Green Tea

I'm constantly researching for solutions to my health issues as improving my health is a requirement if I want to live a joyful life full of energy. The inflammation that resurfaced while taking thyroid medications hasn't gone away. I recently read green tea can be an anti-inflammatory for anyone who is TH-1 dominant. Due to my sensitivity to caffeine I have always been leery of green tea. Yeah, I have experienced the anti-inflammatory benefits of chocolate, but it's never worth the risk of all the other side effects: nausea, mood swings, headaches, insomnia, cognitive impairment as if I've been drugged, violent shaking of every nerve in my body, and general malaise that lasts for days after consumption.

I recently read a post by a woman who said she had an "allergy" to caffeine. I'm not sure it's an actual immunoglobin response allergy rather than an intolerance or sensitivity, but I was intrigued. So I went searching and found an article called, "How Much Mental Illness is an Allergy to Caffeine?" Fascinating. I guess I'm not the only one who experiences violent reactions to this evil. You can read it HERE.

Many say green tea, although caffeinated, is different from coffee or black tea. It's hard to ignore the list of benefits:

Weight loss. Oh! Excellent! Lack of thyroid hormone slows one's metabolism resulting in weight gain. This is a constant complaint I hear from anyone who has Hashimoto's or hypothyroidism in general. Some of the thyroid medications even contribute to weight gain. Losing weight is difficult if not impossible for many. Green tea speeds up metabolism, mobilizing fatty acids creating fat loss and feelings of energy. Hooray!

Cell damage prevention. Green tea has the antioxidant catechin which reduces free radicals in the body. This helps prevent cell damage.

Cardiovascular disease prevention. Green tea improves circulation and lowers cholesterol lowering one's risk to heart-related diseases.

Blood sugar stabilization. Green tea stabilizes blood sugar which lowers one's risk of diabetes. It also helps with insulin resistance a common issue with Hashimoto's.

Cancer prevention. Green tea destroys cancer cells lowering one's risk for cancer.

Brain function. Green tea energizes the brain which improves cognitive function. This lowers one's risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Anxiety relief. Green tea has a calming effect due to the amino acid L-theanine. Since discovering I have a gene mutation that makes me prone to worry and anxiety, I've been on the look out for something that might help. I'm tired of being a worry wart.

Energy. Green tea has caffeine so it is advised not to drink it before bedtime, however, because of the theanine it has a synergetic effect which eliminates the "wired" feeling normally associated with caffeine. This balance between energy and calm makes it tolerable for many who are sensitive to caffeine.

Adrenal fatigue. Although it is suggested not to drink or eat caffeine if one has adrenal health issues, this is the exception. Green tea is considered a nutritional support for adrenals.

Death. Green tea reduces one's risk of death. Yep, that's what I read! Considering the benefits listed above, it certainly sounds like a miracle cure for any number of life-threatening conditions. Realistically, we are all going to die, but a product claiming to promote good health and extend life? Sounds good to me.

 

Let the games begin! I decided nothing ventured, nothing gained. Practicing my resolution to be brave. Slowly. I was worried (I can't help it! It's in my DNA!), but at the same time cautiously optimistic. Or irrationally hopeful. Unrealistically desperate. I bought one tea bag. Someone warned I might not like the taste as it has a strong "plant" taste...like dirt or composted weeds. I was prepared for the worst, but found it to taste like real, black tea. I haven't had black tea in years so it felt like a naughty treat! I started with four sips. Within minutes I felt energetic and found myself talking non-stop to a friend as if I were wired. BUT it wasn't a wired feeling and I didn't start shaking uncontrollably. I felt awake probably for the first time in a long time. No headaches or nausea, and I didn't experience any unusual insomnia that night.

I tried it again the next day, only four sips. I worried about the slight headache I had an hour later, but my irrational hopefulness made me believe it was because I waited too long to eat lunch. An hour after I ate, I drank some more tea, and another headache ensued. This one tormented me the rest of the day and all night causing nausea and general discomfort. Oops.

I usually experience a secondary, delayed reaction to caffeine so it wasn't too surprising when I awoke the second day with another headache and spinal pain. I've heard there is a decaffeinated green tea, but I'm so sensitive any amount of caffeine residue would give me grief.

Green tea is not for me. Oh well!

Garlic

For as long as I can remember I've known garlic was special.  What kid doesn't grow up knowing it keeps vampires from biting your neck?

 

 

Besides protection from vampires, werewolves and demons, garlic has been an age-old remedy for any number of naturally occurring evils including colds, viruses, and infections. It's also known to regulate blood sugar levels, prevent scurvy, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol. It's a well-known natural antibiotic. That's just a tiny sample of its healing properties. Finding out its anti-inflammatory rating is 4863 was enough to make me a believer!

