Serious Ponderings...

I am back from my LONG road trip. It wasn't exactly how I envisioned it would go, but still a fun trip.

Let me explain:

My Husband's Brother got married. It was good to be there for that. We got to see so much family

Then, I got to stay an extra week with my kids to visit 3 of my sisters! We were so excited and had many fun outings planned with all the cousins, it was beautiful Rocky Mountain Weather, and just a great week. Until...my boys and I caught a stomach flu. We spent the last 2 days laying around being sick. My baby was so dehydrated and lethargic I ended up taking him to the ER to make sure he wasn't severely dehydrated. He wasn't. I was so shocked, because he wouldn't drink ANYTHING, not even the pedia lite.. It was sad.

But my point to all of these details is that I think I know why at least I got sick. Before we left town, I was drinking a wonderful GREEN SMOOTHIE every day. I love them so much. But, driving across the country, and then crashing at people's homes didn't make it easy to eat what we normally eat, and I think my immune system couldn't fight it off as fast. Luckily, though, I was only sick for about 12 hours. I felt like I got hit by a bus, though. My poor baby was sick for a whole week. He is finally back to normal. My two year old was only sick for a day.

But since I've been home, I'm trying to get back into my habit of green smoothies and lots of veggies. I'm starting to want to do a lot of raw foods this summer. Mostly, because I hate being stuck in the kitchen on hot days, and every time I go to cook, my two year old starts dragging the baby around by his ears. OK, not by his ears, but it's just not easy to keep them apart while I'm cooking.

I had only just started thinking about the raw diet when we got some horrible news this past week... My husband's wonderful, kind, amazing,  FAVORITE Aunt was diagnosed with an aggressive, terminal type of Colon cancer. Everyone is devastated, to say the least.

But, out of this sad news comes revelation...I feel like I now KNOW that I need to do whatever it takes to keep my family and myself healthy. I don't want to keep making excuses for my "Vices", whether it be occasional cheese in moments of severe weakness, or my Coca Cola habit that I re-formed while driving across the country(it helped me stay awake). 

So I started doing some research on Cancer Prevention. I am AMAZED at the common denominator that I have found, yet, for some reason, people just don't listen! (Eat more veggies and whole foods!)

Here is a list of 7 things to do to prevent most cancers from the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-prevention/CA00024

Here is a re-cap:

1. Don't use Tobacco

2. Eat a variety of healthy foods (everything in their list was vegan! They never said eat meat)

3. Stay active and maintain a healthy weight

4.  Protect yourself from the Sun

5. Get immunized (I don't know about this one, though. I would love to hear thoughts)

6. Avoid risky behaviors (have less sexual partners and use protection)

7. Get screened, and do self checks

I have also found lots of other little blurps where they mention eating more vegetables and raw foods. It just blows my mind that this information isn't more broadcasted. But, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, considering it is common knowledge that tobacco can kill you and yet, how many millions of people still use it? 

Our Aunt is a pretty healthy woman for her age. Healthy weight, didn't smoke, ate side salads,limited sugar, but still grew up on the Standard American Diet. I'm not saying that she has colon cancer because she ate meat all of her life, but what if that is why? It just motivates me to not even take the chance. I am so saddened for her that she has to go through this. I truly believe that a lot of cancers are preventable. I hope to prevent it from happening to me. But still, you never know.

I just want to remind anyone reading this to please, please check out GreenSmoothieGirl.com . I truly believe that by drinking 2 green smoothies a day, you will do more good for your body than anything else. I can tell a difference in even 2 days of drinking them. My husband and I NEVER have problems eliminating our bowels now. We have the opposite thing happening- 2-4 times a day, actually. Thank heavens we have 2 bathrooms!  My skin has cleared up, I have lost all of my pregnancy weight, I don't get bloated, I don't crave sugar when I drink them regularly, and they are so YUMMY! 

I am finally cracking down on my 2 year old. He liked them the first few days we made them, but then decided he was done. I now gently "force" him to sit in his chair and it takes me about 10-15 minutes of encouraging/bribing/threatening to get him to drink it. But I'm OK with that. For now, I'll do whatever it takes to get those veggies into that little body. Luckily, the baby LOVES them, and is covered in green smoothie by the time he is done with his. I never have to worry that they aren't getting enough veggies when they drink them. That is my 2 cents.

I hope I didn't sound like I have the cure to cancer. Because I don't. All I have is the desire to learn more about prevention and healthy living and maybe share what I've learned with others along the way. I think that is all anyone can try to do.

GO GREEN!