"There's something in the water"

http://www.ecoblog.co.za/

In the first book I read by Dr John Lee (An American gynaecologist who passed away in 2003) about Menopause, he mentioned briefly in one paragraph about the Chlorine levels in American tap water and also about how President William Clinton was planning to get rid of it at the time.

Only after finishing reading the book did I go back and think about it. If Chlorine in tap water influences our hormonal balance, then men can be affected too and so can babies, children, teenagers and the elderly. In other words, a message which was originally intended for menstruating and menopausal woman actually has relevance to everyone!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/

Last week, I needed to go through to Canal Walk at Century City (Cape Town), to fetch my repaired smartphone. While looking for the Vodacom shop I spotted the H2O store and decided to go in and chat with the guy there. They offer a number of purification systems so I asked questions about our water in Cape Town to find out what it might mean for all of us Capetonians.

He indicated that there are indeed traces of chemicals and metals in our water. He was able to do a Chlorine test for me right there and explained that each time he does this test it can show different results, indicating changes in the amount of Chlorine in our water. The result I saw was bright yellow, meaning we have a high level at the moment.

I must admit, as a hairstylist, I started to have conscious but unvocalised suspicions about our water last year as I began noticing increasing hair loss and related problems from a wide variety of my clients (of all ages, races and lifestyles).

Is there really "something in the water"?

I suspect that there is, and I suspect that it is having a remarkable impact on people. A dermatologist I had a consultation with last year, confirmed that prolonged exposure to water can lead to skin problems, sometimes even bizarre problems that doctors cannot account for (in other words they regularly misdiagnose and mistreat problems related to water exposure).

From reading Dr John Lee's book and researching on the internet, I have been led to believe that exposure to chemicals (xenoestrogens not poisons) through your skin can influence your body's chemistry more rapidly and with greater intensity/influence than consumption of chemicals (xenoestrogens).

So I looked into the purification systems at H2O. A filtration system for your whole household will set you back 15 - 25K ZAR. For your drinking water via your kitchen tap, it's about 2500 ZAR. For a shower head, it's about 500 ZAR. And there is also a unit I could use for my salon basin, also a few hundred rands.

Shucks, money down the drain or money well spent? I'm beginning to think that this is one of those times where "many a true word was spoken in jest" and there genuinely is 'something in the water'...

Did you know that over the last hundred years industrialisation and marketing has forced us to shampoo our hair and do it more and more frequently? Generations before us didn't wash their hair as often as us, and didn't experience nearly as much hair loss (especially as young as we are experiencing it) or oily scalps, and dry/itchy scalps, as much as this generation is.

I don't believe we are soooo much more stressed than they were or that our genetics have somehow changed. I suspect our bodies are being weakened by the chemical build-up in the environment through the last hundred years of industrialisation.

Here's some interesting info I found on "healthy water", particularly drinking water but it is also used for restoring health through bathing:

http://www.scientiaweb.com/

Wiki on mineral water
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_water

Also wondering if carbonated water makes any difference?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effervescence_(chemistry)
I'm unsure about it. If you have any info, please let me know :)

Mineral waters of the world
http://www.mineralwaters.org/index.php

To create your own mineral water:
(1) Pour purified, filtered water into a glass bottle (Plastics can deteriorate and contaminate the water. Also, drinks taste better in glass don't they?! You can buy a glass bottle at the health store, specifically Wellness Warehouse sells brands of water in glass.)
(2) Add a few drops of concentrated minerals, also available from the health store. I've used ConcenTrace.

To create your own Ancient Sea Bathing experience:
(1) You can fill the bath water at any temperature you desire/require
(2) Add Ancient sea salts and enjoy a revitalising soak. I've used AIM Cell Welness Restorer (It literally prevented me from going into cardiac arrest thanks to my mother's care and expertise when I had overdosed on a product which made my blood pressure 'explode').

http://www.styles-guide.com/

Cold bath is good for fever. Hot/Warm bath is good for pains and insomnia. Bathing in sea minerals can also be used for stress, arthritis, Alzheimer's patients, autoimmune diseases, improve immune response and improve male reproductive function.

I hope this blog has been informative and helpful.
Cheers to enjoying more of the good healthy water and less of the 'bad' water!

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Making Headway

I haven't posted anything in a while since I've been going through hectic stuff. I've hardly had energy to keep my life on track nevermind blog about it but I've learnt a lot - and fast. That's the intense part. Learning fast. In life, we usually learn things progressively but every now and then you just have to learn fast or you'll wipe out... Like a Roman Gladiator training in a gauntlet...

Modern meaning of Gauntlet (as per Google): Go through an intimidating or dangerous crowd, place, or experience in order to reach a goal.

