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Covering the grey

So I got to this age when some grey hair start to show up. Do I mind? A bit. It is mainly an aesthetic issue for me. I started to get grey on the sides and from afar it looks as if I am going bold. Not kidding. I did go to local salon to cover those bits and the result was good. However it lasted only few weeks and the whole procedure was very pricey. I began to search for something more affordable and hopefully something more natural like henna. Most of the hair colours were very expensive and and a long list of chemicals in it. Finally I found one henna product in a small Indian shop. I have been using this for 3 months now and I am happy with results. Did not have any adverse reaction to it. To put the colour on is a messy business. You need a pair of disposable gloves, comb and shower cap. I usually put some newspaper down because the bathroom floor can get dirty – henna really sticks and is hard to wash off. I tried Black and Dark brown shade from Herbul. Did not notice much difference in terms of the shade. It covers the grey well but you need to be patient and let the henna dry properly. The hair looks black and shiny afterward. I do not cover all of the hair just the grey bits. Sometime I use comb but sometimes I use hands to grasp the stands. Then I check that there is no henna on my face, glasses, hands and I clean bathroom before henna has the chance to dry. When I coloured my hair for the first time I did not notice few henna flakes and and really hard time to get them off. I noticed that sometimes the colour stays longer up to 4 to 5 weeks. I guess it depends how long I leave it on and much water I add to it. My experience with henna so far has been very good. It does the job although it takes time and effort to put it on. I am wondering when I get more grey hair if I am going to use it all over as that it will be even messier and harder to do. Not sure yet. But for covering of few grey it really works.

Update: Recently I have been adding couple of drop of the lavender essential oil. The henna mixture by itself has a grassy smell. The lavender helps to perfume the hair and eases itchy scalp.

Update 2019: Tried some other hair colours but this one is still the best and cheapest.

One week on HCLF

Short holiday break was perfect opportunity to try the Vegan diet properly. Three clean meals with lot’s of veg seemed appealing. I have dedicated few hours to gather some really tasty recipes and make my shopping list. During the search I have realized that there are different types of Vegan diets and after talking to my daughter we have decided to give High Carb Low Fat diet /HCLF/ a go. We liked the recipes and the fact that carbs are allowed and can be eaten at every meal. People promoting this style of eating looked great – energetic, healthy and optimistic. That was a great promise for us because that is what we are after. We have done a week of HCLF cooking and here is my short report.

I have enjoyed the meals but missed the fat. I am sorry to say this but I just always thought something was missing. I just like my stir-fries or baked veg with olive oil. In terms of energy I have expected a surge of vitality – but it did not come. I felt the same as before and had to turn to my cup of coffee to get through the afternoon. And the third negative would be that I have put on weight – little bit over 1 kg. I don’t know how it happened. I was meant to be eating very healthy food cooked with no oil…When I look back I think I probably eat to much. I think I watched too many videos showing huge portions and beautiful slim girls saying eat as much as you want. I did not think to myself that may be I should eat my normal portions and maybe the girls can burn the calories lot easier because they are younger and more fit. Also during that week I did feel that I filled up more and that my trousers are tighter. When I started to feel like that I have automatically down sized the portions. After that week I looked franticly for people who had the same experience because until then I thought that everyone on HCLF is guaranteed to weight. I did find some people saying that they put on weight, too.. Some of them noted that they have been under weight before they started the HCLF diet so when they started it they have put on weight. But that was not my case.

Now about the positives. I was happy to learn some new recipes that I can add to my repertoire. It was wonderful to see how many people are there turning to vegan lifestyle, wanting to make a difference and the world to be less cruel. All in all a good experience which I will repeat again /but I will be more mindful about the portions next time/.

An extra note – I have checked with my daughter and she has also put on weight 2 kg. This is quite interesting because we are different age and she has faster metabolism. I think we really overindulged in the carbs. We love big portions and the recommendation “eat as much as you want” did more damage than good. So please be mindful of this. Take in mind your age, your activity level, your metabolism etc.

I have used recipes mainly from Hi Carb Hannah and Cooking with plants. Only after I finished the week I have discovered a YouTube channel The Vegan Corner which seems to be very popular and has have lot’s of hi carb recipes. So I recon it is worth to try – maybe next time 🙂

Update: I have found a good video explaining HCLF and weight gain on Hi Carb Hannah channel.

