I haven’t had health insurance for most of my adult life. My approach is generally to do what I can to prevent illness or accident from landing me in the hospital. I also have to stay on my feet to keep working because I am self-employed. There are no sick days or vacation days in self-employment land. If I don’t work, I don’t eat or pay the rent or the other bills. Over the years I have gathered information and a small number of things that I have found keep me well so far (knock on wood). I hope you’ll find something useful here for you, as well.
Oregano Oil has been my saving grace. It is an oil pressed from the leaves of the fresh oregano plant, so it’s not cheap. It takes a lot of oregano to fill one gel capsule with oil. The amber colored capsules are not too large. I take two at a time when I’m sick or feel like I am coming down with something. I take 2 capsules 3 times a day, or 3 capsules morning and night. I do this until a day or so after I feel better, just to make sure whatever made me sick is all the way gone. The beauty of oregano oil is that it’s a naturally occurring anti-biotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal, so it pretty much covers everything that ails you and you don’t need a prescription, which I could not afford. It helps me get over colds and flu and a friend who was plagued by near constant yeast infections found it finally broke the cycle for her. I first heard about it when someone told me that it was being used to treat staph infections in hospitals. I am religious about keeping some in the house at all times. Don’t take it if you are allergic to it, and if you already take medicines make sure you ask your doctor or pharmacist if oregano oil is okay to mix with whatever else you take already.
If I do come down with the flu, I take a homeopathic flu remedy made by the French company Boiron. They have an excellent reputation in Europe, and my friends and family and I have found this to be very effective in alleviating symptoms and cutting down our recovery time. Less miserable and back to work faster, can’t beat that! It’s called “Oscillococcinum”. No one I know can pronounce it, including me. I put the oregano oil and the flu remedy in my Amazon store so that people could see what they look like. If you can’t find them in your local drug store or health food store, you can always order them from here, but mostly it’s to familiarize you with the labels and what to look for.
My main anti-cancer supplements are Vitamin C (the chewable “Oranges and C” from Trader Joe’s, 1000mg tablets) and my favorite: Pu-ehr tea. The tea (pronounced like the English word “poor” but stretched into two syllables) has 70 times the anti-oxidants as green tea. It comes from 700 year old trees in southern China near Vietnam. These trees are a prolific and an easily renewable resource, but the quality of the tea can vary greatly. I find it at World Market for $9.99 per foil pouch. Each pouch lasts me about 10-12 days, but for keeping me healthy, and considering I brew each batch at least twice, I find the cost reasonable. Be wary of anything really cheap. The quality goes down with the price, and so does the flavor. It is important to note that this tea is from China and must be rinsed. By that I mean you pour boiling water over the leaves as though to steep it, but after 8-10 seconds you pour the water out. This is rinsing your tea. I use a strainer that fits in my cup. If you don’t do this step with Pu-erh tea, it will be bitter and have an unpleasant aftertaste that no amount of sweetener can mask. Speaking of sweetener, I use honey with this tea. I have two cups every morning, and it leaves me too full to eat afterwards. I have to remember to eat before. It has that effect, the feeling of fullness, and Asian women call it “a diet tea”. I am not fat by most people’s accountings, but I noticed my belly was more flat after a week or so of regularly drinking this tea in the morning, and so did one of my friends who tried it. For some, that is a side benefit. For others, it could be dangerous. If you need to eat in the morning, do so before you drink Pu-erh tea.
Co-enzyme Q-10 is good for several things: It rebuilds gum tissue if you’ve have receding gums and it promotes heart health by reducing the plaque build-up in your arteries. I take it to keep my heart healthy. It comes in different sized doses. I like to take the 100mg dosage twice a day, one in the morning and one at night. Ask your doctor (if you have one) if it’s okay for you to take, especially if you already take other medicines.
Flaxseed oil is an Omega-3 fatty acid. I prefer it over fish oil because it doesn’t stink. Nothing worse than burping up fish oil all day after taking the pills in the morning. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to help with heart and brain function, soften the skin by moisturizing with “good” oils from the inside, improve eye health, and probably a number of other things that I don’t even know about yet. My main reason for taking flaxseed oil every day is because it helps with ADD/ADHD, and it is natural. More on the ADD/ADHD topic another day, but for now, know this: Omega-3 fatty acids are known to help the synaptic gaps close, so that when your brain’s neurons fire, the signal gets all the way to the other side. What this does, then, is help you complete thoughts, which helps with focus. It takes 3000mg of flaxseed oil per day to make a difference in ADD/ADHD symptoms according to medical literature, but I notice improvement when I take 2000mg per day. That is not to say there is not room for even better results with another 1000mg, but I find that my skin and hair get too oily if I take the full 3000mg per day. I prefer the Barleans brand of flaxseed oil sold at health food stores. It comes in a black bottle, and I get the version with the blue label since it has the highest lignins, which I find to be the most effective. I take the 1000mg soft gels, one in the morning, and one at night, but I used to use the liquid version and add 1 Tablespoon to my oatmeal in the morning. I quickly found I had to cut my usual amount of oatmeal in half as the added oil filled me up so much faster. Add the oil to the already cooked oatmeal, and keep the liquid version in the fridge.
Ayurvedic medicine (traditional medicine of India) prescribes that we drink a glass or two of water each morning before eating in the morning, usually soon after waking. The idea is that this water flushes out the kidneys and the intestines, which in turn make your body work far less hard throughout the day. Most styles of medicine (Western, Chinese, and Ayurvedic, for example) will tell you that if the kidneys are not functioning well, every other organ is adversely affected. It’s simple and inexpensive, effective and you’ll love how much better you feel during the day. The amount of water is based on your body size. The bigger you are, the closer you want to get to two glasses of water each morning. Smaller persons should stick closer to one glass. I drink one and a half glasses most mornings, and use this water to wash down my supplements.
The rest is just staying out of trouble. I used to be a much bigger risk taker, but now I don’t go out on New Year’s Eve or climb high ladders, am careful on the stairs, and so on, because I have two kids who need me and no medical coverage should something bad happen. If I get medical coverage again I may take up skydiving, etc., but for now I am happy to be careful.
Here’s to your health! May you live a long and healthy life :-)
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