Happy Gut, Happy Mind, Happy Health

In this month's Jan/Feb. Vegetarian Times, there is a great article, Gut Health Tune-Up. Well worth the read and a great guide to have on hand to remind yourself how to bring your gut/digestive health in balance. I would highly recommend picking up this Vegetarian Times issue just to have this clear, 5-point action plan on a happy gut.

The brief run-down and take aways for those who don't pick the issue up:

The whole concept behind the article is to reestablish and/or maintain the level of healthy bacteria in your gut. 70% of the immune system is in your gut. Any gut imbalance will inevitably effect your immune system, but also your hormones, your mental health and your metabolism.

"The gut microbiome runs our metabolism. If it is imbalanced-which is easy to do [as well all know]-your metabolism won't work the right way."

While most of us think of metabolism more about how quickly we process and digest food in relation to being thin or overweight there is a lot more to your metabolism than just weight. How many times have you heard, "Oh, I have a fast/slow metabolism, that is why I am thin/overweight"? While this is partially true, your metabolism is more than your body's propensity for weight gain or loss, your "gut microbiome is established during the first two years of life by diet, antibiotic use, stress, other environmental factor" and genetics. Metabolism is the efficiency measurement of your digestive system, which can and often results in unwanted weight fluctuations, especially for those with digestive issues not addressed. The key thing this article explains is that metabolism is something you can work with and change. It is not set in stone and what you think is a slow metabolism does not mean you are destined to have digestive issues and potential excess weight the rest of your life.

Problem 1: We eat less natural fibers than we have ever before, "The average American gets less than 50% the fiber than we did 150 years ago." Americans eat too many processed foods that are stripped of natural fibers. Even when the packaging says it has added fiber, the fiber that is important is the fiber coming from real whole foods like root and cruciferous vegetables, whole grains and some fruits. If you need an added soluble fiber to your diet, choose natural psyllium husk. Mixed with water or juice it starts to bind in front of you if you let it sit too long (imagine what that does in your intestines!), but stir the glass and drink. The texture is challenging to get past at first, but your poops will be firm, solid and easily passable. Psyllium husk is a wonderful additive to any one's already naturally fiber-filled diet from fibrous foods.

Problem 2: Overlooking of food sensitivities. Identifying food allergies is crucial to balancing your metabolism, gut health, mental health and overall health. Eating the foods your body reacts negatively to and registers as pathogens triggers a defensive reaction in your entire gut flora and digestion that no matter how well you are eating, if you are eating foods you are allergic to, everything will be off. The article recommends eliminating problems foods for 10 days including sugar and alcohol and you should notice an overall feeling better in a 3-4 days. This is a great, quick way to identify potential food allergies if you already eat a clean well balanced diet, but if you are just recently identifying food allergies and are completely in the dark of the the potential culprit I would recommend a more intense elimination process by reading and following How Do I Know I Have Food Allergies?

Problem 3: Overeating. We all do it. And unfortunately some of us do it too much. We can over eat due to sadness, boredom, stress, or just being social, it is bound to happen from time to time, but we all should know what that just-before-full feeling feels like. If you eat consciously and slowly you can register just-before-full coming and can stop eating at an appropriate time and place in your meal. Unfortunately this sensation is easy to ignore and so many factors can allow us to override that brain response. I have found that regular juice cleanses bring me back to center. It reestablishes my brain-stomach connection when I go back to eating 3 meals a day. It helps me remember what hungry feels like, as well as what just-before-full feels like. There are many, many ways to do a juice cleanse (which there will be a followup post) but the goal is to maintain nutrients and your calorie intake to reduce light-headedness and irritability. You should juice up to 5x per day of a wide variety of vegetables (mostly) and fruits and either eat 1 small meal or none. If you go with the none, never do the cleanse for longer than 3 days and don't ask too much of your body and mind. You should choose a calm weekend with a lot of meditating, yoga and reflective time. If you go longer, have 1 full meal each day of the cleanse, consisting of only whole grains, vegetables and fruits.

