Natural Medicine

In today's mail was a newsletter from my mentor, my teacher Dr. Karyn Mitchell. She is the person who got me interested in eating raw foods & studying to be a naturopathic doctor. Sometimes our paths cross with people who make a profound difference in our lives. I was halfway healthy eater with asthma & allergies. I was shopping at a local health food store & saw a flier on a presentation about eating raw foods. Something clicked. I went back home & started to research raw foods. The library even had a couple books on the subject. I met Karyn a couple days later at the store with a room full of people, some who had already started eating raw & others like me who were curious to hear how it could help us. Karyn & her husband Steve talked to us for a couple hours. Then they juiced carrots. Organic carrots. We all got a cup full. I can tell you that I felt instant energy while drinking it. No kidding. My body really needed the nutrients in that carrot juice.

That was in the spring of 2003. I weaned myself off meat & dairy in a matter of a couple weeks (took a little longer for my husband) and within a month was off of asthma meds I took twice a day. No more allergy meds either. I bought a new bike. I hadn't ridden in years due to the asthma. I rode 1200 miles from June to October. I could breathe again. Why didn't my physician talk to me about changing the way I ate? The more I thought about it the less I respected allopathic doctors. This led me to study natural medicine. Growing herbs, making tinctures, helping people with their diets, that's what I like to do.

Now...go back in time to July 2, 2008. Steve & I were in a car accident. A drunk driver hit us going between 50-60 mph while we were stopped at a toll booth. Very traumatic, very life altering. We are both still being treated for neck injuries. I was treated for post tramatic stress disorder & am doing much better (except for snowy roads, or tollways with lots of traffic). I am still being treated for a brain injury (Executive Function) that keeps me from concentrating, doing more than one thing at a time (I was the Great Multi-tasker), spelling things right & words don't always come to me like they should. My thought process was screwed up. I started to call the grocery store I've shopped at for years the name of a store that has been out of business for a long time. I was calling my husband Steve the name of my ex in conversation. The doctor said those memories from long ago are the strongest. Sometimes (due to seeing Steve unconscious in the car & thinking he was gone) I think he isn't with me anymore. It just comes over me sometimes. Very strong. I think with time that will all get better. (I hope so anyway). Anyway, I have not been able to study anymore. I was supposed to be interning right now. Starting a practice in the spring. Opening a practice in Wisconsin was the plan. A way to make our move & provide for ourselves until the woodworking business got started. Don't get me wrong. I am very thankful we are still here & able to do most things we were used to doing. Things just change. I look forward to the day I can start studying again. If not, something else or someone else will cross my path & change my life again. Then I will be able to think that the accident happened for a reason.

Back to the newsletter...
Here is a recipe for a smoothie.

The Mitchell Organic Smoothie
(for two)

1 Granny Smith apple or 1 pear
3 stalks of celery
1 avocado (add last)
2 small heads of Romaine lettuce (or 1 large)
or 2-3 cups any greens including collards, kale, chard, sprouts
or spinach (avoid if you have kidney challenges)
1 tablespoon raw ginger (avoid if you have high blood pressure)
2 cups purified water
10 bite size carrots or 3 larger cut into pieces

Blend until smooth.

For additional nutrition you can add 2 T each of the following:
ground cinnamon, ground raw flax, sesame seeds, dried Barlean's or Nitro Greens, iodine rich dried dulse, kelp or nori
alfalfa powder & glutamine or carnitine powderThink Spring!