Boosting Platelet Counts and Juicing

Today a friend asked if I had any suggestions for raising platelet counts naturally. I have recently discovered the joy of juicing and was thrilled to be able to actually offer her some ideas.

Let me start off by saying the idea of a juicer sounded like something my grandmother would use. Therefore, for a long time I wouldn't let my 30-something year old self even consider the idea of having another appliance on our counter top. Especially not THAT one.

Then we watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" on Netflix. The story chronicles the journey of a man who is overweight and dealing with an autoimmune disorder, as he "juices his way to health."

First off, who doesn't want to shed a couple pounds--- so it made me reevaluate the juicer idea. Maybe juicers weren't just for grandmas.

We went out and bought our Breville Juice Fountain Plus (because it was easy to take apart and clean & because we didn't have to chop up the food before we put it in--- it juiced a whole apple without being cut!--- Come on, that's really cool!)

Anyway, we made a basic concoction of kale, green apples, celery, cucumber, some lemon and a bit of ginger root... and it was.... GREEN...

Most juices are not GREEN--- so that took a bit to overcome. The taste however, wasn't objectionable--- making sure it was cold helped. As the days went on, I started to play with the concoction a bit more and add pears and blue berries, and sometimes carrots. The taste improved---but the overall color was still GREEN.

I'm not on a juice "fast"--I know that's trendy for some people right now, but for me I have simply incorporated a juice into my daily meal plan. What I've noticed is what I have dropped from my normal meal plan unintentionally since adding the juice.

The "juice" is actually giving me more energy than my morning coffee did. Weird. So I let go of my morning coffee and replaced it with the "juice." The nice thing is I haven't had that "oh no the caffeine wore off " feeling with the juice. Also, I haven't been craving different "not- so- good- for -me" foods as much. I'm not going to lie and tell you the idea of ordering a big plate of Tikka Masala doesn't sound delicious right this second, but I haven't been wanting cookies and cakes the way I had previously. Hmmmm... juicing.

Then comes all the benefits to someone who has cancer.

I realize as an educated individual I should have made the connection between nutrition and health a long time ago... but honestly I didn't take the time to think about it.

Dark leafy green vegetables, dark skinned berries--- yada, yada, yada--- grandma, grandma, grandma.

Super foods-- improves skin, helps with weight loss, boosts platelets, re-sets your cravings, rejuvenates your body with nutrients--- current, trendy, helpful, something I want!

So when juicing was reframed in my mind, I was willing to try it.

I'm no expert on cancer, weight loss, or super foods, but personally as a novice I can tell you those articles from experts about that list where juicing is concerned might really be on to something.

hmmm... juicing... thanks grandma!

"-isms"

Today I went to an International Women's Day event to hear a friend speak. Little did I know the event was being sponsored by a rather militant political group. (sigh). What did I take away from the experience? NO GROUP HAS IT EXACTLY "RIGHT."

I speak about health care in this country knowing there is not one magic "cure" to all the problems that exist. I think sincere dialoguing is the way to discover ideas to help move us towards a positive outcome. If we choose an idea and close our minds off to everything else, we lose the opportunity to discover ideas potentially (and most likely) better than our original thoughts. Plus, we cement our feet and everyone else's feet to prevent forward movement towards any possible better outcome.

Systems of government (and every other gathering of people for a common cause) all have positives and negatives. When people become militant about one ideal or another, the goodness tends to leak out and leave the junk (of whatever system) stuck there to defend itself. People hold onto the "system" for what it could be, and not for what it is. Pick an "ism" any "ism" and you will find corruption just like you'll find the original ideal. So can we please stop already with the "this 'ism' is the only correct path" nonsense?

What we need to do is clean up the "isms" by cleaning up our individual consciences. When people as a whole stop lying, cheating, stealing, intentionally harming, etc... then maybe we would have a better handle of which "ism" really best aids society---however, at that point, maybe the label of an "ism" wouldn't even be necessary.

Until then, "everything in moderation" never rang so true.