Injury Week

Something went wrong with my left wrist earlier this week. A little bone seemed to stick out further than the same on the other side, and it very quickly went from no pain to excruciating within a couple of days, with redness and much swelling.

Yowch! I couldn't bend my wrist at all and had to keep it straight with the fingers extended, ALL the time.

After bearing the pain for more than a day (and relying on my family to help with everything), I finally decided to get medical help (the crazy tolerance of women, ha ha). The X-ray showed that a piece of bone fragment, possibly from an earlier injury, that, combined with the activity from volleyball, led to inflammation of the area.

The doctor prescribed some NSAIDs, which worked very quickly to reduce the pain and swelling, although the area is still red. I shall have to consider whether it would be necessary to have some minor surgery to remove the fragment. *shudder*

In the meantime, I concede that I have to do something about my bones d:(

My parents are chasing me to take Calcium supplements, but in light of all that I have read about those (ground up rocks and oyster shells?? who wants to eat THOSE??), I am going to try to persue a more food-based approach. 

I've learnt that calcium absorption is closely tied to Magnesium, Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 as well. 

So let's begin with foods that are good sources of Calcium, in a form definitely more bioavailable than oyster shells and rocks (YUCK!)

1. Sesame seeds

2. Sardines, canned in oil with bones

3. Yogurt, unsweetened

4. Spinach, cooked

5. Collard greens

6. Almonds

7. Broccoli, raw

I eat all the above, and enjoy them very much. Hurray for me!

For Vitamin D, going out everyday is all the vitamin D I need.

Next, Vitamin K2 - natto, and dontcha know it, it's one of my favourite foods, haha.

Lastly, Magnesium. This is rather more tricky, and the only thing I can be sure of is that it should NOT come from magnesium stearate. I need to go find out more about this.

Meantime, no volleyball for me *sob sob* for at least a week. And I will need to find a wrist guard to support my wrist when I play.

What does this all mean? More shopping, yeah!

10 Superfoods to eat

Thank you Dr Mercola for the condensed list. We will eat more of these:

1. Avocado
2. Broccoli
3. Spinach
4. Berries
5. Wild salmon
6. Coconut oil
7. Bone broth such as chicken, beef, pork stock
8. Fermented vegetables (I just made a new batch of kimchi!)
9. Raw macadamia nuts
10. Green tea (unsweetened)

And try to avoid:
1. Beans
2. Unfermented soy
3. Dried fruits

We're already eating homemade, full fat yogurt.

The Dangers of Excessive Childhood Vaccinations

Got this from Mercola.com
By Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.

"I find it interesting that there exist an incredible double standard when it comes to our evidence versus theirs. The proponents of vaccination safety can just say they are safe, without any supporting evidence what-so-ever, and it is to be accepted without question.

Yet, let me, or anyone else, suggest that excessive vaccination can increase the risk of not only autism, but also schizophrenia and neurodegenerative diseases, and they will scream like banshees – Where is the evidence? Where is the evidence?

When we produce study after study, they always proclaim them to be insufficient evidence or unacceptable studies.

More often than not, they just completely ignore the evidence. This is despite the fact that we produce dozens or even hundreds of studies that not only demonstrate the link clinically and scientifically, but also clearly show the mechanism by which the damage is being done -- even on a molecular level. These include cell culture studies, mixed cell cultures, organotypic tissue studies, in vivo animal studies using multiple species and even human studies. To the defenders of vaccine safety -- our evidence is never sufficient and, if we face reality -- never will be."

I shudder whenever I think of those 5-in-1 and 6-in-1 vaccines. To give a vax is bad enough, but to give ALL these live and attenuated viruses AND their toxin-laden preservatives and additives into the young, young body of an infant younger than 6 months old, and THEN to repeat the darn thing at least twice over the course of the next year or so?? I wouldn't do it to myself, much less imagine doing it to my kids.

