A New Dawn

Four years ago my life was rocked from deep within its foundations. The me that was, began a transformational journey that I hadn't planned on taking, and if you'd asked me if I wanted to go on this journey back then I'd have told you firmly and politely, no thanks.
But I'm here now, I have arrived to a new place and I am loving it. The old me really did need a good, firm kick up the backside, I just couldn't...no, didn't want to...see it. Changing what I ate, taking excellent supplements, cleaning my environment and body of as many pollutants as I could, exercising and taking a calmer, more mindful approach has truly helped me to heal.

My new way is more compassionate and gentle and I have found a growing awareness and community that feels the same. I have also persuaded my family to join me on my travels and they are happy with the changes they have made too. I am sure there are plenty of people that will roll their eyes every time I use a #vegan but you know what? I don't care!

I'm still learning and making mistakes and that is good. I love learning and I believe that it is a necessary way of life. Why compromise? Why put yourself into a box that has a limitation on what you can grow to be? Free yourself from the box, learn new things, new skills, stop following the herd. And above all, wake up!

So, what is this blog really about I hear you ask? Well it's about moving on. I turned 50 this month. It still shocks me when I say that out loud, but it is, what it is. I don't feel 50. My head and heart approach life from a 34 year old perspective. I probably chose this age because I believe it is the perfect age. Young enough to do, learn and be whatever you want, yet with a stable maturity. But the reality is, age really doesn't matter as long as you believe in yourself you can do what you want, when you want.

I feel ready to let this blog go now. It will be there for people that need it, in the same way that I needed to write it, so that they know they are not alone in their journey.  I know that it can feel very lonely along the way. But there is a silver lining, there really is, and it is up to each person with cancer, or a chronic illness, whether it is mental or physical to learn for themselves what that illness is trying to tell them and to listen carefully so that they can help themselves to heal and grow.

Believe in yourself.

ps look out for my new blog from the minaverse

Soup for the soul #vegan (of course)

A Year of Vegan Living...

It's been over a year now since I became completely vegan...and I'm feeling proud! I haven't looked back, not once...in fact I wish I had made the change a long time ago. I feel great. I love my food now and feel completely satisfied. I'm eating healthily while still able to have some treats. 

Tonights dinner was haggis, sausages, tatties and neeps...all vegan of course! I'm feeling pretty full! One of the main reasons I feel proud is because I overcame any feelings that this lifestyle would be hard to keep up...it isn't at all! And I have managed to make the swap over fairly easily. I have my regular main meals that I cook such as stir-fries, various curries (such as satay, katsu, masala), pasta, salads, and I love soups. And as I said, I don't go without a treat...vegan ice cream is to die for!

I'm in various vegan groups in Facebook and they are great for helping you to feel part of a new emerging force and community.  We share supermarket finds (most of which are unhealthy, accidentally vegan goodies!), places to eat, places to avoid and information about the vegan community.

There is a great deal of misinformation out there. Some people even say that being vegan is unhealthy...I find this utterly alarming that people can be so naive but some of that is to deliberately mislead and confuse. I can quite firmly say that a vegan (or plant based) diet is most definitely the most healthy way to eat. As I looked for a good source from nutrition facts.org  about this there were so many (videos) to choose from I couldn't so just go there(Links to NutritionFacts.org) 

Another reason that I am proud is because by becoming vegan, I have drastically reduced my carbon footprint...something I used to feel that I wanted to make more effort to do and by changing what I eat I save...

...that's a lot isn't it? 

Anyway, why eat this...

when we don't need to, when we can save a sentient animal's life and feel happier and healthier and avoid the animal fat, cholesterol, hormones,  manure,  pus, growth hormones, antibiotics and parasites.

Anyway, here's some pics of my vegan dinners...and yes they tasted great!

Run for your life!

I'm running. 

Before 'cancer gate' I used to run on and off. My aim was to be able to just run an effortless 3 or 4 miles whenever I felt like it. I think the mental image of me pounding the pavement to some tunes or running off some stress was one I tried to recreate in reality, but it can be hard sometimes to (as Nike says) just do it! There used to always be something that got in the way...work, kids, life and the biggest excuse of all..."I've no time!"

