If your energy flow is interrupted or “blocked”, this will often result in physical, mental or even emotional disturbance. Fortunately there is an elegant solution. I have found that using only gentle, natural movements and some light twisting and strategic stretching, the natural energy flow can be restored, often within a single two-hour session. The result is usually that the physical, mental or emotional ailment will quickly subside.
My system is effective for migraine, headaches, anxiety, insomnia and some cases of depression.
Please contact me for details about treatment options for patients and training options for practitioners.
Kristina lives an exemplary lifestyle. She takes amazing care of herself and millions of people worldwide that follow her tips on lifestyle and raw food preparation.
Kristina lives in Houston, where she heads the largest organic produce co-operative in the United States, Rawfully Organic. Kristina coaches and inspires thousands of others to be fully raw. She is also the author of fullyraw.com.
If the radiance of her smile doesn’t inspire you enough to go raw, surely the exquisite flavors of her recipes will!
Fully Raw Kristina
Eight years ago, Kristina sought to cure her Hyperglycemia. She switched to a fully-raw plant-based diet and follows Dr. Doug Graham’s recommendation for keeping the ratio of 80% carbohydrates to 10% protein to 10% fat. There is no question that Kristina is thriving on her new diet. She has made it her mission to share the many benefits of fully raw food with you.
In the following videos, she will inspire you to experiment with raw plants at your own pace:
You can find Kristina’s videos in my Raw Food Recipes and other sections of this Web site, or visit her site at fullyraw.com.
Here are some more videos that I think you’ll find particularly valuable:
Cancer is the disease characterized by abnormal, uncontrolled growth and division of cells, which can create tumors that severely block the functioning of healthy cells. In fact doctors distinguish over 100 different types of cancer primarily based on the location of the tumor, or based on other symptoms if no tumor is detected. Unfortunately, it often takes 20 years or more for a tumour or other symptoms to show up in a medical screening.
Nearly Everyone Has Cancer
The American Cancer Society states that 12,549,000 Americans have cancer. While it may be alarming enough to know that 4% of Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, it ignores the other 301,365,040 (96%) of Americans that may be unaware that cancerous cells exist in their bodies.
According to Dr. William Li, “in autopsy studies of people who died in car accidents, up to 40% of women between age 40 and 50 have microscopic cancers in the breast”.
Compare that against the National Cancer Institute’s breast cancer statistics for 2007-2009: Age 40 – 1.47%. Age 50 – 2.38 %. Averaging the two, we get 1.925% for the 40-50 group. The NCI further states that 12.4% of American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
The “official numbers” are a far cry from the actual numbers! Supposedly just 2% of women in their 40’s have breast cancer, but autopsies reveal a reality that is 20 times greater.
Dr. Li concludes, “We probably form microscopic cancers in our bodies all the time. We just don’t know it.”
In providing these statistics, my intention is not to scare you. In fact, my motivation is precisely the opposite. My goal is to show you that your immune system is more than capable of defeating the ubiquitous (yet weak) cancer cells.
Normal, healthy cells grow and divide at a normal rate, and they are pre-programmed to die so to make room for newer, growing healthy cells. If a cell’s DNA mutates or otherwise becomes corrupt, the body’s immune system is designed to detect these unwanted changes, and kill off the abnormal cells before they are able to block the functions of healthy cells.
What Causes Cancer?
Cancer cells appear as a genetic mutation of a healthy cell in response to its environment. That is to say that the healthy cell that finds itself in an unhealthy surrounding attempts to “adapt” to the unhealthy environmental conditions in an effort to survive.
The 3 main culprits are: toxins, acid, and low oxygen.
– toxins in the air, drinking water and in food and “medicine”
– acid produced by stress and mass-produced “food”
– lower levels of oxygen, due to an acidic diet and shallow breathing
The conditions that seem to cause a normal, healthy cell to mutate into a cancer cell are low oxygen, acidosis and/or toxemia. Cancer cells are weaker than ordinary, healthy cells. They either die or commit suicide (cell apoptosis) upon contact with oxygen, vitamin C, lemon juice, or when the body returns to its healthy alkaline state.
