Holdouts

1 Sep

You know who I could not be friends with? Ms. Greene, 62, one of the featured holdout smokers in this article in the Sunday New York Times last weekend. She sure does seem like a nice lady though.

“I really try to be a courteous smoker,” Ms. Greene said. “If I’m smoking a cigarette on the street and run into a friend, I won’t have them stand downwind.”

That sounds nice enough, right? Courteousness is definitely a good quality in a friend.

However, the paragraph on Ms. Greene continues:

If someone is visiting her apartment who does not like cigarettes, she does not light one. “I use Febreze all the time,” she said, “on the rugs and on the furniture.”

Man, if the smokes won’t kill her, the Febreze might. I don’t even want to think about the inside of that woman’s lungs.

I don’t really bitch about smokers very often. I think I have a fondness for them, despite the health implications of their habit. I remember what it was like to stand outside my NYC office building, light up, and people watch.  Doesn’t mean I still do it.

She doesn’t know why she smokes. She likes it. What more is there?

I’d feel a lot better about the statement if Ms. Greene was choosing to smoke because she likes it. As opposed to not really knowing why she does it.  So many of the gripes I have with people making bad choices is when they act like they don’t know, as opposed to “don’t care.”

* * * *

Isn’t it amazing how a smear campaign against cigarettes and smokers managed to get a nation to change their habits and accept smoking-related laws that a decade ago would have been laughed out of court?

See what a little shame can do? (That and high taxes.)

What will it take for people to start looking at junk food the same way they view cigarettes? Is it possible that in five, ten years we might see doughnuts banned from the workplace? Sodas chucked out of stadiums?

And, miracles of miracles, Jello and fruit punch eliminated from our school lunches?

We’d hear the same cries of personal freedom and privacy that came out of the mouth of smokers a decade ago. But, if we could hold out…who knows how far we could go?

Morning sickness

30 Aug

On my way to the office this morning, I spotted a woman walking to the train station with a can of diet coke in her hand.

I know if confronted, she’d compare her morning cola to the cup of coffee that her workmates drink. (As long as she didn’t tell me to go fuck myself instead.) And, it’s true: Coffee (particularly the average 7-eleven or Dunkin Donuts variety,with a splenda thrown in) is not that much better at all.

Now that we agree, I really need to WAKE YOU UP to the fact that you are not getting your work day off to a great start with a chemical cocktail of aspartame and caramel color.

Want to know why you’re known as the bitch around the office? Why you feel cranky at 10 am? Perhaps your job sucks. Your boss is an ass, and all that jazz.

But trust me, if you started your day off with sauteed spinach and garlic, with turkey bacon thrown in (like I did!), your shitty job and boss might look just a little bit better.

Greenwasher

26 Aug

Before I was a blogger, I was a stay-at-home-mom with a couple of kids. (But, before that I was a publishing professional. Not that I feel the need to qualify my SAHM status…Okay I guess I do.)

As I started to become more aware of the type of shit that contaminates our world, I started making changes to my life and household. For instance, I like a clean toilet. I have a very sensitive sniffer and it doesn’t require a large volume of poorly aimed pee drops around the toilet before the bathroom smells like urine to me. 

Back in the old days, I loved the way Mr. Bubbles foamed when you sprayed it on the seat and I loved the lemony fresh scent. When I wiped away the foam, my toilet felt clean to me…almost instantly.

But when I realized my son would come into the bathroom after Mr. Bubbles and start coughing, I started doing some research on the internet and realized these cleaning products were contributing to his asthma.

That’s how the greening of my home started. Not because of an innate love of our planet. Not because of a life-long commitment to plants, animals, and all things the Lord hath created. Not out of a fear of global warming.

Plain and simple. Switching from toxic cleansers to non-toxic cleansers made my life easier. It meant less coughing and less asthma which meant less nebulizer which meant less steroids which meant lower costs AND less jumping on the couch and less time outs.

People naturally assume that because I care about my health, that I’m “green.” And in some ways they are right. The way I choose to feed myself and my family; the way I choose which products I will buy for my home; or the way I treat my yard…all these choices (which I make out of a commitment to wellness for my family) also benefit the Earth.

But there are things that I do that are so eco-unfriendly, you might stop liking me if you knew. So I will only tell you one — I love paper towels. And I use them in abundance. Particularly to clean snot and food off my kids’ faces.

I make a commitment to you that when all of my children pass the age of five, I will no longer buy paper towels. But from now until then…I guess I’m just a phony. Or at least a work in progress. Just like you.

Start small. You never know what might happen to you along the way.

Epidemic

25 Aug

Epidemic is one of those scary medical words. Make me think of smallpox or avian flu or pus-filled postules.

But, really an epidemic is an illness (or anything really) that is widely prevalent or spreading rapidly.

I first heard the term epidemic used in conjunction with childhood chronic illness when a friend recommended Dr. Kenneth Bock’s book, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma & Allergies.” His explanation of why and how these illnesses are becoming epidemic really made sense. And turned me into a bitch on a mission.

I want people to start friggin’ listening to parents who know that something is wrong with their kid.