Things are different now. I'm running for my life...quite literally! Along with the dietary changes I made, I now have to ensure that I exercise too if I want to avoid reoccurrence...and I do!

Of course we all know that exercise is good for you. We all know that, but many
of us don't bother to make time for it. Well looking at what I have learned, if I want my odds to be the best I can, I need to make that time.

I am the sort of person that needs to know why. I hate just accepting something because someone says it is so...after all there is so much bullshit out there propped up by big business the truth can be difficult to find. So, after doing some research into why exercise is good for you and not just a reason to get you to spend some of your hard earned pounds on a gym membership that you never use...Yep, we have all done that at some time...here is what I have learned...

There are many benefits to exercise and they have been widely studied so the research is pretty solid in that exercise improves health outcomes, even if the mechanism behind why it works isn't always clear. Exercise is excellent for reducing your risk of chronic illness (e.g. heart disease, arthritis, etc)  (link to a typical study suggesting this) and improving mental health (link to study). Along with a healthy diet (and as you know I recommend a vegan diet), exercising can help us to live healthier as we age, thus enjoying our elder years rather than living them out with chronic disease, pain or dementia. (Link to Benefits of Exercise - NHS Choices)

Sadly, the Western diets that we eat, the sedentary lifestyles we live, the drugs we are prescribed and the culture we live in, seems to negate this knowledge and has us in a downward spiral towards chronic ill health, obesity and early death.  I would like to picture my later years still active and fit. Still able to move about freely, drive, think clearly, travel and live my dreams. The only way to try to ensure I am able to do this, is to look after my body now. I have learned my lesson.

So, for someone like myself who has suffered from a disease such as cancer (it really could be any disease though), exercise is my prescribed drug..along with a vegan diet. And here is why it is particularly important...

Exercise plays a crucial role in helping to regulate metabolic hormones in our bodies, namely Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF) and IGF-binding proteins. To cut a long explanation short, high levels of IGF in our blood and low levels of the binding proteins can increase our risk of common cancers such as breast, prostate and colorectal cancers. Exercise however, helps to maintain normal or lower levels of IGF and so helps to reduce our risk.(Link to Study)

Exercise also helps to reduce the levels of circulating sex hormones and increase the sex hormone binding globulins. This helps to protect their target tissue (the breast tissue). This is of particular relevance to women whose breast cancer was endocrine/hormone receptor-positive (i.e. oestrogen or progesterone), such as myself. (Link to study)

Another way that exercise and diet work to protect us against disease is to improve our immune function and decrease oxidative stress. It is our immune system that works tirelessly to fight enemy invaders in our bodies. Eating poorly, lack of exercise and other risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, etc, put extra strain on the immune system, stopping it from doing its job. (link to study)
(link to study)

I could go on all day...but here is a blog link and a video from my favourite nutritionist Dr Michael Greger...Blog Link and Video Link

And...just in case you think you get off easily, you don't! My sister and I are running as Supersurvivors for Macmillan in the Glasgow Half Marathon on Sunday.  I'm Wonder Woman, she's Supergirl. Please (pretty please) sponsor us. (Link to Justgiving page) And don't forget to leave me a message on The Great Wall Of Support. (Link To The Great Wall of Support) My Race Number is

The meat munching and dairy slurping dilemma (part 3)

I was going to sit at my desk for ages looking for facts, stats, reports, etc, to explain and highlight why the meat and dairy industry is destroying our landscape and climate. I was going to say that stopping or reducing your meat and dairy intake will benefit the environment and reduce your carbon footprint much more than cycling to work for the rest of your life.  Big corp don't want you to be aware of these things. They want to keep you buying, buying, buying. And they are not interested in your health or the environment. Nope, just buying. Stuff you don't need and medicines that won't make you better. But instead I have decided to direct you to watch the documentary film "Cowspiracy" as it will tell you these things only much better than me!


http://www.cowspiracy.com

The meat munching and dairy slurping dilemma (part 2)

I've been meaning to get round to writing this part 2 blog for a while. I am conscious that people may start to regard me as some sort of 'vegan dictator'. I don't want that. It took me a while to recognise that there is so much misinformation out there regarding health and diet. My main aim here is to raise awareness, especially for those who are hoping to avoid a chronic illness, or who have a chronic illness and want to improve their health and for those that want to help make the world a better place. I'm not trying to put down meat eaters, farmers or anyone. I simply want people to be open to the possibility that the choices they may be making could be improved for the sake of themselves, their children and the planet. My worry is that until we are all fully aware enough to make better choices, things will only get worse. By worse I mean, more animals will suffer and be abused, more people will get fatter and sicker and our planet will continue to die.


