MY TONGUE HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN

 It's February already. One month into the New Year. Like so many others I started the year with a number of resolutions. By and large I've kept to them. They've not all been to do with health, but one certainly was. And as resolutions are most likely to stick if you are accountable and if you constantly remind yourself of your goal I post today about my feelings about food as of one month on in my new target (Which is good health, naturally ! ).

I believe three things.

1. Tastebuds are not necessarily your friends. Manufacturers and chemists are making large profits by entertaining our tastebuds for a few moments at a time. We are no longer using our tastebuds for pure survival, but for recreational reasons and for emotional support.
2. Different people are born with different experiences of taste sensitivities. There are super-tasters - people with a much greater concentration of taste buds on their tongues. They taste more intensely than the majority. Did you know that within the general population there is a wide range of taste experiences. And taste includes sensations of heat, texture, and pain - such as heat from chillies. As bitter foods are avoided and sweet, salty and creamy foods are actively pursued this impacts food choices, and this in turn impacts health. So your taste buds play a role in your health.
3. We can no longer depend on our taste buds to keep us out of trouble and to point us in the direction of where our best choices in food lie. With the advent of refrigeration, irradiation, and sell by dates, with the growing lucrative market that panders to our food taste and sensation preferences - in the form of sweetness, saltiness, oiliness and creaminess ( high energy foods that were once necessary for our survival as a species ) -,and with the development of non-biological or man-made additives to, on, or in our foods which to all intents and purposes are tasteless, odourless and nutritionally valueless, we can no longer rely on our senses to help us make optimum food choices for our health. Nature and evolution have hardwired us to seek out high energy foods to ensure that we are fit enough to reproduce. Once we have satisfied this urge nature has little more urgent use for us. Eating a high fat, high sugar, high salt diet is good for survival of the human race in general and us in particular in the shorter term  but it does us, as individuals, no good in the longer term,and leads to chronic degenerative diseases.

So, once again, our taste buds are not necessarily our friends.  Now some people say that it takes a month to break a habit. The Internet is full of 21 day challenges aimed at rebooting our minds and retraining us in our food and lifestyle choices. I personally believe that it takes a lot longer than this to retrain ourselves to make lifestyle choices, and perhaps that's why so many of us fall off the wagon , expecting things to all run smoothly by the end of the challenge. I think that with food habits we're dealing with very deep and primitive instincts, with cultural norms ( magazines and tv are full of full colour adverts for foods and beverages that really need little selling !), and with emotional memories and linkages ( Can't we all remember the treats, the desserts, the rewards, the family feasts we had in happy times.).  So it can take much longer to change a habit where eating is concerned. But we can change behaviour and intention in 30 days. We can change energy and focus. But a month is only the start. It takes determination and mindfulness and discipline to maintain lifestyle changes. I know from personal experience that lifestyle changes made more than 4 years ago are being maintained by determination , and not habit., by daily decisions, and not by reprogramming. It's just not as simple as doing a cleanse and getting on with it from there. Our bodies and minds often go into auto-pilot mode and that can be a stubborn and pernicious thing.As soon as we relax, all our bad habits of the past reappear. It might seem negative and dis-empowering to suggest that a month isn't long enough. Far from it ! A month will see a significant change in the body. A month is a good start and foundation. I'm simply suggesting that it will take continued determination and intention. I sometimes catch myself still looking for the quick fix, for a magic potion, for a silver bullet.  But the reality is that we live in the real world. A cleanse is a great start, but it won't magically change anyone's preferences. It can't change instinct, and instinct is where our tastebuds operate. Give them sweet, salty, creamy any day of the week. Now fresh fruit and veg are delicious, but they don't give quite the same feeling of comfort and nurture. We don't go out of our way to binge on broccoli. And broccoli doesn't initiate quite the same cascade of reactions in our bodies. I don't know anyone addicted to cruciferous vegetables ! Now sugar - that's a different story altogether!

But, as I say, a month can refocus us, change our energy and attention, change our motivation. So I'm looking to make some changes over the next month. The timing is not optimum - there's holidays coming up and lots of commitments where I'll not have full control of what I eat and do with my time.  But that's life. It's never going to be optimum for change. Waiting for the right time is like waiting for Godot. Pointless. So knowing that now is not a good time, I commit to refocusing myself on healthy lifestyle choices.  I started last month. As so many do. And I have made some very positive changes. I'm just committing to doing the same this next month and consolidating and building on last months. And I'll doubtless do the same thing the month after.

Awareness is knowledge, and knowledge is power. With the best of intentions I will live Today mindfully, to the best of my ability. And, I'm going to acquaint myself with my taste buds today.

 What do I hope to gain ?  Health.   Peace of Mind.   Energy.

So for the next month I will go easy on myself. I'm apt to be very critical of myself. I could have done better last month, but then I did my best in the circumstances. There is no point in regrets or recriminations. It won't change where I am.. The longest journey begins with one step. And I can only take one step at a time.  My legs won't stretch further than one span. It's one step at a time. No negotiation. No possibility of anything else. This is true for me. And as author Kathy Freston says, " Progress, not perfection "

Resources :-
There is a very interesting podcast available for download from itunes that talks about our taste buds. It's the All In The Mind podcast entitled  " Mmm...that's tasty "  (March 4th 2011) . Host Natasha Mitchell  interviews psychologist Linda Barloshuk on March 4th 2011.

THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT I GOTTA WEAR SHADES

Today is a sunny glorious day - and the future's so bright I gotta wear shades. Driving my daughter to school - missed the bus again !! - Chris Evans is on the radio playing boppin' music. It's his birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS EVANS !!! I don't know him, but I just thought I'd give him a thumbs up. His show is so cheery and I've got it on now. The sun's shining, the angels are singing, and it's a great day to be alive.

Meghan Telpner over at Making Love in the Kitchen is about to release a NEW TUTORIAL called HEALING WITH EVERYDAY SUPERFOODS and I'll be downloading it just as soon as she comes on line. Her others were so good that I'm really excited about it. ( see yesterdays blog ) There'll be a 5 day meal plan and if her other recipes are anything to go by they will be delicious and easy to prepare. There's also a group challenge on April 18th which I want to participate in this time. Meghan uses twitter to coach us from a distance. As she lives in Canada I think this is a great idea. It also gives the opportunity to hear from others doing the challenge, and gives you the feeling of being in a group - not just doing it all on your own. My family aren't quite as committed to healthy lifestyle choices as I am. Let's face it, they don't have the incentive that I do, so it's really comforting and motivating to feel that I'm with others who are trying to reach the same goal. Meghan is extremely positive and motivating. There are other blogs - some really excellent ones that I think I've mentioned before - but Meghan's is special and does offer this extra which I'm feeling quite excited to try. As I said yesterday I signed up for the last challenge of 5 Days Low Glycaemic Eating, but didn't get my act together in time. though I have been using the recipes since , and I'll get other opportunities as the challenges are repeated regularly. I'm hoping that I can get myself organised this time - do the shopping and planning ahead of time.
To have a look at it yourself go to :-

http://wp.me/pNES2-182

That link takes you straight to the Healing With Everyday Superfoods page. The 5 day group challenge on the 18th of April will be followed by a 3 day Green Smoothie Cleanse. You can access Meghans blog from there. I've already downloaded the 3 Day Smoothie Cleanse tutorial and it's very informative and do-able. That's what I like about it. I would have liked to have found Meghan's site when I was initially researching how to help myself. It would have saved me a lot of time and tears. I remember clearly the tears of frustration at not knowing what to buy and cook for dinner. But I may not have been as enthusiastic if I didn't know how spot on Meghan's views and knowledge are. She has come to diet from having had a health challenge of her own. I think this has actually helped her. As I've said about myself, serious challenges concentrate the mind. Anyway, enough advertising for Meghan. ( I don't know her, honestly ! ) But perhaps I can be one of the hundred monkeys who spread her healthy eating ideas.

Have you heard the legend of the hundredth monkey ? I'll blog about it on Tuesday !!


I was gong to write about the pitfalls of having metastatic cancer. I am going to write about one of the difficulties I am struggling with. O.K. I'm fessing up now ! I get emotional. I am known to take things emotionally and personally. I was sent some information about a trial that's going on into the effectiveness of acupuncture on fatigue after chemotherapy. I am really, really tired at the moment and thought it was the heavens calling . Turns out they were calling to someone else. Someone who does not have metastatic cancer. I'm not eligible. Fair enough. They have to have some criteria, but they are clearly cherry picking those who have a good survival chance. Unfortunately, whilst I understood the very nice lady on an intellectual level, my emotions were hearing another story. They heard - You aren't a good bet. You aren't likely to survive long enough to be of any use to us. You are likely to have complications and it's probably the cancer that 's making you tired ( on top of the exhaustion from chemo which can last 5 years ) What I really heard was YOU CAN'T BE HELPED. WE WANT TO HELP PEOPLE WHO WILL LIVE AND GET MORE BENEFIT. YOU'RE A LOST CAUSE. I know no one said this - well, actually, I did to myself !! I'm pretty harsh with myself sometimes. I know it's just a trial and there's no way of knowing whether it would help or not, and whether I would get the acupuncture or not. But I had to pluck up the courage to call - face my situation and prepare to put myself out there - and it feels like a doors closed in my face, and I don't take that well these days. I just wish the people who devise these trials would list who is excluded on their introductory letter so it doesn't get to a stage where it can become personal.

That's got that out of my system. Now I'm going to have a cup of detox tea before I go out and tidy up the garden and perhaps sow some vegetable seeds. The first ones of the year for me. Let's hope it doesn't snow. That's another something to blog about next week. What I'm growing in the garden. I'm enjoying blogging again and it's nice to have something to write about.

Chris Woolams and Cancer Active

I have just received an update from Chris Woolams and wanted to mention it here in case anyone fighting cancer or interested in it for a friend or relative does not know about this useful resource. The emailed update I get is called Cancer Watch. You can find it from the following site which is full of useful information. - :



http://www.canceractive.com/


I would recommend the Icon Magazine as well.





In the April / May issue of Cancer Watch which I have just received there is an article about the benefits of fibre and beneficial bacteria . Together in the colon they



" activate a receptor in the body that can kill cancer. The beneficial bacteria produce butyrate from the fibre and this activates a receptor (GPR109A ) ... [this] blocks the Cox 2 protein that causes inflammation and secondly it sends signals out to cancer cells telling them to self destruct."



The information comes from scientists at The American Medical College of Georgia ( M.C.G. ) Do go read the article. It explains the advantage of eating enough fibre and ensuring the health of your friendly bacteria. It's given me an added incentive to take my supplements of enzymes and friendly bacteria, and is a thumbs up for all the fibre I eat ! It just goes to show that good nutrition works to destroy the cancer on so many levels . Now I can add that thought to my visualising - as I eat !!

There are also many other useful articles on current research here.