Keep in mind, I am not suggesting that there are only 3 factors that can corrupt a cell’s DNA, causing it to become cancerous. So far I’ve stated what I believe to be the top 3.
Recent studies have suggested a causal link between the humanpapillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancers (and to a much lesser extent, rectal and other cancers). Between 93 and 97 percent of cervical cancers were found to be HPV-positive. It certainly does make sense to protect yourself from the sexually-transmitted HPV virus. But I’ve decided not to include HPV as one of the top-3 causes of cancer for the following reason. According to the prestigious Mayo Clinic:
What causes cervical cancer isn’t clear. However, it’s certain that the sexually transmitted infection called human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a role. Evidence of HPV is found in nearly all cervical cancers. However, HPV is a very common virus and most women with HPV never develop cervical cancer. This means other risk factors, such as your genetic makeup, your environment or your lifestyle choices, also determine whether you’ll develop cervical cancer.
In addition to viruses, which could initiate or accelerate a cancer growth, it would be wise to watch out for fungal infections including candida albicans. According to Dr. Tullio Simoncini of Rome, Italy, all cancer patients also have the candida fungus. Other doctors confirm an extremely high incidence of the candida fungus among cancer patients, but many believe that the candida virus, being opportunistic, takes advantage of a weakened body to form its colony. Dr. Simoncini contends that the tiny candida fungus first enters, then actually produces the cancer, which weakens the body allowing the fungus to grow more rapidly. Dr. Simoncini uses intravenous injection of sodium bicarbonate and/or topical application of iodine to rid the body of cancer and candida.
Cancer’s Cause and Cure: the 1931 Nobel Prize-Winning Discovery
Otto Heinrich Warburg, with a double doctorate in chemistry and medicine, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1931, and died in Berlin in 1970. Dr. Warburg discovered that cancer is caused by weakened cell respiration due to lack of oxygen at the cellular level. He further proved that cancer thrives in anaerobic (without oxygen), or acidic, conditions. Damaged cell respiration causes fermentation, resulting in low pH (acidity) in the cells. Cancer cells maintain an acidic pH, as low as 6.0, due to lactic acid production and elevated CO2. Oxygen is directly related to pH. The higher the pH, the higher the concentration of oxygen molecules.
A normal healthy cell takes in oxygen to convert glucose into energy. But in the absence of oxygen, the cell must nourish itself by converting glucose through fermentation. This produces lactic acid and lowers the cell pH (making it more acidic) and destroys the ability of DNA and RNA to control cell division. The cancer cells multiply rapidly and do not compensate by dying more rapidly. The lactic acid also causes local pain as it destroys cell enzymes. Cancerous tumors appear as a rapidly growing external cells covering a core of dead cells.
In his speech “The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer”, Dr. Warburg stated that “nobody today can say that one does not know what cancer and its prime cause is. On the contrary, there is no disease whose prime cause is better known, so that today ignorance is no longer an excuse that one cannot do more about prevention.”
Subsequently, researchers found cancer’s genetic link. Warburg spoke rather of the mitochondria being the origin of the damage to the cellular respiration. In fact, both theories fit together perfectly. And in fact, all correct theories must fit together. Theories that don’t fit are necessarily flawed.
It would seem, then, that the complete cycle is as follows: Stress and toxins cause acidosis, which lowers the oxygen, and with insufficient oxygen, the cell’s DNA mutates for survival, then damages the mitochondria, which damages cellular respiration, causing the cell to use fermentation, which produces more acid, and the cycle repeats.
Complete Cancer Cycle
Preventing cancer is better than curing it
Since every person has some cancer cells, everyone must have adequate access to professional assistance in preventing the inevitable, that the number of cancer cells will grow over time, and in a large percentage of people, will eventually result in tumours and otherwise appear “on the radar” of the current medical establishment.
