestion problems too.

June 1, 2005

I tried to taper off the zoloft about 4 months after I got off neurontin. That so, did not go well. I dropped into that deep depression hole and felt as if I had died inside.

On, May 3, 2005, I reluctantly decided to just go back up to 100 Mg a day (my original) dose. It is June 1, and I am doing great now. I feel I was just not recovered enough to start tapering again.

Jan 1, 2007

The rest of 2005 went great. What a relief to not live through withdrawals all the time. It took about 6 months to feel pretty normal after getting off neurontin, and by December, I was feeling very good! But as the Jan 2006 date got close, I got a bit scared of jumping back into it. I just did not feel ready, so I decided to wait until spring when there would be more light to help out my mood.

In April 2006, I tapered down by 5mg from the original dose of 100 Mg a day. This was largely uneventful, except for a bit of fatigue, nausea, mild insomnia, mild irritability, muscle stiffness, and constipation. In May, I was "scheduled" to go down again, but got a serious case of poison oak which lasted 2 months, so I had to postpone my next taper.

In August 2006, I figured 5 mg was almost uneventful, I will try 10 mg and if that does not go well, I will continue tapering by 5mg. Here is where I started making mistakes in my tapering. The book states that you are supposed to taper, wait til all symptoms go away, then wait two weeks for the brain to heal. If symptoms are severe, you are supposed to go back up to the dose you were on, wait till all symptoms are gone and then wait 2 more weeks. He says if symptoms are moderate, you can either continue tapering or go back up to the dose that you were on, and wait it out as with severe symptoms. Once you have severe or moderate symptoms, you are supposed to cut the tapering amount in half.

On day 1 of this taper, I began having symptoms and with each day that went by, I got more. I got severely constipated to the point I got bleeding hemroids, goopy eyes and nose, achy body parts, exhausted all the time, blurry vision, yelled at the cat for meowing, puffy eyes, crusty nose, headaches, insomnia, worried all the time about the garden. With all these symptoms, I recorded my symptoms as a score of 2 out of ten, with ten begin the worst. I guess I was in denial.

Then what did I do, I tapered again 10 more mg, in September. Guess what happened, those symptoms plus more on top, since I was too stubborn to follow the rules. I might have been more than a little confused too. I want off this drug very badly, since it causes MCS by using up all the de-tox hormones in the liver. By day 10 of this taper, I had negative repetitive thoughts. Usually, my whole life's worth of mistakes repeating over and over, till I felt like a horrible person. I did not want to go on like this. I kept thinking over and over, what do I do. Confusion at its best! My ears hurt, and I heard sloshy sounds, like my ears were under water. I had exhaustion, a scabby head, tinnitus was very loud, all my teeth hurt, TV seemed so loud, the dog was making me crazy, worrying where to plant a tree sapling, dropping down to 109 lbs from 113, very strange dreams, headaches, very tired. By day 15, I felt like cutting myself up into little pieces. As the days went by, I had insomnia, I felt physically ill, I was walking to one side, and ran into a few walls, ear ringing almost unbearable, stiff neck, I kept rearranging my pencils. I wanted to give up, I got very forgetful, cried for no reason, I hated myself, I got anxious, I got irritable, paranoid, and dizzy.

On November 22, I went up 5 mg, cause I just could not take all this anymore. Ug, I should have gone up 10 and as soon as things got bad. Although this helped somewhat, I still felt down, was irritable, had the obsessive thoughts, cried, and just had no motivation at all. I found it hard to get out of bed. My self esteem was low, and I still wanted to give up. The top of my head was numb, and I was still painfully constipated. I kept considering, going up 5 more mgs but I just kept giving it one more day. This was not nearly as bad as it got coming off neurontin, so I thought I could make it through.

On December 24, 2006, I went up by 5 mg. I slept great, and had good energy by Christmas. I even had a BM. And my butt and back stopped bleeding. Ahh! I am still a little tired, and motivation is not what should be, but those horrible repetitive thoughts are gone. I feel human again. I will be good and wait till "all" the symptoms are gone and wait two more weeks before I taper again. I keep looking toward the finish line, of when I will be off this horrible drug, and try to keep to a schedule. I have to toss that schedule out the window. I hate this drug, but nothing is worth, the hell of tapering too fast, even though I am going painfully slow!

