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Light Up Your Immune System 🔥

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” – Alvin Toffler

The current situation (COVID-19) has us all hyper focused on death rate numbers, listening to the latest update from the CDC, the Covid Task Force and the MSM.  I’m all for staying up to date on a situation but I feel like all this *noise* has us looking outside of ourselves rather than inside.  In  my opinion, most people would be better served hearing about how to better strengthen their IMMUNE SYSTEMS. At the end of the day we cannot control this mess the outside world, we can only control the inside world, specifically, our insides. The latest research is saying those with diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are getting hit much harder by this virus. Sadly, we are all aware these diseases affect a large percentage of our population.  The good news is they are lifestyle diseases that can be improved with some corrective health promoting choices. 

I’m not a doctor, or a scientist,  but I am a cancer survivor. One who was lucky enough to have the time to do (A LOT) of research on cancer, how it forms in the body, how it metastasizes and how to help slow down it’s growth.  The first thing I researched/focused on was my immune system.  In case you didn’t know, we are all exposed to rogue (aka cancer) cells in our bodies every. single. day.  The difference between someone for whom those cells turn into something (a cancer) and someone whose body identifies and then kills those cells is….you guessed it, a healthy, robust immune system.  Bottom line, one of the best ways to keep  cancer from taking up residence in our bodies is to keep our immune system running in tip top shape.  Our best defense against a virus, like COVID-19 (in addition to physical distancing, proper hand washing, etc.) is the same…Our Immune System. Since that’s basically what I’ve focused on for the last two years I’d like to share a little bit of what I learned with you.

I’m going to run through some things you can do to boost your immune system. We will start with those things that don’t require you to purchase anything….with the current Amazon shipping delays, stores having limited inventory and people not out shopping, I think this is a good place to focus.  I want to touch on some things you can add in to your current lifestyle to help your immune system thrive and finally we will talk about supplements.  Side note: There are LOTS more ways to boost your immune system and I will talk more in depth about these soon, but right now I want to just get these easily attainable things into your thinking cap. These things are simple, but not necessarily easy.  (You’ve been warned).  But the good news is, when you implement these lifestyle changes you’ll also be decreasing your chances of developing a future cancer. Yay!! I call that winning!  Here goes…

Things to limit:

  • Sugar (refined)
  • Alcohol (remember, I’m just the messenger)
  • Processed foods
  • Stress (turning OFF the news is a good place to start)

Things to add more of:

  • Get outside (free Vit D) bonus for bare feet (grounding)
  • Daily movement (a walk, an online workout, yoga) but don’t overdo it
  • Filtered Water (work up to half your body weight daily)
  • Veggies and (some) fruit
  • Quality sleep

Supplements that can provide benefits (make sure to chose quality brands):

  • Vitamin D3 (add K2 so the calcium knows where to go)
  • Vitamin C
  • Zinc
  • Probiotics (the gut is where 60% of our immune system lives, wow)

Like I said, there are lots more ways to boost your immune system, but I feel like these are a good stepping stone.  Please don’t let the limit list overwhelm you, that will increase stress…start with one thing and focus on cutting back on that, then move on to the next.

Let’s not just survive this, let’s thrive because of it.

Light and Love

💚Kendra

 

 

 

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Crazy Cured!

Healing is not an overnight process; it is a daily cleansing of pain, it is a daily healing of your life. – Leon Brown

I have hoped and I have prayed, but I didn’t anticipate the words “YOU ARE CURED!” to come out of my Doctor’s mouth yesterday. I had figured out what my test results meant (in Layman’s terms, haha). I was still prepared with all my research and my notes and my gut affirming belief to plead my case for why I should NOT have radioactive iodine treatment. The resident even joked that she fully expected me to say that I was an astronaut or something equally detail oriented (or a mom perhaps lol) when she asked what I did for a living, after spying my giant Thyroid Cancer book and my notebook full of notes, highlights and sticky notes.

