To Alkalize or NOT to Alkalize? I was diagnosed with a large and rare tumour inside my spinal cord (Astrocytoma)

To Alkalize or not To Alkalize?

by Lee Gefen

A lot of friends and family have been asking me what exactly is this alkaline ‘diet’ that I’m following (I hate the word ‘diet’ as I have been ‘dieting’ my whole life and I know diets don’t work! A lifestyle is a better word).

To me (and Dave), this knowledge has revolutionised our whole way of looking at food and drink , our bodies, our thoughts our actions and our..

PRIORITIES:

It can cost a lot of money to buy water filters, organic foods, supplements, quality juicing and blending appliances, the list goes on.

It does takes A LOT of time daily in the kitchen, washing, chopping, storing, juicing/blending/cooking/generally preparing meals. Everything needs to be planned and organised.

It takes an incredible amount of willpower and discipline to stick with what you believe when that goes against what most people believe, and the temptation to 'indulge' in what is not good for you at all is everywhere, readily available, heavily promoted, and encouraged innocently by friends and family and society in general.

However, this is all offset by the benefits which can take time but nothing worthwhile is easy. Our skin and eyes are noticebly clearer, we feel lighter and more energetic, we feel empowered knowing we can have relative control over our health, rather than feel victimised by that re occuring condition that 'happens' to you.

Touch wood, but I haven't had anything resembling a cold or flu in over a year, and Dave hasn't been sick since last April (in Belgium, where stress, baguets and chocolate were his diet!) We also feel blessed that in this life and in this country we are able to choose to live like this.

So, I’ve decided to use this opportunity to share it with you.

Most of what I will write about is based on extensive reading I’ve done in the last year.

In particular, it is based on the work of Dr. Robert Young, who over the past two and a half decades has been researching the true causes of ‘disease’ and the importance of pH balance in the body.
I have used his book ‘The pH Miracle’ as a main reference.

Of course, nothing that I write about should be taken as advice but simply as a summary of what I’ve learned.

As I am sitting down to write this blog, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed because this is such a huge topic and there’s no way I can cover all of it in one post. But I’ll do my best to explain the basics and hopefully this will intrigue you readers to go and do some more reading…

The basic premise is that of all the balances the body strive to maintain, the most crucial is the one between acid and alkaline (base). The medical view agrees with this premise but it does not understand how the body turns itself inside out and upside down in order to keep that delicate balance.

There is a consensus that the body must maintain a certain ph balance of the blood (slightly alkaline), however, what is not understood nor researched in the medical world, is how exactly the body maintains this balance, namely by compromising its own functions and health.

It is a paradox really: the body is designed to be alkaline and it needs alkaline buffers (fuel), however all body functions and human activity produce acidic effects. Add to this a diet full of acidic food and beverages, a lifestyle full of stress and worry and what happens is you get a massive over acidification of cells, tissues, organs and eventually blood.

This over acidification of body fluids and tissues is the underlying cause of all disease. It is only when the body is acidic that it is vulnerable to germs. In a healthy alkaline balance, germs can’t t get a foothold.

The pH (potential hydrogen) has a scale of 0 to 14. 7 is neutral, below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline.

If our body is over acidic, at the beginning, we might just get mild symptoms such as loss of energy, skin eruptions, irritation, headaches, allergies, colds, flu and sinus problems.

But as things progress and the body continue to be over acidic, weakened organs and systems start to give way, resulting in more serious conditions.

When the body is faced with a lot of incoming acids, the blood begins to pull alkaline minerals out of our tissues to compensate. If we have insufficient amounts of alkaline minerals in our diet or in the reserves, the body has to recruit them from somewhere else such as bones or muscles.

Eventually if the acid overload gets too great for the body/blood to handle, these acids will be deposited in various organ systems, including the heart, pancreas, liver and colon or stored in fatty tissues such as breasts, hips, belly and brain.

So according to this view (and I was amazed when I first learnt about it), a tumour is the body’s way of actually protecting itself by storing these acids in a ‘solid’ formation in a desperate attempt to ‘save’ the rest of the body, to survive.

Ok so we covered a bit of the theoretical side (there’s much much more to it, of course!), now let’s get to the practical business- what can we do to start alkalizing our bodies?

Making the transition to an alkaline diet/lifestyle can seem like a huge step to most people. That’s because it is! So, in my opinion, the best thing is to make baby steps, making small changes over a long period of time. It is often the case when one makes too big a change too quick, that it is not sustainable long term.

For me it was a bit different because it was soon after I started making the transition to an alkaline diet that I found out about my tumour so I decided to go a bit ‘extreme’ and jump right into the cold (alkaline) water.

I have, however, modified my diet over time to suit my needs and wants and yes, these days, I ‘cheat’ here and there. I believe that becoming too rigid with the diet (any diet!) is not beneficial to our bodies, mind and wellbeing. And in this case, stressing about what you eat or don’t eat is counter-productive as it creates more acids in the body!

There are many suggestions as to what is the best way to start alkalizing, what are the most important things. The way I look at it, there’s no right or wrong, start somewhere and the path will unfold to you just as it should.

I do like Robert Young recommendation, though, of starting to eat COWS which stands for Chlorophyll,Oil, Water and Salt. (Not steaks!)

Chlorophyll- Green vegetables and particularly green leafy veggies are the most nutrient- rich foods on the planet. They provide just about all the vitamins, minerals and micronutrients you could ever need.

So start thinking green green green! Spinach, cucumbers, silver beet, broccoli, lettuce, parsley, avocadoes, chives, celery, kale- just to name a few. The more the better!

Best is to eat them raw as important nutrients get destroyed when heated, but lightly steamed or stir fried veggies are also ok.

When you start getting into your greens, you’ll find that the easiest way to increase your consumption is by juicing and blending them. Both are important.

Juices provide immediate nourishment, without the body having to invest energy in digesting the food.
Blending (as in making a smoothie in a blender) is also great because you get a lot of fibre that you don’t get when juicing.

There are many delicious recipes for green smoothies and they are so easy to prepare, it really does take 5 minutes.

Grasses are great too- wheatgrass, barley grass etc.

