Women's Issues Night

    Last night I attended part 1 of a 2-part event to the Women's Health Issues night. I learned a lot of great information and I plan on working hard to improve my health because of it.

 The focus was on cleansing cells. This included food allergies, anti-aging, parasites and probiotics, cleansing and digestive system, the lymphatic system and OB/GYN issues. Certain women in the ward were chosen to present each topic.

 To be honest, when we first moved here, I may have been a little quick to judge. I saw all the women who were slim, healthy, happy, and seemed to be very financially stable. My first bad thought was "trophy wives". A lot of them were holistic, stay-at-home moms who spent time each day to exercise, meditate, and eat all organic. I even had the idea they were brainwashed in this whole "holistic" approach and just following a trend (yuppies).

I then felt a bit overwhelmed (and sometimes still do). It often feels like I'm the only overweight girl in Valencia, especially in our ward. It really was like a culture shock to me. I'm not saying women in Bakersfield aren't healthy, but it really is rather different here. Like I said, it really felt like it was more of a trend. In order to fit in, you had to be blonde, young-looking, slim and organic. I would say tan, but that's more south in the OC area. Gary and I joke that when we first moved here, we'd see these girls and be like, "Oh, there's a young girl probably around our age" and just as we have that thought, six children would line up and sit next to her and call her mom. Lol.

I got to know a lot of these women. A lot of them know my health issues and are really trying to help. Last night's presentation proved to me these women really know what they're doing and they're far from how I seemed to have judged them. They're kind, sweet, hard-working women. Sure, they have a lot of money, but most of them (and their spouses) have been out of college for awhile and like us, have built their way up. Several women who already have kids who are growing up/grown up, tell me all the time they used to live in our apartment complex years ago before children or when they had young children.

Anyway, the main idea was to present us with holistic approaches. Some admitted before they were educated they spent a lot of money on false trends. Some of them suffer from chronic illnesses like I do, therefore creating them to educate themselves. Some of the women are very educated, including Master's degrees in nutrition and other health fields. When they were describing the system of the cells and lymphatic system, they were dead on. They truly DO have excellent knowledge.

We talked about holistic foods, antioxidants, enzymes, probiotics, moderate exercise, etc. There's still a lot I need to learn, but I'm very interested in taking the holistic approach further. Of course, we have been eating healthier and shopping at the natural markets around here, but there's still improvements which need to be done. This can help my thyroid condition and other lurking illnesses. No worries, they still believe in doctors and medication. In fact, most of them are working with doctors and nutritionists, or have in the past to gain more knowledge.

So today, before work, I plan on making a trip to our nearest natural market. I plan on buying enzymes I can start taking before meals as well as more fruits (the darker the fruit, the more antioxidants they have). Taking antioxidants can reverse the process of free radicals which has a hand in the aging process. When a cell is dying or damaged, it bounces around the body in search of a new, fresh cell to cling onto. When it does, the new cell is now damaged and it then does the same thing and searches for its own new cell. These are called free radicals and the process can help be prevented and reversed with antioxidants. Obviously, toxins in the body are usually what start the process. Notice how smokers always look much older? It's because of this process. They inhale several toxins from the cigarettes, therefore damaging cells and starting the process of free radicals. Of course, we all naturally age so it's going to happen in our lifetime, but we can help slow it or steady it.

Anyway, there was a lot of good information I won't go into detail about. But if you have questions, I'd be glad to answer them :)

Part-2 will be focusing on the endocrine system and hormones. Definitely looking forward to that!

The OB/GYN section was presented by a nurse in that field who has been working for many years in the hospital. She had a lot of great information as well, and said if I had any questions, I could talk to her. It's good to have someone in the ward with that knowledge. Most of the presentation was revoled around birth and pregnancies, but she still made a few points about trying to conceive. She said it's important we focus on our health before getting pregnant. Very true. I would much rather get pregnant while slimmer than looking like this and getting pregnant. Not to mention the major difference being slimmer can have on my cycles and overall health.

After the event, I asked a lot of questions and the ladies want to help me best they can to lose weight and gain fertility. I'm so blessed to be in this ward.

Okay, that was that. Things to do today!