May 12, 2008

I spent most of 2007 trying to heal my brain from that last taper. As time was getting near that I felt I was ready to taper, I fell from a ladder (October 21, 2007), from 6 feet up, landing flat on both feet. Our house is built on a slab, so the floor is carpet over concrete. Needless to say, I could not walk for months.

I thought, since I will need extra sleep in order to heal up from this injury and I will be laid up not doing anything else anyway, I would take this opportunity to taper a bit. I thought the extra sleep would help the withdrawals from being so bad.

Starting about the beginning of November I came down 1 mg a week instead of coming down a large leap of 5 mg at one time. By December, my thoughts were all scrambled up, I could not think straight for the life of me. So, I tapered back up, 1 mg at a time. All that effort accomplished was to get me to 83 mg.

In 2007, all I came down by was 2 mg. I really do not know how I come up with these dumb ideas. I only have enough energy to deal with injury or zoloft tapering, not both. You would think I would learn! I guess I forget how bad tapering can really be after my long taper breaks.

It is now May 2008, and still my feet are not completely healed. I can walk and for the most part, they do not hurt, but they can get sore easy if I overdo. And they are slightly numbish in bed. So not time to taper. I'm learning. In other words, messing up a lot.

I just got the results back from a hair analysis. It showed I was low in about all the minerals, and had toxic levels of the rest of them. Like I did not know that my body was a pure mess. Anyway, this also indicated to me, that it is not time to jump feet first into tapering again. Tune in again, for the latest of the zoloft taper saga! It won't be for a while though. I figure at least 6 more months for my feet to be ready to leap again.

I do often wonder if anyone even vistis my site more than once to see how I am coming along. I am a hermit, and would like to think someone cares that I even exist.

April 1, 2009

January 1, 2009 I began tapering again. I decided to go down by 3 mg each month or so. For the months of Jan, Feb and March, I tapered on the first of the month. By the middle of each month, I got back acne, got strange dreams, and unwelcome memories invading my mind, usually in early morning. My mood was fine, but my hair was thinning and falling out. By the beginning of each month, my acne had cleared up and so did the strange dreams. But in March, brief suicidal thoughts entered my head, so to play it safe, I will take a taper break. Ug, I hate doing that, but guilt over minor things that I did in the past is more than I can bare.

Sometimes, I wonder if I will have a life after the tapering is all over. Maybe my life is a waste of time. All I do is eat, wash dishes, brush my teeth, go to bed, rinse and repeat each day! No point! No one knows or cares that I am here. I feel like the whos from Horton heres a who. I am here, I am here, I am HERE!" Maybe I'm Depressed.

July 14, 2009

I took the whole month of April off from tapering. I was still at bit constipated, but decided to press on. I tapered by 2 mg May 1. All went fine until about may 20, then I got severe constipation.

I decided to not taper in June and wait until this problem went away. It did not go away, plus by mid June it got worse. I started to get edema. I has gained 5 pounds from the constipation, and then 10 more from edema. My legs, ankles and tummy were so swelled up I had to find a pair of pants in my closet that 1 whole size larger. I was so uncomfortable. I decided, ok, I need to go back up the 2 mg I that I went down in June. Things improved somewhat.

By eating less, and going for more walks in the sun, I am finally back to my original weight, and wearing my regular clothing. But, I am still constipated, and things are just not moving down so are coming back up. I burp constantly, I reflux acid, or food. My tummy is so soar.

Back in December 2006, I was also extremely constipated. I went back up by 5 mg and wa la by the next morning I had a nice large bowel movement. So, I guess, things are to that point. If I go back up by my last taper amount, I should feel better. Ug, I hate going backwards. If I go back up 3 mg, I will only have tapered by 6 mg since January. At this rate it will take forever. I am getting so discouraged. I am to the point I think I need some help getting of zoloft.