This is what goes into our green juices. You'll have to be munching veggies all day to be able to get the same amount of greens...

If you find it too difficult to have regular green juices, that’s ok- there are many green powder products on the markets aimed to make your life easier!

I have been juicing almost every day, as well as having green smoothies and what I notice is that it helps keep my sugar cravings at bay.

Oils

Forget about the no-fat low-fat obsession! Fat plays a crucial role in our bodies and we need healthy fats.

Polyunsaturated fats such as flax seed, borage, evening primrose, grape seed and hemp oil are great choices.

Those fats that are predominantly monounsaturated like olive oil are also beneficial.

A minimum of a table spoon of flaxseed oil should be taken every day.

What I do is every morning I pour a bit of water into a glass and then on top of it 1-2 table spoons of flaxseed oil and I drink it like a shot. I found this way to be easiest, in case I forget to take my oil later in the day.

I use flaxseed, olive oil and coconut oil freely with my foods, as well as many many avocadoes.

What makes me laugh is that I used to be the ‘fat free’ queen!everything I bought, I always looked at the fat content and now I eat 3 avocadoes a day without blinking and I stay away from anything ‘diet’ or ‘low fat’.

Water

Our bodies are 70% water and so we need plenty of clean, purified water. (Not tap water!)

Most people, without even realising it, are chronically dehydrated! Body cells are as healthy as the fluids they are bathed in.

I drink 4 litres per day and the more I drink the thirstiest I get...

There are many water machines and purifiers out there, some of which are very expensive.

We invested a few hundred dollars in a water filtration system and I also add ‘pH drops’ to my drinking water to bring the pH level up. These drops are consisted of alkaline minerals such as potassium and sodium and are very inexpensive. I take them with me when I’m not home so that I can use them whenever I need to.

Salt

Contrary to what we are led to believe in regards to staying away from salt, salt is essential to our nutrition and body function! Good salt that is, not the processed white poison known as table salt!
(Table salt is bleached and contains additives, preservatives, anti caking agents, fluoride and dextrose)

Good salts help normalize the volume of blood, regulate fluid pressure including blood pressure within cells.
Salt is important in making the heart beat correctly and the regulation of metabolism.

The wrong salt (table salt) can cause blood pressure, especially if you are eating and living acidic.

The ideal salt for our bodies would be sun dried from the waters of a healthy sea.

(Which is a whole different topic- are there any healthy seas/oceans left these days...)
Celtic salt and Himalayan salt are great.

Mineral Salts are also very important. The best is a combination of the 4 most important salts for the body: sodium, potassium bicarbonate and magnesium and calcium carbonate.

I use this combination of 4 salts in a powder form twice a day- I mix a teaspoon with water and drink it morning and night.

If you don’t want to buy the 4 salts, you can simply use baking soda, which you most likely have at home. (Just make sure it is aluminium free!)

This is one simple thing you can start doing right away and you will notice the results.

You’re probably still asking yourself- so what should I eat?

You might be surprised to learn how much of what you eat is acidic, as well how some foods that are perceived as acidic are actually alkalizing. (Like lemons).

As a rule, your diet should be around 70-80% alkaline and the rest can be more on the acidic side.

What to eat

In short, all vegetables are alkaline, except for corn, white potatoes and mushrooms.

Eat plenty of veggies from different varieties, tomatoes, avocadoes, sprouts, herbs & spices, lemons, limes and grapefruits. (Low sugar fruits).

You can eat non animal protein such as soy beans and tofu and the occasional fish (if you must).

Grains and legumes such as buckwheat, millet, quinoa, spelt, lentils, chickpeas and beans are ok, however make sure they are in the 20-30% acidic part of your diet, as they are slightly acidic.

If you love bread, make sure it is wheat & yeast free.

We eat sprouted bread, as it only contains sprouted grains (such as wheat and rye) and olive oil.

Nuts are ok except for cashews, peanuts and pistachios (because of their fungal content).
The best nuts to eat are almonds. If you can soak them in water overnight it’s better as it gets rid of their enzyme inhibitors. But other nuts and seeds (such as pine nuts, sunflower kernels, sesame, chia and flex seeds etc) are also not too bad.

What to avoid (again, don’t get overwhelmed, remember baby steps, little adjustments and one thing at a time!)

- All forms of sugar (including fruits, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar etc)

- Simple Carbohydrates like white flour, pasta, white rice, potatoes etc

- Refined and processed foods- junk food, fried food, frozen food, food that has additives, preservatives, artificial colouring or flavouring in it. Also avoid artificial sweeteners at all cost.

- Fruits- high sugar fruits are full of sugar and therefore acidic. If you must have fruits- try and limit it to your acidic part of the diet and eat it by itself, not combined with anything else.

- Dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt.

- Unhealthy fats (like canola oil, butter etc)

- Meat and eggs

- Yeast

- Edible Fungus (mushrooms, algae, chlorella)

- Fermented and malted products (like tempeh, vinegar, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, chilli sauce, miso sauce, pickled veggies)

- Alcohol (you know the drill!)

- Caffeine (including chocolate, cocoa, tea, sodas and all forms of coffee, even decaffeinated).

Some of the things you can also do to increase alkalinity are getting regular exercise, plenty of fresh air, sweating in an infra red sauna (I have a sauna once a day now), rebounding (jumping on a little trampoline), meditation, laughter, spending time with loved ones, getting enough sleep, reducing stress and having fun!

So this is the alkaline lifestyle in a nut shell. If you are interested to read more about this huge subject, below is a list of books and websites that I find very helpful and informative:

‘The ph Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health’ by Robert O. Young (I use this book as my ‘alkaline bible’!)

Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko

http://newsarticlesofhealth.blogspot.com.au- Robert O. Young blog where he publishes incredibly interesting articles about health, diet and his research into the alkaline lifestyle.

http://www.energiseforlife.com- a great website full of resources, articles, recipes, products and much more. You can also download (for free) a full chart of what foods are acidic and what alkaline

http://www.smarterhealth.com.au – alkaline products, recipes and articles.

http://www.acidalkalinediet.com – this website has a great ‘home study kit’ that you can download (for a fee), it covers pretty much everything you need to know to start your alkaline journey, including charts and recipes.