I sat quietly as my endocrinologist and the resident reviewed my surgery, pathology and bloodwork results with each other. And then Dr. Cooper explained what it all meant…That even though my variant of thyroid cancer is an aggressive one and has a higher risk of recurrence, at this moment there is NOTHING there, so I am cured. There is no need to put my body through the RAI treatment!!

I *woohooooo-ed* and smiled the biggest smile of my life and told him he had made my day, to which he responded that I had made his. (And we elbow bumped, because…coronavirus) ❤ And now I’m writing my surgeon a heartfelt thank you, because he did the virtually impossible thing. In addition to creating an incision that will eventually be barley noticeable, he removed every last bit of my thyroid from my trachea leaving nothing behind to grow. My endocrinologist tells me this is quite rare, that he doesn’t get many outcomes like this one.

I have to say, if there is a moral to this *two year* story, it’s this:

If faced with a diagnosis, LISTEN to your gut, your heart, the little voice in your head that might be saying “no, not yet.” Research your disease, interview doctors and create a team that you can feel aligned with. Get yourself healthier than you have ever imagined possible. Find people who will love and support you and help you heal. I am so blessed and grateful that this cancer (and my family and friends) gave me time to do all of this. I truly believe that if either of the first two surgeons I saw had performed my surgery, though both were competent, the outcome would not have been what it is. And to the Doctor who called me crazy….I’m sending him a note that says “You bet I’m crazy…CRAZY CURED!!”

Thank you to ALL of you for your part in this story! I am humbled and forever grateful for your love and support! And expect a BIG hug the next time you see me. ❤

Light and Love

K

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Happy New Year!

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve never liked the idea of New Years’s Resolutions…they always seem like just things you say that you think sound good, but deep down you know you aren’t going to still be doing in two weeks. Instead, I like to think of  a few intentions for the year. Last year, I started out sort of in limbo, since I had a health issue going on, but I wasn’t really sure what ‘the issue’ was.  I remember setting an intention to meditate more, drink more water (always on my list, ugh) and practice yoga more because my body was craving easier, slower paced workouts at the time.  Then, in late January, I had a couple of biopsies and my whole focus changed.

Suddenly I was pushed into a frantic quest for my health.  Health is one of the many things we take for granted in our daily lives. We just expect it to be there, even when we are not doing the things necessary to maintain it, we still feel entitled to it. {Which just might be the definition of crazy.}  Then when it disappears, sometimes in the blink of an eye, we are left blind-sided and frantically seeking, begging, pleading, praying for it back. (Side note: You can insert almost any word for the word ‘health‘ above…friendship, love, marriage, money, faith….all things in life take maintenance and care to flourish).

Chasing down wellness this past year was quite the journey. First and foremost, I had to release the fear that surrounds the word cancer. (This took awhile).  I worked through some past hurts.  I forgave others and more importantly, myself.  I found my voice. I found a NEW normal.  I finally let go of the crutch of alcohol.  I changed  how I eat and think about food.  I came to understand that people, even those who love you, won’t understand, and that’s okay. I focused, A LOT, on getting my immune system running efficiently, reducing stress, increasing sleep, increasing movement and detoxing my body and life {shew}. I learned that my purpose is to share the unique  perspective/knowledge this journey is giving me and I’m ready to expand and use that knowledge with even more focus and clarity in 2019.  

This year I want to give my year a focus word, a mantra, that encompasses my goals and gives intention to 2019.  Initially I thought ‘Wellness’ but as I worked through writing this post I realized that wellness is my daily practice now.  So I needed something else, something that I’m not so good at.  Something that I can put into the query “Does this support my _____?”, answer yes or no and then commit to an action based on the answer.
And so my word for 2019, which I think is kind of appropriate since I have always signed my posts here giving “Light and Love” to my readers, is Lightness.

My Intention: I want lightness of being.