I have quite joyfully discovered ways or means to cope and alleviate my symptoms (mood swings, hot flushes, mental confusion, poor memory, poor concentration, chronic fatigue, inability to cope with stress.. I think those are the main ones that have been affecting me daily/hourly/minutely, ugh let's cut to the chase, 24/7!)

I know many people have been praying for me and I appreciate it. I've also needed it more than at any other point in my life. I've been so close to death on occasion that I may even have got an early pass to the 27 Club but that isn't for me by the grace of God! And luckily I'm also not a musician and I'm not famous either!

Thank your for all your prayers and what not. And in the words of those little toy aliens in Toy Story, I am eternally grateful! :D
— Catherine Faull (@catherinefaull) March 6, 2012

I have discovered that my problems could not be fixed by getting my vitamins, exercising, using stress-relief strategies, prayer alone or spending time with positive people. Many people have made their suggestions and believe me I have tried these things. I am not so unlike yourself. I mean I did have a brain once - hahaha. Ok, that was a joke! Laugh! But something else was/is wrong that I needed to learn about, and I am still learning about. It's straightforward and exceptionally complicated all at the same time. Even doctors have no idea of the full story.

I have tried to tell/teach doctors what I have learnt and they tell me honestly they have not heard of these things before. One told me that what works for me might not work for others. If that is true, then how come the sources of my information and solutions are labelled for fatigue and they have been helping me. Somebody somewhere has done some research and found answers (This is a highly understated sentence), but who is willing to listen?

I really need other people to be on the same page with me. I need people (and the better "my solutions" work, the easier it will be able to listen to you, so you might not want to warn me against recovering haha!).

The original sources of my information have been Mary Ann Shearer (You can see her speaker's bio here and website here) and then a book by Dr John Lee who has passed away (His website still serves to inform and educate doctors and patients here). Both Shearer and Lee has researched hormones and the environmental influences on our endocrine systems. The primary recipients and interested parties are women but the more I learn about this the more I am realising that our hormonal/endocrine systems are being influenced regardless of age, gender or other factors.

I had no idea how crucial this topic was until recently and the more I talk with people (who would otherwise appear 'normal') the more I realise that everyone has one thing or other they are dealing with with regards to their hormones. Here's a list of what appears to me these days to often and highly likely be related to hormonal imbalance: (I've underlined the most widespread ones)

fatigue/improportionate exhaustion/difficulty getting up in the morning
difficulty falling asleep/insomnia
stress
mental confusion/learning disabilities/Alzheimers/poor memory/poor concentration/ reduced ability to listen/ forgetfulness
muscle weakness (If you're not as strong as you used to be it may not be just aging, genes, poor diet or stress)
bi-polar/mood swings/depression/mania

infertility (men and women)
improportionate irritability/aggression (road rage?)/bitchiness/PMS
endometriosis, polycystic ovaries (I don't know if I'm spelling these things right)
side-effects from the pill eg. migraines, depression, lowered immune system
post-natal depression

poor blood sugar balance
high/low blood pressure

If men still don't think this applies to them: consider the prevalence of baldness and hair loss, as well as a tendency towards fatty chests otherwise known as man-boobs or moobs, or also a tire of fat around the waist that you can't budge. These are all hormone-related!

When you realise that cortisol is a hormone, that is used by our bodies during times of stress and illness, you will then 'see' how we are using it up faster and requiring more of our bodies from a younger age than any other generation has before. Plus the chemical environmental (tap water, skin products, manufactured consumed chemical foods/drugs) in which we live is affecting our bodies without our conscious awareness or consent!

What we think is 'normal' these days is nothing like what previous generations experienced! Our 'normal' is not normal! In fact, an example is the prevalence of PMS and menopause symptoms.. they weren't such an issue in previous generations or even in non-westernised cultures. Also have you ever thought about why cancers of the endocrine system are becoming SO crazily common? Yes, I know, you'd rather not think about it, but if you do you'll start to notice the trends.

Ugh, I know many people won't want to hear or consider this. They'll think this doesn't apply to them and they may think they are immune but I want to start somewhere to make people aware of this and to show right from the beginning how serious this is.

I also didn't listen when I first heard about 'hormonal imbalance'. I only thought it applied to older people... you know, like the middle-aged, but truth is it's affecting all ages now and it doesn't matter any more how good your genes are because the balance isn't just programmed by your genes but also being influenced by a progressively larger amount of chemical influences in the modern world.

I've started taking responsibility for this new awareness in my life and things are falling into place. I am getting better at managing my propensity towards experiencing adrenal insufficiency (which is pretty much the same symptoms as menopause in my case) and I am not just willing but enthusiastic (as much as a previously fatigued person can be) to share this with others. I am still learning how to do it with moderation as I have a tendency to either overdose or else underestimate my need for help. I'm still learning, but thank God I'm making some serious headway on this journey :)