Ok, this blog has been very informative and technical, but I hope you found it interesting and helpful.

Make sure to check my new ‘Recipes’ page, where I will continue to upload healthy alkaline recipes.

This is what most of our food shopping looks like these days...

My name is Lee, I’m a 32 year old woman, born in Israel and have been living in Australia for 7 years now.

One year ago, out of the blue (as is often the case!) I was diagnosed with a large and rare tumour inside my spinal cord (Astrocytoma).

Needless to say, my life as I knew it has changed forever.

I had surgery in Brussels (Laminectomy) at the beginning of April 2011; however none of the tumour could be removed without causing me quadriplegia so the tumour remained untouched.

(And I can walk, which I’m so happy about!)

So seeing that my medical options are very limited, I have decided to follow my initial intuition and strong belief in the body’s capacity to heal itself and I have embraced on a natural healing journey.

My intention in creating this blog is to share my journey, the things I am learning along the way, my thoughts and experiences, in the hope that perhaps this could help other people on their journey too.

Thanks for reading my blog and I would love to hear from you!

Love and Light

Lee

P.S
If you would like to contact me but not in this public forum, you can e-mail me at: leegefen@gmail.com

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La dieta alcalina di Robert Young

La dieta alcalina di Robert Young: un regime basato su assurde teorie, lo scrive Enzo Spisni docente dell'Università di Bologna che critica metodi e contenuti

La dieta alcalina non è una novità per gli italiani, anni fa era apparso un libro che vantava i benefici del sistema, e adesso è in commercio un nuovo volume di oltre 400 pagine che la ripropone in veste rinnovata. La recensione del libro è affidata a Enzo Spisni, docente di Fisiologia della Nutrizione all’Università Bologna, che delinea in modo efficace le assurde teorie dietetiche di un autore un po’ chiacchierato.

La teoria del libro è che tutte le patologie, dal raffreddore al cancro, compreso le malattie cardiovascolari, e quelle infiammatorie croniche, dipendano dall’alterazione del pH (acidità ) del nostro corpo, che passa da una alcalinità ritenuta naturale, ad una acidità causata da cattivi alimenti ingeriti. Da un punto di vista scientifico questa teoria risulta alquanto singolare perché sostenere l’esistenza di una dieta universale perfetta e teorizzare che tutte le patologie abbiano una sola causa e una sola cura, non è molto serio.

Il testo contiene alcune affermazioni che meritano di essere commentate. Una delle teorie più affascinanti, degne di un film di fantascienza, è che "i batteri possono mutare in lieviti, i lieviti in funghi ed i funghi in muffe" (par 2.6, pag. 23) e anche che "...i globuli rossi possono modificarsi e rimodificarsi in qualsiasi tipo di cellule di cui il corpo necessita" (par 2.6, pag. 23). Da ciò deriva l'importanza di osservare il sangue in vivo per vedere in una sola goccia "microrganismi cristallizzati, micotossine, colesterolo, metalli, grassi non digeriti e molte altre cose"… Tossine e colesterolo non sono visibili con il microscopio utilizzato dagli autori e per quanto riguarda la presenza di microrganismi nel sangue, è stato dimostrato che ciò accade solo in caso di gravi infezioni o di gravi patologie intestinali, come la malattia di Crohn.

Affermazioni altrettanto false si trovano nella parte dove si svelano i secreti dello stomaco basico (par. 4.1) elaborando una "nuova biologia della salute", che assomiglia ad una fanta-biologia.

Ma veniamo al cuore della trattazione, cioè al modo di mantenere il pH del nostro organismo alcalino, modificando la dieta. Dopo avere suddiviso gli alimenti in due gruppi: acidificanti o alcalinizzanti, cominciano le strane teorie per cui si scopre che: agrumi come limoni, lime e pompelmi sono gli unici frutti classificati come alcalini(!). In pratica si definisce una spremuta di limone una bevanda alcalina. Invece, il riso bianco viene classificato come uno dei cibi più acidi ed acidificanti che esistono. Continuando, i pomodori sono alcalini, il latte e le noci acidi. Chiunque ha minimamente chiaro il concetto di pH e di acidità , dopo avere letto questo libro avrà molte perplessità sull’argomento.

Per quanto riguarda le nozioni sul metabolismo ci sono due concetti che assomigliano molto alle teorie magiche di Mago Merlino.

1) Secondo l’autore la digestione delle proteine animali forma acidi "acido urico, nitrico, solforico e fosforico" mentre questo non accade durante la digestione di quelle vegetali. La teoria è molto singolare ma va dimostrata perché gli aminoacidi sono sostanzialmente gli stessi e ipotizzare un diverso percorso è molto arduo.

2) I carboidrati sono "prodotti di scarto acidi” che “causano la trasformazione biologica delle cellule sane del corpo in batteri e lieviti" (par. 6.2.1, pag. 120).

Quanto alla paranoica accusa verso tutti quei microrganismi, che nel nostro corpo produrrebbero tossine, come i batteri, i lieviti e i funghi per cui si sconsigliano vivamente tutti i cibi fermentati come il vino lo yogurt ed il pane, bisognerebbe ricordare all'autore che molti batteri, tra cui i lactobacilli, producono sostanze come le batteriocine, utilissime all’organismo per difendersi dall’aggressione di altri batteri “cattivi”.

Ultimo concetto descritto riguarda la differenza tra acque buone (alcaline) ed acque cattive (acide). La lunga dissertazione sugli elettroni risulta essere farneticante quanto convincente per i non esperti di chimica e fisica. La conclusione è di usare una macchina molto costosa in grado di alcalinizzare e purificare l'acqua del rubinetto.

Da notare infine che le ricerche citate a sostegno delle teorie dell’autore, mancano di referenze bibliografiche e quindi non si possono consultare in originale.

