I have been fascinated by this subject, and studied it intensely over recent years.
At one point, it was all I was researching, it sort of took over to be honest. I will endeavour to cover many topics on this subject i.e. toxins, chemicals, stress, heavy metals etc. However, for this particular blog, I aim to give an overview and will be covering further topics in greater detail following this post.
Please bear with me.
The event that triggered my curiosity actually happened at work. Very suddenly, several colleagues working in the same office block as me fell ill.
A significant number either didn’t make it into work, or were getting sent home, unfit for work!
Then I noticed something;
People who had been working in very close proximity to these ill people, weren’t getting ill…………at all.
Not a sniffle!
- People who had been working in very close proximity to these ill people, weren’t getting ill…………at all. Not a sniffle!
- On returning to work, the “ill” people were telling stories of them being the only “ill” person in their household, with no other family members being affected, even after spending several days together in the same house.
QUESTION!
What happened to contagion?
We are told from a very young age about Germ Theory, (the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases). This states that pathogens, or germs invade the body and cause disease.
According to Germ Theory, contagious diseases (such as the flu, colds, or viruses) spread from person to person in several ways.
One way is through direct physical contact, like touching or kissing a person who has the infection.
Another way is when an infectious microbe travels through the air after someone nearby sneezes or coughs.
If this is true, how can healthy people mix, mingle, socialise, have sex with ill people and not become infected? It’s a fair question, however, no matter how much research I carry out, I am unable to get an adequate answer.
QUESTION!
What then, really makes you ill?
The opposite of Germ Theory is “Terrain Theory” which argues that if the body is well and balanced, then germs that are a natural part of life and the environment will be dealt with by the body without causing sickness.
This would then strongly suggest that if we keep our bodies fit and healthy, we would be able to deal with most of what is thrown at us. But this isn’t the full story!
There is a very important caveat to this assumption.
Following a significant amount of time researching this topic, I have come to the conclusion, this is what REALLY makes you ill:
- Toxic chemicals in our food
- Stress
- Insufficient diets and fast food
- Electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
- Heavy metals (to be dealt with in a separate blog)
I strongly believe, if you address the issues above, you will not get ill.
That’s a very bold statement to make I agree, and no doubt, at this point, will have all the Germ Theory believers jumping all over it.
However, as stated earlier, I have asked some very clever people, and have wrote to some very big organisations and institutions over the last three years, in an effort to get an answer to my question doubting Germ Theory and I'm still waiting for the answer that satisfactorily supports it.
Lets deal with each one individually and see how we can illuminate the risks as best we can!
Toxic chemicals in our foods
BPA (Bisphenol A)/BPS (Bisphenol S)
Found mainly in plastics and linings of some metal food cans i.e. tomatoes
Linked to causing reproductive, immunity, and neurological problems, as well as an increased likelihood of Alzheimer's, childhood asthma, metabolic disease, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Artificial Trans Fats (form of unsaturated fat)
Found in processed foods, vegetable, soybean, canola & sunflower oils
Linked to a higher risk of heart disease & cancers.
Glyphosate (non-selective herbicide)
Found mainly in weed killers Roundup & Weedol.
Linked to cancers, kidney and liver damage.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Found in processed foods like frozen dinners, salty snacks and canned soups
Linked with obesity, metabolic disorders.
Artificial Food Colouring (Food dyes Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6)
Found in everything from sweets to condiments
May promote hyperactivity in children.
Guar Gum (long-chain carbohydrate)
Found in the food industry and can be found in ice cream, salad dressings, sauces and soups.
Can cause gas, bloating or cramps in some people.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (sweetener made from corn)
Found in fizzy drinks, juice, sweets, breakfast cereals and snack foods.
Linked to weight gain, diabetes & inflammation which in turn, can lead to many chronic conditions, including heart disease & cancer.
Artificial Sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharin)
Found mainly in diet foods and beverages.
Increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hormone-related cancers.
Artificial Flavouring
Found in many processed foods.
Linked to have a toxic effect on bone marrow cells. More research is needed to ascertain long term effects on humans.
BOTTOM LINE:
As you can see, the list is long, and it wasn’t exhaustive either. I will deal specifically with Mercury and heavy metals in a separate blog, which will also include a section on “Heavy Metal Detox”: a subject I have researched extensively over recent years.
So, looking at the list above, its obvious our foods are somewhat tainted by many unnatural ingredients.