A few things prompted me to start typing this blog today. The first was a Facebook post from a friend, 'Everyone should see this side to cows'. It shows a side to cows that most will not have seen. Friendly, playful animals. We are not used to images like this. Farm animals playing like domesticated pets. We don't like seeing this...we might need to reconsider our views...that they are more than simply steaks or burgers on legs. The second, was an article about a Texas couple who gave up cattle ranching to become vegans and turned their ranch into a sanctuary. (Click here to see) The part that tugged my heart was when the rancher would take away the calves to slaughter...“The mother cows would cry into the night and I’d go out and cry with them even at midnight.” And finally, a very current issue... fox hunting. This new ad campaign (League Against Cruel Sports- Click to watch ad) has been designed to make you reconsider your views and it is similar in style to this other short movie about adopting new pets (Gift - watch the clip) These links show me that we are growing in awareness regarding these issues. They highlight that we are beginning to see animals as sentient beings...not just slabs of meat. They help us to think beyond our ingrained egocentricity that has brainwashed us into believing that humans are the superior beings. Is it really any different from racism or sexism?


The question of whether animals are sentient or not, is a biggy. It used to crop up on a regular basis when I was studying psychology.  "Are animals sentient beings?",  "Do animals have language?", "Are animals aware?" These questions used to frustrate me so much. The real question should be "Do animals deserve the moral consideration of humans in our egocentric world?" Each of these questions are an essay in themselves, but for the purpose of this blog I'm going with the view that they are sentient; they feel pain, experience pleasure, they have a survival instinct and are aware of their existence. I don't think that we need to put animals through unnecessary torture to prove this. And this blog today will discuss this in some more detail.


As I said earlier, animal welfare wasn't really something I considered beyond my own pets. But a change in my own eating habits gave me permission (or I allowed myself) to watch some videos regarding this issue (The links to these videos are on the sidebar of my blog). Frankly, I was shocked. How did I not know about the barbaric torture and abuse of  animals that is commonplace in this world? I am as 'normal' as the next person, so I have come to understand that the reason for this widespread maltreatment of animals, especially in the intensive factory farming industry and why it goes on without anything being done about it, is because not many people know about it. Those that do know, are ones that tend to take a stand on the issue while the rest of the population continue to dine on, oblivious to how the animal that ended up on their plate was treated before it died for them - perhaps hoping/trusting that the animal was treated humanely first.

It can't be easy working in the animal food industry. In the UK alone, over 22 million animals are slaughtered every day!! Animals are more often than not seem as produce, not living, sentient beings. Cattle are dehorned and branded without anaesthetic, kept in barns with no outdoor exercise and milked until they die an early death. In large pig market factories, sows are kept in gestation crates unable to turn or move to look after their piglets. Tail docking and castration (on piglets) are done without anaesthetic. Pigs are often slaughtered after ineffective stunning or electrocution and put into boiling water still alive.  And chickens, oh how we love to eat those! Over 950 million chickens are killed each year in the UK (source to statistics). In intensive chicken factories, chickens are debeaked which often causes severe injury. Hens are packed tightly into wired, battery cages unable to spread their wings and disease is rife.
Many animals die during transportation to the slaughterhouse due to overcrowding, low/high temperatures or poor handling. The methods used to stun animals before slaughter often do not work and they are conscious when their throats are slit.  In a PETA video (link to PETA video) narrated by Paul McCartney, he is famously quoted as saying "if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everybody would be vegetarian." If you watch the video, you will understand why he said this.
In the UK, there are slaughterhouse regulations which are supposed to be followed and vets are supposed to monitor animal welfare. Sadly though, there has been criticism from the European Commission regarding the lack of this monitoring (source).
Footage of the barbaric leather and fur industries, especially those in China, have me in tears every time I watch. Dogs, cats, foxes, in
fact anything with fur, skinned more often than not, alive. These animals used in this trade are then butchered and fed to the other animals waiting to die for their fur. Beautiful, white Angora rabbits, pinned to boards while their fur is cruelly ripped off their bodies as they scream in terror and pain, then thrown back in their cage for the process to be repeated several more times. Baby seals bludgeoned to death in front of their mothers for their fur... What, I ask, is the real cost of a fur coat?