Da un punto di vista nutrizionale:

Dimenticando per un momento le falsità del libro, una cosa è certa, la dieta alcalina è in pratica una dieta “vegana”, che restringe ulteriormente il gruppo di alimenti perché elimina gran parte della frutta (eccetto limoni, lime e pompelmi) e gran parte dei carboidrati complessi (pasta, riso e cereali). Aderire al progetto alcalino vuol dire nutrirsi quasi esclusivamente di verdura fresca e legumi, esattamente il contrario della dieta ricca e variata che i nutrizionisti suggeriscono! Con la dieta alcalina si perdono sicuramente i chili di troppo, ma nel lungo periodo si possono creare carenze nutrizionali importanti.

"Il miracolo del PH alcalino: bilanciate la vostra dieta, recuperate la vostra salute", Robert O. Young, Shelley Redford Young, Cesena, Edizioni Bis, 2011, 455 p., 21,00 €.

Enzo Spisni (Master in Alimentazione ed Educazione alla Salute, Università Bologna).

Foto: Photos.com

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The Transformation Journey Part 1: The Blessing Called Cancer

"What does it take to be a healer?" they asked of Dr. Bernie Siegel
( Love, Medicine, and Miracles, 1986)

"The willingness to deal with your own wounds."

When I graduated from nursing school in the early 1980s, I began working at our local hospital. Our floor soon transitioned to the "cancer" ward or oncology department. In the space of two years, I admitted people who had pink cheeks and looked mostly healthy, and were full of hope that no matter what they had to endure with chemotherapy and radiation, they would emerge fully whole and resume their lives cancer free. There was a young boy with a brain tumor that caused frequent seizures; there was a retired nurse; and there was a young guy with a beautiful wife who had just recently given birth to their first baby girl. This particular guy waited all day for the doctor to bring him the results of his lung scan. As I was getting ready to leave after working 3-11pm, his doctor finally swoops in and tells me to get his chart and accompany him. We walk to the end of the hall and enter the patients room, and this doctor tells the patient, "You have terminal cancer. I'll send the oncologist to see you tomorrow." And he walks out. That was it. I left for home minutes later, still in shock, down the same hallway, passing by his door. He was just sitting there on the side of the bed. I walked in and asked him if he was going to call his wife because she had been there earlier, anxiously waiting with him, but had to get home to take care of the baby. He said, "No, I think I'll wait until tomorrow. She needs her sleep." I offered to sit with him but he said, "Thanks, I'll be okay." It was a scene often repeated.

How could he be okay? I wasn't okay. I went home and thought about him all night. I thought about the injustice of waiting all day for a doctor who had the compassion of a rock. I thought about his sweet wife and how happy they had been earlier that evening, talking about their new baby. His new baby. And I cried for them.

I cried for all of them. Because they were the kindest, sweetest, most decent people. They were never the demanding patients. I held their hands through painful treatments, I held their heads through unbearable sickness, but mostly I watched these beautiful souls slowly become the grey, fragile shadows that cancer and chemotherapy leave behind. The healthy pink colored faces, so full of hope initially, slowly fading to gaunt grey skin stretched over bone. One of my patients went quickly. As I walked in to give him his medication, he grabbed my arm and looked into my eyes and pleaded with me, "Help me." But he started forcefully bleeding from his mouth and nose and it was determined that his carotid artery had ruptured. He had been receiving radiation and there was nothing I (or the code team) could do. When someone looks in your eyes and asks you to help them, but all you can do is hold their hand and watch them die, you never forget it. It changes you forever. Trust me. "Don't get attached. Keep your professional distance," my wise, well meaning, older nurses advised me, trying to protect me from letting it "get to me."

Sorry girls, no can do. And any nurse that tells you they can, is in the wrong profession. It's one thing if you work on a maternity floor and everyone goes home with a baby, a cool little hat, and a token washtub. But how can you justify the fact that you are repeatedly putting chemicals used in warfare into people and telling them that it will make them better? I could no longer be a part of something I didn't believe to be true. I had to get out before I was required to become certified to give chemotherapy.

Nurses are trained to make careful observations, and there is no mistaking the look of cancer. And fear. And quiet resignation. And battle fatigue. Quality of life traded for quantity. Faces that became etched in my memory. There was one woman who I admitted who refused treatment. She stood out from everyone else because she had the most unusual orange color. She explained to me that she was only there for tests and she was headed to California to work with a doctor who believed in juicing to heal cancer naturally. She told me everyone thought she was crazy, but she had watched her mother die a slow and painful death from cancer and chemotherapy treatment, and she refused to do the same. If she was going down, she was going down kicking and screaming, not drugged out and defenseless! She refused to eat anything but raw food (mostly carrots) which explained her unique color. The oncologist and most nurses thought she was just "out there." But her valid research intrigued me. She was absolutely certain that she could heal herself naturally with juicing. Her absolute belief and conviction resonated with me. And her un-waivering faith. She asked me to pray with her and I asked her to keep in touch; and I told her I would continue to pray for her and I believed if anyone could beat it, she could. And she did. Cancer free.

Years later, I was teaching a Nursing Skills lab at a local community college and working for an orthopedic surgeon. Eventually I was working 12-16 hours daily at the office and had to give up teaching. I absolutely loved my job, my co-workers and my boss! I had a cool sports car (300Z), my first house, money in the bank, and I was the personal assistant to a prominent orthopedic doctor who trusted me to write his orders and fill in for him in his absence. Life was good! But the hours were crazy. I never knew when I was going to get home or how long I would be there before I would get called back to the hospital to make rounds with my boss. Many times I would tell my husband I would meet him for dinner, and not get home until midnight. He wasn't a fan. Or I would get a call at 11pm from my boss, usually with a mouth full of popcorn, asking me to pick him up at 5am to make rounds before he went to surgery and I went to the office. You had to know him. We all loved him. But I was getting tired. And he got called to Active Duty and closed his practice.

A friend of mine gave me a bottle of an herbal preparation called "KM" that was formulated by Dr. Karl Jurak for his own specific health challenges in 1922 and distributed by Matol Botanical . I began researching each individual herb that was in the preparation. I have this insatiable hunger for knowledge and understanding. There was no internet, no instant search engines--just bookstores. I bought a book and listed every property of each herb in the formula. It was an amazing botanical preparation. I traveled half way across the country to meet Dr. Karl and hear his story. He had been working on his Doctoral Thesis in Botanicals when he came up with this formula to purify his blood so that he could climb the Australian Alps without becoming short of breath. For Karl, climbing the Alps meant that you tethered yourself to some friends and if one of you became weak and slipped, you risked the lives of the others. And Karl had done that and didn't want it to happen again and endanger his friends. He had been sharing his preparation for many years and helped thousands of people feel better. The more I learned, the more I knew that the body would heal itself if given the proper nutrition. Dr. Karl was a brilliant scientist, a warm humanitarian, and a kind, caring man.