My Affirmation: I align myself with peace and calm.  I am aligned with the joy and light of my highest self.

My Mantra: Lightness.

I also love this poem I found…

Live with intention. Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness.
Play with abandon. Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love and live as if
this is all there is.

-Joan Hyman

Thanks for the lessons 2018….NEXT!

Light and Love,

♥K

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Life is a mirror…

“Your life is always a perfect reflection of your state of heart and mind, and of your truest identity” – Bryant McGill

I  joke all the time that children are little mirrors.  But it’s not a joke, it’s a sobering fact.  My children are constantly mirroring back the traits that I most need to work on.  They are literally my own in-house therapists! They also (from time to time) mirror back the good things as well, but the things I need to work on are SO much more apparent…like my short temper, my snarky comebacks, my tendency to yell first, speak calmly later. {Being boldly honest here.}  And I find it maddening when they act like me this way, but as the saying goes…the things we dislike in others are the things we don’t like about ourselves.  There is some good news here, though, the opposite is also true.  The likable behaviors we see in others are also a reflection of the likable things within ourselves! {oh hallelujah!}

This goes further than children, though.  Everyone and everything that happens in your day…a misunderstanding with a coworker, a fight with your spouse, a judgement towards the person who cut you off in traffic is a mirror.  When these triggering moments happen, take a moment and think “What is this mirroring back to me?  Why is this triggering me? What is this moment/person here to teach me?”  I promise it’s not just that you should leave earlier for work to avoid traffic….it’s much deeper than that.  Your anger, frustration, impatience, judgement, etc. has absolutely nothing to do with that person or situation, and everything to do with you and some part of yourself that needs to be healed.  And the more you ignore it, the MORE you will be find these triggering situations and people crossing your path.

An example, if you struggle with control issues…controlling people will continue to show up in your life…over and over until you learn to address the controlling aspect of your own personality.  (You’ll know you have healed this part of you when controlling people show up, but they no longer trigger you.)  The key is to observe these negative traits within others (and ourselves) without judgement and without getting wrapped up in their drama.  This takes time, and lots of practice, but it can be done….with lots of looking inward rather than outward.  Remember, when you point the finger of blame at someone else, there are always three fingers pointing back at you. {You just checked to see if I’m right, didn’t you? It’s okay, I did the same the first time I heard this!}

The other (and maybe more important) thing to be aware of here is that we can only love and accept others to the degree that we love and accept ourselves.  The best way to more readily love and accept yourself? Forgiveness.  Forgive yourself!!   Embrace the lesson this moment has come into your life to teach you and then forgive yourself (and the other person, too) for not knowing what you didn’t know or for not being what they cannot be. When we choose thoughts of love and forgiveness we can live in a reality of love and acceptance.  And as we focus on and see the light in others, we can bring out and see the light within ourselves.

Light and Love,

♥k

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Day 31: What’s your intention?

“First it is an intention. Then a behavior. Then a habit.  Then a practice. Then a second nature.  Then it is simply WHO YOU ARE.” – Brendon Burchard

It’s simple really.  If you want to change your life, it starts with intention.  You are the CEO of your health.  We ALL are.  No one cares about your health more than you do.  (Read that again…slowly).  Have you been acting like the CEO of your health?  I know I wasn’t (I was more like a high level executive, but not the CEO).  I’ll bet you haven’t been acting like the CEO either. Newsflash: We all have the power to make a difference in our health. This is ultimately how we will change our health care system.  It’s broken and to help fix it we have to stop waiting until our doctor tells us we are sick to make the changes we KNOW we should be making now.  Please don’t wait until you get a scary diagnosis to get your ass in gear.  Start now…TODAY!  Tomorrow never comes, we only have this moment. right. here!