Then there is the science industry, which uses animals in various (Link to gov figures/report) Animals are cut open, shocked, poisoned, gassed, burned, deprived, neglected and psychologically tortured. They never know a kind word, see the outside world or walk on grass and we do this in the name of scientific advancement, such as the creation of new drugs.
Animal testing is hugely controversial with many arguing that these tests, while some may help to create a beneficial drug, many substances tested will never be used for anything, thus the animal suffers or dies in vain. Also, animal testing is very costly with countless animals killed after testing (even if they recover). But, the main criticism is that animal testing is never fully reliable as humans and animals respond differently to various drugs, which begs the question...why test if comparisons cannot be made?
types of testing.  In the UK, legislation against animal testing has been tightened over the years, partly in response to growing public awareness and concern however,  recent government statistics show that despite pressure to reduce testing, the number of animal experiments continues to increase with 4.12 million procedures carried out in 2013!
I've covered many areas of animal abuse, but there are many more...animals used for entertainment purposes, such as zoos, rodeos, dog fighting, dog and horse racing, circuses and street entertainers. There is also the sickening whaling (Norway, Japan and Iceland) and dolphin trade (Japan)...words quite simply fail me when I watch footage of these beautiful mammals being slaughtered. And the fishing industry, where our seas are overfished and ecosystems are destroyed.

My words won't mean a jot unless you see for yourself the cruelty that exists in our world today. I urge you to take the time and have the courage to watch either 'Earthlings' or 'If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls.' I personally feel that there is a growing cultural shift where people are becoming more compassionate towards their fellow wo(man), more "green", more consciously aware, who are moving towards vegetarianism and veganism.  The flip side however, is one much darker. I have read recently that there is a rise in animal cruelty (source) In the news too, we read more frequently about child abuse scandals, human rights violations and war. Two groups of people poles apart. Hopefully, those in the middle will shift more to the 'compassionate side.' Time will tell.

When I started my experiment with being vegan it was purely for health reasons. Animal welfare and
saving the planet were secondary to me at that point. I guess I just didn't have the guts to look at these issues. I was frightened of what I would learn...I knew the reality would not bode well to someone such as myself, that considered themselves an animal lover. It is only now, after taking the time to learn about it, I can say I wish I had found this stuff out before now, I would have tried harder to change. I'm still trying hard to keep changing. I eat a vegan diet and I am now moving towards a vegan lifestyle. I have many boots, shoes and bags which are leather. I will continue to use these until they are done as just throwing them out is, in my opinion disrespectful to the animals that died for them. I am also trying to find and purchase vegan beauty products. It is a learning curve which I hope to share with those willing to listen...to shift along with me. Small steps...

The final part (3) of this blog will cover how moving to a vegan lifestyle can save our planet.

The meat munching and dairy slurping dilemma (Part 1)

Dangling a slice of prosciutto into my gob or munching on a bacon roll were two of my favourite past-times, but through time and some research I had learned that the animal products I loved to eat were creating a toxic environment inside my body. My immune system just wasn't able to handle the damage that was being done. For some time before my diagnosis, I had become interested or drawn to healthier eating lifestyles. I had read and researched about vegan, raw and alkaline diets and I was slowly learning that what I had been told...no, educated about our so called healthy and balanced diet was in fact mis-information. Being a nurse for many years, I believed that we need meat for protein and milk/dairy for calcium (when I say meat I am referring to all animal meats e.g. chicken, pork etc). In all the years I practised and did professional development, not one doctor, specialist or dietician told me that humans do not need these animal products to survive (or thrive). Doing my own research, I learned that the truth of the matter is that animal products actually do great damage to our human bodies and the increasing burden on our healthcare services is the direct result of our mis-information regarding the western diet.