Update 2019: Did not work for me. Both daughter and I we put on weight – so we never went back to this eating style.

Happy ending

I am delighted to write these lines…the operation went well and my mum is now cancer free. The recovery stage has started. Physically she is lot stronger. People are commenting on how good she looks. We are convinced it is due to all the herbs she took to support the treatment. Psychologically she is still fragile. I think she is still worried that the cancer might come back. The disease drained her on mental level – there is no doubt about it.

However, we all are trying to be positive. It seems that she will not have to go through more chemos which took so much of her energy away and instead she will be undergoing some hormonal treatment. She will be told the detailed treatment after her blood tests come back. The worst is definitely over. What’s next for her? I don’t know. Will she change her life? Go on long holidays? Do something out of the box? Probably not. My guess is she will slip back into her quiet routine. I think that she can do anything she wants. The main thing is she stays with us for many more years…

Update April 2017:

My mum is in great spirits but she is still on hormone therapy which she does not like. She is convinced it is causing her mood swings. Her arthritis also got worse and she suspects it is due to all the radiation she was exposed to. She has some tests ahead so we will see if she can drop the hormonal medicine.

Update February 2019:

Mum is stil in good spirits. She is still taking hormonal medicine – I think it influencing her moods a bit. She is treated for arthritis and osteoporosis. Has trouble to walk and stays at home most of the time. We had a conversation about all these problems – but agreed that it is better to stay alive even with all these difficulties.

Detox

I am currently doing a special detox. It lasts 28 days. I have done it before and it was good for me. Not a massive weight loss but I have noticed visible health improvements. I am still wheat free most of the time. During the second and third week of the detox I am allowed a bit a of a bread and eggless pasta. The bread was homemade from rye and spelt flour. I realised that wheat makes me feel heavy. When I am on detox I do not miss bread or flour products really and I suppose that is a good news. The detox also does other things for me. The meals are set so I do not have to think about what to cook. I have more energy then usual which I need at the moment. So this was a short update on my wheat free adventures.

Update: 2019 – I have repeated this detox several times. Did not loose weight but felt very refreshed afterwards. Did not have sugar craving for about three weeks and did not feel like coffee. Felt energy surge at least for few weeks.

In the middle of it

At the moment my mum is in the middle of the treatment. Went through a series of chemos and now the date of the operation is going to be decided. It is hard to say that she is doing well. I would rather say she is keeping up the brave face. She is sick of it. I have no doubt. We knew that the chemos will undermine her immunity but we did not know how much. I can honestly say that we underestimated it. Basically after every chemotherapy she has a cold, cough, runny nose, fever, nausea, loss of appetite. Her blood test were not good. Once it was red blood cells then it was white blood cells. On the top of it she had an allergic reaction to antibiotics which caused a bad rash all over the body. She lost her hair but that is probably the least of her worries. I think the chemo is such a big hit. Of course she continues with all the supplements, herbs and juices. It gives her an extra boost and protection. She thinks /and I tend to agree/ that without the extra herbal help she would in a lot worse state. My heart goes to everybody who is going through this…

Update: 2019 – now a distant memory. My mum says those days were very unpleasant but were bearable. She is convinced that the supplements and herbs helped her to minimise the side effects. The doctors often commented on how well she is healing.

Rest and take time for yourself — Don’t be shy to ask for help, don’t be shy to cry

Time to become a vegan?

Well, my daughter came home the other day saying: “ Mum, just to let you know I will be a vegan now.” My face probably did not look very cheerful as she quickly said:” Don’t worry, I will eat the food you cook now except no dairy.” As she is headstrong I knew the decision has been made and there is no way of going back. But would I ask her to?

