by: Marceline Donaldson
Those of you who know me know I am almost passionate about organic everything – especially food. It is a rare day to come into my home and find food that is not organic. Yes, it cost more initially – but yes it has benefits which justify the cost and which, in the long run actually show you it costs much less, over the long term, to eat organically and surround yourself with a total organic life. Your benefits include better health.
A few of us have just finished a short, but very productive experiment. We worked together to get everything out of our lives that was not organic – food, cleaning products, cosmetics, etc………….The result? We lost weight – have more energy – feel better – and our looks, well, let me not brag, but we look sensational!
Now being at that age where hair turns grey – that is where I started. A couple years ago I started using hair dye. All during that time I worried and imagined what that was doing to my health and sure enough the literature was showing me horrible possibilities that I could hardly contemplate. It is not for nothing that it is suggested that pregnant women refrain from dying their hair. None of those possibilities pointed squarely at the hair dye, but they came awfully close. So, I recently changed to using Henna and other natural herbal possibilities. It struck me that these are probably what our ancestors used in the dim historic times before the oligarch’s took over this world to make themselves ultra rich and me and those like me ultra poor.
Lots of “I’s” in the above paragraph because “I” am the only one who did the hair thing. Everyone else continued on with their hair dye.
It has taken a few months to get this Henna thing straight, but I am amazed at the results. Henna, for those of you who don’t know, is an herb which is commonly used in the middle-east and other places for hair, body decorations, etc.
The first time I tried henna nothing happened. My hair looked nice, but the color didn’t change. The next time I poured lost of Apple Cider Vinegar into the Henna 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar made the color work beautifully. About six weeks later, as the grey started to peep through I used Henna with the addition of a couple of organic eggs. The results were even better. I had an uneven hair color which looked sensational. The ends of my hair were lighter than the rest and all through were these little bits of light.
The third time I used Henna was with the addition of very strong organic chamomile tea and my hair is now multi colors. Would not have gone for that on purpose, but this accident is incredibly beautiful. (Sorry, I have never been known for my modesty). I totally didn’t know what I was doing, but experiment was on the table. I was trying to eliminate as much of the red as possible and looking for a yellow gold brown combination. I didn’t get that, but what I did get I like better. Accidents can be wonderful.
One of our small group got rid of all eggs, milk, butter unless they were from grass-fed cows and organic. Yogurt was added – but yogurt from goats. And then the organic coconut oil used as an all over massage oil. But someone else used Grapeseed oil as a massage oil – and yet someone else used Avocado oil. Can’t believe how good we look.
I have become addicted to splashing organic whole plant Aloe Vera on my face first thing in the morning and leaving it on adding liquid Vitamin C and Vitamins A and E during the day. Sometimes I add vitamin B in different forms when I feel stressed out. Can’t let old age creep in too quickly – and bless you, it is working. Don’t think I look old. I think I look about 50 years old. And isn’t that the age cosmetic people advertise as “old age”? When I was actually 50 I wasn’t worried about wrinkling, etc. I was still busy “striving”. Didn’t think I looked old then and neither would those models advertising how 50 is the new 30. With our regimen 80 is the new 40 and much cheaper.
A side benefit that we all found is the weight loss from this change to organic everything. We did not set out to lose weight. That was far from our thoughts although we all needed to lose quite a bit of weight. There is now no need to go on special diets – no need to eat special “diet foods” – no need to receive those meals from all over the globe to keep your weight down. Simply make sure that the meat, milk, vegetables, etc. are all organically grown. And, dessert fits right in. Nothing like an apple tart made with apples on top of a custard base to make afternoon tea special and weight loss possible if all the ingredients, especially the flour for the tart crust, is organic whole wheat flour. the story of what sent me from white non-organic flour to organic whole wheat flour is elsewhere in the Bettina Network Blog. But, be careful, not all organic whole wheat flour is equal. Some cheat. That is one problems with organic everything, you have to be conscious of what you eat, cook and give to others because all organics are not equal, some reach that line and barely squeak pass – and they squeak pass only because there are the billionaires who want more and let their greed cheat us out of good, organically grown food. Aren’t processed foods that which made millionaires by the tens of thousands and dramatically increased the ranks of both the billionaires and the homeless?
The big secret to weight control that we’ve found is starting the day with a very healthy and substantial breakfast. As we see more and more people we are beginning to be appalled at what today passes for ‘breakfast’. A sweet roll out of the worst kind of flour and the most over processed sugar on the globe. However, some aren’t even made of sugar – the processed food people have discovered that fructose corn syrup is cheaper than sugar and goes further and that is what is now used – could over processed and over refined white sugar one day become a ‘health food’ or a ‘historic food’ from the distant past as this trend continues and we become sicker as a world? And indeed it is a world wide phenomena as copy cats come into existence picking up and producing all of the worst products for our health, but the most financially lucrative. Is that what is driving the health crisis we are facing and trying to ignore and deny?
Follow our “Health” and “Health and Beauty” blogs and we believe you will be wealthier, wiser and healthier. A side affect will be your increase in beauty. You will be wiser because you have to take control and know what you are eating and putting on your skin. – Following the advice of the marketing/advertising people is not an option. They have a vested interested and not in your health and beauty. Those healthy and beautiful looking models have had their pictures air brushed and god knows what else has been done to them. It is no accident that models are now in their early teen years. The models of old had to be at least 35 to be considered because clothes and other things didn’t look good on you until you reached that point. Today you are considered old at 40 and many people look the part. Ask them their lifestyle habits and you will see why.
Going to bed with the birds and getting up with the birds is not a bad habit to cultivate.
In the beginning of your journey into health and fitness being suspicious of even processed foods which look healthy is also not a bad habit to cultivate. Learn where your food is grown and by who? Learn the politics behind the foods you are being offered – which means if a particular food is brought to your awareness many times first look to see if a political reason is behind that promoting! You will be surprised.
We did not always have so many hospitals nor did we have so many people sick and dying. That is a modern phenomena! We did not have children’s hospitals because there were not enough sick children to justify such. The elderly died – they didn’t waste away with awful diseases – and people lived into old age with old age not being into their 40’s and 50’s but into their 80’s, 90’s and beyond. How do I know? I lived a life in which I saw all of that and I have seen the development of this new health industry where we are all sick and being sent on a regular basis to the doctor. We have just discovered the way we sent women to get x-rays to determine if they have breast cancer has helped to cause some women to develop breast cancer. Take your life and your health into your own hands and stop being led by those who profit from your bodies.
Just as fear created and grew the insurance industry – fear is feeding and growing the “health industry”.
Take a look at the products you use to clean your house! Lethal – with off gases that could take down an ox! We don’t even know what other kind of ‘products’ we could use to do a better job and which would keep our home clean and its environment healthy. We have lost that knowledge because we have cut off our family’s advice – we look to those trying to sell us something for advice. Or we look to our peers who look to those marketing experts. We need to get out and share with each other what we know that is real. That knowledge from past generations has all but disappeared so look for those who still have a bit and try it.
One thing wrong with immigrants – some still have that knowledge and it could kill this killer society’s profits. Try making friends with those who have recently come from other countries, especially if they’ve come from outlying areas rather than overcrowded cities trying to develop western ways.
And more to come from our little band of beauties.
____________________________________________________________
Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!
[give_form id=”3763″]
___________________________________________________________
Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.
Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.
Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net
Tags: Apple cider vinegar, bed & breakfast, Bettina Network Educational Institute, Bettina Network Hedge Schools, breakfast table talk, health, health and beauty, prevent obesity