I've eaten garlic all my life. When people have asked me if I'm worried if I'll stink, I laugh. My definition of stink is probably different from most. Strangely enough, if I eat garlic, I've never had anyone tell me they could smell it. I've asked people, "I just ate garlic - can you smell it?" Maybe they are just being polite, but I'm always given the OK. I would joke only bad people [vampires] would be repulsed by my garlic-saturated body so my friends must be the good guys. We are so afraid to smell badly.

Pre-MCS days when I'd get sick like a normal person, anytime I felt a cold or sore throat coming on I'd go to bed with a clove of garlic in my mouth. Raw garlic burns slightly, but after a while it numbs your mouth and throat. I'd suck on it in my sleep. If I woke up and couldn't taste it, I'd bite it a little to release the juices. The next morning I'd not have even a hint of illness or a tickle in my throat. The first time a friend told me about this remedy I said, "Eeww! What does your husband say when you do that?" She said they both have to do it together or the smell is quite intolerable coming from one person. I've often been asked if I'm afraid I'll choke on the clove in my sleep. Never have.

                            

Some believe most diseases are caused by parasites. Heart worms create heart attacks. Roundworms burrowing into a child's brain can make them blind. About a year ago I saw a television news story about a woman with a parasitic worm in her brain that affected her ability to function. I'm sure she regretted eating that pork chop. How many of us have eaten undercooked meat and were not aware? Sushi, anyone? But acknowledging civilized people in a civilized society might have worms is un-American to say the least. It's a taboo subject stereotypically indicating an unsanitary, uncultured lifestyle.  Unfortunately, with the cat and dog epidemic and animal owners no longer keeping pets outside, parasites are fairly common. Recently I read there was an outbreak of the bubonic plague down in New Mexico due to fleas from dogs. Bubonic Plague!? I thought that went out in the Middle Ages!?  Don't underestimate the power of a parasite.


I grew up on a farm, running barefoot through fields, handling pets and livestock then eating apples off the trees or veggies from the garden before washing my hands. Heck, we used to swim in the animal watering troughs and use cow patties as weapons when we played war. I don't ever remember being given any kind of deworming treatments, although deworming kids at the end of summer used to be common practice in the old days...before it became taboo to even think about parasites.

Since conventional, civilized, [ineffective] health care has failed me so often, I wondered if whatever ails me is caused by some creepy crawly in my system. When I caught the neighbor's worm-infested cat sleeping in Peter's bed, I figured I'd better do something to protect him so I started reading about natural remedies for parasites. Pumpkin seeds and garlic were the most commonly used and on hand for both animals and people. Peter wouldn't go near the garlic, but he ate the pumpkin seeds. I cook with and eat garlic daily so I assumed I probably didn't need deworming, but it couldn't hurt? The instructions said to mince three garlic cloves and swallow them down with a large glass of water. Hmmmm. OK. I figured if other people have done this it's not going to kill me.

The first ten minutes I seriously thought I was going to die. Or at the very least pass out. My head started spinning, my stomach burned and felt like it was ripping apart, and I could hardly breathe let alone stand. Oh God, what have I done? I ran to the toilet and tried to vomit it all up, but I've never been able to thrown up anything so it didn't work. After ten minutes...I was fine. Amazing. I'm pretty sure by the time those minced garlic cloves got to my intestines if there were parasites they ran screaming for their lives. Everything I read also highly suggests eating high fiber diets with lots of veggies and fruits and drinking lots of water for optimal digestion and elimination. Constipation keeps the parasites inside your digestive tract too long allowing them time to root themselves in the walls of your colon and forage their way into your bloodstream which allows them to travel anywhere. Icky...

I grow garlic all over my yard. Planting it at the base of rose bushes is supposed to keep roses free from disease and aphids.  I also have elephant garlic in my garden. I love the tall stalks and beautiful round blooms. Some people prefer it as it has a much milder taste, but it's actually not a garlic at all, but a type of leek.

Check your area this summer for garlic festivals and celebrate this wonder gift from the gods!  At such events you may find garlic bread, garlic mashed potatoes, garlic cheesecake, deep-fried garlic, garlic-flavored fudge (?!), Caesar garlic salads, chicken marinated in garlic, garlic salsa, garlic-flavored kettle korn, garlic cashews, pasta with garlic Alfredo sauce, corn on the cob with garlic butter, and roasted garlic cloves. Garlic lovers are so creative!

With vampires like Ian Somerhalder, who needs garlic?