For the first time in my life I have been motivated to exercise because my body is feeling OLD!
I take great care of my insides through outstanding nutrition but I am finally admitting- I have greatly ignored my physical health. I have had many flings with exercise since my cancer diagnosis, but have always had a reason (excuse) to stop. This year I am determined and COMMITTED to developing life-long fitness habits. EXCUSES are not welcome!
I’m a commitment kind of girl.
I’ve run two half marathons.
I had a drug-free child birth.
I went against conventional wisdom and fought my cancer with alternative therapies.
And that’s my husband and me at our wedding 3 years ago.
Commitments are my THING.
There are 6 commitments you MUST make this year! I have made them for the past few years and they have led to many BIG changes in my life. In fact, starting Green Drink Diaries was one of my commitments last January, and here you are reading it!
COMMIT to at least one of these 6 commitments in 2012, and you’ll have plenty of reasons to be thankful! You’re in for a fun, self-exploratory ride with me: setting goals and envisioning what you will accomplish this year!
Hello Family and Friends!
I hope you are enjoying your Winter Wellness baskets. (:
ACF and Vitamin D- These are my primary immune boosting supplements for winter wellness care. Although best received from natural sunlight, Vitamin D is essential for staying well throughout cold and flu “season.” Please note that the ACF is not meant to be taken for enjoyment. It has a very potent taste, but if you have ever drank a shot of strong alcohol, I trust you can handle the ACF, especially seeing that you KNOW its health benefits! For the most affordable place to purchase them, click HERE.
Green Tea- I drink 3-5 cups of green tea A DAY because of the phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-cancer properties present in a quality green tea. See my post HERE for why I continue to do this and why you should too!
Stevia- Derived from the stevia plant, this is a natural, plant-based sweetener. Sweeten gradually, as it is very potent! I use stevia in my green tea everyday. You can also make delicious hot chocolate using almond milk, melted dark chocolate and chocolate flavored stevia.
Chicken Broth- It is well-known wives tale that Chicken Noodle Soup is perfect for when you’re sick, but homemade chicken broth is where the true medicinal properties are found! If you’re feeling bold, try making your own using my recipe!
Emergen-C- I haven’t personally used Emergen-C, but it is well known for being effective for its use at the onset of a cold. Large doses of Vitamin C has even been documented to combat cancer, particular lywhen administered intravenously.
Elderberry/ Zinc Cough Drops- Read more about the benefits of Elderberry HERE! You can buy these at Vitacost HERE.
Soap- Wash your hands with warm water and soap that does not include triclosan (an antibacterial product included in many soaps that can dry out skin and leads to super-bug resistance.) Our favorite for keeping winter skin moisturized is Grandpa’s soap.
If you’ve been visiting Green Drink Diaries often, you probably know my story. I beat Stage II NLP Hodgkin’s Lymphoma using holistic/alternative/ nutritional (call it what you’d like!) cancer protocols within 8 months of diagnosis. A few months into my remission and being in my last trimester of pregnancy (yes- I had cancer and was pregnant) I decided that I needed to add meat back into my diet in small doses. I was ridiculously hungry! Then came nursing and I was so hungry I would have eaten a pound of Crisco.
So this began “Weekday Vegetarianism.” It’s exactly what it says. Eat a Vegetarian diet 5 days a week and then the other two days you can eat what you’d like.
Ok, so back in my wilder college days I was a Ludacris fan. I’m pretty sure I snagged some of his songs off of Napster at one point or another from my dorm room.
So a few weeks ago when my husband and I were gassing up our super hip Chevy, we pulled up next to Ludacris in his Ferrari, or was it a Lamborghini? I’ll have to ask my husband to clarify that for me again. One perk of living in the A-T-L are rappers. Lots of them live here and they drive very “HEY LOOK, I’M RICHER THAN YOU…AND PROBABLY FAMOUS!” cars.
We also ran into Andre “3000” Benjamin of Outkast fame in Whole Foods one day last year. He was dressed WAY cooler than me, and I didn’t see his car, but I’m sure he wasn’t worried about which percentage of his paycheck his organic food was going to cost him.
A few weeks ago I received an email from a lady who wanted my suggestion for a good holistic doctor or naturopath in the Atlanta area. I let the email sit in my inbox for a few days, mainly because I couldn’t think of one! The holistic MD I saw when I was first diagnosed with cancer took time off to stay home with her kids, but even so- I haven’t NEEDED to see a general practitioner since then. How do I do it? Read on for some REALLY helpful, natural winter immune boosting ideas!
So…a few months ago I read a post on Kris Carr’s blog, asking for contributions for Kris’ new recipe book. I figured that it would be a great way to help bring new readers to AntiCancerMom and to raise awareness for alternative cancer options and prevention. I went ahead and submitted my most delicious smoothie recipes and on a whim threw in the “Anti-Green” Smoothie which I created because, although it is mostly vegetables, at least it’s a better tasting veggie smoothie option– and it’s NOT GREEN!
Lo and behold– even though I missed the deadline for the book, they liked the Anti-Green Smoothie recipe enough to make it their “Recipe of the Week.”
Maybe it’s SIGN that YOU should try it this week? (:
A few months ago I actually wrote a “guest post” for an AWESOME blog, The Pistachio Project founded by a fellow organic, crunchy mama. I wrote a narrative of my cancer story that was therapeutic as well as enlightening for me. I chose to call it “The Good Cancer,” and I’m sure all of us with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma could guess why.
I think many of my readers will identify with it, as they have gone through similar experiences. It outlines the very early days of my cancer diagnosis and the emotions that took a role in our decision to forgo chemotherapy and radiation and try natural protocols first.
You can find Brittany’s blog and my story at The Pistachio Project
Tonya Griffin
Today’s survivor is still very active in getting the word out about holistic approaches to cancer treatment. At 21 years old Tonya was first diagnosed with an aggressive Stage II breast cancer. She was in college and didn’t know much about cancer or chemotherapy, but what she had seen is what chemotherapy could do to a person. She decided to research further but meanwhile followed her doctor’s recommendation of a lumpectomy and lymph node removal. However, when it came to the decision about chemotherapy, she went with what she believed was best for her.
The women you will hear from today all received their treatment from the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico. Oasis of Hope is different from other hospitals in the United States in that they are knowledgeable about holistic methods along with having the best conventional treatments available. I especially love their spiritual focus on God and dependence on Him as “the Great Physician.”