I grew up in a society where the ‘real’ food was meat. Meat had to be served for lunch and dinner and sometimes for breakfast, too. At least that was at school, at friend’s house, at auntie’s. At home we kept it as meatless as possible. The main reason was that my father was brought up as an vegetarian. Those days it was a real oddity. You was either a child of some hippies or not very clever person who must suffer with protein deficiencies for sure. Thanks God those days are over. I became a vegetarian in my twenties because my husband is a vegetarian and it made sense. I did not like to deal with meat in my kitchen knowing that my husband does not like it for humanitarian reasons. I knew I could survive on the vegetarian diet with no problem. Food for me was not a biggie. So kids also grew up as vegetarians, I kept on checking their iron levels and there well-being but did not see any difference when I compared them with their meat eating friends. I felt peaceful as I knew that eggs, milk, cheeses will be enough in terms of protein, calcium and vitamin D needs. So cutting this group out made me worried. Moreover, I did see the statistics showing that most vegan do not have enough B12 and need to take supplement. That is something I do not need to do. To be honest I do not like supplements of any kind and I do believe we should be able to get everything we need from food. I do have few other arguments against veganism but it does not matter now. I do have to respect my daughter’s decision and just go with it. Fortunately, thanks to internet I have discovered plenty of vegan recipes that are worth to try. At the moment I am filling up my pantry because there are some ingredients I have never used. For example: nutritional yeast, almond butter, tapioca flour, flaxseed – the list is long. The journey will be long, too I assume. But so be it…

Update: 2019 – my daughter is still vegan. Few weeks ago she had a blood test which came back with glowing results. The only supplement she need to take is Vitamin D. Apparently most people are deficient in Vitamin D nowadays. Even my mum was asked to supplement Vitamin D. I myself prefer vegan food although I am not vegan. I don’t like to be labeled as anything but I do think that vegan diet is the most caring to animals and the environment.

Healthy snack — Intermittent fasting, healthy eating, insulin, fruits, eating healthy, vegan, hard to loose weight, 16/8, 16/8 eating, 14/10 eating, leptin, loosing weight with IF

Mum’s diet from now on

We are not doctors but did not want to leave everything to doctors.

Here is my mum’s routine since being diagnosed:

1/no sugar

2/no white flour

3/ supplements and herbs from our favourite herbalist – supplement from Silybum marianum 3x day, 15 minutes before and after chemo tea from Silybum marianum, massage with Calendula officinalis – 3 or 2x day

4/ later on for increasing of the immunity we have added – extract from Pleurotus ostreatus

5/ Coenzym Q, B -complex vitamin, oil from Oenothera biennis

6/ breathing techniques, positive affirmations

7/ Nutribullet drink – at least once a day, mix of greens and fruits

That’s all. My mum says it seems to work for her. She did not have to take any medications, yet. She only complains about tiredness and light nausea. Her hair started do fall out but that it is least of her worries. All in all her she is in good spirits and that is probably the most important thing at the moment.

Update: 2019 – My tries to keep the diet as healthy as possible. Minimising sugar and meats. Loading on vitamins and living plants.

Just a little explanation

I need to explain at least briefly the name of my blog. It might sound bit negative or cocky to some. Originally I wanted to name it: “You don’t have to read this”, however the name was taken. It did fit my purpose lot more. It said exactly what I meant: “ You don’t have to read this [but you can if you want to]”. The next available one was: “You don’t have to like it”. I did feel a bit of a change of tone but could not come up with anything better…so there 🙂

Wheat-free 2

First I must confess. I did break my wheat-free experiment for one week. The reason is – being at home with my parents, not cooking for myself, and simply being lazy…But it was only 1 week. I thought I will look at it positively and see what is the effect. I can honestly say I did not have any “reaction” and did not feel any changes. I think the week was too short to make any difference. If anything I was bit more tired. Also, and I should mention it here, I just finished detox which did not include any wheat or sugar. So I felt pretty good in general. I will mention the detox later as it is one of the things that worked for me…Anyways week on white bread did not harm me. Did I enjoy it? Maybe a little 🙂

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Letting off some steam

My main impression from all this at the moment is that there is not psychological support for the patients and for their families. In my opinion, once diagnosed, one should have an access to a professional, who will explain basics about the disease, give some statistics, nutritional advice etc. It does not have to be a doctor. I know they are busy with their scientific stuff. It should be someone who is not going to be uncomfortable talking about the topic, some one who will not be rushing you out of the door because next patient is waiting, someone with an optimistic and caring nature, ideally a cancer survivor… Person who is willing to meet not only with the patient but also with relatives and friends. Do I ask too much? Too me, this seems common sense. People who pay taxes whole their lives should be entitled to the appropriate services. Not to be left to their own devices, internet searches and feeling of despair. I know it is going cost but so what? Why can’t we expect that? It is 21st century after all. I hope that one day it is going to be like that. Worldwide…

Update: 2019 – I have noticed that people are more willing to talk about problems like these however the support structure is still not there. Create your own support structure and don’t wait for the system to offer you one. Reach to groups and people who are willing to share and help.