It was seven years ago when I returned home to Illinois to rest a bit from a hectic, painful descent into the spiritual underworld of Kaua’i. That is a story for another day.
Today, I will tell you about the beautiful, magical, miraculous transition of my mother. She was almost 200 pounds when I arrived, which was a very dangerous condition indeed for an 82-year-old, 5′ 2″ beauty — the hometown flavor of an Ava Gardner look-alike. We spent a few weeks of trips to our favorite fried chicken restaurant that was blessingly only blocks away, relishing the BBQ and garlic wings, and perfectly dipped chicken legs. The pork roasts, potatoes and carrots were baked to deliciously spiced goodness, and the thought of a salad was a distant memory.
No, I had not given up eating meat, yet.
Then something happened. Like a light switch turned on to bright or fan set on high, I started to read labels and educate myself on healthy food. Drs. Oz, Hoffman and Mercola fed me with valuable information backed by scientific fact and observation. I also started to read The Health Ranger and other natural food alarm experts to awaken me to my faulty eating ways with “scared straight” tactics. As I sought more information, I found more and more.
I pondered over labels in the grocery stores, so much so that I was asked numerous times if I “needed help.” Yes, in fact, I did. And so did most of the food-buying public.
I began to observe the number of unhealthy people in my community who were just counting the minutes before their next appointment at the doctor’s office or their next round of pills. Some were not physically overweight and appeared to be rather healthy, yet their addiction to the medical industry solutions were sending up red flags everywhere. Mom was still on blood pressure medicine, and I knew not what else. My belief and trust of the invasive and controlling, not to mention expensive, American medical traditions had been abandoned years ago, save for a teeth cleaning once every year by a wonderful dentist.
My mom and I discussed what we had heard and read, and we decided to change our eating habits, and her drug habit. Over the next five years we ate almost all organic foods, cut our meat consumption 80-90 percent, drank copious amounts of Fiji and Crystal Geyser water — even in our coffee! No GMO, no CAFO, no HFCS, and no” -ites” or “- ates” on product labels was the rule of law in our house. Mom courageously and gradually weaned herself from all medications and visits to the doctor, since there was no reason to go if prescriptions were not needed.
We also began to read about the side effects of some of the drugs that mom took throughout the years: cataracts, loss of cartilage, weight gain, and loss of energy. We cannot say that all her “dis-eases” were caused by the drugs, but as we progressed with our healthy food regimen, her energy came back and she dropped over 70 pounds. Her skin began to glow, and she even got some of her dark hair back.
A few years later, she needed a doctor’s signature to renew her automobile handicapped parking card, so off to the office she went. Their jaws hit the floor when she walked in. They hardly recognized her, and they did not fully know who she was until she spoke. She told the doctor what she had done, and stunned, he wanted to “do some tests” to assess her “health.” She would not have any of it.
“I feel great,” she said. “All I want is for you to sign my paper here for my new parking card.” He obliged and she left the office with a big grin!
That was two years ago, and mom has more energy, healthier skin and dark brown hair now than ever. She looks years younger than many others her junior, and exhibits her sharp mind with any political conversation you would want, or not, to have. She takes great pride in her new smaller-sized “Life is good” organic cotton t-shirts, too. Her neighbors still marvel at her transition, and they come to visit as she weeds and plants her garden, and takes out the garbage. Even with the very proof standing before them, though, they are still captured by the “system,” fearing change. The corporate monetary intake from health “care” in this area is enormous thanks to our aging and drug-addicted population. One can only dream of the heavenly repurposing of that money!
We still get our fried chicken every couple of months or so, and cakes, pies and chocolate candies made with real sugar sprinkle themselves between meals occasionally. We have added a little uncured bacon and grass-fed beef, too, as our local Aldi’s carries some new brands.
As for me, organic whole milk, pure water and a little fine wine are my beverages of choice, and a great New York cheesecake gets my juices going. I extended my natural conversion to the few beauty products I use: goat milk soaps, shampoos, and vinegar and baking soda for laundry detergent. Love and kindness to the environment have become a way of life, too.
Yes, our lives have changed immensely for the better. Now, if I could just get her to quit using that dandelion killing herbicide. There is always next year.