Luckily the information I had read, meant that once I was diagnosed with breast cancer I was immediately able  to start putting a new diet into practise. Initially, I veganised my old favourites...spag bol, chicken salad, kormas, etc. Bit by bit, I started experimenting with making different dishes, utilising different spices and putting some effort into ensuring that my store cupboard had all the basic essentials to create any dish...just add veg. Thankfully, I'm quite a good cook (even if I say so myself!) and I enjoy pouring over recipe books. I must admit, I love it. I love it that I am eating healthily and it is effortless. I love it that I feel cleaner, lighter and more energetic. I love it, that my family see the changes I have made and have improved their own diets. There are still some things I miss but like an ex-smoker, as time passes so does the urge.

So what about the mis-information then...
Did you know that the majority of the world's population is lactose intolerant (which is completely normal, we are not biologically designed to continue drinking milk past infancy)? But many populations such as ours, where dairy is consumed as part of our standard diet, have developed a gene mutation which allows for lactose to be consumed past weaning. It is only in cultures such as ours that lactose intolerance is even considered to be a problem. Symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhoea/constipation, etc are common in our dairy fixated culture.(Link to symptoms of lactose intolerance)

The common symptoms mentioned above highlight the inflammatory nature of dairy and a study last year by Dr Karl Michaelsson (link to study) showed that high milk intake was associated with higher rates of fractures and death, especially in women. In countries where dairy and animal products are more heavily consumed, we see greater rates of chronic disease such as heart disease (e.g.link to study) and cancer (link to study).


Meat (all meat, including processed/cured and chicken!) can cause cancer and inflammation in (link to study) So you can see why someone such as myself, diagnosed with breast cancer and researching ways to protect myself from reoccurrence would cut out these products. And to be honest, this information is only the tip of the iceberg, I haven't even started discussing how animal foods contribute to the levels of growth hormones in our bodies...i.e. we eat these foods, they cause inflammation and we promote the growth of cancer (and other chronic disease) through these circulating hormones (link to study). There's lots of research, but it is difficult to understand (hmm... I wonder why?) and there is also great deal of research which discusses the nutritional value of animal products (funded by meat and dairy industry!) Plus, there is research regarding hormones which is not made publicly available and is of particular concern (link to study). To highlight these issues I have included this great article that discusses the animal products we eat...(Article link)

Basically, it is no surprise that we are getting fatter and sicker eating our western diet. And to those that stupidly say, what you eat has nothing to do with it, go and do some research! Here is a study about diet to get you started...The lower risk diet is vegan (link to study) but it is important to realise that our bodies are not designed to eat the levels of animal products and refined foods that we pack into it. Also, we get more than adequate levels of protein and calcium (which is absorbed more readily) from vegetables.


What I find fascinating are those doctors/researchers (mainly in the USA) who acknowledge that diet is a (if not the) crucial factor in our poor health equation and are promoting plant-based diets to reverse and cure chronic illness. Dr Dean Ornish is one of those doctors. He has successfully (and proven scientifically) reversed heart disease in his patients through a plant based diet. Many of his patients were considered to be on their 'last legs' by their own cardiovascular consultants, yet made full recovery. He also promotes the same diet to those with prostate and breast cancer with excellent results. There are so many studies to choose from if you want to read the evidence...just Google (scholar) his name. And for some excellent information regarding all things diet and based on published academic papers have at look at Dr Michael Greger's site, it is a fantastic resource (link to his site).

Wonderful D3

How do you feel when you wake up in the morning...blissfully rested or like you have just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson? I must admit that although I love my two wonderful creations, since they were born, I wake up feeling like a burst couch. Even if I manage to get a long lie on a Sunday, or if I ever get the rare chance to sneak back to bed, although this usually means I have succumbed to some sort of man flu or mysterious illness, I never wake feeling rested. As the years have passed, I have just put this bone-weary fatigue down to 'how one feels passed the age of 40' syndrome and accepted that jumping out of bed in the morning shouting "yay, I'm alive!",  is something I do in my head, not for real. I know I'm not the only one to feel like this. I have had many conversations with friends who all agree that come 10 o'clock in the evening (or earlier), most of us are propping our eyelids open
with matchsticks while the drool runs down the side of our mouths. Oh yes, most of us have had the humiliating picture taken of us with our heads back, mouths open and snoring like Percy Pig while 'watching' TV.  BUT all that is in the past because I have discovered the new wonder drug and it's name...ta, da, is Vitamin D3. Oh yes! I am a new woman!