Problem 4: Sugar. The average American consumes 135 pounds of refined sugar each year!!! This is just insane. We eat the weight of a smaller person in sugar in 1 year! No wonder we have health problems. Sugar wrecks havoc on our guts. Over consumption of sugar "causes bacteria imbalance in the gut, such as overgrowth of candida yeast..[which can lead to] acne, vaginal discharge, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, obesity, diabetes and chronic inflammation," the later on this list leads to an entire onslaught of many other potentially fatal diseases if not addressed. The article also discusses the dangers of over consumption of sugar for women, which unfortunately is the common gender to over consume in sugar specifically. Women as a whole, it seems, have excessive sweet tooths, they love sugar and bond together of the indulgence of sugar. Liz Lipski, PhD, director of nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health, the expert throughout the article, says that excessive sugar intake for women "changes the way hormones work in the body; the pancreas works overtime releasing insulin to try to get the sugar out of the bloodstream, which can lead to insulin resistance and hypoglycemic tendencies," that if continually ignored could lead to a multitude of health problems. So what is a sweets-loving chica supposed to do? Refined sugar is highly addictive, but luckily the addictive stimulation in the brain can greatly diminish in about a week of cutting out refined sugars. The balance can be restored in your brain and gut with the removal of sugar for even a week, and you will crave less sugar after cutting back.

Problem 5: Lastly the article addresses medications, 70% of Americans take some form of prescription medication! And about a third of women are taking antidepressants which have been linked to digestive problems from diarrhea and constipation to weight gain. While there is no scientific evidence linking antidepressants and gut health, intuitively it make sense that if are depressed, your mental health is imbalanced, so you seek comfort. Any additional stress, which we all will inevitably encounter, lead us to overeat, which takes us back to step 3 of the article, but unfortunately when we overeat and are depressed, we don't make the best food choices, which leads to problem 1 and 4 of the article; not eating enough fiber and indulging in too many sugars. The cycle is vicious. While the medication might be addressing your mental health issues the entire digestive system is often adversely effected and potentially ignored. The ironic thing is though, if digestive health was taken into consideration in the aiding and curing of mental health, potentially antidepressant use could be reduced. I know simply when I eat poorly or fall under any 4 of the problems listed in this great article, my mental health greatly suffers, I am irritable and cranky, tired and grumpy. Furthermore, when you are depressed and don't eat well the last thing you want to do is get up and move. And exercise is the cure-all for mental and digestive health ailments. As the article states, "If you're not moving, neither are you bowels. Exercise stimulates the contractions that move the things along the GI tract." I know when I don't exercise, I don't poop well, which leads to the vicious cycle again of irritability, irregular, uncomfortable bowel movements and crankiness.

This Vegetarian Times article is a great reminder for those of us who try to live a balanced life and who have made it through the holidays needing a re-centering, but this article also is a great way to kick-start your new year in the right direction, by addressing these key 5 steps to integrated, balanced and happy gut health.

Blah Humbug

This time of year is challenging. No matter how hard you try, those delectable holiday treats sneak in, no matter your good intentions and hold-strong self-control, you (i.e. me) will inevitably fail.

My self-control is very good all year round, even other holidays and special occasions, I can easily say no to the sweets, meats, dairy and certain delectables I choose not to consume on an almost-never basis. My food allergies, gluten and lactose intolerance, make it a simple choice, no one wants to engage in birthday festivities with the belching, stinky-farting birthday girl, nor the grumpy, bathroom-bound, one-year-older-cranky-next-day-birthday-girl either. So I kindly say, "No thanks."

But there is something about the holidays! It starts with Thanksgiving and snowballs from there into a zitty, gassy, bloated, chapped lips, irregular pooping (read irritable and oh-so lovely) me. I have the zits, raw private bits and irritability to prove it. Concluding thoughts, the holidays are evil.

