Standard Process Purification: The Takeaway

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Me this morning.

Three weeks have passed since beginning the Standard Process Purification cleanse. Questions such as “How do I feel?”, “What do I notice?”, “Was it worth it?”, “Would I do it again?” and "Moving forward" are all questions to be reflected upon. 

I don’t know about you, but many generations just lived, ate seasonally, and didn’t pay much attention to the catchall words that we have today such as “organic” and “sustainable eating.” They already were!!!!

Farmers worked hard, still do. Today our society has changed and many of us are stuck behind desks and are on the run so much that the food we eat and unhealthy habits we have formed have been problematic to our overall health, posture, spinal health, obesity, amongst others. There is more disease than ever before in this country, much which has been our own doing, but even more so, the culture and environmental factors around us contribute to dis-ease and our unnecessary stressful lives. A former chiropractor had a sign in all of his rooms that said “Pain hurts, Stress kills!” So true! 

In the past three years since my osteoporosis diagnosis 2.5 months prior to my 60th birthday, I have taken more steps to reduce stress and be even more conscious than I was before in the decade prior as to what I eat.  One Takeaway is that I know that certain intakes during those early months of Covid we’re not my friend and contributed to further weight gain that I didn’t need.

Health is cumulative. Our bodies are restorative. Genes are what they are too and there is not much changing them. Exercise is life long. For example, a 2 mile walk to work each day is different then a 2 mile walk in the park before work. Walking city streets, there are inconsistent strides, along with car exhaust and other pollutants that our bodies inhale and our organs have to try and process. However, walking in the park the same distance has a more even stride, pace is quicker as there are no cracks in the sidewalks to trip over, and one is breathing the nature and benefits from all the trees around us.

A typical breakfast even before the purification

So how do I feel? For the most part I feel better than I did three weeks ago otherwise I would not of been asking that question. I still felt the sluggishness after a meal throughout the 21 days which can be normal depending what we have eaten.  I don’t feel bloated as I had been, and if I do, it goes away as quick as it came. As I’ve written over the past 21 days I came into this purification cleanse from a clean diet, so I didn’t feel all the withdrawals that many people will or could feel if they started. For example, I did not have any with drawls from coffee or from sugar. I had no headaches or any of the other side effects that were cited as possibilities. Yes the first week I did get a little irritable, but mostly due to not what I couldn't eat, but instead the extra work involved.

What do I notice? I do feel a little lighter with a bit more spring in my step, but realistically there were days the last three weeks that I still had achy muscles and tight joints. Most noticeably with the change of weather and the barometric pressure. But I have to be realistic, in less than a month I will be 63. I have spinal issues that are part of my life and all I can do is slow down the degeneration of the discs the best I can, and work every day to rebuild bone density with nutrition based on science (included info at bottom of my post) and with clean living (I must note that after my 2nd dexa scan after 33 months from the first, I improved my bone density significantly by 4.9% without pharmaceuticals) Also observed was possible insulin resistance due to the increase of visceral belly fat. And while I didn’t think I consumed a lot sugar (usually 1 tsp local raw honey a day, and occasionally unsulphured black strap molasses. Don’t keep any granulated sugar in house) which is not only bad for visceral fat but also for bone health! Don’t buy too much processed foods, except for single item foods such as jarred tomatoes, canned beans, etc. Perhaps I consumed more than I thought? 

Overall for almost 63 I feel fabulous. Another thing I notice is that I think my face looks clearer.

Todays Lunch: Arugula, cucumber, raspberries

 

Was it worth it? Oh yes!!! Anytime we look at our lifestyle with the proper perspective, we become advocates for own mind, body and spirit. I wasn’t denying myself, instead, I was giving my body permission to heal where it was needed. Not only with self-care, but also with self awareness and discipline. It isn’t a big deal to “fast”, take a break from coffee, gluten, sugar or that glass of stout or wine. If we proceed with wisdom and educate ourselves we realize that these foods aren’t “bad,” but they are abused with over consumption. It is also time to read up on what we are eating and how they affect each organ, understanding how anti-nutrients, like lectins, phytates and oxalates, for example, which are part of the plant world, hinder nutrient absorption depending on how or when consumed. We also can have a better understanding how these foods help or hinder our bodies (and mind) in functioning efficiently like God intended. We should be in control to the best of our ability of our health instead of the well meaning physician who prescribes pharmaceuticals, for example, to lower blood pressure or high cholesterol when we have it in our power to do it ourselves. 