The human body is a miracle when you think of the constant bombardment it takes every day from these nasties, and we haven’t even touched on stress, diet and EMF’s yet.
How To Avoid Toxic Chemicals in Our Food
- Avoid plastic cookware/dishware/drinkware.
- Buy glass or steel kitchenware instead.
- Do not drink from plastic bottled water if it has been subjected to heat.
- Buy bottled tomatoes rather than canned ones (if you can).
- Avoid vegetable, soybean, canola & sunflower oils.
- Always read the food labels very carefully.
- Avoid processed foods as much as you can.
- Buy organic whenever you can.
- Peel fruit and vegetables if not organic.
- Avoid GMO foods (also known as GE)
- Don’t use Roundup in your garden or allotment.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners.
Top Ten Foods To Throw Out Of Your House Right Now:
1. Margarine
2. Soy
3. GMO cereals
4. Ketchup
5. Sugar
6. Vegetable, sunflower, soybean & canola oils
7. Soft drinks
8. Processed foods
9. Frozen meals
10. Crisps
Stress
WHAT:
This is a BIG topic, and can be a very COMPLICATED one too….OR IS IT?
Personally, I think stress is a major contributory factor leading to chronic ill health in this country. Stressed people live poorer and shorter lives. They live less.
If you apply the correct tools and techniques, there is honestly no need to be living a life full of stress and chronic disease, there really isn't, and YES, it really is that simple.
So what is STRESS?
A REACTION TO FEELING THREATENED OR MENTAL/EMOTIONAL PRESSURE.
I am 56 years old (ouch), and like most people, I have been in some considerably stressful situations. I have felt unwell, lost sleep and suffered from all the other symptoms which go with this condition.
STATEMENT OF FACT!
When I look back at even my most stressful of times, it was NEVER, EVER as bad as I thought it was at the time.
Generally, unless you are the sole survivor of a plane crash or been in another life-threatening situation, the above “Statement of Fact” would relate to us all. When you review your life, it was NEVER, EVER as bad as it seemed at the time.
SO WHY DO WE STRESS LIKE WE DO?
ANSWER: ITS HUMAN NATURE
Let’s take a closer look. When you feel threatened, or under pressure, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, (remember the fight or flight response). Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper.
This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.
Chronic illnesses then manifest and take hold!!
Your now in trouble!!!!
How To Eliminate Stress When Your Feeling Threatened Or Under Pressure!
Whenever this kicks in with me, I have THREE golden rules, and I put these into action immediately:
GOLDEN RULE 1:
BREATHE DEEPLY!
GOLDEN RULE 2:
STOP WORRYING ABOUT SOMETHING YOU CAN’T CONTROL!
IT WONT HELP!
GOLDEN RULE 3:
REMIND YOURSELF: WHEN YOU REVIEW THE EVENT IN FUTURE, IT WILL NOT BE ANYWHERE NEAR AS BAD AS IT FEELS RIGHT NOW!
As stated earlier, one of the first things you do when under pressure, is breath quicker and shorter. Think about what this does to the body!
All you are doing is restricting the amount of oxygen going to your brain. This in turn prevents you from thinking straight and making logical, rational decisions.
If you continue, it's not very long before other symptoms kick in, like stomach pains, heartburn, headaches etc.
Then it gets worse again, and that downward spiral becomes very slippery. So, the immediate thing to do, is………….BREATHE!
But BREATHE DEEPLY.
I GUARANTEE YOU, THIS WORKS!!
When you are breathing correctly, and deeply, Rules 2 & 3 are very easy to bring into play. At this point, you are breathing deeply, your calm and your brain has adequate oxygen, hence:
GOLDEN RULE 2:
Your fully aware there are factors involved with which you have no control over. So, cut them loose and let them drift off.
When negative thoughts creep in, stop, and think about positive things in your life, like a loved one or something your looking forward to doing in the future.
GOLDEN RULE 3:
You also quickly realise, through calm, logical thinking, that when you look back at this event in the future, you will actually laugh at yourself and they way you have overreacted to the situation.
Its never, ever as bad as you think it is at the time of the so called crisis.
How To Stop Chronic Stress!
So, we have just dealt with fight or flight stress response, and I’m really hoping that information gives you some ideas on how to react in such situations. It really does work, honestly, SO IT SHOULD WORK FOR YOU TOO!!
Let's try to, no, sorry, LETS DEAL WITH chronic stress.