Thanksgiving I did well, as I hosted, so I had most control. I made everything vegan, except, well the turkey. I proposed the idea of a turkey-less Turkey Day and that did not go over well. How could I resist the herb and lemon, crispy skin, dark meat that I have long loved, so I indulged slightly. Other than that Thanksgiving was easy. I didn't over eat, didn't eat the desserts others brought and thought to myself I can handle this.

Ha, nice try...then there is my Mom's birthday, which is overindulgent by nature. We went to Boston (hello yumminess). Between the long sitting/traveling time (i.e. traveling gas and bloating) to the overindulgence of yumminess and mucho vino, I was constipated and achey all over. My yoga sessions in our hotel room hoedown space helped, as did some intestinal massage and probiotics, but the entire weekend, I was not a happy camper.

I came home and immediately started a juice cleanse. Knowing Christmas was around the corner, my system needed a break. After my 4-day cleanse, my body, poops, discomfort and irritability finally balanced out.

Not consuming alcohol during the holidays is a nearly impossible feat, it seems. I swear the holidays are the only socially acceptable time to be drunk continuously for days, hey "it's festive!"

I was good, happy, pooping regularly and balanced until Christmas Day. Christmas Day is filled with family traditions that have been modified to fit my dietary restrictions yet still, is so far from my normal eating habits; mimosas, lots-o-coffee, bagels, lox, goat cheese a plenty. Then the following days is chocolates, more champagne, more, more. Hence poop, fart, poop, zits.

Oh wait, and Then there is New Years Eve!! More booze, more gooie-yumminess....Ahhhh....I'm too sore to keep wiping!

How do you do it? How do you celebrate without celebrating with food? Each childhood holiday was surrounded in celebratory foods, meals, drinks that marked and made that specific holiday special. Letting go of those family traditions is hard and somehow the idea of a holiday without them is less festive.

I think this time of year wouldn't be so hard except for the fact that there is 5 holiday celebrations for me, back to back with little to no break in between. It is also amazing to me how quickly our bodies get confused and tell us we crave things that we don't normally. It goes to show you the power of processed foods, sugars and fats, and their addictive properties. So rarely eating such things, this little dose is making my body go, "give me more, give me more."
My body can't handle that much irregularity and I normally don't subject it to so much hatred. It is ironic that the holidays are celebrating family and the holiday spirit, yet somehow I forget to celebrate me, my body and my health. I need to learn to merge the two, be celebratory and involved, while still celebrating my normally happy-healthy body.

@yoga_girl after Christmas smoothie

I am mesmerized by people like @Yoga_Girl, Rachel, a girl on Instagram I follow, she is so inspirational in her practice, positive thoughts and uplifting posts. She posted a pic the day after Christmas of a smoothie that she made from leftovers. I know, sounds gross, but it is beautiful and is rather amazing, because she eats so clean and mostly raw (Even on Christmas!!!), the mix included fruit, nuts, and a raw cinnamon roll thing. I was inspired and amazed. 

How does she do it? How can I do it?

Homemade Kimchee

For those who don't know about kimchee (kimchi) and other fermented foods, now you can have a quick, easy at home how-to to bring kimchee into your everyday life.

Fermentation is the natural decomposition of sugars in food to ethanol, or alcohol, or lactic acid, depending on the original ingredient breaking down. Naturally fermented foods are sour, such as yogurt, kimchee, sauerkraut and kefir. Fermentation is the breakdown of the dairy, yeast, vegetable etc., that releases enzymes during breakdown creating bacteria. I know, bacteria is grotty, but not all bacteria is created equal. The bacteria created during fermentation is very beneficial for you. Fermented foods are packed with probiotics which, as you well know, are amazing for your gut flora. In your gut is where the majority of your immune system lives, so fermented foods help boost your immune system. Read Mark's Daily Apple Definitive Guide to Fermented Foods and Can Pickles, Sauerkraut and Fermented Foods Make You Healthier? by Grace Suh Coscia, L.Ac., Dipl.O.M., Acupuncture Expert for more on the specific benefits of fermented foods.