I confess that there was a time when I took all of this for granted, which is why Ray has got all her jabs ON TIME up to about 9 months of age (but never the 5 or 6-in-1). It MUST be okay because

1. it's been done for so many years

2. the government says it's ok

3. I had them and I'M fine

4. my parents are nurses and they know what's best

5. (this comes as an afterthought) I don't know anyone or their kids who has autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc. Heck I'd probably never even HEARD of these disorders at the time.

Then I met the right people, who taught me to think for myself and question the "facts" and BOOM! it all changed. (So much for the "thinking-out-of-the-box" I was supposed to have learnt in school.) I learnt to trust my natural instinct (heh!) and make my own deductions based on my own research (ok I didn't do any studies but I read the studies of others).

It's tough converting the people around me. Most of them have the exact same mindset that I used to have (see points 1 - 4 above), and old habits die hard. Few like to break out of their comfort zone. Even fewer dare to challenge the powers that be, in Singapore. In the end, I'm satisfied if I can at least have the final say over my own children. Thanks to Amy, who really taught me that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

F&N refuses to disclose source of Fresh Milk

I was doing some simple "research" on fresh milks available in Singapore recently, and found that most brands of fresh milk state their source of milk clearly on the carton. For example, Farmhouse is from Australia, Brownes is from Indonesia etc.

However, I checked a few times but never found the source for Magnolia Fresh Milk, possibly the most popular brand of fresh milk (and generally the most costly). So I decided to do some digging. I looked for the telephone number of F&N Singapore, distributor of Magnolia milks, and called their customer service hotline.

When the operator (or whomever) answered, I said I was calling to find out where their milk came from. So I was transferred to another person, a lady who asked me WHY I wanted to know their sources. Well, basically because I want to know where the milk I drink comes from, which country.

She replied that she was unable to disclose their sources, but it COULD come from a few different countries. I pursued by asking whether it is from the Australasia area or Indonesia, but her only reply was, "I cannot tell you". Dodgy, ain't it? She later said that countries may include Vietnam, Thailand and a few others, and that the milks come into Singapore and are packaged here after quality control.

So now I have a picture of different qualities of milk coming from different tubes into one central tank and getting all mixed up and swirled around. Ew.

In any case, I've never thought it was worth spending those extra cents on that brand, although Magnolia Fresh Milk always did taste good and has the longest shelf life for fresh milk. (Side note: does this mean that they pasteurise their milk beyond the usual temperatures? Another uh-oh). I used to get one carton of Fresh Milk and one Chocolate Fresh Milk (yeah yeah, I know it's got milk solids, but it IS yummy!) whenever there was a "2 for" offer, but since our Bangkok trip I've discovered Meiji Choc Milk which we all like (and is cheaper but has a shorter shelf life), so Magnolia has left our lives for some time.

So one of my short-term goals in life is, find a continuable source of RAW MILK, or at least get a taste of it.

Only Fermented Soy is Healthy

Non-fermented soy products such as whole soybeans (fresh or dry), soy milk and even tofu, are not good for us, because unfermented soy contains various toxic compounds:
#1 is phytic acid (phytates) which binds to certain minerals in our digestive system, hindering their absorption.
#2 is haemagglutin, which causes red blood cells to agglutinate and inhibits oxygen take-up.
#3 enzyme inhibitors - hinder protein digestion.
#4 but probably the worst - they contain high levels of isoflavones (aka phytoestrogens), which mimic and can block the oestrogen in our body.

Fermenting soy drastically reduces the level of isoflavones, reduces the phytic acid level, and also improves the essential amino acid composition in the soy product. It even creates natural probiotics! So what are the great soy products to eat?

1. Miso
2. Nattou (I've always wanted to try this but didn't have the guts)
3. Tempeh (something I never liked since young but will put aside my prejudice to try again)
4. Soy sauce (go for trusted brands of traditionally fermented soy sauce and beware of chemically processed ones)

Must limit myself to one cup of soy milk per week.

