(Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Cheeseslave, and Me)
Today has been packed full of information, good nourishing food, and wonderful conversations. So far being at the conference has exceeded my expectations by far! One thing that I was not expecting was how encouraging just this first day has been personally. I keep really fairly motivated in eating nourishing, good quality foods. But all of us can get a little weary. This has been the encouraging kick in the pants for me that we all can need. If you can, I definitely recommend that you try to come next year! You will learn so much.
Today I went to the first two sessions of Radical Medicine by Dr. Louisa Williams. Some of you asked about it. So much good information; I am still processing it. Definitely try to get the CD if you are at all interested.
First she built the case against conventional medicine. She felt that conventional medicine doesn’t answer the question of why you are sick and that the advice and information given from most doctors are not helpful as they don’t address the main reason of illness. In fact, she quoted from experts who believe that allopathic medicine is the leading cause of death in America.
From that point she went into a three point definition of “radical” medicine. 1-Extreme 2-Going to the Root Cause of the disease 3-Having a fundamental or far reaching effect. Going through three general case studies, alzheimer’s, breast cancer and IBS, she shared what conventional medicine advises and then what a more holistic treatment would be. She especially stressed dealing with any mercury problems and fixing any teeth issues by qualified holistic dentists. Allergy issues also came up in her advice, saying that dealing with those problems was an important part of the healing process.
Also, a very interesting point that she made was how when you read in the past, naturopathic doctors were able to have amazing results with very simple remedies, results we just don’t seem to be able to reproduce now. She feels that we have so many angles that we are being hit with in our modern world- so many toxins from so many things- that it takes more to heal us now. I found this interesting because I have wondered about that very thing.
While this is a very brief overview, you wouldn’t believe how much information she packed into her sessions! There was a lot of ground covered. I loved how she addressed toxins in cosmetics and body products. This is often the last issue people address, but she believes that you can have a huge load of toxins from using products with ingredients like “parabens”. She also recommended a favorite resource of mine, EWG.org, a wonderful website, as well as sharing her own personal list of products that are both very safe and work well found at the radicalmedicine.com. I think that it’s so sad that we can be trying so hard to nourish our families health by the food we eat, only to expose them to a high amount of toxins with our cleaning products, body products and cosmetics. I really appreciated this point because I think it’s so often overlooked.
Later in the evening I was able to listen to Anore Jones, who lived in Alaska for many years, in a session entitled “Sacred Foods from the Frozen North” . She shared how the fish, meat, fats, berries, greens and other edible food from the land is gather and caught, processed (dried, frozen) and eaten. I had always thought of the Eskimo diet being a little limited. But in this talk, she really showed how much variety of foods is found in Alaska and how the different ways they prepare the food gives a lot of variety. It was really interesting. From my notes here is a very partial list of foods eaten: Frozen meat-cut into thin slices and eaten (apparently it doesn’t taste raw when frozen), broiled salmon, half dried salmon, frozen, then broiled, a wide variety of greens picked at the peak and then preserved in seal oil (Anore discussed how the greens help preserve the seal oil and the seal oil keeps the air from the greens so that they are equally good for each other), a wide variety of berries picked through the summer, willow leaves, edible flowers, young greens, fish eggs dried and roasted. The speaker was practically drooling as she described how good some of this food was. She also said she loved how simple the traditional preparations were. Fast food at it’s best.
Last, I’ve been really enjoying meeting all of the sponsors for the conference and tasting their delicious products. Some of the sponsors of my blog from Real Food Media were here as well and I was able to have some great conversations with some of them (and taste some of their new products).
(Did I mention how good the food here has been? I love it. A conference with all nourishing, delicious food. So worth it to come).
Meanwhile, you will find me here.
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Sam
Awesome! Thanks for the update–can’t wait to read about the rest of the conference!!
BTW, shouldn’t the EWG site be a ‘.org’?
KimiHarris
Thanks! You are right. This conference is wearing me out and I am sure I am making lots of typos. LOL!
Jane
I have a homeopathic doctor and it is amazing how QUICKLY my children get better with the treatments when a conventional doctor often gives antibiotics. My theory has always been that since they were breast fed, eat mostly organic foods, live in the country and still have immature, pure bodies, the treatments have a great impact. While us adults aren’t as pure (at least most of us) and the effects aren’t as radical. I was interested to see that you wrote it in your article. Maybe it is true!
Kimberly
What a great time! I am fully planning on going next year. I’m hoping to get my own nourishing food blog started soon.
Doctorr Forall
Well said, and as always everyone has an opinion that may not coincide with others and be the only correct one. Well, thank you
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
I love the picture of you, Kelly, & Ann Marie! You are all absolutely glowing. I am definitely planning to attend next year – I haven’t been blogging terribly long so all of this conferencing is new to me.