Updated July 2005

Mercury Fillings I started to get my mercury fillings (the ADA likes to call them silver fillings so they won't sound toxic. The metal colored fillings are about 50% mercury, 30% silver and the rest other metals) replaced in November of 1998. I had the second quadrant removed in April 1999, but I was unable to tolerate the removal procedure very well. I got depressed each time. I now believe that the chelating supplements caused this. De-toxing too fast can cause depression and cleansing is hard on a malnourished body. I decided to give mercury removal a rest for a while then, in March 2004, I had to get that nickel crown replaced due to a cavity under it. I went ahead and got the filling beside it replaced as long as that side of my mouth was numb. I used no supplements that time. Other than a lot of fatigue, I was fine.

In June 2005, I got the last quadrant of mercury fillings replaced. I am so glad that is over with. I caused me to be very fatigued and stiff. Since then, I have been rolfed a few times. It helped me to loosen me up after all that stress and pain. The numbing medication so did not work much. I think a good part of my exhaustion may have been due to numbing medication, getting stuck in my mouth tissues. The rolfer worked on my mouth to rid my body of all that numbing medicine.

I think that I have pretty much gotten over that experience, but so far, I have not noticed any difference in my health.

More on the toxic nature of dental materials can be found at:
Health Hazards of Mercury

Also, mercury can cause
suicidal tendencies   (archived)

Updated May 2008

Dandelion tea once in a while. I eat the roots too. Helps digestion.
No processed or canned foods, not even ketchup.
No sugar or caffeine.
No supplements
Avoid all foods that I am allergic to: all grains, dairy, fruits, eggs, potatoes, fish, etc.
I use lots of homemade beef broth
I drink spring water stored in glass.
I eat only whole foods:
pasture raised meat, organic frozen or fresh veggies, garden veggies, and damp sea salt.

Last meal at 5 PM. Eating later, keeps me awake all night.
No computer after supper as this keeps me awake all night.
Bed by 9:30-10 PM. The later I go to bed the harder it is to fall asleep
Sleep at least 10 hours each night (read 'lights out' book)
Lay down a few minutes, during the day if I feel tired (I need to work on this one)
Avoid TV and computer. Both interfere with sleep, and are addictive. (needs work too)

Try to go outside each day. Morning sun is the most healing.
Y-Dan in the morning, outside if weather is nice
Walks in the sun (5-30 minutes depending how I feel)
Exercising with 1 pound weights (like lifting my arms over my head with them when I am stiff)
I get rolfed when exercise is not helping anymore

I avoid taking a bath right after eating, it upsets digestion
I avoid going to bed with wet hair, it blocks energy flow to rest of body
I avoid toxins like the plague
I avoid negative people (creepy next door neighbor)
I avoid all doctors except to get my zoloft and get out of jury duty
I avoid going into public
I avoid all medications: over the counter and prescription (they are all poison)
I am tapering off last remaining drug (zoloft), slowly
I get my teeth cleaned every 4 months since plague builds up quick.
I walk barefoot outside. The earth's energy is healing
I open the window on nice days (and pollen level is low), to clear stale air and so computer EMF's don't bug me so much

When I fall short of these goals, I try not to beat myself up to much about it. Doing some of these things is better than doing none of them.

May, 2005

And I do fall short of my goals often. I do not get outside or exercise every day. This causes me to be depressed, constipated, lack energy, and have insomnia. I sometimes go to bed after 10 PM. Seems the later I go to bed, the harder it is to fall asleep, and get up the next morning. I also eat at 7 PM once in a while, then I can't sleep, and also wake up with crud in my eyes. I often get up way too late, probably because I ate and/or went to bed too late. This causes insomnia since I have not been up long enough to be tired. And getting up too late, also seems to make me constipated. I spend way too much time on the computer. Being on the computer seems to cause me to loose track of time, which keeps me from eating on time, and drinking enough water. Using the computer after after dinner, keeps me from sleeping at all.

I go through periods where I practically watch no TV. During these times, I feel so much better. But when I am not feeling well or I am depressed, I watch more TV. I read that depressed people watch more TV. I think it might be because they are not motivated to do much of anything else. Unfortunately, TV make depression worse. It also seems to cause insomnia and constipation. It does for me anyway.