Would I do it again? Oh yes! While I used Standard Process products to help jumpstart my metabolism, some sort of food based cleanse may be beneficial ever six months. For now I will follow through with watching my portion sizes and eliminating some old habits I fell back into over the “lost year,” aka the pandemic (especially those first 4-6 months).

What are the changes and moving forward expectations? I have to realistically look at the cost of groceries. As I mentioned in one of these blog days pages, we typically spend $175-$200 a week on whole foods groceries for just the two of us (although we always have food left) which take preparation. Our pantry has very few boxed/canned/jarred products. That is the reality. And I don’t see it changing. Yet, quality proteins are costly, not fruits and vegetables. If we were to eat wild game meats, such as bison, deer, elk; we are looking at $13 - $20 per pound!!! That equates to four  4-ounce servings, or two meals for us. Wild fish like cod, salmon, haddock runs about $16 - $30 per pound at our seafood store Robert's.  At the grocery store, while I have found some really good fish, I doubt there is too much knowledge with sustainability and where the fish comes from with the people who work there! Protein foods like this run us about $100 per week. Sad.

It is also really sad that to strive for good health and buy local food which isn’t grown in tanks and in meat factories, is unattainable to most people. And as much as I would like to call working full-time quits at 65, there is no way that we could afford to keep our current healthy lifestyle. So we do it we can and change where we can.

We don’t need to have a cuppa coffee every day. Especially on the workday. I had absolutely no withdrawal symptoms from coffee when I started this 21 day purification. I do, on the other hand, enjoy sitting in a coffee shop on Saturdays. What a treat. And while we do not have a stout or glass of wine every day at home, there’s no reason to start. A glass of stout or wine for a special occasion, or out with friends is enough. Even the gluten-free bread I was buying has no nutritional value and it’s very pricey. Sprouted grains are preferred, and if I can’t make my own, Ezekiel sprouted grain frozen breads have the nutrients that I’m looking for. 

I also don’t see the need of consuming as much cheese as I started eating three years ago. Besides the best cheeses to eat for your bones are either raw Gouda, or Parmesan Reggiano made from sheep’s milk and all that is needed is a small amount. A 1-ounce serving size is ample, and while that doesn’t seem like very much, sometimes less is more and I know I was eating much more than that. I am also extremely happy to have my raw milk and my eggs back. These two nutrients are extremely beneficial to bone health. In previous pages I’ve outlined the benefits of pastured eggs and raw milk to bone health. Pastured eggs may be a lot easier to find than raw milk depending on what state you live in. Each state has its rules for buying raw milk. Personally unless I couldn’t drink raw milk, I don’t understand the concept of drinking a processed milk such as almond, coconut, flax or oat. There is a little to no Protein depending on what you buy, as well as added calcium. When I was drinking the coconut milk for this 21 day purification, I was using Califia versus SO, as the SO had minimal calcium in it and no protein.

With these musings, I will close and move forward with much gratitude.  Gratitude that I know God is with me on all my journeys, for my family and all the people in my life.  And the farmers who bring their bounty to us at Farmer's Market, especially  Fox Path in Mt. Pulaski, Jon & Emma's Place in Butler, Kate's Granola, Mueller's Family Farm, The Family Farmstead in Modesto all who I shop weekly.  I also want to thank the Healthy Bones Group on Facebook, and my chiropractor at Capitol Chiropractic who take bone health and wellness seriously and have journeyed with me these past three years.

Leslie (Family Farmstead) visiting Fox Path

Family Farmstead and Kate's Granola share their space.
Leslie's chickens are very good and just the right size.

Kate's granola and her banana bread is gluten free.
The best gluten free banana bread I've had.

Emma and Jon not only have unusual herbs and vegetable,
but great beef and beef bone for making soup.
(Jon is calculating a sale for a customer)

Mueller Family Farm also grow a diverse selection of  seasonal vegetables.  This is also where I buy the tat-soi, baby bok choy (BOTH great for the bones) and other vegetables. The vegetables below are theirs.

An assortment of squash: Acorn, Butternut, Delicata

Baby Bok Choy

To better understand nutrition and bone health
I highly recommend this book.

“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights. One that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.” – Julia Child