So {on that happy note} let’s set an intention for higher health. I want you to go through the last 30 days and pick 3 of these health habits you want to continue implementing in your life. Maybe there’s a couple of days you missed, that you’d like to make up.  Or it could be something we didn’t address that you know you need to change like, eating from drive-thrus or limiting your alcohol consumption. Pick three things you want to seriously focus on becoming second nature to you. I don’t recommend picking what you think is the easiest…pick the things you know you need a little more help with {you know what they are!} and give them consistent focus over the next few weeks/months.

The three that I know I need a little more focus on are: phubbing (especially to my children), flossing (I’m hit or miss with this) and reducing the disposables I use frequently (paper plates, plastic baggies in the kids lunch, etc).  Additionally, I’ll have more posts over the next few weeks addressing some habits we didn’t tackle {looking at you wine bottle}. In the meantime, pick your three and share them with someone (or even here in the comments) to keep yourself accountable.  I’m cheering for you!!

Light and Love,

♥k

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Day 30: Pay attention to the cues!

“The truth is, being a healthy woman isn’t about getting on a scale or measuring your waistline — and we can’t afford to think that way.  Instead, we need to start focusing on what matters—on how we feel, and how we feel about ourselves.” – Michelle Obama

Our body is a magnificent machine.  It does trillions of things each and every second, all with minimal conscious thought from us.  Sit still and just be in your body for a moment….think about all the blood and oxygen flowing to the organs and cells as needed, the inhaling and exhaling of air.  All your senses working as they should…your eyes, seeing; your ears, hearing.  It’s truly a miracle, our body.  And yet, we mostly ignore this magnificence.  Our focus, at least for most women, tends to be on the things our body isn’t….skinny enough, tan enough, wrinkle-free enough, strong enough, etc.  We seem to only pay attention to our bodies in a negative way. (A topic for another day!)

But we MUST start paying attention!! Our bodies are sending us signals about our health. Every day.  Little signals that we are, for the most part, ignoring.  Unless it comes in the form of cues we can’t ignore, like discomfort or pain, we keep going about our daily lives.  And there are more ways our bodies are trying to clue us in that there are potential imbalances.  Some of these cues (and possible reasons behind them) are:

  • headaches – possible dehydration, lack of sleep
  • yawning – need to get oxygen and blood flowing through the body
  • indigestion/burping – low stomach acid
  • eczema – food intolerance/sensitivity
  • frequent colds – gut flora imbalance
  • sinus congestion – body trying to eliminate toxins
  • fatigue – too much caffeine
  • dark circles under the eyes – vitamin B deficiency

The list goes on and on.  Our body is one big feedback loop.  It is constantly trying to maintain balance and give us (and our health care providers) clues into what is happening so that we can help it restore it.  Next time you get indigestion or a headache, instead of popping a pill to make it go away, take a moment and do a little internal research.  Think to yourself… Do I need to drink some water? Do I need a nap? What did I eat that could be causing me to feel this way…so I can avoid it? As an example, one of the cues I’ve been able to tune into is, I get really tired after eating white rice.  My body is telling me that it’s takes too much energy to process the rice, and it shows up as fatigue.  So I avoid white rice.  Brown doesn’t seem to have that effect, so I can still enjoy my Chipotle! {Wahoo!}

Our bodies are constantly giving us these little taps on the shoulder.  When we don’t pay attention to these little taps things tend to get worse and we end up with bigger issues, we can’t ignore.  The solution? Just start paying attention!

Light and Love,

♥k

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Day 29: Get to flossing!

“It looks like you’ve been flossing too much.” – no dentist ever.

Let’s talk about flossing! I’m not talking about that {ahem, weird} dance your kids are doing.  I’m referring to inter-dental cleaning.  You’re dentist tells you every 6 months to floss more.  And you get the little swag bag with a sample box and promise, yes this is it, I’m going to start flossing every day….and then you don’t.  {Ugh, I struggle with this health habit, too!}  But here’s the thing.  It can impact your health…to the tune of adding years to your life.  That’s right.  I said years!!  One study estimated an additional 6.4 years.  {woah!} Health begins in the mouth, and obviously we know flossing helps prevent gum disease.  What you may not know, is that many studies show flossing directly impacts heart health.  How in the world does flossing my teeth affect my heart? you’re probably asking. Well, it all boils down to inflammation.

