Last month, I went to the eye doctor for a check-up. At the appointment, they asked if I would be interested in participating in a clinical study to see how nutrition impacts macular degeneration. Being the nutrition geek that I am, I said yes!
At my first assessment, I didn’t know what to expect other than a survey and some questions. My interest was peaked when they led me to an exam room, sat me in front of a screen and asked me to watch a Youtube video featuring Dr. Oz and Dr. William Li. I wasn’t necessarily interested in Dr. Oz so much as cancer prevention pioneer Dr. Li was a special guest on his show. Months ago, during my research online, I came upon a Ted talk he gave on how we can eat to beat cancer. He is a scientist doing research on cancer fighting foods and I “eat up” everything talks about (ha ha, pun intended). This Dr. Oz segment was all about ANTIOXIDANTS.
I think we all are somewhat aware of antioxidants and free radicals. We know that antioxidants are good and free radicals are bad, but what does that actually mean and how does that really translate specifically to our health? In the video, Dr. Oz introduces a device that measures the carotenoids in our skin which indicates the overall antioxidant health of the body. Say what? A machine that can tell you how high your antioxidant level is? HOW COOL IS THAT??
The audience was a sea of brightly colored t-shirts. Each person in the audience was wearing a color indicating how they scored on this machine. Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, Dr. Oz shared something that looked like this chart explaining that the majority of people in the audience (which were primarily red and orange shirts) were a good representation of America. Red and orange being on the low end of the spectrum. Dr. Oz, of course, did the test on himself and scored in the blue range. Explaining that he just eats healthy, incorporating lots of vegetables and minimal bad stuff.
Isn’t this fascinating?
I was getting excited, anticipating that they had one of these machines in their office. I love being able to measure results and I was curious what my score would be considering the major diet changes I have made since January. The guy conducting my interview was very intrigued by my story. He said it was exciting to talk to someone who focuses so much on nutrition and he, too, was interested to see my numbers. After the videos, he brought out the little machine that Dr. Oz had used. I felt like a girl on the biggest loser waiting to step on the scale and see if all my hard work had paid off. The test was super easy, and after a few seconds of putting my hand on this sensor a digital dial rotated clockwise until it stopped.
My score was 61,000 … in the gray zone which was even beyond the blue zone! WOW! It was a huge validation that my body was in the right range to be battling cancer… or any disease for that matter. I did this scan 2 weeks before my PET scan and I didn’t know that my scan would be stable again, but it did provide some reassurance that I was doing something right.
Eating well is something at which most of us “try” to do better. Busy lives do not make eating well very easy; throw travel into the mix and it’s enough to almost want to throw in the towel. I can personally attest to the amount of planning, diligence, and effort it takes to fuel the body with the right foods. Some days my kitchen is a complete disaster with numerous veggies, fruits, and legumes all spread out on the counter … and it overwhelms me.
I am on a journey to figure it out though and as I do … I will share it with you! I am hoping to refine how to improve my process, be more efficient, gain more knowledge, and hack my way to an easier healthy life. As a side note, I am also gaining some traction with transitioning my family to a more plant-based diet… if it were just me, I’d just east salads all the time, but that won’t exactly go over well with the rest of us. So, stay tuned to see what we are cooking up in the kitchen or better yet, follow me on Instagram: @kaysdailyinspiration
It’s been 2 weeks since our good news… stable is great, but I would like to see better than that in March. Rather than looking at this situation as a fight for my life, it seems more like it’s been healing journey that has pushed me to grow in ways I could have never imagined. Appropriately, I have decided to change the name of my blog to Kay’s Healing Journey and hope to inspire others to improve their health, no matter where you are today.
A huge shout out to Kathy, my dear sister, who came out to stay with the girls while we traveled a few weeks ago. After juicing for me and trying it for herself… she has finally decided to give her own health a boost.
I am so proud of her and Cedric for getting their first juicer and showing off their mad cooking skills.
SO IMPRESSED!!
If you have done something as a result of reading something that I have posted… please share it with me, or better yet post it on Facebook/Instagram and tag me. Seeing people inspired by story brings me a joy that is truly immeasurable!
And while I have spent a great deal time focusing on the physical aspect of healing the body, I give all the credit of my healing journey to God as well as all who are praying for us.
Thank you all for being on this journey with me. ❤️🙏💪
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10
Onward and Upward,
Kay
Dr. Oz : How to prevent cancer: biophotonic scanner
Kay Blackburn 
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