Currently doctors are so busy treating the sick that they do not have time to focus on prevention. ironically, the only way to decrease their workload on sick people is to focus instead on prevention. In North America, there is no system in place that rewards doctors for keeping patients healthy.
But there are some good scientists that are working on additional ways to prevent cancer. You already know that you can prevent cancer by reducing stress, keeping yourself well-oxygenated through deep breathing, avoiding toxins, and maintaining a healthy PH with your diet. Perhaps the latest high-tech scientific discovery that could help you and your loved ones prevent cancer relates to disallowing the rapid formation of new blood vessels to cancer tissues. In the following video, William Li shows how many foods, particularly vegetables, fruits and spices, work synergistically as antiangiogenetics, that is, that they collectively assist the body in halting the blood supply to cancer cells.
It may not come as a surprise that vegetables, fruits and herbs work synergistically to support a healthy, disease-free body. But any scientists that go to great lengths to prove to the world that this is so should be applauded and duly rewarded. The absence of such scientific studies has led a great number of benevolent doctors to shun the use of herbs and vegetables in healing. These same doctors would gladly recommend natural products if only someone would prove that they are safe, let alone effective. Massive drug companies can afford millions of dollars to test their chemicals in laboratories, but small farmers cannot.
Take a vegetable like broccoli for example. The average person may assume that it is both safe and healthy to eat broccoli, and most of these people may also guess that eating broccoli may help you avoid cancer. But are these proven facts? Or it is wishful thinking on behalf of the world’s broccoli farmers and consumers? I was surprised to find a page about broccoli at cancer.org, the home page for the American Cancer Society. The ACS generously admits that “Broccoli contains certain chemicals that may reduce the risk of colorectal or other cancers” and that “It is reasonable to include broccoli as part of a balanced diet”. But if you continue reading the same page, under the heading “Evidence“, the Cancer Society repeatedly calls for more tests to clarify and confirm that broccoli is helpful in preventing cancer. So far, it is confirmed that broccoli is helpful to laboratory animals, but we are not so sure that it is good for humans. Read and weep:
Randomized clinical trials are needed to clarify these results.
Laboratory and animal studies have suggested that certain compounds in broccoli may have anti-cancer properties. These types of studies can suggest possible helpful effects, but they do not provide proof that such effects can be achieved in humans. Further studies are needed to find out whether possible anticancer properties could benefit humans… More research in animals and humans will be needed to confirm these findings.
Cannabinoids to the Rescue
Every cell (including cancer cells) have a cannabinoid receptor (there are two types, called CB1 or CB2). The receptor is similar to a lock that waits for a specific key. In this case the keys are
cannabinoids, which are found most abundantly in the cannabis plant, and are also produced in very small numbers by the human body itself and in the cacao plant.
When these locks receive their special key, all 212 cell types are regulated. This means that if the cell is cancerous, it either becomes noncancerous or dies. the noncancerous cells are also improved, not
harmed. For example, an overactive immune system (which attacks healthy cells and causes diseases including arthritis and many more) will reduce its activity to a healthy level.
Citing an article in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Dr. J. Michael Bostwick writes that “cannabinoid agonists have shown promise in the laboratory as antineoplastic agents, with demonstrated antitumor effects including decreased angiogenesis, decreased metastasis through interference with cell migration, inhibited carcinogenesis, and attenuated inflammation“.
As you might expect, neither broccoli nor cannabis is proven to be safe or effective in preventing cancer, at least according to some highly-doubtful individuals. Both have been around for millenia. Both green vegetables allegedlyrich in essential nutrients such as proteins, omega fatty acids and vitamins. But who will prove these allegations? Proper 3-phase scientific studies cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to complete, and their findings may be completely disregarded by the medical community if even one tiny procedural detail is overlooked. In the case for broccoli, the raw product is legally available everywhere for about $1.50/pound. Unfortunately, because cannabis is still widely illegal, its cost may be upwards of $5,000/pound. And while many countries and states allow individuals to consume cannabis for their private medicinal use, many of these same jurisdictions haveinsanely banned scientific research, or they’ve made it so complicated and costly (through bureaucracy) that hardly a sane scientist will attempt it.