The common thread between oral and cardiovascular health is inflammation. In gum disease (gingivitus and periodontitis), the culprit is sticky bacteria (plaque) that grab onto the roots of your teeth and irritate your gums. In heart disease, the plaque builds up in arteries and starts to slow down blood flow. There have been lots of studies, but researchers still don’t know the exact reasoning behind why people with poor oral health seem to have higher risk of heart disease (or vice versa), but the correlation definitely exists.

Brushing twice a day is great, but brushing alone only covers 60% of your tooth’s surface.  This is why flossing is so highly recommended. It helps clean the other 40%….not to mention it removes those pesky hulls from popcorn that hide get stuck in there.

At the end of the day, even if ‘they’ don’t know why flossing reduces your heart disease risk, they do know it helps you keep your teeth.  Which as far as I’m concerned, is the ideal way to eat!!  Grab some floss, find a time when it’s easy to sneak in (my hygienist does it in the shower), and just do it!  Then do the floss…because dancing helps boost your health and longevity, too!!

Light and Love,

♥k

 

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Day 28: Stop phubbing!

“We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.”― Maya Angelou

The zombie apocalypse is here my friends.  All you have to do is look around in a coffee shop, while you’re waiting in like at the market, even watching  people drive through an intersection as you sit at the stop light.  Multitudes of people, myself included at times, are going through life with their heads DOWN.  Cell phones, they have turned us.  I used to love sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office and chatting with whoever happened to be there.  Now, everyone is scrolling through their phones and snickering to themselves.  No one is communicating.  And it makes me sad.  A tiny device that is supposed to be giving us more connection, is actually giving us less.  (And our mental health statistics are starting to reflect this).

Enter phubbing.  In case you didn’t know, phubbing (a combination of the words phone and snubbing) is just that, ignoring someone in your presence in favor of your phone or other mobile device.  While you might not have known what the word means, it’s certainly a part of your everyday life. We’re ALL guilty of doing this (unless you don’t own a phone or tablet).  {Do these people even exist?}  And we’ve all been phubbed…so we know it feels like crap when we are ditched in favor of what may (or may not even) be happening on someone’s phone. Studies show that even placing your phone on the table when you are with someone else (and it doesn’t matter if it’s face down…nice try) causes the person you’re with to feel less important.

Phubbing is a habit that is just plain bad for our health. The largest study has shown that phubbing threatens four of our fundamental needs:.

  • belongingness
  • self-esteem
  • meaningful existence
  • control

Bottom line is it makes people feel ostracized and left out.  Phubbing is FOMO on steroids.  It’s worse because it’s happening right in front of our faces.  Imagine standing outside the door of a {super fun} party you were invited to, everyone sees you standing there at the door, but no one opens it. You’re left watching everyone have a great time…without you.  It’s kinda like that. {Super sucky!}

So,  just like another favorite quote of mine from Maya Angelou says, “…when you know better, do better”, let’s all make a commitment to do better at being present with the people right in front of us.  Let’s leave our phones in our purse or our pocket or in the car.  Let’s establish a device-free time during meals. {My kids are super thrilled about this one}.  And, above all,  let’s commit to keeping our phones OFF the table when we are with our people.  Our health and our relationships depend on it!

Light and Love,

♥k

 

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Day 27: Book that massage!!

