Location: Grand Lake Oakland Farmer's Market
Nikon Coolpix 5700
1/105 @ F4.2
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Location: Grand Lake Oakland Farmer's Market
Nikon Coolpix 5700
1/105 @ F4.2
Posted by jen maiser on March 30, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by jen maiser on March 29, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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Thanks so much to those of you who took the time to write your thoughts about my headaches - it was really touching to read your comments!
I am not turning this into the blog all about my health, but I thought I would take a quick moment to give you an update.
My journal (more like the chaotic notebook of my life) has two different business cards taped in it from the day ... one from a head & neck surgeon, and one from a holistic health practitioner. I had appointments with both of them today, and am feeling much more in control of things.
The surgeon was pretty amazing ... she spent a bunch of time talking to me and checking out my sinuses, and pretty much ruled out that it could be completely sinus issues that are giving me trouble. She just instilled so much more confidence in me than my primary care doctor - even though she said about the same thing. She not only took the time to explain things to me, but she said that if I call her and say that the headaches are not going away, she will give me a neurology referral. That was really validating to hear her say.
The anti-depressant thing is pretty interesting, and is so much more understandable when she explained it: The drug is an old, old anti-depressant from the 50's (I would tell you it's name, but I can't remember it right now) and she said that they never really use it as an anti-depressant drug today - mainly because most of what they have is so much more effective. She said that they prescribe it for pain ... ie., when people have shingles, a lot of times they suffer from pain afterward and are given this drug. She explained that if these are tension headaches, then they will go away with this drug in a week or two. Then at least I will know what they are and will be able to go off the drug and treat it however I choose (relaxation methods, for instance).
I was referred to the holistic health practitioner by a woman who I went to for cranio-sacral therapy last year due to jaw issues (nice call, McAuliflower!), and she really has a great approach. It is always weird to go to someone like that and have them be so intuned to what is going on with your body. I have high hopes that going to her for a while will really help me.
It's just so amazing the effect that different personalities have on something like your health. I have learned from this that I will probablly be finding a new primary care physician in the near future, and that it really pays to continue persisting. Hopefully any further posts about my headaches will be about the fact that they are a thing of the past!
Posted by jen maiser on March 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by jen maiser on March 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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I had a fantastic weekend in the Paso Robles / Templeton area: enjoying wine tasting and wildflowers with my good friend Jen, and visiting another great friend Anna and her family. Picture below is of the lovely Easter brunch we were invited to at Anna's house.
Taken with Nikon Coolpix 5700
1/86 @ F 3.5
Posted by jen maiser on March 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Have I told you about my headaches? I have been having headaches for like a year now, and they are this type that just kill me in the mornings. Just when I am ready to get up and get going, I am completely debilitated by headaches that make me want to stick my head under the pillow for hours.
For the first six months or so, I really tried to fix them myself ... paying attention to everything I could think of: sleep patterns, diet, stress, alcohol consumption. And when I couldn't get them to go away, I finally acquiesced and went to the doctor. At the moment, I am thinking that was a mistake.
I am the type of person who really uses medication as a last resort. It is so difficult to get this through the thick heads of some doctors. I have a speech that I try and give them the first time I see them, where I tell the doctors that I am fine if I go in and they don't give me a medication, or they tell me that I have to let an illness run it's course. After that first visit, they usually ignore me on that point.
Long story short, the doctor (actually Nurse Practitioner, but we'll let that go for the moment) thinks that the headaches have to do with sinus issues. Two bouts of antibiotics in three months, and he says that he won't refer me until I have another sinus infection ... okay. So I go in today, one week and five headaches after having yet another cycle of antibiotics. Obviously, the strategy is not working.
"What I really care about here," I say, "is figuring out why I am getting these headaches."
The doctor SHRUGS. Like that "I don't know and I don't care" kind of shrug that you see in teenagers. He says, "well I can tell you that you don't have a brain tumor." Excuse me, but there are many many things that are between a normal healthy person and a BRAIN TUMOR!
So just take a guess what he suggests: antidepressants. He tells me that since I am getting them in the morning, maybe the antidepressant will help my muscles relax in the evening and then I can wake up without a headache. Think of it like a valium, he says, but without the addictive side effects. I am listening to him very skeptically when he declares the kicker: "Besides," he says, "it will give you a seratonin boost and who doesn't need a seratonin boost. I mean, everyone you know will eventually be on some type of seratonin boosters - it's just what we need in this society. So you may as well give it the old college try."
So far, I have decided to forego the "college try" and the antidepressant starter pack is still sitting in its box untouched.
