Autonomic Neuropathy

"Autonomic neuropathy is a group of symptoms that occur when there is damage to the nerves that manage every day body functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, bowel and bladder emptying, and digestion."
Most people with this are too embarrassed to talk about it. This morning as I try to get ready to go do my physical therapy, I am dripping sweat from pores I didn't even know existed. You could put a bucket under my arms and hear a constant flow of droplets. There is nothing I can do but sweat it out. My nerves are so badly damaged that they send false messages to my glands to sweat. Some nights it's only the back of my head is soaked and others I will sweat through both beds at my house and end up sweating it out on the couch. 
I've incorporated  a breathing technique before bed called 7-4-8 that I read about online and was told something similar by a friend. It's helps reduce the night sweats by 30%. Never did I think this would be something I would have to deal with. It's sucks and it's embarrassing but it's part of my recovery and who I am now. 
Today instead of letting the sweating bother me, I'm going to do my best at self led physical therapy and then top off my day, achieving my goal of walking down the isle sans assistance as a bridesmaid at my friends wedding.  It's not going to be the prettiest walk but it's going to be on someone's arm and not on my crutch.  I've worked so hard to be able to do this and I'm not going to let anything dull my sparkle. 





I guess the moral is to always look at the bright side and to take our victories where they come, no matter the size, it's still a win. 

4 Step Guideline to Physical Therapy

"My style is wild and you know that it still is

Disco bag schlepping and you're doing the bump

Shake your rump" - Beastie Boys

In the last few weeks I've been shakin' my rump and working very hard at reversing the muscle atrophy in my booty and my left leg from my hips surgeries and recovery over the last 4 years. Having my bones shaved twice in an 8 month time period added an extra hurdle to overcome. I have years of atrophy which starts at 2 weeks of inactivity plus 2 years of bone healing from each surgery date ahead of me. By systematically strengthening the muscles and being patient, I am starting to see improvements in the atrophied areas. I've used these 4 steps as a guideline to my physical therapy: 

1. Isometric exercises 

To improve circulation and increase strength in the atrophied muscle. Isometric exercises involve contracting the muscle for a few seconds at a time

2. Range of Motion:

Progressing to range of motion exercises that involve joint movement without adding resistance

3. Light resistance 

Progressing to light resistance such as small hand weights or resistance tubes in order to begin rebuilding your lost muscle mass. Adding resistance gradually to avoid injury or straining .

4. Increasing resistance:

Slowly progressing to adding more resistance, moderately,  include more heavier free weights and weight machines. Start including more functional movements into your exercise program. For example, squats and step-ups will to build up atrophied quadriceps muscles, as well as bicep curls and overhead presses to strengthen atrophied muscles in the upper body.

Recovering from an injury takes patience, time, proper physical therapy and nutrition. If you do the work, in time you will see the results and be able to come out of it even stronger and healthier! 

#booty #shakeyourrump #workout #fitness #healing #recovery #bonehealth #resistancetraining #strengthtraining #physicaltherapy #patience #time #holistichealth #holisticnutrition #holistichealing #werk #🍑#longhair #messyhairdontcare #rawearthmedicine

East Meets West creates Raw Earth Medicine

The hardest part of being holistic is finding a balance between Eastern & Western Medicine.  You have to be able to put your ego aside & objectively look at each situation & do what is best for the body so you can live in optimum health.  

Much like the decision to vaccinate your child, you have to look at each illness you face & evaluate if you need Western Medicine or if there is a holistic approach. Knowing that I can’t holistically fight Polio, I vaccinated my child against it.  My goal is to use as few pharmaceuticals as possible but to know when the holistic approach needs to reach for the hand of Western Medicine.

As long as I do my share to try to prevent illness/disease and don’t abuse Western Medicine then I feel okay using it when I see fit.  I don’t reach for an Advil or pain pill for aches & pains because I know a holistic approach works better in longevity. I don’t use an Antibiotic every time I’m sick but I do know when to say when like when Bronchitis is moving it’s way to pneumonia, antibiotics are necessary because my eastern approach needs a hand. 

I think the issue facing and caused by Western Medicine is our abuse of it. Instead of living a healthy lifestyle & eating to prevent disease, most people live a lifestyle & eat a diet that causes disease; forcing Western Medicine to virtually keep them alive. Having to create pills to control cholesterol, blood pressure, circulation, blood sugar, erections, consistency of our blood along with surgeries to control weight, remove fat, unclog arteries and the list goes on and on. These all being things you can prevent & control holistically. 