This recipe is modified from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfillipo.

I use my Cuisinart food processor with the single, slicing blade and grating blade for making kimchee, all can be done by hand however (if you don't have a Cuisinart food processor, by all means tell someone close to you how much you NEED one pronto!).

Try as always to get organic whenever possible.

2 large carrots, shredded

Put in a bowl.

1 large head green cabbage, sliced thin (reserve a few clean, outside leaves)

I quarter my cabbage head and put it in the processor. Put 1/3 of the sliced cabbage in a bowl and add 1 T kosher salt. Squeeze the cabbage with your hands and work the salt into the sliced cabbage, continue to squeeze until the cabbage softens slightly and becomes watery.

Add another 1/3 of the sliced cabbage to the bowl. I normally slice in the food processor in stages, so slice another whole quarter of cabbage and add to massaged cabbage. Squeeze cabbage again waiting for the cabbage to release water. 

Add the last amount of cabbage and 1 T. more of kosher salt, massage cabbage. Set aside.

If you like heat, take 2 jalapenos and roast over an open flame. If you are avoiding the nightshade family, omit the jalapenos. If you have a gas burner stove, blacken the skin of both jalapenos until all sides are charred. When cool to the touch, run under cool water, using your fingers to gently pull the charred skin off the jalapenos. Try to remove as much skin as possible and rinse away any extra pieces of skin. Depending on how much heat you like, slice the jalapenos whole into julienne strips, or deseed prior to slicing.

In the massaged cabbage bowl add sliced jalapenos, 4 cloves minced garlic, the shredded carrots and a sprinkling of black pepper, toss with hands until well mixed.

Take 2 clean, dry 32 oz. mason jars and fill with kimchee mixture, pressing firmly down as you fill, packing the kimchee into the bottom. Fill to just the neck of the jar and push kimchee down making the liquid raise up and over the veggies. Take the reserved piece of cabbage leaf and push on top of the veggies, submerging all in the liquid. Fill both jars.

Set jars in a cool, dark place with a piece of wax paper draped over the top, do not put lids on the jars.






Let the kimchee sit out for 2 weeks, checking every few days to ensure the mixture is still submerged in the liquid. If it is not take your clean, dry hand and push down on the cabbage leaf.

If mold forms, don't be alarmed, this is normal, scrape it off.

After the two weeks, which will make your house smell funky (just a heads up), remove the top cabbage leaf, cover with a lid and refrigerate. The smell will be off putting at first, but the taste and the smell are nothing alike.

Kimchee will keep in the fridge for months.

I eat kimchee as a condiment. Add it to an Asian dish with veggies and rice. Or on a salad for an extra sour crunch. Or as a quick snack right out of the jar.

I will often times whip up a quick batch with leftover cabbage from a cole slaw or fish tacos, along with any other veggies I have laying around. Your gut will thank you.

Enjoy kimchee often.

Do I Really Need Meat Tonight?

I came across this article, well worth reading, Half Of Supermarket Chicken Harbors Superbugs, Consumer Reports about the chicken we consume, especially for those of us who eat limited meat, and turn to chicken as a less "offensive" (or so we thought) protein source. This article will definitely make you think.

The thing is if we think about it, while chicken might be easier to digest for us, say than red meat is, commercial chicken production is one of the worst livestock conditions for the animal, and ultimately the consumer. Commercial chicken is kept in very close quarters and in very tiny containers. I have heard that the inside of commercial chicken coops are so toxic that workers must wear respirators in order to work inside them, due to the horrendous fecal and urine fumes. Close conditions like these are rampant breeding grounds for bacteria and infection, hence the use of antibiotics being standard policy for commercial chicken production.