I am going to check out the sites you suggested. I feel like a ‘blog-stalker’ of sorts – I’ve been commenting on so many things I’ve found here. Although my diet is healthy – composed of totally unprocessed foods – the soaking and sprouting is new to me. I’ve learned so much. I have some quinoa soaking now for dinner and realized I’m out of cheesecloth (how did that happen??) so I have to make a store run before I can sprout. I think that growth and change is one of the very few constants in life – and it really does bring me great joy as I learn more and my diet changes.
KimiHarris
Keep blog stalking! That’s great. 🙂
Cook 4 Seasons
Thank you so much for the details already! I know you are busy there – absorbing a boatload – and we all so appreciate your taking time to share highlights.
I just attended the Green Festival in SF yesterday which just touched the surface of what you’re experiencing. We were also fortunate to enjoy nutrient dense, fresh food – much with a WAPF bent;-)
Have (more) fun!
Jessie
So nice to see your smiling faces!
Wow – I was a bit overwhelmed to start thinking of all the things that the Radical Medicine session brought up. It seems that there are so many needed changes sometimes that I get discouraged. But after a few hours, I realize I need to just keep going with whatever I can do & keep trying to add.
I thought one time, you made a passing reference to making your own cosmetics or beauty products. If that’s the case, I’d love to know recipes for those kinds of things. One thing that is SO annoying is that the things that are better for you almost always cost a lot more money. It would be great to learn how to make some of these things more cheaply.
thanks as always!
Melanie Christner
Just a note on making cosmetics/toiletries yourself…the Passionate Homemaking blog has some good recipes. Just google her…
KimiHarris
You know, the speaker was really also helpful in the Q & A in sharing first steps for people. So don’t be overwhelmed!
I will definitely share what I do for my beauty routine! It’s frugal, green, and good for your skin!
Melanie Christner
I can feel the excitement of the conference and kick myself for not trying harder to make it happen. I will go next year, and plan on it all year!
Marillyn @ just-making-noise
Keep the updates coming! I really hope to go next year or someyear :o) LOL!
Mary P.
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing the information you are learning from these classes.
Nanci Garon
Thanks for sharing! Dr. Louisa Williams is someone I would love to have heard!
After having lived in Alaska for 12 years, it is great to be reminded of some of the special treats!!
Debbie
How cool! I’ll dream about being there! You all have a great time and soak it all in for us anxiously awaiting updates!
Marisa
If you can, take pics of the food! Sound wonderful! Enjoy.
Dara Casey
The natural cleaning products and personal care products are a huge piece of the allergy and toxin puzzle. My house has been cleared of store bought chemical products for 5 years now. I met a woman – Karen Girardo- through Dr Nicoletti and my world has changed. She has found and makes very good cleaning products using ONLY essential oils. They actually work..and better than the ones that are full of chemicals! She is in Amherst NH and you can order through her website. http://www.justnaturalproducts.com I also use her personal products: hair, face and body lotions. I have an easier time trusting that her products have nothing hidden in them because I know her personally and know her story. The catch is that even products like Mrs Meyers that look like they are all natural and therefore would be healthy for you are not. Mrs. Meyers has 20% of the product that is “scented”-ie chemical. This I can tell by just smelling it. Once you have been away from perfumes and scents…it’s easy to pick up on the culprit!
Elizabeth
Ok, does Cheeseslave look like Meg Ryan or is that just me? 🙂
I look forward to hearing about your beauty routine! I recently started the oil cleansing method for my face, but with high-quality coconut oil… I love it! Just that and rinsing with tepid water in between. No breakouts, smoother softer skin…
Elizabeth from The Nourished Life
I love coconut oil as a moisturizer and cleanser. It removes eye make-up in a snap – I was surprised how well it worked when I first tried it. Soap nuts are also a great way to clean naturally. I mainly use the for laundry, but from time to time I’ll whip up some soap-nuts liquid as a household cleaner. You can even make shampoo and facial wash from it!
Kierlee Shaver
I love reading your posts and updates on the conference! My son (now four) is mercury toxic from the amalgam fillings I had when I was pregnant and nursing. We have been doing detox for 2 years, and he is doing much better, but we have a lot of gut healing to do. I would love to see about getting the CD you mentioned from Dr. Williams and was wondering if you know how I might get one? Thanks so much!
God Bless You!!!
PS- We absolutely love your caramel corn recipe (I used jaggery as someone suggested… it is incredible).
Rachel
Thanks for blogging the conference! I so very much want to go next year. In the meantime though, I’m definitely ordering the conference audio. What other talks do you recommend?