I’m going to break down why I think chronic stress kicks in and affects us all in everyday life. We can’t escape it, and at times, the feeling of threat & pressure becomes overwhelming. I have been there!!
- Work
- Financial
- Family
- Health
Try to make the THREE GOLDEN RULES the cornerstone of your response to stressful situations. However, there are other things we can do to keep stress at bay long term.
It will involve making lifestyle changes, and for some of you, these will be significant. But I promise you this:
YOU WILL REAP THE BENEFITS!!
If you allow it, chronic stress harms health and increases your risk of health conditions such as heart disease, anxiety disorders, and depression.
So, together, lets try and prevent that from happening shall we? But how?
We all know by now the things in everyday life which trigger feelings of threat & pressure, leading to………………….STRESS!!
The key here is not to sit and wait for these scenarios to pop up and start causing you to be stressed.
Call to action: Hunt them down and deal with them....................NOW!!
I have used this technique myself many times, in fact only very recently:
- Make a list of situations in which you feel under pressure, threatened and stressed
- For each situation on your list, come up with one or more strategies for preventing, avoiding, or diffusing it.
In other words:
Stop letting things become a bigger problem.
Stop letting them build up and become a source of stress.
Stop letting issues stalking, hunting and haunting you.
Go out and hunt them down, deal with them and eliminate them!!!
Lifestyle Changes To Avoid Or Remove Stress!
Exercise
Never, ever underestimate the positive effects exercise has on both your mind & body! To alleviate and combat stress, its right up there on the “to do” list.
We will deal with how much and types of exercise in further blogs, however, here is a GOLDEN RULE for exercise:
- IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DO…………JUST DO SOMETHING!!!!
- Let’s look at the benefits.
- It produces endorphins (feel good hormones in the brain)
- Improves your ability to sleep
- It is basically meditation in motion
- Improves your body’s ability to use oxygen and also improves blood flow (remember GOLDEN RULE 1: DEEP BREATHING)
- Helps take your mind off your worries
- Improves your self-image
- Strengthens your immunity, which can decrease your risk of illness and infection
- Lowers your blood pressure
Healthy Diet
Diet and stress go hand in hand. It’s the classic chicken and the egg situation. I will deal with diet & nutrition in further blogs, however, the old saying is absolutely true:
You Are What You Eat!!
- If you eat poorly, you will feel poorly
- Eating poorly = more likely to experience higher stress levels
- Eating poorly = less able to regulate stress and mood
- Eating well = improves your resilience to stress
Nutrition will be covered in much more detail in further blogs.
However, for now, just throw out the "top ten" baddies as stated earlier in this post and your onto an early winner.
Poor diet and chronic stress make EXCELLENT bedfellows. They really do survive and thrive off each other!
Music
This might not be up everyone’s alley, however, personally, I have found music to be very therapeutic over recent years.
In my humble opinion, you just cant beat a bit of Bob Marley while your working out.
Again, remember the exercise GOLDEN RULE:
IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DO…………JUST DO SOMETHING!!!!
I have very recently looked into music frequencies for an amazing range of health benefits. This might sound strange at first, but please bear with me on this.
While the concept that sound frequencies can actually alter the human consciousness and promote healing sounds a bit far-fetched, it actually has lots of sound scientific evidence to support the theory. Honestly.
I would highly recommend you look into the Solfeggio Frequencies, you can obtain these on all the major music sites i.e. Spotify, Amazon etc.
There are six main solfeggio frequencies, which are;
- The 396 Hz for liberating one from fear and guilt
- The 417 Hz frequencies for releases negativity and all past trauma
- The 528 Hz for cleansing an individual from any diseases and sickness
- The 639 Hz frequencies for relationships and reconnecting
- The 741 Hz solfeggio frequencies for getting solutions and expressing themselves
- The 852 Hz frequencies for returning one to a spiritual order
- The 963 HZ solfeggio frequencies create room for oneness and unity.
Trust me on this, keep an open mind and just try it. Download a Solfeggio today!
Create a playlist, put the headphones on, close your eyes, relax and press play.
Experiment with the frequencies and find what works for you: personally I have three favourites 417Hz, 528Hz & 853Hz.
Toxic People
None of us are perfect, even me! I feel very confident, if you asked my friends and family (and they were honest) what they think about me and what they thought my weaknesses and faults were, there would be several themes on the list. However, that doesn’t necessarily make me a bad or toxic person.
I believe a toxic person is:
Anyone whose behaviour adds negativity and upset to your life!!
