My legs decided to stage a revolt against the rest of me. Ungrateful bastards. I have spent countless bags of green towards their improvement and maintenance and they turn on me without shame. Happy I am not.
For a week or so, I have been fighting terribly swollen legs accompanied by bruising/redness around the ankles. Painful only after inactivity or when first rising, but terrifically annoying and, of course, worrying. I have had the swells before and was hospitalized for this. Four days of intensive poking and prodding led to the brilliant and creative diagnosis of "Dunno." I was discharged with a thank you for your insurance payment and a recommendation to take iron tablets. A repetition of this waste of time will not be repeated. This time, the bruising is a new twist. I have had this, too, before, but isloated in occurrence. I had bruising, but none of the major swelling. Rest, legs elevated and ibuprofen did the trick there. Now, I am the victim of a combo platter. My legs have decided to launch a two-footed assault on me and they are doing a good job of overcoming my defenses.
So, I have been on a Detox plan for a few days now in hopes of purging the bad mojo emanating from my limbs. Diuretics - first, the over-the-counter variety. Little blue pills that are supposed to evict excess fluid. Surprisingly, they worked moderately, but not were not an unqualified success. When pills fail, look to Nature. I am now quaffing liter upon liter of an apple cider vinegar beverage made with natural vinegar, water and stevia. Over and over I fill an empty 2-liter soda bottle and drink, drink, drink...Then, dandelion root tea. Further, celery and parsley made into soups and blended beverages. Not as unpalatable as it sounds - avocado, lemon juice, sweetener, nuts, etc. round out the recipe to make for a very nutritious and tasty food. And, I've gone raw.
Not nekkid. But I am moving towards following more principles of the raw food diet. Not 100%, but definitely nearing 70% now and more to come. Now, I don't necessarity believe their entire philosophy - much of it is New Age hoohah, I feel. But, the basic nutritional ideas are not without foundation. And, it ties in quite nicely with the Paleo diet that I had been working towards in recent months. Despite what many would think, raw food is not an endless procession of salads. Rather, a highly varied repertoire of foods can be prepared and I have been pleased with the results. Just yesterday, lunch centered around soaked raw black soybeans. I was skeptical, but mixed up with Southwestern ingredients, they made for an appealing meal. Of course, the new diet plan comes at cost. I ordered a dehydrator and a good spiral slicer. An inexpensive V-slicer was sufficient and I already have a large and small food processor and blenders. I am now deciding whether or not to get a juicer. Not the Wal-Mart variety, but a several hundred dollar variety. Not, surprisingly, only for juices, but they actually function to process foods for raw food recipes. Cash for health - why do basic needs always cost so much?
So, I sit with feet raised and a portabella cap marinating for dinner. A bottle of apple cider vinegar beverage at my side and a tummy filled with raw almonds, half of a pear and a multitude of fresh vegetables. I can say that I feel pretty good. The feet are a little better with each day and would likely heal faster if I could simply stay off of them for several days in a row. But, needs must and work/life call. Scigirl, going ever more freaky as life goes on. It is odd that my life brings me further from the norm with each passing year, it seems. Rather than morph slowly into the accepted aging model, I am always moving in some bizarre tangential direction. Oh well, keeps life intersting!
No comments:
Post a Comment