Both the TV and the computer mess with the function of the pineal gland, probably produce bad energy fields, keep me from getting anything else done, causes insomnia and lack of exercise. Ever notice how still folks are watching TV or sitting at the computer? I read that you use up less calories watching TV then if you were sitting in the same chair just staring at the wall. I think this is because being mesmerized by the TV, slows your whole system down. Not moving all day will certainly cause constipation, which I believe is a major problem contributing to MCS. It seems like making one little mistake messes up everything else.

As long as we are talking about constipation...


Things I have noticed that help with constipation:

1. Be up in the morning - like before 9 am.
   
   Digestion and elimination are more efficient in the morning and become more and more difficult as the day goes on. Bowel movements occur most naturally in the morning. If you are not up, you may have to wait til the next day.
   
   
   
2. Do not eat after 6 PM.
   
   The body is gearing up for repair and de-tox at night, not digestion. Food eaten at night tends to just sit in your gut, giving you a belly ache, and making you fat! At college, I once had breakfast at 3 AM with friends. It was a big breakfast. I got so nauseous and did not sleep that night. I decided to never do that again!
   
   
   
3. Eat bigger meals earlier in the day. Make supper a light meal.
   
   Your body has a circadian rhythm, and digestion is a early day thing. But on the other hand, if I skip supper entirely to avoid the constipation thing and to sleep better, I get cold, and do not sleep well. I have read that it does take energy to sleep. A lot goes on while you sleep, so you do need fuel.
   
   
   
4. Do not eat more than the stomach can hold.
   
   If you eat too fast as I tend to, you tend to eat too much. It takes the body about 20 minutes to realize that you fed it. If you wait til that amount of time before you go for seconds, you may realize, that you are no longer hungry. If you eat too much, there is just too much food in your stomach to empty into your intestines. If your intestines have all they can hold, the remaining food sits in your stomach and can cause reflux if you bend at the middle or lay down. And you will not sleep. I tend to be less depressed when I eat lighter meals. This leads me to think constipation causes depression.
   
   
   
5. Do not eat large meals too close together.
   
   It takes like about 3 hours to get the food out of the stomach and into the small intestines. If you shove more food down before the stomach is empty, well, you get constipated. This tends to happen to me when I get up too late and try to squeeze 3 meals between 11 AM and 6 PM. I get hungry due to my hypoglycemia and think I will starve if I do not eat 3 times. On those days I try to eat only 2 times.

   It is better to eat the same time each day, but I am not perfect and have to learn to accept that.
   
   
   

6. Stop eating or greatly reduce intake while extremely constipated
   
   If you have a stopped up drain, don't add more stuff. Same principle. Going for a walk helps too.
   
   
   
7. Avoid long periods of total inactivity - like watching TV or computer use
   
   Exercise makes the villi of the intestines move, which move the bowels. If you stay still all day, well so will your waste. But I bet you will still eat, so then you have a situation as bad as eating too much at one time. Compacted food in your gut!
   
   I feel it is better to do normal activities like walking around the house and not exercise per say like going out for a walk, then to sit still all day like at the computer, and think you can erase that by going for a 1 hour walk. Don't ask me how I know that! I have found Y-dan to be effective in promoting a bowel movement.
   
   
   
8. Avoid constipating foods.
   
   These might be different for each person. You should take notice of what make you go and what constipates you. For me, the constipating foods are: nuts, dry beans, green beans, grains, starchy veggies like potatoes, and parsnips, and over cooked food which would include canned veggies (they are cooked to very high temps so they will keep forever).

   Most raw things, although I can't digest them well, tend to make things move faster as well as most veggies and all fruits, especially applesause, prunes and and figs.

   Flours can act like glue in the intestines. We all learned how to make paste in elementary shcool. (flour and water) So bread is not a good thing to eat when constipated.

   Bitter or pungent foods are a good thing to try when constipated, like brocolli, cabbage, cerery, and bitter herbs like dandelion.

   Personally, I use one of the following to help things move along: beets, carrots, cooked radish, cooked dandelion root, or brocolli.
   