My neighbor at the time, was your typical sitcom busybody. She was so crippled with arthritis that she would drive across the city street from her driveway to mine to keep me updated on the neighborhood gossip. I kept telling her about KM and how much it could help her with all her ailments and she kept telling me how much her knees hurt and the cost of all her medications. One day when I was going to work, she honked the horn and blocked my driveway and rolled down her window. "Are you a nurse?" she asked. I laughed and said, "Yes, why?" She said, "I just thought you were a quack or a hippie or something, always trying to sell me that herby stuff!" And she drove off.

She wasn't alone. Most people thought I was crazy. But I was so excited to find such a great product based upon good science that I would tell everyone and go on and on and on . . . .

Because to me, it was like finding gold in my backyard. And I wanted to share it with my family and friends. So I'd be like, "Hey, I found gold in my backyard! Come over and you can dig up as much as you want!" And my family would be like, "Uh, I have to work." And my friends would be like, "Uh, I don't have a shovel." And I learned a valuable lesson. You can't want something for someone more than they want it for themselves.

In the year 2000, in a small town called "Lone Pine" on the way home from a funeral, I listened to Tony Robbins talk about green drinks, Dr. Robert Young, and Live Blood Microscopy.

This was the defining moment, the catalyst of transformation, right there on Interstate 79, in Lone Pine, Pennsylvania. Not to mention, the answer to a lifelong prayer.

By the time I was 8 years old and lost both my parents, I began to wonder if my life really mattered to anyone. Why not take me too, why did I get left behind? I felt alone and many times prayed to God to take me in place of someone else who mattered to someone. Well that didn't work . .

So I figured I must have some purpose for being here. I started praying in a different way. I have prayed the same prayer ever since. First I thank God for all the blessings in my life. I ask forgiveness for the times I have not done what He would have wanted me to do; and I ask that my life on Earth fulfill whatever I was sent here to do and not be in vain. I have asked for signs and validation so many times that I sometimes wonder if a lightening bolt and a personal "Here's your sign" might be headed my way! I don't believe in coincidences, because I believe everything happens for a reason. But I do believe in "Synchronous Events" which Dr. Siegel calls "God's way of being anonymous." And a Divine Hand was definitely guiding me toward natural healing. In "Physician in Transition," Peter Albright (1989) describes synchronous events like a "string of beads." At the time these events happen, they don't seem like steps in a process; but as you look back, you can string them together like a necklace.

In his book, "The Recovery of the Sacred," Dr. Carlos Warter states, "When these events occur, we embark in search of our individual truth. It is the undercurrent of the mystery of life that guides us and gives us the correct timing for our actions. Thus we need to learn patience, an important element in the larger context or 'big story' of our existence." (1994:xviii).

The next step was to begin my Doctor of Naturopathy degree. I was ready. I was excited! I understood alkalinity and healing the body at the cellular level. I researched programs and found exactly what I wanted.

Just as I was about to begin, another event happened that would change my life forever. My husband was diagnosed with cancer.

* that story in part two.

Tammy Copenhaver

http://tcopenaturopath.blogspot.com/2012/03/transformative-journey-part-2-blessing.html?spref=fb&fb_source=message

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The Transformation Journey Part 2: The Blessing Called Cancer

"God Games"

"The gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, I am told, once gathered on Mount Olympus to play one of their favorite games: "Hide the Truth from Humankind."

"Let's hide it at the bottom of the ocean," cried one.

"No, he'll eventually build submarines and find it."

"How about up on the moon?" suggested another.

"No, he is too ingenious for that. He'll eventually get there too."

Finally, the most mischievous of the gods, the one represented in humorous drawings as the little angel whose halo is always somewhat askance, spoke up.

"I've got a great idea. Let's hide it deep inside of him. He'll never think to look there."

From one of my favorite textbooks "Deep Healing" by Dr. Emmett E. Miller, M.D. I can't speak highly enough of Dr. Miller. The book goes on to say:

"I am told that there was great rejoicing on Mount Olympus that day for they realized that, as civilization grew more and more complex, the resulting stresses would generate a state of mind so distracted that few would ever perceive the subtle nature of truth within."

But I didn't learn this until much later. First came the lesson and the blessing called cancer.

It all began in October of 2001. My husband decided to have this "cyst" in his jaw removed. People had been noticing and commenting on his cheek and it appeared to him to be getting bigger and more noticeable. (He had planned to get it removed the year before, but my oldest son had broken his arm completely off, spent three hours in surgery, developed a nerve palsy and spent a few months in physical therapy.) He made an appointment with a plastic surgeon near his office. I asked him if he had checked credentials and recommendations. He said, "It's just a simple cyst removal." Evidently, the plastic surgeon felt the same way. He felt my husband's cheek and told him it was a simple cyst and he could remove it in the office the following Friday. No xray, no biopsy. At the time, I did question the fact that he didn't biopsy first, but I figured A) He was the surgeon and B) my husband had mentioned to him that he had had the cyst since he was 13 years old--he was now 41. Surely it couldn't be cancer after all those years.

1998-you can see the "cyst"

The nurse called and said my husband was ready to come home. When I arrived he was still a little groggy, but he looked up at me and said, "I have cancer. The doctor wants to talk to you." I said, "Are you sure you heard correctly?" He shook his head yes. I asked the nurse if she could please find the doctor because I had a two year old in my arms, and a nine year old to pick up at school. She said she would try to find him for me and disappeared. My husband was still emerging from that abyss between anesthesia and consciousness so I didn't ask him any questions and the nurse didn't say one thing or offer any details. Forty-five minutes later, she apparently was still looking for the doctor. For crying out loud, it wasn't a corn maze. You tell someone they have cancer and disappear? Deja vu

I went to find her. She told me the doctor must have left and he would talk to us on Wednesday when we came back in for follow-up. She gave me one single pack of gauze and said, "They'll change his dressing on Wednesday, but in case you need to reinforce it, here is some gauze." I hadn't met him, but I already didn't like the surgeon. I can deal with complications, but this shouted coward.