But doctors are calling, and some are screaming for more research to be done. The New England Journal of Medicine has recently conducted a poll of its members, the majority of whom are physicians, on whether they would recommend prescribing medical cannabis for pain and nausea related to the use of chemotherapy in a 68-year-old breast cancer patient.
Dr. J. Michael Bostwick argued that “federal policy has failed to keep pace with recent scientific advances” including the recently-discovered endocannabinoid system, which (in an article published by the Mayo Clinic) he called “a finely tuned physiologic modulator”. He noted that cannabis may have “analgesic, appetite-modulatory, immunosuppressant, antiemetic, neuroleptic, or antineoplastic effects, among other possibilities.” His conclusion: “As federal gridlock prevents much-needed research, patients… deserve the potential relief that medicinal marijuana affords.”
The poll closed with a total of 1446 responses, 76% of which support the use of medicinal cannabis. Additionally, 118 comments were submitted. The overwhelming majority were extremely positive, and correctly noted that while the American government has stunted the research there, the rest of the world has indeed provided sufficient proof as to the safety and efficacy of the cannabis plant.
The few opponents made some valid points too, mainly dealing with the poor delivery method that is smoking. Doctors Gary M. Reisfield, and Robert L. DuPont argued that “smoked marijuana is a nonmedical, nonspecific, and potentially hazardous method of drug delivery” and also remarked that “If [the patient’s] pulmonary disease includes lymphangitic spread, could smoking cause hypoxemia?” I wholeheartedly agree. Smoking not only stinks, it sucks.
Cannabis is a vegetable, and it is most useful in its raw form. Raw cannabis contains THC-acid and CBD-acid (THCa and CBDa). When heated, these convert to THC and CBD respectively, which reduce the benefits. THCa is much more anti-inflammatory. THC creates the often-unwanted high.
According to Dr. William Courtney, the tolerable dose of THCa is 60 times higher than with THC (600mg vs 10mg). The low human tolerance for (smoked or cooked) THC explains why some enjoy feeling “high” while others feel an unpleasant “acute toxic effect”. [5]
Dr. Courtney used a tincture of raw cannabis to treat a “massive…inoperable brain tumor” in an 8-year-old child. At 2 months: a dramatic reduction. At 8 months: the tumour had nearly disappeared. The child avoided side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
Two pre-clinical trials have shown that CBD thwarts breast cancer growth. “…The effects of CBD on the reduction of breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis” and “Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells”.
Other Healing Herbs
Other plants such as dandelion and probably thousands more, tend to work synergistically to defend the body against acidity, low oxygen, toxins and stress. Unfortunately, the hundreds of millions of dollars donated to cancer research actually promote harmful chemicals rather than natural herbs.
The University of Windsor is currently conducting the clinical trials in humans that will hopefully prove to the world that dandelion causes cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis) while leaving healthy cells unchanged or improved.
Some of the best-known and most highly-recommended herbs for fighting cancer are: aloe, cayenne pepper, ginger, curcumin, cinnamon, garlic and basil. These and other herbs and spices work synergistically to alkalize and detoxify the body, as well as to support the immune system, which in turn protects us from serious diseases. As mentioned in the video above, one of these protective actions is to cut off the blood supply of cancer cells.
The Baking Soda Cancer Cure
Dr. Simoncini and other doctors, as well as alternative health care providers, are turning more and more to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as possibly the best solution for cancer. Baking soda is highly-alkalizing, proven safe*, inexpensive, and available everywhere.
*by this, I mean that Baking Soda has stood the test of time. It has been used internally as an antacid with very infrequent unwanted side effects for many years.