So the US Government has conceded that Mercury does cause Autism

When will OUR government do the same? I have no idea how far behind we are on these issues (for example, do we still have thimerosal in our vaccines?) but I'm not counting on us being up-to-date enough.

*Flu shots contain thimerosal as a preservative.
* Thimerosal is 50% ethylmercury.

I am very thankful that Ray, who has had every recommended shot so far, shows no sign of adverse reactions. Ruvie has always been more sensitive to everything, so he's only just had the first 3 DTPs and we're now waiting for another year before the booster is administered.

In America, there are ways to legally avoid vaccines, such as the Religious Vaccine Exemption and the Philosophical Vaccine Exemption. What exemption grounds do we have? Allergy to thimerosal? Do we need a doctor's letter for that? I would really want Ruvie NOT to take the MMR. I am currently collating all the suggestions and experiences of other moms before me, and hoping I can find a way out of this situation.

I'm glad for one thing at least - HL supports me on this. It would be tough to choose to walk this way if I were alone.

UPDATE: Pat has reminded me that it's not just about mercury. What about Aluminium, another neurotoxin? If we're cracking down on all Aluminium cookware and such, what about Al in vaccines? I'm not sure whether this link is still working, but it's definitely worth reading.

And of course, there are the vaccines themselves. Live and/or attenuated viruses, all to be introduced into the immature immune system of a young child, preferably before the age of 2. Gulp.

Food safety

I've recently been bombarded with a lot of info on keeping toxins out of the food and drinks that we consume. Among the great and easy-to-read articles are:

Plastics
More on Plastics
Aluminium

Avoid:
Using plastics labelled with recycling code #3, #6, #7 (unless labelled as bio-based plastic), ESPECIALLY if it's polycarbonate, which is under #7
Using plastic containers to contain hot food or to heat food
Plastic bottled water except in areas where other water sources are questionable (eg. in BKK)
PVC-based cling wrap (mine is LDPE)
Aluminium cookware unless they are made from anodised aluminium
Aluminium can drinks (gosh, this is sooo hard!)
Canned foods

Cut down on:
Table salt, use a natural salt instead
Baking powder unless it's labelled as aluminium-free
Aluminium foil for food
Anti-dandruff stuff if it contains Al
Disposable containers in general

I am glad that both the kids' sports bottles turned out to be #4, since they both love their bottles so much - Ray's is Disney Princesses and Ruvie's is Dora, yep, DORA. Tomorrow I shall go and check the plastic feeding bowls and cutlery they're using.

I am VERY sad to discover that Avent milk bottles, the only ones I feel have suitable teats for breastfed babies, are made of polycarbonate. I hope they upgrade soon to a safer type of plastic, more customer feedback would help. It is interesting though, that Avent's Magic Cup is made from PE or PP, safer...

Many thanks to Lynnette for your posts on Asiaparents. I've been procrastinating about doing the right thing, but you've woken me up.

Asthma

It is just too bad that Ruvie, who has received loads more breastmilk than his sister ever did, is so much more susceptible to asthma. He has probably been to KKH more times in his three years than Ray ever did in her six. And in the KKH records, his diagnoses have been classified as Asthma, whereas Ray's are shortness of breath, bronchitis, and never Asthma so far.

I always hoped that they could both escape the fate I have, the horrid feeling of not being able to get enough oxygen, and when I was older, the fear that I could die. Asthma is not something that you can "leave for a while, see if it gets better". But it looks very much like Ruvie is definitely going to follow in my footsteps. And I had hoped that breastfeeding him a lot could have helped him escape it.

It is interesting though, that Ray is more like my sister, who has slight asthma and bad eczema. I on the other hand, have bad asthma and slight eczema (Ruvie's like me). Thankfully, I don't have to take regular medications to control my asthma, well, my asthma specialist is unhappy about it, but I have found that my current regime works well. I am also very glad that from my own medical history and experience, I am able to deal better with my children's illness.