I think it goes without saying that the healthcare system in the USA is very problematic. Here is an organization looking to do something about it from a grassroots approach. Check out the little cartoon introduction on the website (gave me a little chuckle this morning).

The Healthiest Nation Alliance aspires to help create an America where an integrated national system values health, prioritizes prevention, and protects from emerging threats. The Alliance exists to provide leadership and foster actions by organizations and individuals that encourage or sustain health. The Alliance serves to connect organizational, business, state, county, city, neighborhood, and individual efforts to help activate and energize a national health movement. The Alliance will take the leadership role in supporting a grassroots approach to the challenge—an approach that will engage consumers of the current system (individuals, organizations, and businesses) and empower them to take responsibility for creating change within their piece of the system.

Nathan inspired me to check out my real age through an online test.

Here were my results:

Today, November 5, 2007, your RealAge is 36.2! But you could be younger — in as few as 90 days. Simply follow your personalized recommendations in My RealAge Plan.

Your RealAge was calculated by assessing over 100 different health factors, from lifestyle to genetics to medical history. The factors that are aging you, the costs, are counterbalanced by the things you are doing right, called your RealAge Benefits.

I hope to make some progress like Nathan and gain some extra years through some changes in my daily health habits.

I have always had issues with self esteem and my body. I primarily am always concerned with my weight and overall appearance. Since High School I cannot recall a time where I was satisfied with my weight. I know that I am not alone in this issue. I have been giving this some thought today and realize that the relationship I have with my body could use some improvements. I, like so many in our American society use food as a way to feel good - at least for the brief time while we are stuffing our mouths with whatever our brain desires. Further, our society has this idea that we must eat everything that is on our plates because we tell ourselves that there are poor people in Africa who would be glad to have that food. The reality is that we don’t listen to our bodies. Instead of eating slowly until we feel content, we eat quickly to meet our emotional needs. I would like to start to practice a healthier mode of eating. As a vegetarian I am already very aware of the foods I put into my body. Further, I would like to be aware of the needs of my body and only eat those things that I need to fuel it appropriately.  I would like to strive to eat only what I need to function optimally.

To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana.

-Buddha

I am seeking Nirvana and have decided to become a vegetarian. I have tried it twice before in my life and was not successful. I have educated myself this time on some of the nutritional elements that were a stumbling block for me in the past. I know that I will be asked what my primary reason is for making this choice. It simply comes down to following my conscience. I have several areas and behaviors in my life where my actions don’t match what my heart is telling me and this is my first choice to match them up.

Check out the new survey question in the left banner about vegetarianism.

This week I have started a self imposed detox program. I am eager to step up my game with my personal at home yoga practice and as a first physical step, I am working on cleansing my body from all the toxins I have allowed to build up over the years. I don’t consider myself an alcoholic or junk food addict, but I have not treated my body all that well either. I have allowed the foods and drink to build into a load of impure crap within my little clump of cells (Ab Fab reference).

As part of my detox I am drinking plenty of water, taking supplements including milk thistle extract, and sweating out many of the toxins through old fashioned exercise. I am also looking at my diet habits and looking to eat more whole natural foods, rather than cheap processed shit. I have a deep tissue massage scheduled for tonight which will move along the detoxing process. I know that I will have my challenges during this phase, but anticipate that it will pay off for my body and mind in the long run.

For those of you who have visited Shutternick before, you may notice that I’ve made some modifications to the sidebars. One of the new items I’ve added is a poll. To start this new addition, I thought I would use the top news item that I woke to. CNN reported this morning that there is a connection between mental illness and marijuana use. I know this is generally a hot topic especially in the gay community. Personally I think that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. How often do you hear of a “bar fight” in a Pot Cafe in the Netherlands? Ummm…how about almost never? One fact I didn’t realize - the death penalty is an optional sentence for bringing marijuana into the US - do we have a screwed up sense of reality here?

Now - as a father of a teen boy, I also feel compelled to balance my opinion with the fact that not all laws represent the majority opinion or even an educated conclusion. I feel that the process of democracy and judicial review is something that does work in the big picture. As such, I don’t condone marijuana use simply because it is illegal and has consequences not related to it’s physiological impacts. I think instead that as a society, we should work to change laws through the systems given to us based on our convictions supported by truth.

Feel free to add your thoughts to the poll at the bottom of the left banner or as a comment.

I have been suffering with this disease for the better part of a year now with increasing pain, discomfort, and sleeplessness (and a great deal of frustration). In the last month or so it has gotten pretty bad. For those of you not doctors, I’ll let Web MD define it for you:

Esophagitis is an inflammation of the lining of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. If left untreated, this condition can become very uncomfortable, causing problems with swallowing, ulcers and scarring of the esophagus. In rare instances, a condition known as “Barrett’s esophagus” may develop, which is a risk factor for cancer of the esophagus.

I have had every test under the sun conducted with no further evidence of what may be causing this for me. I have tried every type of medication, and none have had an impact despite using them for nearly a year. The only thing left which I have not tried is giving up alcohol and acidic foods altogether and eating very small meals more often. Looks like a strict diet for me for a while…ugh!