   
   

9. Eat more animal fat
   
   I save the fat that rises to the top of my homemade beef stock and add it back to my soups. I have never enjoyed eating the fat on the edge of a steak, but the rendered fat tastes good to me. I am allergic to butter, and milk, and hardly ever fry food (which would require some sort of fat). So, adding fat to my soup is the only way that I can think of to get fat into me. The soup tastes better too, since I can not thicken it with flour. Fried food can upset my tummy, and cause me to have bloody noses. Frying foods increase their thermal nature to hot and tends to dry me up, this is what causes the bloody nose.

   In order to digest fat, bile is needed. When you eat fat, bile is excreted into the intestines to break it up. Bile is a natural laxative. If you eat no fats, bile does not move. Bile is made from cholesterol. The bile hardens and clogs the bile ducts, forming gallstones , in both the liver and gal bladder. Gallstones are from not eating enough cholesterol, not from eating too much.
   
   
   

10. Get outside in the morning everyday, even to sit and stare
    
    Some how this greatly increases chance of a BM. Early morning sun is the most effective.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities is a sign of a weak tired body. I believe it is mostly due to lack of sleep, a hectic lifestyle, and a poor diet. Avoidance of toxic substances will avoid symptoms, but will not cure the liver. Changes must be made in lifestyle to strengthen the liver so it can heal the body. I believe the body will rid itself of toxins on its own without a liver cleanse (those made me worse), after the liver is strengthened again. A weak body knows it can not handle the energy it would take to start dumping toxins into a already weakened elimination system.

I believe the major change should be in eating more the way our bodies were designed to eat, and to get off all drugs (slowly if of the addictive sort!). Eat more saturated fat, less grain, and no processed food at all (which would include all sugar, artificial sugars, table salt, white flours, pasteurized dairy and fruit juice, and almost anything in a bag, box, can, bottle or jar). Saturated fat being bad for you is yet another myth propagated by the vegetable oil industry. They had to convince the public that saturated fat was bad, so we would buy their products. The Weston A Price has a great list of dos and don'ts here they are:

Dietary Guidelines

Dietary Dangers

The fact is, that health has declined since everyone has cut back on fat in their diets. Americans are fatter and dying from heart disease, strokes, and cancer at higher rates now. We are also suffering from more and more horrible chronic ailments such as Multiple Chemical Intolerance, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Allergies, MS, Diabetes, Alzheimer's, Osteoporosis, Depression, Panic Disorders, Obsessive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, AIDS, bla, bla, bla. Many of which were unheard of before processed foods and fake fats appeared.

Weston A. Price searched the world over for healthy people with straight healthy teeth, and never found them in "civilized" areas. He only found them in remote areas untouched by processed foods and the modern world, and the majority depended mostly on animals for their sustenance. These folks had straight teeth with almost never a cavity, no mental disease, and almost never any physical disease or malformations. Of the indigenous folks that were total vegans (no animal products at all), he found a greater incidence of dental carries and physical deformities. But, he did find healthy vegetarians, that consumed milks, cheeses and eggs. He found that, only a small amount of animal products were necessary to ward off illness, and congenital defects.

More about Weston A Price

I find it truly amassing, that the works of Weston A. Price are largely unknown to a great many of us. But we all know who Louis Pasteur is. He is the nut who invented a away to kill all the beneficial bacteria in milk to make it very unhealthy to drink. He also found out a way to give many children, autism, and mental retardation, by injecting various pathogens into innocent children! Maybe someone should find a way to get Weston A, Price into the school textbooks, and Pasteur out of them!

Saturated fats protect the liver from toxic substances and enhance the immune system. Fats have many more benefits that are explained very well in this article The Skinny on Fats

Listening to the food industry's idea of healthy eating has gotten us all into this mess. The food pyramid was bought and paid for by the grain lobbyists. Eating 11 servings of grain a day, will make you fat enough to sell at market. Anyway, don't get me going.

When I read "Nourishing Traditions", it all made sense to me. The things you hear on TV or read in most magazines about what to eat to be healthy, are designed to make someone a lot of money not make anyone healthy.

I almost forgot, home-made beef broth is a big part of my healing from MCS because, Gelatin rich homemade broth helps the liver to de-tox. I eat so much soup, I think I will turn into soup.


You can read how a natural diet of whole fresh foods have helped others, by reading:
Letters to Wise Traditions


I hope you get better soon,

Mary

Tree image source