"So tell me all about it" I hear you shout!  Well, since this whole cancer curfuffle,  tiredness reached new limits for me. I will not be beaten though! Rebuilding my immunity (no thanks to chemo) and strengthening my liver, are key priorities to me... hence the whole vegan diet thing, getting back to exercise and adding a whole array of nutritional supplements. And I was feeling good. I felt happier, stronger, healthier, slimmer and cleaner on the inside, so the changes I was making were definitely helping. But to be honest, I still felt tired. And yes, I do recognise that it takes some time to recover from the Big C (and it's nasty treatments). I am impatient to be jumping out of bed shouting "yay!" Recently however, I was discussing the role of high dose Vitamin C and other supplements with my sister. She said my brother -in- law had been reading about how important Vitamin D was and although I was taking a Vitamin D supplement, I had skipped over articles discussing it when I was researching Vitamin C. Coincidently (or not. I don't believe in coincidences. Rather that, if you are meant to stumble across it, you will), I came across a YouTube video where some U.S. M.D. was discussing the merits of Vitamin D in relation to a myriad of diseases where deficiency is present. I was intrigued...could Vitamin D be that important? Wouldn't we know already?

The reality is that the role of Vitamin D isn't fully understood and research is still ongoing. But hey, I am not waiting 5-10 years on research facilities finally getting round to telling Joe Public...I'm impatient (didn't you know!). So, I've been looking at the current research and yes, it is impressive (and there is plenty!).  First you need to know what Vitamin D is and does, so click on the links below...
What is Vitamin D
What does Vitamin D do?

So, hopefully you have an idea of the importance of Vitamin D. For the majority of us, unless you are jetting off to sunny climes every other weekend, you are going to be deficient. And ironically, when the sun does come out for that one day in Scottish summertime, we are so paranoid that we get skin cancer (because we have the bejeebies scared out of us by the media and sunscreen companies), that we lather sunscreen on before even stepping outside and so deny our desperately, deficient bodies of making that vital D vitamin. Even if you were able to get a good holiday and top up your Vit D levels, come winter, your blood levels will be back in their boots.
The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may not be apparent but studies have shown that it is linked to depression, bone pain, muscle weakness, hypertension, dementia, hypertension, heart disease and various cancers. It starts to make some sense then why so many people get sick come Autumn/Winter and why those with darker skin are at greater risk (I will put some links to research at the end).
So, it looked like this vitamin was pretty darn good but I don't just pop any drug in my gob without finding about toxicity and side effects (which we all should do even if your GP has prescribed it!!!) The good thing is you have to take mega high doses for a pretty long time to become toxic (I decided on taking the high dose oral spray for convenience).
Apart from sunbathing, the best way to ensure you get an adequate amount of this vitamin is by taking a supplement. So, I did...and I noticed an improvement in my health pretty quickly. The first thing I noticed was an improvement in my mood (and while getting my tax return completed was a call to celebrate,  the only other change was, I had started to take vitamin D). I have also noticed that I'm sleeping better and waking, feeling much more rested than normal. And strangely, the right side of my lower back (which niggles from time to time) has eased considerably. For me, improving my mood and feeling rested are a huge bonus.
The other bonus that I'm hoping to achieve is avoiding cancer recurrence, osteoporosis (these two are pretty important for someone such as myself) and other chronic disease, such as Alzheimer's and according to research, vitamin D plays a huge role in that (again, see links at end). My suggestion to you all is get yourself some high dose Vit D (D3 is better) and try it for yourself...maybe we can all start jumping out of bed in the morning shouting "yay!"

Here are the links:-

Vitamin D and it's role in cancer prevention

Vitamin D in health and disease - current perspectives

Vitamin D in adult health and disease: a review and guideline statement from Osteoporosis Canada

Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter

and there are so many more...just have a look in google scholar....happy reading!