My wish is for each person to do their share, create health in their lifestyle & within their body without abusing pills & surgeries, allowing Western Medicine to focus on research for the unknown instead of fixing mans created health epidemics.  The goal should be Raw Earth Medicine a balance between Eastern & Western Medicine, each holding tho others hand to keep you living a long healthy life! 

Digestive System Detox Juice

Detox Juice

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3 Apples

1 Beet

3 Carrots

1 Lemon

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Best cold pressed but still great for you in a smoothie! Digestive System Detox Juice is a wonderful blend of fruits and vegetables that help detox the body and push toxins out of the system. On days I drink detox Juice, I up my water consumption to give this juice a little help in flushing out my digestive system. .

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#happyday

Benefits of Ginseng

Ginseng is a big part of Chinese Medicine and Herbology, especially in places like Singapore. It's seems to be a staple in Asian Cultural Medicine! 

Here are 5 health benefits of Ginseng:

1. Energy 

A Mayo Clinic study revealed that ginseng showed good results in helping cancer patients with fatigue. Ginseng has long proven in Eastern Cultures to help with stimulating physical and mental activity among people who are weak and tired.

2. Cognitive function

Ginseng may improve thinking ability and cognition. Research conducted at the Medical School of Nantong University in China, held evidence that this was the case. JinSong Geng, M.D., said that given the results of the study "ginseng appears to have some beneficial effects on cognition, behavior and quality of life." 

3. Anti-inflammatory 

Ginseng has seven constituents, ginsenosides, which may have immune-suppressive effects, according to results of experiments which were published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. Allan Lau, who led the study, said that "the anti-inflammatory role of ginseng may be due to the combined effects of these ginsenosides, targeting different levels of immunological activity, and so contributing to the diverse actions of ginseng in humans". *

4. Cancer prevention: 

There may be substances in ginseng that have anticancer properties. A few population studies in Asia have linked the herb's consumption to a lower risk of cancer. Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers found that Ginseng improved survival and quality of life after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

5. Erectile dysfunction: 

A 2002 Korean study revealed that 60 percent of men who took ginseng noticed an improvement in their symptoms from Erectile dysfunction 

Ginseng has many benefits and can be taken in many different forms. You can cook with it or brew it as a tea. With so many different health benefits it should be added to your nutritional front line to prevent disease and help reduce the symptoms of many ailments! .

What you feed your children sets the foundation for their eating habits and health for their entire life

“What you feed your children sets the foundation for their eating habits and health for their entire life” - Amy Michelle 

I want to start by telling other mothers that my intention is not to make you feel judged or bad. My intention is to provide information about what diseases are linked to foods to enlighten & motivate you to read labels & make better choices to create healthy eating habits. I want people to live long healthy lives & never have to experience or witness someone die a horrific death because they ate foods that caused their disease.

With that being said, as I navigate through motherhood the trend that I notice is feeding children, for lack of better words, like they’re little idiots. Giving them anything of convenience, that they’ll eat. Anything that won’t cause a struggle or time. What parents seem to overlook is that children are born with a clean slate. What you offer them from the beginning is what is going to determine what they gravitate towards their entire life. If they never taste a processed food they will never have the pallet to eat that over a whole food. They will actually reject it.

Foods like Doritos, McDonalds and even cereals have additives, preservatives and chemicals designed to create a chemical reaction in the brain & on the pallet that enhances the taste of the food. This makes the brain think the food tastes incredible & gets the person high from eating it. When you feed your child this it sets an unrealistic foundation making wholesome natural foods taste bad because they aren’t enhanced to cause the mental high that processed foods do. The purpose of processing foods like this is to cause a mental

addiction to the high of eating the food.

These chemicals, pesticides & preservatives are linked to cancer, digestion issues, adhd, behavior issues, obesity & many other diseases. Feeding your children these foods not only sets them up with life long struggles with bad eating habits but a foundation for disease to develop in the body. Eating these foods 10 times isn’t going to cause toxic build up, but 10 years of it will.  Check out these charts that show you what to look out for & why! Let’s feed to succeed! 

Smokey Hummus

Smokey Hummus

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16oz Organic Garbanzo Beans 

4 oz  Aquafava 

3 tbsp Organic Tahini 

1 tbsp Liquid Smoke

1 tbsp Smoked Paprika

2 tbsp Minced Garlic

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Blend all ingredients in a food processor! Serve with pita, cucumbers and tomatoes. .

This delicious Smokey Hummus is oil free making it 2/3’s less fattening than your average Hummus. Using the aquafava instead of oil gives this Hummus the same smooth creamy texture without the unnecessary saturated fat in oil!  It’s also a great versatile base for plant based pasta sauces!  Nutritious and delicious!

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