Headache and common sense

Headache and common sense

Headaches are a part of life for me. They didn’t use to be. I could do almost anything, eat anything and feel great.

15 years ago I was living in Kansas, not far from the Missouri border. I could stand on top of the hills and see the Missouri river, it was so beautiful. It wound around the scenic valley’s. Catfish longer than your arm, it’s waters were wide and deep. There was one hill I visited along that river where I could look out into the distance and see 3 states.

I rented a small farmhouse outside of Wathena, Kansas. It had been built around 1850, just before the civil war. There was an old wheelbarrow there, rusted and worn. It was nearly buried under all the rubble in that old barn. I dug it out and looked at it closer, iron wheel, and heavy! Must have weighed 75 pounds.  The original owners had homesteaded the land and that old wheelbarrow had been pushed by a former slave all the way from the deep south. I loved that old farmhouse, thought I would be there forever. I had 400 acres to wander. There was a lot of history there. Indians, settlers, pioneers, and now farmers.

Most of the neighboring farms were growing corn, soy beans or maize. It was the thing to do there. Giant farm tractors pulling huge implements. Several times a year the farmers would fertilize with anhydrous ammonia. Someone thought terrorists might use it to build a bomb, so it is guarded closely behind locked gates now.

It was there on that Kansas farm where I learned about headaches. Lots of them. I wondered why I had developed them. 

When it rained in Kansas, it could really rain hard. Many times the rains were the result of tornado’s. I came close several times to being in the middle of those storms. We had a storm shelter, built by a prior tenant. They were smarter back then. Thankfully, I never had to use it. When the rains came in torrents and the rain blew sideways, most of the neighboring farms would drain into my 400 acres. I had some large fishing ponds there on my farm. They had fish in them, beavers had built a number of smaller ponds below. It was an ideal place to watch nature in my own backyard.

But those headaches! I started taking Excedrin, it helped for awhile. Then the rebound headaches began, caused by the Excedrin. One night after a particularly bad headache, I thought about my life style and wondered if I might be causing these headaches. Let’s see ... I would stop before working and get a refill of my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper. I love Dr. Pepper, I thought he was the best kind of doctor. I stopped at lunch and got a refill with my sandwich. On the way home I would stop again and get a refill of my favorite Doctor. I lay in bed thinking about my doctor of choice and I had a revelation. I consumed over a gallon of Dr. Pepper every day. I wonder if Dr. Pepper might be having an effect on my headaches? Duh! Of course, it was. I guess I just didn’t want to see it.

I went cold turkey. I quit the Excedrin, quit the Dr. Pepper, and I began to look at everything else around me. I began to read the labels. It took me months to educate myself. I wondered about all of the ingredients in those packages on the shelf. I had to buy a food dictionary to decipher the chemicals. Sheetrock? Yep, one of the fillers in those national brands. Bread is a simple food, right? Ever wondered at all the long names in that long list of ingredients?

The food giants of this country are poisoning us with all of their chemicals. It’s all about the bottom line. How to make a food product last long enough to make a profit. 

MSG, that is the one that cause’s most of my headaches. The industry calls it Natural Flavor. It causes obesity, it is highly addictive, it crosses the blood brain barrier, causes the synapsis to fire uncontrollably until they burn out. Ever wonder why you crave a certain food?

I went fishing on my pond, caught some fish and thought I would eat them. O my God! Those fish were deformed. I decided I wouldn’t eat those fish. I wondered how many other foods had been poisoned and polluted.

It has been many years since I met my friend, Mr. Headache.  Mr. Headache has been my teacher. Teaching me how to take control of my life and health.  The food industry that practice these trends? They should be renamed. The Twinkies. Those that fall for the advertising hype?  We should be called, The Dingdongs.   ORGANIC! He is my new best friend and Doctor.

Mr. Organic, has taken on an important role for me. Basic ingredients, cooking from scratch, home gardens, these are all my new doctors.

When I am invited to eat with family or friends, I always ask questions. Don’t be offended at my boldness, it’s just that I know what is contained in most of those packages on the shelf. Home cooking? That’s for me, real natural flavors from wholesome ingredients.

I have to thank Mr. Headache for being a wise teacher. He taught me to look within, and to listen to a wise old friend named, Common Sense.

Ask your Doctor? I think not! I will ask my good friend Common Sense, he is never wrong.