During the 30 minute ride home, my husband attempted to recount what the surgeon had told him. He said that when the surgeon opened his cheek he found a little more than he expected and it was cancer, and that he had to remove it in pieces. They would have to send the specimen to a lab and he hoped to know more by the time we went back for a follow-up on Wednesday. Then he left. My husband asked the anesthesiologist to show him what they had removed. He brought him a small container with a bunch of pieces of tissue floating in it. I didn't tell my husband that the worst thing you can do is remove cancer in "pieces," because you run the risk of one of them getting into the bloodstream and taking up residence somewhere else. I didn't have to. It wasn't good news at all.

And then there was the drainage tube incorrectly hooked up behind his ear. By the time we got home, his dressing was soaked and uncomfortable. There was no "reinforcing" it with the one piece of gauze they had generously afforded me. When I removed the dressing, I saw what appeared to be a straw coming out from behind his ear. Every time he swallowed, his saliva would come out of the top. If he smelled something cooking or even thought about food, it shot out of there like a squirt gun. It was genius really, with the mere mention of the word "steak" or "apple pie," and the correct aim, he could wipe out an entire table full of people with that thing. I gave up on the gauze and just put towels on his shoulder. It was ridiculous. Needless to say it was a rough weekend with little sleep. We didn't say anything to anyone because we didn't know what we were dealing with. My husband stared at the fire in the fireplace and slept.

On Monday morning, the doctors office called and asked to see us as soon as possible. We arrived and were told the doctor would be with us shortly. And then we waited. And we waited. Finally we were taken back to a small dimly lit room and after another wait, the surgeon and his senior partner came it. They looked like funeral directors about to tell someone their loved one had passed away. Senior partner did most of the talking. It went something like this:
My husbands cancer was a very rare aggressive cancer. In order to make sure that they got it all, they needed to go back in as soon as possible. This time, it would be performed in a hospital where they would remove the entire cheek to be able to fully see and explore the facial nerve and lymph glands. They would remove the lymph glands and check the nerve all the way back to the base of the brain to be sure no cells had "spilled" during the first surgery. They would then remove a skin flap from his back to replace the cheek, and sew his eye shut until they could be sure the facial nerve was working. He would be in the hospital for 3 weeks if there were no complications. If the lymph nodes they removed had any cancer cells present, they would also do radiation. Hopefully, within three months, he could return to work.
Oh, and by the way, the skin on your back doesn't match the skin on your face, so they could hook us up with some medical grade makeup that my husband would have to wear for the rest of his life.

Dang, these boys weren't playing around.


My husband was close to tears and in total shock. He asked Senior partner about statistics. "You have a fifty-fifty chance of surviving five years." That did it. My husband totally shut down. He told me later that all he could think about was not being able to watch his boys grow up. I saw the complete hopelessness in his eyes. Which lead me to one of things I tell all my clients. Statistics are facts about somebody else. No doctor has any business telling anyone how long they have to live. No doctor is God or worse yet, a Mayan historian running out of stone tablets. None of us are promised tomorrow.

My husband and I have been together since we were in high school. He has never been afraid of, or backed away from, anything. Except for a brief stint in middle school as a "Hack man" for the basketball team, football was his game. His favorite line; "Ah, nothing like the sound of crunching a quarterback." He was the All State defensive lineman. He is not a man I could ever see wearing makeup. He was so paralyzed with fear and helplessness. In his mind, he was already dying.

Western Medicine promotes this paranoia. Words like "victim" and "survivor" imply that cancer chases you down a dark alley with a gun and you are powerless. That couldn't be farther from the truth. But there are distinct advantages to the victim mentality. You can place the blame somewhere else. You can look outside yourself with the illusion that not only the blame but the control of the situation is out of your hands. And this is the biggest roadblock to both healing and cure.Because in order to heal at the cellular level, you have to look deep inside yourself.

But first I had a few pressing questions for senior partner.

• Was this standard procedure for this type of cancer? "Yes."
• So no matter where we would go to have it done, they would still remove the cheek, sew the eye, and remove the lymph nodes? "Yes."
• Would you mind if we got a second opinion? "No, not at all."
• Will you be doing the surgery? "Yes."
• Have you had any other cases where you performed this surgery? "Yes, two of them."
• Are they still alive? "Sadly, no."

Sadly, no, you will not be performing this surgery on my husband.

I must say, he really seemed sincere. And I don't mean to sound ungrateful. He was very kind. And he had beautiful skin. ( I almost asked him about moisturizers) But because of the actions of his younger partner, I really wasn't sure if they were being truthful, or if they really needed to go back in there because the first surgery had gone so wrong. I think that the young, cocky surgeon got in way over his head. Why else would you leave someone with a "squirt gun" ear?

The two of them wanted to operate that Friday. That was just a little too soon for me. I told them we needed time to process this information. They told us they had to send the cancer specimen to an Army lab for further tests because it was so rare that their lab couldn't classify it. In the car, my husband said he just wanted to get it over with and was ready to stay local and have it done in four days. But I wasn't. I needed to do some research. But first I had my most dreaded task of all. I had to tell my nine year old son that his dad had cancer.

My first born son was an only child for seven years. And before Xbox, video games, ice hockey, and cell phones, there was going to fire stations with dad, camping out with dad, learning to fish with dad, and a hundred GI Joe adventures with dad. My son had a GI Joe figure for all of us--even a nurse for me! They staged battles and took pictures and made their own GI Joe videos. When I arrived at his elementary school, I ran into my dear friend who reminded me about the PTA meeting that night. I told her that I couldn't be there. She asked what was wrong. And I broke down. I told her what we had just found out and she hugged me and cried with me. The beautiful women friends of mine in that PTA were my strength. I heard that there were lots of tears at that meeting. They organized people to bring us meals, added us to their church prayer lists, and offered to stay with my anti-social two year old who cried when anyone looked at him. Friends that we hadn't heard from since high school sent notes or prayed for us. This love and support meant the world to me.

