My thoughts on health

What is health?

The World Health Organization definition:

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

If that is truly the case, and I believe that it is, then why when you go to the doctor with what they consider a "minor complaint" are you told that there is nothing wrong with you? You may be feeling not quite right, but if your lab tests come back normal and there is nothing obviously wrong (such as blood gushing from your eye, for instance) the doctor sends you away and you end up feeling like somewhat of a hypochondriac.

Well, I'm here to tell you that most of the signals our bodies send us are important and if analyzed properly, will keep us well.

We must look at the symptoms we have as indications of our bodies attempt to heal itself, which it is capable of doing if given the proper resources.

So, when you go to the doctor with a headache, for instance, what does he/she do? They may offer you some pain medication. They may even do a head CT or MRI to rule out something serious. But what do they do if your lab results come back normal and your head CT is negative (aka normal)? There isn't a lot they can do. Because what they do not recognize is the fact that the headache is not really the problem. Yes, it is annoying and it seems like a problem, but in reality it is only an indication of a deeper trouble.

What could really be causing the trouble? The body is really a remarkable organism. If all barriers to health are removed, it will indeed heal itself. What are the barriers? Many natural health practitioners look at different areas which can interfere with your health.

My chiropractor, kinesologist, and mentor teaches about the six interferences. They are:
1. Structural Interference
2. Electrical Pollution
3. Emotional Stress
4. Nutritional Deficiency
5. Allergies & Sensitivities
6. Toxins

These are in no particular order, but I always like to look at nutrition first. Did you know that 8 of the top 10 causes of death in America are directly related to poor nutrition? Additionally, the 8 modifiable factors of premature aging are all influenced by nutrition.

One of the reasons why herbs work is because they contain vitamins and minerals which our bodies may be deficient in.

Today I have merely scratched the surface of what health is and what factors influence our health.

Please feel free to ask any questions or make comments as you desire.

Renee Suchy
http://fragrantfamily.com/sadiesgift

School's In!

Hello, all. I am now looking forward to getting some of my own projects and school work done now that four of my five children are back in school. Summer was a bit challenging - constantly cleaning up after them! I'm excited to get done with my biology class and get started on the next, Intro to Herbology. I'm really looking forward to learning all about herbs. I know it will be very helpful in my life, as well as what I understand about essential oils and supplements, etc. Maybe I'll even be brave enough to grow some of my own.

Feeling Better!

Okay here I am in July 2005, almost a year since the last time I posted! Well things have really come a long way since then. I'm feeling much better physically, thanks to the help of some wonderful natural health consultants, such as my naturopath, Dr. Jeff Essen and my chiropractor, Dr. Nicolai Alenov!! Wonderful men, both! Helping someone restore their health is no small matter! Which is why I'm excited to be working on becoming a naturopath myself. I am only four classes into this wonderful education, but it is slow going at times with five children and a job!

Dr. Essen was able to get me started on my wellness journey by helping me eliminate the majority of my symptoms from ulcerative colitis. After that, Dr. Alenov took the baton and helped me to discover a major kink in my wellness path - food allergies!! Thanks to that, I am now MUCH better as far as my energy, etc. I am not 100% well - but I would say I am 70% and I go up every month. I have even lost 50 lbs with their help! I am no longer on any medications for my ulcerative colitis. (I even wonder if I would qualify for the diagnosis anymore?) The only medication I take now is some pain medicine for my chronic lower back pain. I believe that with further help from Dr. Alenov, I'll be able to overcome that as well. Although, even the fact that I have eliminated all medications but one is a major ACCOMPLISHMENT since three years ago, I was taking around ten - fifteen different medications.

Now do you see why the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies don't want anyone to know about herbal supplements, oils and other natural healing modalities? It's because we will no longer be slaves to the medicine!! Which means no more fat, padded bank accounts for them. So you see, things like cancer is big business to Big Pharma! Why should they want anyone to be cured when they can become dependent on expensive medications instead? Do you see how evil this all is? It is pure evil and greed. Can you imagine letting thousands of people die every year in the name of MONEY!! Well that is exactly what is happening!!

Recently, a bill passed the House of Representatives which will be a detriment to getting access to the natural supplements that so many of us our finding helpful. It is called CAFTA and read on to find out how it was "passed" in the House.

"I suspect we all learned back in school that when an organization has a vote, all the eligible people vote, the votes are counted and the winner or decision is announced. Simple, huh? Well, that isn't what happened with CAFTA. In fact, when the usual 15 minute voting period in the House of Representatives ended, CAFTA had actually been defeated, 180 'no' votes to 175 'yes' votes!! Then the fun began. The vote was kept open for another 47 minutes and much pressure was brought to bear until the proponents had gained their wishes and CAFTA squeaked by 217 to 215. I believe we all need to know what goes on in Washington, D.C. because our very lives depend upon it. We need to continually make our wishes known to those who are supposed to be representing us. " - Carol Faust (essential oil distributor, natural health enthusiast)
See the articles here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/28/AR2005072801330.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072701195.html

Pretty scarey, don't you think? You can do something about it though. Please go to the HealthAction Center website and you can send letters to your congressmen and women. We need to change the way things are done in this country. Please do it before someone YOU love dies needlessly!

Natural Blessings to you all!~
Renee S.

This picture was taken August 2004 for my daughter, Sydney's, seventh birtday at Chuck E. Cheese. (not the daughter I am holding.) I am holding my youngest daugther, Maggie here. She is two and half in the photo.

Thoughts for the Day

I really felt like I needed a place to put my thoughts, so I figured a blog would be a great place to do it. Then I could share with others, and maybe bridge the gap between my mind and others. Because I know my thoughts aren't unique, I just feel that they are sometimes.

Here goes: I've been feeling lately like I'm going just a little crazy. There are so many things that I want to do, and need to do, but I'm not feeling my best. This whole crazy thing started months ago. I started feeling so incredibly tired - I was sleeping probably 14 hours per day or more. I couldn't drive in my car for more than 10 minutes without starting to fall asleep. Then at the end of August, it turned around (or so I thought). I started feeling like I had more energy. Then came the catch. I wasn't feeling well. And I can't describe it exactly, just a feeling of "unwellness". In about a week and a half I started having bowel problems - diarrhea and cramping. I couldn't eat without getting sick. Finally I ended up in the hospital with dehydration and major problems getting to sleep at night. I was in the hospital for 8 days. They never did figure out what was wrong with me. That was early September. I came home on a ton of steroids, so I had some energy. I buzzed around my house doing all sorts of projects that had been neglected all summer when I was in my "coma" period.

So now it is mid-November and I'm started to feel back to being very tired again. Along with that, depression. Because I have so many aspirations and I'm beginning to feel that I will never accomplish them. I have five children, and a part-time job, plus my own business. I also just started working on my bachelor's degree in natural health. You would think that I would feel that I'm accomplishing something, right?? Or that I'm going somewhere. But I don't. I just feel like my house isn't clean enough, I don't have enough money to pay the bills, and I feel lousy most days physically. I'm learning about all these things that a person can do to take care of their health, and I try to do all these things. But it never seems to make a difference. I just don't have any energy and I'm REALLY tired of it!! ~Renee S.