Better Late Than Never

 Early this year I got really sick with a viral illness. I was talking to a friend and stated, with covid spreading folks needed to better support their immune system by eating nutritionally well. She said, " it sure didn't do you much good". "After all", she said, "you eat well and look how sick you are."I said yes, but how much sicker would I have gotten if I didn't eat well to begin with?

A nutrient-dense diet may or may not keep you from getting sick but it will bolster your immune systems ability to help you get well.

We have been complacent and lazy about supporting our immune systeum. That complacency and laziness will kill us if a worse bug comes along. Even before Covid, the flu bug should have aimed us at self-care. We should be eating nutritionally well and normalizing our weight. Instead we have an epidemic of diabetes, obesity, auto-immune conditions and heart disease.

Diabetes is not a disease. It's a dietary problem. Most diabetics can reverse their situation. Read Dr Jason Fung's book "The Diabetes Code." Then do what he suggests (with your doctors blessing). Dr Fung's patients are reversing their diabetes thru keto and intermittent fasting.

Dr Dean Ornish (and others) have shown how healthful dietary changes can reverse heart disease. Look up his YouTube "Gene's Are Not Your Fate."

Dr. Terry Wahls (and others) have shown how diet can reverse auto-immune disease. Check out the Wahls diet.

How does diet reverse illness? A healthy diet bolsters the immune system. Your body has an ability to fix itself if given the tools it needs.

It's never to late to improve your self-care. It's better late than never.

Did You Feel A Kick In The Butt?

 First, if you'd rather listen than read go to my podcast, https://anchor.fm/pam-murphy

We have lots of data from the Covid situation now. The data tells us people with co-morbidities had a greater chance of dying from covid. That would be people with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and autoimmune disorders.

And this is true of any virus.

Do you fit into any of those categories?

If the answer is yes, covid should have been a wake-up call and not a little one, but a HUGE KICK IN THE BUTT (not yelling, just emphasizing) to improve your nutrition status.

Just getting any three meals a day does not automatically give you a healthy immune system. You have literally been shown you ARE what you eat. The quality of your food matters. A steady diet of junk food snacks, fast food and processed foods all of which are nutrient-poor leaves you malnourished with a weakened immune system.

Covid isn't the last virus. The only thing stupider than wearing a useless cloth mask (and I'm a respiratory therapist retired after 34 years so don't argue with me) is wearing a mask and social distancing without working at reversing your health issues. Sorry, hmmm, not sorry, to be blunt.

Where do you start?

This:
1. Stop eating drive-thru fast food.
2. Increase your intake of fresh fruit and fresh/frozen veggies. If you must eat meat make it grass-fed.
3. Drink water. Cut out soda. Yes, even diet soda.
4. Cut out sugar.
5. Get some fresh air and sunshine daily
6. If you don't know your vitamin D level get it checked and get it up to par. (Note government recommendation is to low. Check out Dr. Mercola's recommendation at mercola.com )
7. While you are there check out what he says about vitamin C and zinc.
8. If you need to lose weight read "The Obesity Code" or if diabetic, "The Diabetes Code" by Jason Fung MD. You can catch him on YouTube.

If you will commit to planning your next days eating every evening you will automatically upgrade the quality of your nutrition. Excuse my ego... but this is a super tip. Do this. Look in a mirror and tell yourself you are worthy. You are. You must love yourself like you love your best friend. Love yourself healthy!

Make the commitment to a healthier lifestyle! You can do it!

If I have helped you please share this blogpost. Thank You!

A Silver Lining

"It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I belong to a writing group. We are working on a book about gratefulness. So I have found myself charged with writing 200 or so words about gratefulness. The difficulty was I am writing about gratefulness while losing my hearing. Actually, it turned out to be a wonderful challenge for which, yes, I am grateful.

There is a thread which runs thru everything  in life and determines success and happiness. Consider if you will, losing weight is not just about what you eat. Growing your wealth is not just about saving money. Being successful in anything is not about just being good at something. Mindset is a huge part of all these things.