I would not recommend using baking soda heavily for a long period of time. It is too powerful as an alkalizer to be used this way. Some of the body’s vital processes including digestion depend on acid. Dr. Simoncini’s protocol involves injecting the Sodium Bicarbonate directly to the tumour site, thereby having no effect on digestion in most cases.
The University of Arizona conducted a study entitled “Bicarbonate increases tumor pH and inhibits spontaneous metastases”.
SPDT: Sono Photo Dynamic Therapy
This therapy is not yet approved by the FDA, but is currently being offered in Guangzhou, China, Sydney Australia and Tijuana, Mexico. The system uses a chlorophyl-like substance that bonds to cancer cells, then subjects the patient to harmless Ultrasound and Infrared waves, which causes the release of oxygen molecures directly onto the cancer site, killing the cancer. I have personally visited the hospital in Guangzhou where this treatment was developed, and I have met with a multitude of patients from all over the world that had recovered from even the most fatal cancers.
Chemicals Cause Grotesque Mutations
Many studies are abandoned prior to their completion, to hide the horrible effects of these toxic substances on animals… grotesque mutations, undue suffering, sterility and untimely death. Leaked images of these poor creatures and their bizarre deformations are all over the Internet. But I find these images disturbing, and frankly I’m much too cool to post depictions of cruelty here.
Protect Yourself and Your Family
Breathe slowly and deeply as often as possible. Remind yourself to do this by placing a letter “B” around your home and office.
Drink the cleanest, fluoride-free water possible, and choose organic vegetables and fruits, while avoiding grains, sugars and processed foods as much as possible.
Use natural healing herbs together for their synergistic effects. If the use of cannabis is illegal in your jurisdiction, please write to your lawmakers, and demand that they make this important herb available to everyone. Many jurisdictions allow the medicinal use of cannabis for treating the symptoms of cancer, but this clearly ignores your right to prevent the disease.
Since stressful situations will inevitable arise, learn to observe these situations without accumulating the tension inside you. If stress does accumulate in you, it is important to utilize a stress-elimination technique, such as a healing massage, as often as possible.
NOTE: this is a “living document” that will be revisited and updated regularly as new information is available.
This information is given on the basis that it may be helpful but it does not replace the advice of your doctor. I would encourage you to discuss this information with your doctor. Every case is different, and your doctor is able to conduct a direct examination and help you to weigh your treatment options face-to-face.
Human papillomavirus is a necessary cause of invasive cervical cancer worldwide, The Journal of Pathology,Volume 189, Issue 1, pages 12–19, September 1999
Journal of Lipid Research, Cardiolipin and Electron Transport Chain Abnormalities in Mouse Brain Tumor Mitochondria: Lipidomic Evidence Supporting the Warburg Theory of Cancer, www.jlr.org/cgi/content/full/49/12/2545
Bostwick JM, Medicinal Use of Marijuana, New England Journal of Medicine 2013; 368:866-868 February 28, 2013 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMclde1300970
Bostwick JM. Blurred Boundaries: The Therapeutics and Politics of Medical Marijuana. Mayo Clinic Proceedings2012;87:172-186
Oesch S , Gertsch J. Cannabinoid Receptor Ligands as Potential Anticancer Agents—High Hopes for New Therapies. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology . 2009;61(7):839–853
…The effects of CBD on the reduction of breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis”. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 129 (1): 37–47. 2010.
McAllister SD et al (2007) Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells”. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 6 (11): 2921–7.
Bicarbonate increases tumor pH and inhibits spontaneous metastases, Robey IF, et. al. Arizona Cancer Center,University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
[5] Gerra G et al. Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov . 2010;5(1):46–52
A simple eight-petaled approach to achieving wellness of the body, mind and soul.