Some common traits of a toxic person include:
- You're left feeling emotionally exhausted after an encounter with them.
- They try to intimidate you to get their way.
- They try control you by guilt tripping.
- They are easily jealous.
- They constantly see themselves as a victim.
- They gaslight or lie to you.
- They don't apologize properly.
- They don't understand how their behaviour makes others feel.
- They think they are superior to others.
I know I have my faults, and I know I don’t do enough to correct them, and I apologise to people for not doing so.
Although my friends and family could give you several examples of my current faults, I am 100% sure, none of the toxic traits above would be on that list.
I have encountered toxic people, some very toxic people, and recently too.
I believe recent events: Brexit, Covid etc have created some serious division in this country, and brought out significant toxic behaviours in certain individuals.
I have encountered this first hand, and utilised the following strategy:
Avoided (or tried really hard not to) playing into their reality.
- Didn’t get drawn in.
- Paid attention to how they made me feel.
- Tried to talk to them about their behaviour.
- Offered compassion, but didn't try to fix them.
- Reminded myself………..I wasn’t at fault.
After years of tolerating this, I realised I had to do something.
The toxic behaviour towards me was seriously affecting my health and wellbeing.
I was apologising in an attempt to appease them, I was eating meals before meeting them and not enjoying or tasting anything, I was losing sleep, and I felt generally miserable.
I tried all the tricks in the book:
- I let them know how I felt
- I tried to put time and distance between us
- I tried setting boundaries
- I spent more time with positive people
- I confided in people I trusted
This did not work, or made me feel any better, and to make things worse, their behaviour intensified.
Nothing was working and I had only one tool left in my toolbox. To walk away!
Obviously this is the last resort, however, I guess what I’m saying is, please try everything to solve the situation, and work hard at it, but never be afraid to walk away from someone who is neither prepared to change nor prepared to listen to how you feel.
Cold Showers
I cannot effectively put into words the difference cold showers have made to my mental health and well-being, I honestly can’t.
I’m going to be honest, they took some getting used to, however, its been nearly 3 years now since I went without a cold shower to set off my day.
The physical and mental benefits are amazing, here are a few:
• Increases levels of the antioxidant glutathione. This in turn helps regulate the process of all other antioxidants in the body
• Good for your mental health/Reduce levels of stress
• Improve circulation and reduce inflammation
• Reduce chronic pain
• Boost metabolism/Boost lymphatic cleansing
• Improves mood & mental resilience
I looked into this a while before I actually tried it, but, due solely to the way it was making me feel, very quickly got into the rhythm!
I would get up some mornings feeling very anxious about going to work, have a cold shower, and my mental outlook would change completely.
It left me feeling invigorated, highly sensed, happy and very good about myself. My thoughts were more positive, I was more alert and felt confident and competent about meeting the day head on, however bad it was going to be.
How to conquer the COLD SHOWER!
- Start the day with a warm shower and wash thoroughly.
- Then, go for it!!! Just quickly turn the dial to COLD!!
- If you can’t do this, you could try the PEE-WEE method and go to cold slowly, over a minute or so.
- Try to stay in for 2 – 3 minutes. This is when you get the full benefit.
- To boost lymphatic cleansing, make sure you get cold water into all the right places i.e. under the armpits and the groin area.
- Have a sequence to ensure you stay the course and do the full 2 – 3 minutes.
So what are you waiting for? Go for it!
Let me know how you get on!
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
What?;
Not an easy subject to cover for some people, so lets keep it easy and simple.
Electromagnetic Radiation is a form of energy covering an extensively wide range of wavelengths and frequencies. Collectively, this is known as the Electromagnetic Spectrum.
These frequencies and wavelengths have been categorised as either ionising or non-ionising radiation depending on their energy and intensity.
Happy so far? Let’s Continue.
The main difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation is that ionizing radiation refers to types of radiation when the radiation carries enough energy to ionize atoms (harmful to health), whereas non-ionizing radiation refers to types of radiation that do not carry enough energy to ionize atoms (less harmful to health). Or so we are told!
I am about to get a little spiritual, but please bear with me on this one.
I BELIEVE EVERY PERSON ON EARTH FUNCTIONS ELECTRICALLY AND OUR EARTH IS ELECTRICAL IN NATURE.
