Posted in Health, Health Archive | Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
After suffering with fibroids of varying shapes and sizes and their symptoms for the past 6 or 7 years, (I’ll go into detail about fibroids in a future post), I had myomectomy surgery to remove 12 of them and…they came back. My doctor told me that African-American women over 30 who eat a diet high in fat, dairy and meat have a high-risk of developing them.Well, I don’t fit that last category, I’ve been vegetarian and pretty much lactose-intolerant for years. I’ve read about them, talked to other women about them and every woman who’s suffering with them seems to have different symptoms. And there is no cure.
In my own research, I came across a few videos on a blog by a kinesiologist in England named Shola Oslo. In the interest of time, I have posted the Part 2 of this series here, (as it relates more closely to this post), but feel free to go directly to the site, and watch Part 1.
At the time, I didn’t know a single black woman that didn’t use lotion, Vaseline, or a myriad of hair products. And when I started reading labels, my heart sank. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING at the beauty supply store had many of the toxic ingredients Dr. Oslo listed, and the ones that didn’t were so expensive! (I’m NOT going to pay $30 for shampoo, I don’t care WHAT it does). It also surprised me how many of the toxins she listed seemed to cause everything from breast-cancer to prostate cancer.
That was December of 2008, and that was my turning point.
I now make most of the products I use around the house, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, bath salts, body and hair creams, even deep conditioner and facial moisturizer. I also changed my diet, and although I’m still vegetarian, I do eat some fresh water fish, I try to buy seasonal foods that are either organic or from farmer’s markets, and I try not to eat packaged goods.
My gynecologist tells me that the fibroids haven’t really shrunk.
But…they haven’t GROWN either.
Here I will share recipes, thoughts, things I’ve learned, and a few ideas. I’m not perfect. I alternate between being neurotic about my body, and calmly nurturing my spirit into helping my body heal itself. This is a journey, and I invite you to share it with me, so that we can teach each other how to heal ourselves .
- Savvy
About Savvy Brown
I believe being healthy doesn't have to be complicated, being green can be easy and being broke isn't an option!
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Source: bippityboppityboo.tumblr.com via Savvy on Pinterest
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i luv it! and don’t be skerrred… but i think you done turned into a writer. lol!
Nah…but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night….Thanks buddy!
reading the section on fibroids made me think of this.
i wanted to do a cleanse, and i came upon this…. http://www.cleanprogram.com.
you can do a 21 day cleanse and/or something called the elimination diet. you pretty much remove gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol. and then you slowly reintroduce each thing back in to see if you have a reaction to it. i bought the book – “Clean. The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself”. so many people who have gone on this program have been suffering anything from IBS to acne problems to cancer, and experience varying degrees of relief. i myself have had a complete resurgence of energy, and my IBS is gone. anyway… im not suggesting this is going to help you, it just reminded me of how big a role the food we eat and the products we use have on our health. this process has been a little expensive and time consuming!!… so im inspired to see your blog!!!
also i found this: cosmeticsdatabase.com.you can input any products you use and it will tell you their toxicity level. even though you make most of your own supplies, you can always check this out to see just how toxic a cream or a shampoo is.
Thanks Maura! I will definitely have to look into this cleanse…The cosmetics database is great!
[...] have ingredients that I don’t use anymore. As mentioned in the video in my previous post My Health Turning Point Sodium Lauryl and Laureth Sulfates can affect your health. Here’s more info on them, and how [...]
[...] you read my previous posts about Why I don’t Shampoo my Hair Pt.1, and My Health Turning Point, then many of you might be reading your body wash and shampoo bottles and are saying [...]
Wow Savvy, I feel really privileged and fortunate to have seen the tweet with the link to this post. You’ve been incredibly honest here and that’s inspiring. Good health and a better quality of life are noble goals. I’m definitely on this good health journey with you. Best of luck but I know you don’t need it! Great site Savvy.
@Madamtoussaint Thank you so much! Your kind words and thoughts are truly appreciated
[...] the factors that cause and exacerbate fibroids. Then I found the video that I posted on my site in “My Health Turning Point”, in which an endocrinologist in England talks about how almost all of our beauty products today [...]
[...] my post “My Health Turning Point” I linked to a video regarding the dangers of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). I also went into more [...]