And I want the people in charge to start taking these epidemics seriously the way they would a mass influenza outbreak. I’m not looking for masks and yellow jackets, per say. But a pamphlet or a PSA would be nice. Or how about a statement from the AMA or the AAP?

Recently, I started reading a new book on the subject: “A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children” by Beth Lambert. I’m still only in the introduction, but already the author has shared a really, relevant, and aptly stated WAKE UP CALL:

All children exhibit occasional temper tantrums, hoarding of toys, constipation, and hyperactivity… However, it is not normal when children exhibit any of these symptoms chronically or with particular intensity and severity…

Below is a partial list of the 50 or so symptoms Beth Lambert includes in her book that, if occuring with regularity, should serve as WAKE UP CALLS for parents and practitioners.  So many people I know (including the best and brightest doctors) tell me that the symptoms below are not a big deal. And, as the author says, “because these are normal child behaviors they are often dismissed.” Personally, I have been dismissed by my child’s doctor for colic, IBS, gas, runny stools, heartburn, and eczema.

Which of these symptoms has your child’s doctor pooh-poohed?

  • Red cheeks after eating
  • Chronic runny nose or cough
  • Red or hot ears after eating
  • Chronic or recurrent ear infections
  • Chronic strep or sinus infections
  • Frequent diaper rashes in babies
  • Cavities or excessive tartar, or bad breath despite proper dental hygiene
  • Dark circles or bags under eyes
  • Mood swings
  • Tummy aches
  • Distended pot belly
  • Constipation
  • Excessive gas or flatulence
  • White coating on the tongue
  • Frequent loose stools
  • Recurrent urinary tract infections or yeast infections
  • Excessive hyperactivity
  • Sensory seeking behavior” always looking to crash into people, objects

WAKE UP. All are potential symptoms of a bigger deal. Just because they have become so prevalent, doesn’t mean they are normal.

Peace

24 Aug

I offically apologize for the vast wasteland that has been The Wellness Bitch blog over the past few weeks. And, trust me, I kept making myself wrong about it.

Why don’t you eavesdrop on my inner dialogue with myself this summer:

“You better go bitch about something.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t feel bitchy today.”

“Impossible.”

“Really? Fuck you.”

“No.  Fuck you. Okay, fine, that was a little harsh. But seriously, you have nothing to rant about? No magazine articles to bash? No doctors to trash? No friends to out? No secrets to tell?”

“Honestly? I feel overwhelmingly calm and content.”

“Really? What’s THAT all about?”

No, I haven’t wandered off to a mountain retreat in India. I’m not sitting cross-legged with my Buddhist friends. I haven’t even been to see Eat, Pray, Love.

But summer has a way of washing over me.

Of making me feel like everything is right with the world; as opposed to everything being wrong.

Don’t worry. I haven’t made my grand ascension yet.

Autumn and a new school year for my kids will likely bring with it plenty of germs, problems and ignorant people. But until then, I will try to practice what I preach.

Breathe deep. Enjoy the peace. Embrace the silence in my head.

Paging Dr. Just Fine

17 Aug

While we’re on the subject of doctors.

Do you know the question I get asked the most (by far) as founder of Mindful Living NJ?

“Do you know a holistic-minded…?”

MD. Dermatologist. Dentist. OB. Pediatrician.

Unfortunately, the answers are few. And the ones I can recommend are not covered by insurance, which is always the follow up to question #1, or have closed their doors to new patients.

I have plenty of recommendations for qualified and compassionate chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, herbalists, energy healers, bodyworkers, midwives, psychotherapists even,…all people who offer incredible healing services and much relief in the areas of chronic emotional and physical pain. Of course, these practitioners also help their clients in preventing the colds, viruses, and chronic illnesses that usually bring them to the conventional doctor’s office in the first place. So, commiting to the added, out-of-pocket expense of seeing out-of-network, non-conventional holistic-minded practitioners will surely save you money and time in the long run.

But, that’s not the topic at hand today.

The topic is: “Why aren’t doctors heeding the call?”

Why isn’t there enough supply for our demand?

Why aren’t more MDs looking into follow up education in the area of integrative medicine? Or even self-teaching, as I know a bunch of MDs are, as more and more of their patients are asking about alternative and complementary therapies?

I’ve heard from physicians who have taken this route that it’s not an easy one to navigate. Those who began accepting insurance no longer can because insurance companies don’t appreciate the amount of time they are spending with each individual patient.

To be fair, I don’t know the ins and outs of a physician’s office or business management.

But I do know that people want a product and a service that is mostly unavailable. And, what I’d like to do is extend both an invitation and a less than gentle WAKE UP CALL to doctors.

There is an untapped market for a mainstream audience who just wants a little more attention. They just want to be listened to and honored. They just want you know to a little more about alternative therapies or, at the very least, admit that you don’t know about them and suggest they see someone who does.

They want someone who doesn’t subscribe to prescribe. Someone who makes the time for a lengthy new patient intake and subsequently pays attention to family history. Someone who knows that sometimes science has been proven wrong and anecdotal evidence has been proven right.

Someone who will take a leap of faith. Someone who sees me as a whole person. Not a manilla folder filled with papers and scribbles.

I invite you to be that doctor.

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