“The body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening.  Treat it with care.” – Buddha

One of my favorite ‘self-care’ rituals is a monthly massage. Routinely regarded as a self indulgent practice, massages, in my opinion, are a basic self-care requirement…that happens to feel like an indulgence!  Just like your car needs a routine oil change to run optimally, your body needs routine maintenance, too.  Massages fit this bill.  Also, in times of distress, massage can help.  As an example, I fractured my neck in a car accident a little over 10 years ago. When physical therapy failed to give me back the range of motion in my neck I needed, I turned to massage.  I solely credit that therapist for giving me the ability to turn my head to the right without pain. {Thanks Michelle!}

Some of the benefits of (regular) massage include:

  • pain management
  • immune system support
  • stress management
  • fibromyalgia relief
  • better sleep
  • aid with carpal tunnel symtoms
  • reduce anxiety
  • help with headaches and migraines
  • promotes relaxation

The great thing about massage is it can be customized to your time, financial and physical constraints. To find a good massage therapist in your area, ask your friends for a referral.  I’m sure you have a friend (or two) who could be bribed to share the name of theirs…if you’re lucky. Good massage therapist’s schedules are usually pretty booked, so be prepared to wait.  And be sure to drop the guilt in your neatly folded pile of clothes and simply enjoy the experience.

Light and Love,

♥k

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Day 26: Slay the Dragon!

“Sugar is the sociopath of foods.  It acts sweet…but it’s really poison.” – Karen Salmansohn

Ahhhh, sugar….you had to know it would come up eventually! Sugar itself isn’t bad, in fact, there are lots of whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods with naturally occurring sugars.  The problem lies in the foods with (sometimes, a lot of) added sugar.  To make it even more difficult for us, food companies have gotten really, lets say, creative with how they list sugar as an ingredient. There are 56 {yes, 56!!} different ways sugar can be listed. {woah!} And some companies use multiple names to try and trick us hide it, so it’s really hard to know how much sugar is natural vs. added. 

That is, until the FDA updated it’s nutrition label requirements, back in 2016, to include added sugars.  {YAY!!}  BUT they keep pushing back the compliance dates. {BOOOO!}  Originally companies had to change their labels by July 2018, now it’s January 2020…or January 2021 if the company does under $10 million in annual sales. {A huge thank you to those companies who have complied and made their label much easier to understand!}   I’m not convinced that any company that isn’t already compliant will ever be, because it seems as though the FDA can keep pushing the date.  {sigh}  So for now, we all have to be diligent consumers and read the list of ingredients to see if they’re sneaking in added sugar, even if we can’t tell exactly how much.

Some of the ways sugar is listed include the top three: sugar/sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and agave nectar/syrup.  Here are a few more of the 56, that may appear a little less “sugary”, but they’re not:

  • sucanat
  • barley malt
  • dextrose/dextrin
  • caramel
  • evaporated cane juice
  • ethyl maltol
  • brown rice syrup
  • fruit juice/fruit juice concentrate
  • sorghum syrup

The list goes on and on.  Now lets talk about some of the reasons these added sugars are NOT good for us.  (Note: it’s also quite a list, so I’ll just hit on a few). Too many added sugars in our diet may lead to:

  • weight gain
  • increased risk of heard disease, diabetes and certain cancers
  • accelerated shortening of telomeres (aka faster cellular aging)
  • decreased energy
  • fatty liver
  • decreased cognitive function (aka increased risk of dementia)
  • dental problems

In respect to referring to sugar as an addiction, there is (as with most things) some debate. There are several studies where rats have shown sugar-addictive behavior, even going so far as choosing sugar over cocaine when given the choice.  This is good for startling media headlines, but the bottom line is there are few human studies (aside from the giant one we are all a part of…called life) on the drug-like affects of sugar.  More importantly, these animal studies are using sugar in isolation.  Humans, in contrast, have access to sugar (and other foods) all. day. long.  This makes it hard to replicate how we use sugar in a lab. We can, however, all agree on the fact that sugar DOES release dopamine in the body and food companies know this and are using it to manufacture food we are unable to resist. The way to stop this?  First and foremost, be a label sleuth, look for added sugars, either on the nutrition facts label or the ingredients list, and stop buying these processed foods. Slay that sugar dragon!

Light and Love,

♥k