And feeling grateful while losing your hearing is, like most things in life, about mindset. Whatever challenge you have in life appreciate the good things you have instead of obsessing on what is challenging you. The silver lining is there is a lot for which to appreciate and be grateful for no matter the left turns life sometimes takes.

Lost It But Can't Lift It

Wow, hasn't this year been nuts?I hope you are all doing well.

Have a story for you. It's a true story. There's a weightloss group in which they  use bags of sugar, dog food, etc to represent pounds lost in a picture.  One lady took a picture of herself with 50 lbs of sugar to represent the pounds she lost.

She made a comment about it that knocked my socks off. Are you ready?

She said, "I can't lift this 50 lbs of sugar but I was carrying that 50 lbs on my body. No wonder I felt so bad."

Doesn't that comment hit you between the eyes?

How much extra weight are you carrying?
Are you tired all the time?
How's your energy?

Health doesn't come in a pill. It starts at home in the kitchen.

Are you ready to get healthier?

I have a place for you to start.
Read "The Obesity Code" by Jason Fung, M.D.

If you're diabetic read his book, "The Diabetes Code." Read it even if you don't want to lose weight. It will be life-changing. Truly.

You CAN lose the weight.
You CAN feel better and more energetic.

I know you can.

Eating for Health

As a holistic nutritionist there is a question I am asked over and over. I will never forget especially one young mother of three children who was genuinely confused when she asked me, " There's processed foods everywhere. How do I not feed my kids processed foods? "

It's not surprising I get this question over and over. It's a sad testament to the marketing skill of the food industry processed, nutrient-poor convenience frankenfoods are so engrained in our culture a young mother can't think what else to feed her children.

I told her first you must think of food as fuel for the functioning of your body. Then you guide yourself in food selection by considering if it supports health or fuels illness. Lean to eating whole foods and you can be confident of supporting health. Thus you should shop the perimeter (veggie) and frozen veggie section of the grocery store. There's very little reason to shop the inner aisles.

Next I suggest developing an index card file of healthy recipes. There is a cornucopia of whole food recipes on the internet from which you can build a recipe repertoire of healthy whole food selections.

Health is the greatest wealth. Eating for health is a lifestyle with dividends of energy, vibrancy and joy for life.


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Salad Surprise

I've been telling you to have a salad everyday. I can see it now. There you are pulling into a fast food place. You have every intention to order healthy... a healthy salad. What could be better.

But fast food salads are deceptive. They look great.... they look healthy! But most of them are very high in sodium.

What's a person to do?

Order a side salad. Side salads don't have the high sodium deli meats fast food dinner salads have.

Always check out the nutrition no matter how healthy something looks.

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Have you opted in to the accidental healthnerd list yet? What are you waiting for?

Always check with your doc before starting new diet or exercise regimen.

Why I Am the Accidental Healthnerd

The last few months have been a time of reflection about my current life. It's not what I thought it would be. I feel so grateful to have emerged on the other side of disability. No, I'm not a model of optimal health. I still have some challenges. But I have found a warm sunlight at the end of what seemed like a neverending tunnel of despair.

Nietzsche said, "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger." For myself, I say adversity has made me stronger, wiser, hopeful and more compassionate. A pretty good package I think.

My emergence from disability is testament to in life you are either getting better or worse and the only constant is change. What I didn't get for so long (though I knew it on some level) and perhaps, you don't either, is we hold the keys to an optimal life and optimal health in our mindset. You will have what you think.

Thinking positive and being grateful lifts your experience of life. Life will love you if you love it. Likewise, if you take care of your body with good nutrition it will respond with more energy and an uplifted outlook on life. Mind and body work together.

Because I changed my mind and improved my nutrition I sit here today with a future I had stopped dreaming I could have. You can, too.

That is the reason for my blog and podcast. I want you to have the future you dream about and if you've stopped dreaming I want you to dream again.