Your body, mind and soul are one. This one-ness is your being. The three are so inextricably bound, they are you. While many ailments may affect one or more aspects of your being, most are the result of living out of harmony with your being, your nature. Wellness is achieved by living in balance. Below I present a lifestyle that will provide that balance, and thus prevent or cure almost any conceivable disease. It will take some dedication and commitment to reverse decades of toxic accumulation and bad habits. But the blueprint that I provide here contains amazing restorative powers. Wellness is well within your reach. If you adopt a lifestyle of wellness by making better decisions every day, then you are much less likely to require the help of a doctor or a hospital. Preventing disease is the key. And it’s relatively easy to accomplish if you begin to take charge now. Start this moment. Here are the eight simple steps:
Step 1. Be Wiggly: You were wiggly even before you were born. As wiggliness dwindles, so does wellness. So do whatever you can to reclaim your wiggliness… Sing! Dance! Practice moving like the wind and like water. Your body and mind are one, so moving your body unlocks your mind. The best exercises encourage fluid motions throughout your entire body, such as yoga, martial arts and swimming. In short, choose the exercises that help you get and stay wiggly.
Step 2. Breathe deeply and slowly. Aim to spend as much time as possible in areas of clean air. Ideally, you will be far removed from contaminating factories. You will install good air filters in your home and office. Clean fresh air is the number one nutrient, and it is essential to wellness. Now breathe that clean air deeply and slowly.
Step 3. Go out in the sun! Getting adequate sunlight on your skin is absolutely vital to your health, so make sure that you get at least 15 minutes of sunlight on your body each day, preferably around sunrise or sunset to avoid the strongest mid-day rays that are more likely to burn you.
Step 4. Bathe in clean water! Chlorine and other toxins found in city water supplies can be absorbed through the skin. Do not drink or bathe in low quality, contaminated or “dead” water. A Japanese scientist proved that water loses much of its life-giving properties when it becomes stagnant. Ideally, you would drink and bathe in living water directly from a crisp mountain spring. But if you can’t then do the next best thing by installing an excellent filter, rather than relying on bottled water, which is often as contaminated as tap water, and sometimes even worse due to plastic materials leaching into the water from the bottle, messing up the body’s natural hormonal balance.
Step 5. Eat a plant-based diet: Alkalize your body with raw organic herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Going raw vegan is not what most people think that it is. Raw vegans feast on virtually limitless options for tastes and textures, while enjoying a much higher energy level, with virtually no disease.
Step 6. Detoxify: Even if you eat correctly by avoiding GMO’s, pesticides, and the antibiotics and hormones in animal products, some toxins are sure to sneak their way into your body… so it’s wise to keep a rough count of how many toxins are coming in on a daily basis compared to how many are going out. Your body will eliminate some of these toxins naturally, but the rest will require a specific effort to get rid of. Otherwise, they will accumulate in your tissues and eventually cause disease. Fortunately there are many ways to detoxify, and many of the methods are downright pleasurable, like a relaxing massage or laying in a sauna.
Step 7. Meditate or pray: Open your mind and your heart to the divine truth that penetrates you and the entire universe. The more profoundly you observe everything, the more your consciousness can evolve, and this will lead you to be healthier and happier.
Step 8. Rest: Focus more on the quality of your sleep rather than the quantity. And pay attention to your dreams, since this one aspect of sleep is by far the most overlooked and it can bring benefits beyond your present belief.
Love: This is not step 9. It is the most important element in all the other steps. Love is your core, and fear is the opposite of love. So definitely don’t be afraid to love. Love yourself. Love others. Love the universe itself. Love love. You can even love fear. Whatever you do, don’t fear love. To easily recall the steps to total wellness, you can imagine an 8-petal lotus flower with love at the center.
Here’s a very short summary of the eight steps to wellness:
In this video, Megan Elizabeth discusses several methods of birth control, including condoms, pills, injectables and Natural Family Planning. After carefully weighing the pros and the cons of each, Megan has selected to use Natural Family Planning. And she has found it to be remarkably effective, and easy-to-implement using a new gadget that she demonstrates in her video.