The only thing my son remembers is the exact location of the car when I told him. He was worried, but okay. It was hard to see his dad laying there on the couch staring at the fire, withdrawn from all of us.
Later that night, when everyone was asleep, I looked up "adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland" on the internet. Indeed, the surgical procedure seemed to be the same. One doctor in England seemed to be considered an expert so I emailed him and explained to him what we had been told and asked if he had any advice. He was very nice and emailed me back. But the verdict didn't change, nor did the procedure. I wondered if I was just in denial. What if I had to accept that this mutilating surgery was the only way?

By now, I had been juicing for almost ten years. I wore out my cassette that came with my "Juiceman" juicer, by Jay Kordich. I was drinking a green drink periodically and I had the book, "Sick and Tired, Reclaim Your Inner Terrain. I was receiving a newsletter from a distributor of Dr. Young created products named Steve. I knew Dr. Young was a great microscopist and alkalizing was good for your blood, but it never occurred to me that this could help with cancer. This was all pretty new to me, and I was just beginning to understand. I didn't know Steve and had never met him, but he seemed to know Dr. Young and sold his products so I asked him if he knew what specific products Dr. Young might recommend for cancer. And then I fell asleep.

The next day, Steve emailed me back and sent me an article about a guy with Stage 4 lung cancer that had beat the odds by following Dr. Young's program. He didn't know what specific products he had used, but he asked me, "Why don't you call Dr. Young and talk to him. He does consultations."
Seriously?


Two days later, I was anxiously preparing for my phone consultation. Remember, this was almost 11 years ago. I was still in "nurse" mode. I gathered the few test results and lab reports that I had in case he had questions for me, and called Dr. Young. He didn't need to know any of that. He asked me one question:
Is your husband ready to take responsibility for his health? Yikes, I wasn't ready for that one!


At first I was a little surprised at his matter of fact attitude. There was no pity in his voice. Only strength and conviction. There was no hesitation and he was absolutely certain that my husband had to change his diet and alkalize his blood. My specific concern was losing those lymph nodes. Lymph tissue is a blessing. It surrounds foreign bodies to stop them from multiplying and migrating. I asked Dr. Young how long did my husband need to be on the greens before his lymph nodes would be clear. He said two weeks. I had my answer. I knew what to do. Dr. Young was so absolutely certain about his research that he gave me the confidence and the un-waivering belief that in two weeks there would be no trace of cancer. I tried to explain it to my husband, but he wasn't processing much. The only thing he remembers me telling him was, "Give me two weeks, and you'll be okay." And we immediately changed our diet and went green. I ordered Supergreens, Prime pH, MycoDetox I and II and Fibrada. The cloud had lifted for me. Dr. Young empowered me to be the rock, when everyone else was crumbling. And to be honest, I was on my own. People listened to me extol the virtues of Dr. Young and alkalinity, but no one seemed convinced. I always got the silence and blank stare. I talked to my old nurse buddies from the hospital, thinking they would be excited for me, and their response was:
"You know that natural stuff doesn't work. The cancer always comes back worse."

The only person who believed in me was my nine year old son. One of his fourth grade teachers was interested in telescopes and stargazing. So at night after his brother went to sleep, we told his dad we were going outside to "stargaze". We would sit on his swing set and talk about his concerns or fears about cancer. Once I explained the theory of alkalizing the blood, he instantly knew his dad would be okay. We built a whole GI Joe mission around taking care of our wounded soldier. He drew pictures of "green" army men in tanks and planes attacking cancer. He gave his dad a little green Army man to keep in his pocket to remind him that we were all with him and he was strong. I asked him to try to keep his dad laughing. All his fourth grade classmates wrote notes and jokes to "Mr. C."

A lot of people told my husband to get a second opinion. In fact his boss called and talked to me about going to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. We live less than 2 hours from there. I totally agreed. And so did my husband. We also got some good news from the Army lab. The cancer was not the deadly aggressive kind, but instead was a slow growing type called "acinic cell." Senior partner said the surgery would still be the same. We tried to get an appointment on our own but they said it would be weeks. We asked Senior partner if he could call for a referral to Johns Hopkins and we were able to get in the following week. I can't say enough about Johns Hopkins. It is a totally different atmosphere and an amazing healing place. The surgeon there asked my husband to get an MRI locally and bring it with him to the appointment.

By the time we went to Hopkins we had completely changed our diet. Specifically:

• We ate no meat--but I did use Boca Burgers on occasion
• I made fresh juice every day with apple, lemon, carrots, beets, and a pound of greens--Dr. Young would not have approved of all the sugar (apples, carrots, beets) but it was the only sugar my husband was doing at the time and I was not aware that cancer must have an abundance of sugar. I made juice based on my Jay Kordich tapes and Dr. Norman Walker book.
• My husband super hydrated with Supergreens and Prime pH. He drank about two gallons of water a day with a scoop of Supergreens and Prime pH in each gallon.
• We ate a lot of raw broccoli with Olive Oil and Sea Salt, fresh homemade hummus and celery, cauliflower "mashed potatoes", and Ezekialsprouted grain bread
• He took the supplements MycoDetox I and II, and Fibrada

I saw a huge change in my husband. He was interacting again. He went back to work with his "special diet," gallon of water and a pack of washcloths for his trigger ear. His skin cleared up and toenails grew in normally for the first time. His blood pressure was great and he lost about 20 pounds. Of course, all the doubters thought it was because he was getting sicker. At a time when he was supposed to be so ill, he looked and felt the best he ever had.