BOTH THE BRAIN AND HEART FUNCTION ELECTRICALLY AND THIS SYSTEM IS EXTREMELY DEILICATE IN NATURE AND CAN EASILY BE AFFECTED/DISRUPTED BY EXTERNAL ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCIES.
Everyone still here? Hello?
Health Effects:
Let’s look at some of the ways EMF’s can detrimentally affect our health.
As with most things in life, there are many different institutions, organisations and even governments issuing conflicting information regarding EMF’s and their potential health effects.
While researching for this blog, I have read many studies, and as always, tried to verify each one, then reach, what I think is a logical & balanced view on the subject.
With regards to EMF's, we can confidently state two facts:
- At present, there is a lack of long term study evidence to suggest that EMF’s are safe and do not detrimentally affect our health and wellbeing.
- There is ample evidence and many examples of peoples lives and health being affected by EMF’s, then on removal of the source, their lives return to normal and EMF exposure symptoms cease.
As I said earlier, there are many, many studies on this subject, with some very wide and varied results, however, there are some significant epidemiological studies in human populations on the detrimental health effects from EMF’s which cannot be ignored.
There is an increasing number of studies showing that the general public are experiencing a whole range of biological and neurological symptoms when exposed to long-term EMF radiation that are not experienced by people who are not so exposed.
There is undisputable evidence now of the following health effects being strongly linked to EMF exposure:
- Leukaemia’s
- Breast Cancer
- Brain Tumour’s
- Depression
- Sleep disorders
- Headaches
- Memory Loss
- Tinnitus
- Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
My Story:
Over 3 years ago, I, like many of you, would settle down in front of the TV almost every night and gorge on whatever came out of that rectangular box.
My viewing would start at approximately 6 – 6.30 pm and culminate in me switching it off for bed around 9.30 ish, with these hours being significantly longer at weekends.
At this time I had just purchased a brand new mobile phone AND a cordless phone to replace the hardwired landline.
If you can picture this: I would be sitting on the recliner, my mobile phone on the armchair to my right hand side, the cordless phone on the shelf, also at my right hand side, AND the wi-fi router sitting on the computer, in the next room, also directly on my right hand side.
Although there was a stud partition wall between myself and the router, this makes virtually no difference to the EMF exposure I was being subjected to from the router alone.
It was very shortly after when I started experiencing the symptoms.
It started with migraines, and bouts of light headedness, but soon developed into severe sinus pains, feeling nauseas, and my sleep patterns were being significantly disrupted.
This literally went on for months, and I tried in vain to get to the route cause.
The sinus pain was the most intense I had ever experienced, and was also affecting my teeth (strange I know) and my vision was becoming impaired made worse by the accompanying brain fog.
I started reading articles on EMF’s and blocking materials such as tinfoil, sheeting and metallic cloth.
I was at my wits end and would have done almost anything to rid me of the torment. So, I splurged the cash and bought the metallic EMF blocking cloth.
BINGO!!!
I am not exaggerating when I say the symptoms disappeared almost overnight. What a relief!
Which appliances?
- Mobile phones
- Smart Meters
- Cordless Phones
- Microwaves
- Mobile Phone Masts/5G Masts
- Wi-Fi Router
NOTE: I will cover 5G separately in a future blog!
What can we do?
• Buy EMF blocking material and drape over your electrical EMF generating appliances
• Make and EMF sock for your phone (this doesn't look cool I must warn you)
• Reduce your exposure at every opportunity
• Ditch the cordless phone or cover it with EMF blocking cloth
• Keep your mobile phone away from your head when calling/texting
• When texting, hold your phone away from you when you press “send”
• Microwave food less and stand away from it when in use (or ditch the microwave altogether).
I think we can all agree, there is an enormous body of evidence out there strongly suggesting there is a definite link between EMF exposure and health effects, however, public and even academic awareness seems to be very poor.
Your body is electrical in nature and with regards to EMF exposure, can be a very delicate animal.
Most sensitive are the eyes, testicles, breasts, ovaries, heart and brain, so why not keep them safe and limit exposure? Makes sense to me!
BLOG BOTTOM LINE:
I really hope your all still with me and you have found this blog to be interesting & informative?
We have covered many subjects, however, there are just too many for one blog post.
Look out for further blogs dealing with related topics in much more detail.
We are constantly bombarded and subjected to chemicals, toxins, stress, fast foods, EMF’s & heavy metals (the subject of another blog to follow in the near future). I hope this blog has opened your mind a little and possibly prompted you to consider reducing your exposures to “what really makes you ill”?