What happened to the world of natural healing, the world of taking walks and smelling the roses. The world where it was okay for a doctor not to prescribe a new medication each and every time you walk into an office. I really feel like I am no better off than I was when I started these doctor visits - and full of a lot more prescription medication.
Posted by jen maiser on March 24, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
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Greendigit went to the Natural Products Expo, and is going again today. Check out this post for interesting trends and some new products produced by small companies.
Posted by jen maiser on March 19, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Carrie Kilman has writen an excellent article for tolerance.org that succinctly summarizes the issue of food redlining ... the growing trend of large-scale supermarkets moving out of low-income neighborhoods, leaving those neighborhoods without any access to fresh, healthy, low-cost food. This isn't something I have discussed on this blog, but is a growing problem. It would be easy to explain away if it were a matter of pure economics, but this article says that there isn't the data to support that myth.
There are some fantastic non-profit organizations that are working to solve this issue. A local organization, The People's Grocery, was recently profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle for their fight in the West Oakland area to bring fresh fruits and vegetables and natural foods to the citizens there.
The People's Grocery article and Carrie Kilman's article are well worth reading to give you an idea of this growing issue.
Posted by jen maiser on March 18, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)
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Jocie over at Brownie Points is a blogger after my own heart. Check out this fantastic mug that she created. Now everyone knows what they are getting for Christmas this year!
Posted by jen maiser on March 17, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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Joel Salatin's farm is not certified organic. He is one of the loudest voices for sustainable agriculture, and he does not want his farm to be certified organic. This is remarkable, as he is one of the people who sat at the table when the USDA certified organic standards were being created.
Mr. Salatin, who calls his farming practices "beyond organic", says that not being certified organic makes people ask questions. Think about it: You go to a farmer's market and notice a booth that has a certified organic seal and you stop asking questions. You assume, by virtue of that certification that you know all you need to know . I am certainly guilty of that.
The fact is that there are so many variations within organically certified foods that that seal is only the beginning. In an article from Orion in 2003, Michael Pollan said " ... in recent years organic has grown to include paradoxes such as the organic factory farm and the organic TV dinner. And now, there is even organic high-fructose corn syrup. We are not far from organic Coca-Cola." This is so far from the classic tenets of organic agriculture that it is astonishing.
Salatin brings up this point: Using the same theory about certified organic labelling, you'll just to go any doctor who is a "board certified physician", right? No, of course not. We ask our friends, check on education, specialties, etc. We should be doing the same with our food as much as possible.
When possible, we should be interviewing our food producers and, if not finding out specifics about their growing practices, then at least be getting a general vibe about what they stand for. Trust me, I have worked at a few farmstands and farmers are used to (and welcome) questions of all sorts. We should take advantage of the direct buy at a farmer's market to find out things that we can't at the supermarket.
In Joel Salatin's book Holy Cows and Hog Heaven, he says to beware of the small farmer who aspires to an empire, as they are not any different than a multinational company. "He has already made the mental leap, the value compromise to be there. The fact that he has not yet arrived does not mitigate how such a goal will be expressed in the food he produces. The food produced is merely an extension of the farmer's mindset."
Things to watch out for:
Single product focus. Diversified farms do more for the environment and create a lighter environmental footprint than those who sell one or two products.
Trademarks and copyrights. According to Salatin, those who are protecting their product so tightly as to trademark or copyright it are afraid of competition and not confident in their product integrity.
Terminology like "market share" and "economies of scale". These ideas do not mesh with the core philosophies of farm friendly foods and local production. "Natural reproduction is through duplication, not annihilation," states Salatin.
Fancy packaging. It costs more, and requires a large volume to justify it. It is a sign of other decisions the farmer is making to help build an empire.
Autonomy among collaborators. If farmers are so locked into grower networks that they may only sell products through a centralized company location then they are probably empire building.
Aspiring to sell through Wal-Mart. Any producer who aspires to sell at a store where even local products (in the highly unlikely case that there are any local products) must travel hundreds of miles just to return to your local market is "starstruck, not customer struck."
So try it out, find out a story. I am not saying that you have to know the exact origin of everything in your fridge, but it is a fun exercise to start small and ask the farmers about your apples, your ground beef, and your green garlic. For the good farmers, asking them to talk about their food is like asking them to talk about their children ... they are happy to do it and willing to share.
Sources:
* Joel Salatin lecture, UC Berkeley, February 2005.
* Holy Cows and Hog Heaven, Joel Salatin.
* Getting Over Organic, Michael Pollan, Orion Online.
Posted by jen maiser on March 16, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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