Because there is such a large demand, especially in the US, for meat products, commercial livestock plants are really the only "efficient" way to keep up with consumer demand, but the real question is why are we willing to sacrifice our health just to have meat on our plates each night? (And this isn't even addressing the issue of the animals' health)

The whole scenario is a double-edged sword, we consume a lot of meat products, so therefore the industries must keep up with demand, and in order to do that, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are major players in the decision process of how our food is handled. By default most commercially handled, processed and packaged meats are at some point given antibiotics, and lots of them. Antibiotics make sense, with the efficiency, ie cramped, spaces the animals can't afford to be sick, so antibiotics are often mixed into the feed to eliminate the frustrating, and expensive, hassle of sick animals. Antibiotics also ensure that if one animal gets sick the rest in the pen/crate won't get sick either.

While the article focuses primarily on the bacteria of the raw product, either in the package, during handling or not being cooked thoroughly; we all knew this though, chicken equals salmonella, we all should handle it with care and sanitize all surfaces that could potentially come into contact with any chicken goo. But the major question, I see, and is only briefly mentioned in the article, is what effect does all those antibiotics have on us, the people eating those raised from birth-antibiotic-laded animals that end up on our dinner plates night after night after night?

Ever eat commercial meat and feel aggravated after? Ever eat commercial meat and feel particularly emotional? Ever even noticed.... If you have I guarantee you, you are feeling the effects of a large dose of antibiotics. If you haven't, maybe now you might. We live in an antibiotic world. We are prescribed antibiotics at the slightest hint of an infection, we use antibacterial sanitizers on a daily basis to "clean" our hands, there is antibiotics in our food, we are basically consuming antibiotics all the time. And yet there are more bacteria and germs we learn about each day to be even more afraid of. "Pass the Purel please!" So this begs the question, what happens when you actually need antibiotics? Say you have a major infection and you are prescribed antibiotics, but they don't work? The dose is upped, the strain changed, ultimately if you are the average antibiotic consuming American, when you really need antibiotics, they won't work for you. "The more antibiotics that are doled out to people and animals, especially when given at low doses over a long period of time, the faster that microbes can evolve and outsmart those drugs, experts warn." With all the sanitizing products available in our everyday lives, we keep trying to wipe out the bacteria and germs, without thinking wait, maybe I can prevent them from effecting me in the first place, by thinking about what I eat and my lifestyle choices.

So what does this mean for you? Be aware. Know what you are eating! Be conscious of the meat you buy. And if you can't afford the antibiotic free, organic meat, maybe you don't need to eat meat that night. Americans eat on average 185 pounds of meat each year, when you figure the recommended portion size is 7 oz., you are looking at a minimum of 7 oz every day of the year, plus 57 extra meals of consuming meat! This means even further that we are eating antibiotics 423 times a year, and that is just from meat! This isn't taking into fact all the dairy products that come from the same commercial feed lots and the same animals that are injected with antibiotics from birth. And then we expect the antibiotics to work for us when we are sick!? How can they? We already have a steady dose of antibiotics coursing through our bodies at any given time.

What I walked away from this article thinking was, eat less meat, eat less dairy (of which I eat very little of as it is, but I need to almost remove them entirely) and if and when you do eat meat or dairy, buy antibiotic free, free range, organic and cook it completely, and if you can't do all those things, then say to yourself, do I really need meat tonight?

Is Healthcare Really About Health?

My Mom went in for a standard colonoscopy recently. Her first, as she is 50 and her father had colon cancer, so she is deemed a standard candidate for the recommended preventative procedure. And we agreed. Often approaching health from a preventative standpoint we felt that it would be a smart choice to rule out the "what if." According to medical professionals a colonoscopy is a standard non-invasive procedure, however the weekend that ensued, for us, after my Mom's colonoscopy was anything less than non-invasive.

