My passion-my mission

I am on a mission to get the word out about the importance of taking care of your own health and how I'm continually improving mine.

Six stents in my heart, high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis, and arteriosclerosis,  finally shook me up and made me pay attention to what I've known for a long time, but didn't pay much attention to.  We really are WHAT WE EAT!  I've learned that food can keep us healthier, can reverse some of the age related, chronic illnesses, and we don't have to suffer because we are older.

Six months ago I asked my cardiologist to include a C-reactive protein test in my bi annual blood test.  It isn't standard.

(The CRP blood test analyzes your blood for the presence of substances called C Reactive Proteins. The C Reactive Proteins are indicators of inflammation in the blood.

Recent studies have shown that this inflammation is a very accurate predictor of future heart problems. Elevated levels of c reactive protein may also double your risk of a stroke. )

Mine was high.  My Dr. was concerned and admitted he didn't know much about what to do to lower it.  Of course you know me, spend so much time on the PC, I googled, and googled until I found satisfactory answers.  On my subsequent blood test I had knocked the CRP level down by half. 

How?  Changing my eating habits, and taking supplents like folic acid,  extra B-12, Omega 3, which I get from fish oil and flaxseed.  I eat cold water fish more often than ever, have almost no red meat, a burger now and then is a must, and I have noticed a few other details along the way.

Like less arthritis pain.  Lower blood pressure.  I'm sure I'll be taken off the meds very soon.  Oh and guess what, I lost about 14 lbs and I think it's because I also included fewer carbs, always combined protein with carbs,and somewhere along the way I lost my cravings for sweets.

Anyway, my passion has become to help others be in better health, especially my friends, the ones in my age bracket who have so much to gain by taking charge of their health.

I created a web site, Healing Food and Spices, with some of the things I've learned, and I plan to send out an email about once a week. It won't be lengthy, will just have some things I've found and continually find that make a huge difference in our health.

For example, did you know about your  homocysteine level and that high homocysteine levels in the blood can damage the lining of the arteries? In addition, high homocysteine levels may make blood clot more easily than it should. This can increase the risk of blood vessel blockages. A clot inside your blood vessel is called a thrombus. A thrombus can travel in the bloodsteam and get stuck in your lungs (called a pulmonary embolism), in your brain (which can cause a stroke) or in your heart (which can cause a heart attack.) People who have very high levels of homocysteine are at an increased risk for coronary artery disease.

I found that increasing my B vitamins lowered my homocysteine level.

If you'd like to be included in my weekly email with up to date info on getting younger, feeling better and living longer, don't do anything.  I'll send them out, with "To Your Health" in the subject line.  If you don't want to read them, you can just delete them.  If you really don't want to get them in your inbox, just hit reply and put 'no thanks' in the subject line. 

That's it.  Oh and I hope you'll take a few minutes to check out the web site, it's four pages so you may want to bookmark it and just read a bit at a time.  I'll let you know when it's updated, unless I get your email with, 'no thanks'.

Be well, be blessed and filled with happiness.  I want all of us to live longer and live healthier.

Mary Mc