Be Natural, Be Healthy, Save Money

The conversation about dentistry led to me thinking about how we really need to divorce ourselves from the health-care system and its jungle of bureaucrats and voodoo medicine. For those who've run to the doctor for everything from colds to serious disease and injury, it's a frightening, almost unimaginable idea. For those who are poor or have no insurance, it's a fact of life. For those with medical conditions, contemplating the breakdown of the system must be very frightening. What we need to do is educate ourselves to what we can do to own our own bodies and care for them ourselves. The principles are simple. Eat a natural, mostly organic, mostly raw diet. Eliminate chemicals from your surroundings as much as possible. Exercise. It's the execution that most of us find difficult.

It's not insurmountable. Here are simple steps Nafetah and I have taken at home that have improved our health, helped us move toward new paradigms, and saved us a lot of money.

Diet - Almost no meat, very little dairy, everything organic, around 75% raw. Like many folks I thought I could never do this. Then I spent a year of extreme poverty and deprivation and HAD to get the most bang for my buck foodwise, so I lived mostly on raw veggies. I lost 70 pounds and felt fabulous! Now I no longer crave elaborately prepared foods, and feel sick when I eat them (I still am willing to abuse myself to the tune of an occasional pizza, though)!

Dietary supplements are essential, due to a)the fact that our food no longer contains the nutrition it once did due to soil depletion and genetic manipulation, and b)the many chemicals in our environment create all kinds of malaise which we can treat if we recognize and address it. Choose them carefully, otherwise you will spend a fortune. A good, food-based multivitamin and a good, wide-spectrum antioxidant such as grape seed extract are absolutely essential. This is a whole discussion in itself, but the point is to choose wisely and get the most for your money. Intelligently chosen food supplies most of what we need, and also we have to remember that our bodies will not last forever anyway.

Personal care - Homemade natural soaps, shampoos, skin balms, toothpaste, mouthwash, hair care, etc. If this sounds like a fulltime job, it isn't. I make soap 3-4 times a year. All items made with easily available ingredients such as oils, beeswax, and herbs. My kitchen is a true galley, no more than a booth, so equipment and facilities don't have to be elaborate.

To be fully transparent, I do buy some of these products from time to time, but I READ THE LABEL and know what I'm getting. There are only a few products I will use off the shelf, such as shampoo from Aubrey or Jason, and Vicco ayurvedic toothpaste.

Cleaning products - Lavender oil sprayed on surfaces is better than Lysol, and smells great. The aroma is calming and soothing. Can be shaken up with water and lemon juice or thinned with cheap vodka. Laundry detergent made from grated Fels Naptha, washing soda and borax costs less than a nickel a load and does a better job than commercial detergent. Leave out the Fels Naptha and you have dishwasher detergent, a superior one.

It's easy to use online tools to research the ingredients in common household products. Everything from air fresheners to bleaches and cleaning products contains carcinogens and allergens, as well as ingredients that wash down the drain and do incredible damage to the biosphere. There is virtually nothing you can buy that you cannot make at home simply and easily, plus in nine cases out of ten you will have a better product. If you are sensitive you can even make your own paints from simple ingredients. I have made paints, dyes, wood stains, glues, and polishes. When I was restoring antiques I microbrewed my finishes all the time. I made granite-cleaning compound and special epoxies for restoring stone and ceramics. I am not an educated guy. All this is within easy reach of anyone who can read and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Using steps like these will improve your health, and prepare us for a new way of living. To a certain extent, I was brought up with this mindset. My mother came from a poor family and she remembered the Great Depression very well. She canned, sewed, and made many of the items we used. (She never made soap - I taught myself that). My dad's family was well-to-do but also self-sufficient. My grandfather was a well-known MD who understood natural medicine, and many of the remedies I remember as a child were made at home. I still use things like brandy and herbs to make medicines.

If you have a little room, grow things. I have a four-by-four foot space, that's all, to grow vegetables. This spring I am putting in vine tomatoes, beans, peppers, onions, garlic, a few herbs, and marigolds. If you can, compost your scraps. A worm compost bin is clean and compact, suitable for an apartment.

I'm not a Luddite, and I don't favor a utopian, back-to-nature lifestyle. I believe in intelligent use of technology, with the emphasis on intelligent. We've put far too much faith in technology and the people who create it and sell it. We can't take back our government, but we can take back our individual lives. When we do, they get better.

One more thing:  Nafetah is partially disabled and does depend on the health-care system and medications to control her fibromyalgia.  So I do understand the dimensions of the question quite well.  I'll let her speak for herself regarding her health issues, and how natural means have helped her.

8-D