Condoms are the most popular method of birth control, but they can break, rendering them worse than useless, and even when they don’t break, they can be irritating, and they are sometimes made with questionable materials including animal products. Pills and injectables rely on tampering with one or more of the body’s essential hormones, which can cause mood swings and other even more serious side effects.
Natural Family Planning, on the other hand, teaches you the science of fertility, so that you will know, almost without a doubt, which days you can become pregnant, and which days it is nearly impossible. The key is to find out precisely which day ovulation begins, by taking the female partner’s basal body temperature each morning. Pregnancy is most likely on that day and the five days prior, since sperm can live inside a woman for about five days. If this sounds complicated, watch the video to see how Megan explains it, while showing you her fancy gizmo that reminds her each morning to take her temperature, then it takes the temperature, and displays a green light on days when you are night likely to conceive, and a red light on days that you’d better not proceed to have sexual relations unless you are ready for a new child.
My comment:
I first learned about the Natural Family Planning method of birth control in highschool. At that time, I was told that the Catholic Church does not approve of any other method of birth control because other methods “artificially” interfere with God’s plan for childbirth. That was hardly a convincing argument, so I’m pretty sure that most of my fellow classmates decided not to pursue this method, even though the science behind it is quite good.
When it came time for me to help my first girlfriend decide which method of birth control was best, I asked doctors and pharmacists to recommend good books on birth control, and then I hit the library. I was not completely surprised that none of the recommended books even mentioned NFP. Since my research revealed that no method besides abstinence was 100% effective, and we were not yet ready to start our family (we were in love but a wee bit young), my then-girlfriend and I settled on using condoms and Ortho Tri-Cyclen. My then-girlfriend did experience some mood alterations, which were less pronounced with another brand of the pill that she apparently tolerated better.
Since that time, I have learned a lot more about hormones, and overall I would recommend not messing with them unless you have a some life-threatening condition that your doctor insists can be fixed with hormones. And even then, I think it’s wise to work with your doctor(s) to find a suitable alternative, because while tinkering with hormones, you may fix one essential bodily system while breaking another.
In Megan’s video, she presents quite a compelling case to give Natural Family Planning another look. If you are with someone that would not make a good mother or father, or anyone that you aren’t planning on staying with long-term, I will officially recommend abstinence. But if you have decided to throw away that option, then the next-best option would be to “double-up” the safety by using both condoms and Natural Family Planning. Megan says it in her video, and it may be quite obvious for some, but I’ll repeat it here just in case: Natural Family Planning will NOT protect you from sexually-transmitted diseases. And for the record, condoms are not completely safe in this regard either, hence my number one recommendation would be to wait, and find the right partner. (Which is easier said than done… I’ve invested more than a decade already and haven’t found too many candidates that would help me teach my future children the right values. But I’ll save that topic for another day.)
Everyone loves falafels! But most falafels are made with poor ingredients and then deep-fried, which creates additional harmful toxins. Thanks to Megan Elizabeth for her healthy (mostly-raw) version of this Mediterranean classic!
Ingredients (for falafel balls)
3/4 cup raw Sunflower seeds (soaked and dried)
2 cups carrot chunks
cilantro
1/2 cup scallions (green onions)
teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
sesame seeds
Additional Ingredients (for the wrap)
romaine or butter lettuce
red cabbage
chopped tomatoes
cilantro
1/2 tablespoon of sesame tahini
1 tablesoon of water
1 tablespoon of lime juice
Instructions:
Blend the first 7 ingredients in a food processor. Then make some little balls and dip in the sesame seeds such that the sesame seeds stick to the outside of the balls making them less sticky. Put in the refrigerator for about an hour (optional).
Use the leaves of a red cabbage as a pita bread, fill with lettuce, tomato, cilantro and your falafel balls. Add a dressing of blended tahini, water and lime juice.