Extremely nervous to even have to go to a hospital, my Mom even had me at home to avoid having to give birth in the "unnatural" hospital environment, just the concept of the colonoscopy was nerve-wracking for her. The whole procedure starts with a prep, which involves laxatives, fasting and a large amount of Gatorade. Most people we spoke to said the prep was the easy part. For my Mom the prep was horrendous. The forced flushing of your system is violent, sugar-overdosed and stomach-retching just to clean out your intestines and colon. It seems a more natural and soothing way to cleanse would have been a 3-5 day juice cleanse, but this was not a recommended prep option, or at least was not allowed by the facility performing the procedure. 

Which brings me to another point, alternative options were not even provided to my Mom. She was unaware that there are less invasive options such as a fecal immunochemical test, which we have only learned of, after doing research after this ordeal. You would think that medical professionals could provide patients with a list of alternative options? But sadly they don't, it is on you, the patient to do your research prior to scheduling a procedure.

After the retching clean out there is an inundation of medications from pain medication to full anesthetization just to stick a camera in your colon to see. They send you home with no medical recommendations other than don't drink alcohol or make any major decisions. Your entire intestinal and gut flora has been disrupted, but the subject of re-establishing a healthy gut flora is not even covered. What amazes me through the whole process is not once did the medical professionals ask about my Mom's lifestyle and eating habits. They didn't ask about her regular bowel movements. They just sugar-hopped her up for "the cleanse" (which was more sugar than she has ever consumed in one sitting, her bladder was hyper-active and her urethra extremely aggravated to the point of feeling like a yeast/bladder infection, which mind you she never gets). They didn't know that she has a bowel movement every morning, as soon as she wakes, no problems, no complications, clean and wipe once or twice, done. They didn't know she eats a mostly vegetarian, organic diet completely devoid of typical American foods, never processed, and certainly never artificially sugared and over caffeinated. They also failed to know that her "medications," which she so kindly wrote on a sheet of paper, "just in case," where not at all medications. On her list was iron, she is anemic, at times, especially after menstruation, acidophilus as a digestive aide and a daily multi-vitamin. It seems to me that many questions could have been answered, prior to "the cleanse" and subsequent camera insertion that would have potentially led to alternative methods of inspection.

In all her searching, mind you we are in Maine (i.e. resources are limited), there was no alternative to the colonoscopy. But I have to believe that a juice cleanse with organic, green, home-pressed juices for 3 days to a week, would have been less retching and uncomfortable for her. Furthermore, it seems to me that she could have had a colonic, far less invasive, with a small scope inserted during the process to see any potential polyps. Why does it need to be surgical? Why does there need to be medications involved? And why, after your entire colon has been stripped of all it's happy healthy flora, could they not replace it? Commonly with a colonic they take a version of "green juice" and make you hold it in your colon as long as you can, to reintroduce healthy flora back into your system. Couldn't a colonoscopy be treated in a more holistic way like a colonic?

To complicate her already stressful albeit "standard procedure" colonoscopy visit, she woke the next morning doubled over in excruciating pain. My Mom is not a pain medication person, she did her colonoscopy with only 75 mcg. fentanyl, standard doses are 100-500 mcg. and chose against the "twilight drug". As a whole she never takes even an aspirin for menstrual pain. She just deep yoga-breaths through it, and takes it easy. So when she said she was in pain, she was in real pain; which led us to the ER.

Once in the ER, the medical professionals wanted to give her pain medication, per usual, and she obliged against. I realized through this whole ordeal my Mom is an anomaly. People like their pain meds and willingly take them, rather than breathe through the pain. While I by no means imply we all just need to suck it up, myself included, there are times where pain meds are needed, it is unfortunate that alternatives are not offered for those patients, like my Mom, who choose to not be medicated. I think it it really interesting that a lot of the staff didn't understand other methods to make her more comfortable. The obvious ones to me were adjustable lighting. There is only the garish, harsh hospital lights. I understand they are necessary for examination, but there seems to be a need for calmer more soothing lights for the many hours spent sitting around waiting. It is known that lighting can greatly effect some one's mood and anxiety. Hospitals could be a lot more soothing if simply, alternative lights options we available.