The surgeon at Hopkins was fabulous. He examined my husband, looked at his chart and had talked to Senior partner about the previous surgery. There was a lot of conflicting information regarding the previous surgery. At one time, they had said they got all the cancer, then they said they got half the tumor and there was another half under the facial nerve. The MRI showed a spot near the surgery site that the surgeon couldn't really determine, without going back in, whether or not it was inflammation of the lymph nodes or cancer cells left behind. So my husband was given the following options:

• Do nothing and wait. (this was my personal favorite) Since the cancer was acinic cell and slow growing, we could wait and hope that they got it all, and we were just seeing inflammation.
• He could do one round of radiation. But you could only radiate this area once and then that would no longer be an option.
• He could go back in and "clean up" the area to be sure there was absolutely nothing there. Clean up involved an incision along a natural crease in his neck which would barely be noticeable afterwards; he would fold back the cheek and explore the facial nerve down to the base of the brain; and lymph nodes closest to the previous surgical area. He would have the first and closest lymph node tested for the presence of cancer cells. If there was no cancer in the first lymph node, he would leave them all. I loved this man! This was approximately a two hour procedure and he would have to stay overnight. He had an opening in his surgery schedule the following week. I asked him if he had ever heard of Dr. Robert Young. He had not. I told him that we were alkalizing and doing green drinks and he wasn't going to find any cancer in those lymph nodes or elsewhere. I got the look and a smile.

My husband was absolutely convinced that he needed the second surgery. When he saw all those pieces of his tumor after the first one, he felt for sure there were many more still left inside. So he opted for the clean up surgery. There was only one more question to ask. Would he still have this annoying tube in his ear after the next surgery? The doc laughed out loud.
Sadly, no.

So there we were. November 27, 2001, approximately 21 days after the first surgery, waiting for the second one to begin. We had come a long way. My husband was laughing and only slightly nervous. The students were there observing and helping him get ready. They asked us if they could have the cancer to study back in the classroom. I said, "there won't be anything in there." The surgeon laughed and told them, "His wife has him on some green diet." We signed a paper allowing them to take the specimen to study. I headed to the waiting room.

Two hours seemed like eternity. And still I waited. I tried to read magazines, but nothing was registering. I paced. I began my typical "what if" scenario in my mind. What was taking so long if there wasn't anything in there? What if I had been wrong and the cancer had spread? This was an awful lot of pressure for a novice! Finally, the surgeon emerged and sat down next to me. He said something like: I just spent the last half hour going over this with your husband, but I doubt he will remember any of it. I explored the lymph nodes and sent a piece of the first one to the lab to be tested. There was no cancer. Just to be sure, I sent a second one. There was no cancer. There was no inflammation. I checked the facial nerve all the way back to the base of the brain. There was absolutely no cancer. In fact, I found absolutely no cancer cells anywhere.

I wanted to go televangelist and jump up on the furniture and shout "Hallelujah."

My husband less than a month after two major cancer surgeries. Looking pretty good! Note the bottle of greens !

We later learned that my husbands surgeon was called before the Cancer Tumor Board to ask him why he operated on a man that clearly had no cancer. This past November, 2011, my husband was released from Johns Hopkins after ten years of follow up. He remains cancer free, medication free, and just last week helped some skinny State Trooper push two people in a jeep a quarter mile out of the middle of the road to safety. He didn't know that the parking brake was on the entire time.

Tammy Copenhaver

http://tcopenaturopath.blogspot.com/2012/03/transformative-journey-part-2-blessing.html?spref=fb&fb_source=message

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The Reversal of Terminal Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma

An amazing testimony on the benefits of the pH Miracle alkaline program and it's positive effect on health and physical well being that then contributes to emotional well being. Lori Putoto tells of her experience and the remarkable improvement in her health after learning to take back control of her health through the simple pH Miracle dietary and lifestyle. She reversed Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma and thanks Dr. Robert O. Young, Phd, and staff for returning hope to what was a hopeless and terminal situation. A gift of hope to the world.

The following is the link to the Lori Putoto testimony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syn0xThLVPM

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What Causes an Upset Stomach, Ulcers, Morning Sickness or Stomach Cancer

The stomach is a primary organ responsible for alkalizing the food we eat as well as alkalizing the acids created from metabolism - acids from our thoughts, our words, our deeds, and our actions.

The stomach buffers ALL acidic waste products produced from the beating of the heart, to the contracting of a muscle or the carbon dioxide produced as an acid from the respiration of over 70 trillion cells that make up the human body. The stomach DOES NOT DIGEST FOOD! Once again and hear me clearly - the stomach DOES NOT DIGEST FOOD! This is not the function of the stomach!!!!

The hydrochloric acid in the stomach is a residue of the cover cells of the stomach producing sodium bicarbonate for buffering ALL the acids produced by the human or animal body. The stomach has pits as seen in the picture above. These pits are called the grastic pits. It is in the gastric pits where the hydrochloric acid falls as the sodium bicarbonate rises to meet and alkalize the food ingested.

When exercising the body produces carbonic acid, orotic acid and lactic acid. It is the stomach that produces the sodium bicarbonate needed to buffer these metabolic acids when produced. It is also a physiological fact that the stomach produces an equal amount of hydrohloric acid or every molecule of sodium bicarbonate produced for alkalizing or buffering body acid. When one is in a state of physical or emotional stress the stomach goes to work to buffer acids with the sodium bicarbonate it produces. One of the potential side-effect of this production is a belly full of hydrochloric acid that causes the symptom of an upset stomach or nausea.

This is NOW the first time in medical history that the pathway of an upset stomach or nausea has been described. When you have any negative symptom of the stomach, whether it be acid reflux, morning sickness or nausea, ulcers, to a cancerous condition anywhere in the body - this is evidence that the stomach is over-working to produce the alkalizing buffer sodium bicarbonate for the purpose of maintaining the alkaline design of the body fluids and cells.

This is the New Biology and the main reason I recommend an alkaline lifestyle and diet I call the pH Miracle as outlined in our book The pH Miracle Revised and Updated. From recommending drinking alkaline water with a pH of 9.5 and eating alkalizing green fruit and vegetables to encouraging my clients to eliminate acidic foods which do not digest such as beef, chicken, pork, turkey, and fish.

After 30 years of reserach I have found that the human body is alkaline by design and acidic by function. A healthy, energetic and fit body is alkaline throughout. Sickness and disease is something we choose just as health and fitness. My hope is that you will choose wisely.

For more information go to:

http://newsarticlesofhealth.blogspot.com/2012/02/stomach-secrets-bicarbonates-to.html

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