After running a urine test and a abdomen exam, her blood was drawn. My Mom's white blood cell count was high, which led to a concern for the ER doctor that she had an infection. He requested a CT scan which required her to consume a liquid to get a proper read on the scan, as well as inject her with a similar liquid. Concerned again, with the inundation of sugar after the recent dreaded colonoscopy prep, Mom asked what would happen after the liquids passed through her system. We never really got a straight answer which led us to believe they didn't really know, which also made us realize that no one really ever asks. People just take what the doctors give us, no questions asked. That level of "trust" we put in our medical professional's hands is astounding.

The liquid she needed to drink for the scan was mixed with Crystal Light, again more sugar. She asked if the solution could just be mixed with water, which shocked the ER staff, but they provided her with a solution, which much to her surprise just tasted like sugar water. The solution is sweet already, but unknowingly (having never tried it before themselves, Mom was the guinea pig for the ER staff) they by default, mix the sugar solution with more sugar!

The CT scan showed acute appendicitis and in order to have immediate surgery we needed to take an ambulance to a larger hospital an hour away that was properly staffed on a Saturday evening at 10 PM. Exhausted, hungry, emotional and drained we got into the ambulance, me in the front seat with one of the EMTs, Mom in the back on a stretcher with the other. Out of all the medical professionals we spoke to, all said that the appendicitis just happened to be an odd coincidence right after having a colonoscopy, there is no medical research showing a connection. But we both found a few things interesting. Everyone we spoke to that had had an appendectomy, each had had a medical procedure prior to the emergency appendectomy, some within days, others, within weeks of the initial procedure: wisdom teeth extracted, ovarian cyst removed, etc. It seems even further unclear what the appendix exists for, yet we cut it out anyway. Medical professionals don't seem to know and Google provides two options: 1. That when humans ate a more vegetarian diet the appendix functioned as an additional digestive aid in breaking down the extra cellulose intake of the plant matter and 2. The appendix functions as additional immune booster, the appendix may be a dedicated environment for friendly bacteria which facilitate digestion and fight infection. The second explanation makes the most logical sense to us, especially after hearing other's tales about a surgical procedure "coincidentally" coinciding with an appendectomy. I know the medical world functions based on medical research, the coincidence seems more than just that, and intuitively it makes sense.

While in the hospital, as accommodating as they tried to be, it really is not an environment conducive to health. The lights are bright, noises loud, limited exposure to natural light and a nearly impossible environment for rest. While I appreciate the nurses and doctors try their best to be as accommodating as possible, it is seems to me, hospitals exist to support the magic of the surgeons, and the rest of the medical staff tries to provide a less hospitable version of hospitality service.

Between the hourly vital monitoring and constant noise, furthermore, not accommodating family members (everyone knows, even medical research shows, people heal quicker when they are surround by loved ones), the forceful inundation of medications and the sheer disconnect of health, wellness and good food is saddening, hospitals are a disjointed place where health by intuition's standard is not considered, only health by medical standards are addressed. 

Hospitals have dietitians on staff but I am not sure what the dietitian does. Being a gluten intolerant, extremely sugar sensitive, vegetarian they brought her coffee with sugar, ginger ale soda, apple juice and chicken bouillon broth! She was given caffeine, sugar, sugar, meat and gluten! Had she been any less conscious and had I not been there (which I would imagine happens for many people in the hospital, being alone, because hospitals are not conducive to family staying around) she would have gotten all the things her body can't handle, especially vulnerable right after getting out of surgery. Furthermore, she hadn't eaten a proper meal in over 3 days, between the colon prep and then the excruciating pain from the acute appendicitis, and surgery prep, the most she had had in days was water, saline IV fluid and sugar. The poor woman was hungry. When the doctor had given her the OK to eat, she ate what I had brought for her; organic, plain yogurt, fresh organic fruit and liquid acidophilus (with the hope of helping her gut flora re-establish balance). 

The older woman who shared the room with my Mom had had two heart attacks and had now had very painful-sounding pneumonia. She too was limited to the paltry liquid diet of soda, juice, coffee with sugar and beef bullion. She was frail and hungry and was angry that she was unable to eat. The next day her family came to visit and insisted that the hospital feed her "real food". What was brought to her, broke my heart, because while her comfort might have been considered, her health was not. She was brought more coffee with sugar and now cream, 7Up, ice cream and jello. When asked afterward by her family, she reported she felt better now that she had some "real" food. The thing is, she just was given more sugar, so if anything she was on a momentary sugar high, which of course feels great, until the glycemic index crashes. Furthermore, sugar is horrible for congestion and especially pneumonia. Intuitively this makes sense and it is often recommended to stay away from sugar when you have a common cold, let alone severe pneumonia. It shocks me that the hospital dietitian recommended that sugar, caffeine and dairy were the best foods to be putting in this poor woman's sick body?

The thing is there are no alternative options. Even the cafeteria available to the family visiting is sad. Everything is pre-made, pre-packaged, sugared, salted and fat laden. Hoping for something green and fresh, well there are salads of iceberg lettuce, topped with cheese, croutons and a creamy dressing and maybe a few pieces of sad, bruised fruit for those that think to reach for them.

This whole experience makes me wonder, how is there such a disconnect? How does our healthcare system not consider good, clean food a part of health? The health of the patients nor their family is considered and that is apparent by the measly food options available. If someone is sick or are in recovery, provide them with homemade clean chicken or vegetable broth. Dark leafy vegetables and clean juices, not just sugary fruit juice. There should be juicers constantly whirring, pumping out parsley, kale, ginger, celery juice, the nutrients and health benefits that come from consuming this when your well is astronomically healthful, imagine the benefits when you are in recovery! The fact that a measly iceberg lettuce salad topped with fat, dairy and gluten is the only "green" option available and that the simplicity of a fresh garden salad with a variety of spring greens and bright multicolored veggies and herbs would knowingly provide such a wonderful foundation for recovery.

Hospitals don't factor in the known amenities, aside from food, that aide in recovery and it is disheartening that these options aren't even available. The consideration of natural light, alternatives to medications, such as soothing lighting, warm compresses, calming massage and touch and accommodation for loved ones willing to be by the patients' side until better, would all help make the hospital experience more pleasant; and subsequently would send people home quicker, decreasing the cost of having patients in beds for days, weeks, or months on end. If each patient was provided with a complete service of healthcare, there would actually be less people requiring healthcare.

I understand that such a healthcare overhaul is a big undertaking. The staff and nurses try their best now with what is available to them, to be as accommodating as possible. It just seems on an administrative board level these accommodations should be considered more in the all inclusive realm of providing healthcare.

While both Mom and I are grateful to the surgeon to removing her appendix before it ruptured and the kindness of the many nurses and doctors we met between the colonoscopy procedure to the first ER and the second hospital, we both walked away with a pact to ourselves and each other. Live clean. Eat clean. Listen to your intuition. Take care of this one body and try your damnedest to not need "healthcare" in anyway. While at some point we will need to possibly rely on surgeons, we will both try our best to stay as far away, by taking proper care of ourselves so that we don't need to step foot in a hospital anytime soon. 

Also in the mean time, we have to hope, and would surely imagine we are not the only ones who have experienced such shocking disconnection between healthcare and health; that possibly facilities around the world do actually provide healthcare that is more in tune with our concept of health. We will continue to keep searching for such facilities. It is just a shame that the standard form of care pays little attention to the complete view of health.