DIARY OF NATURAL HEALTH REMEDIES by Gary Kibsey

This journal originally started out as a diary, but has since morphed into a comprehensive guide through the Natural Health Industry maze… and then some.  You can jump right in and read it from start to finish or you can zoom in on a specific health inquiry; to do so, just scroll to the section entitled, ‘Miscellaneous Health Ailments.’  This section is arranged alphabetically.

I do however strongly recommend that you read the section entitled, ‘Digestion,’ as i perceive this department of our body to be of utmost importance, the root cause of very many health issues.  If you get that right, then you will be well on your way to living longer rather than dying longer… there is a difference.

Note; The information in this blog is not to be construed as advice in any way shape or form; it is merely a collection of my own personal experiences and that of others.  I’d consider the journal a success if it accomplishes one thing; entices you to get off your fanny and research, rather than naively accept the status quo protocol regarding your health.

If you should stumble onto a discombobulated thought, please be patient, this work is under perpetual construction; i will be adding/altering information on a fairly regular basis.  I prefer to do it this way; it allows me to keep information fresh and accurate; i want the liberty to ensure that facts remain just that, and that myths are weeded out.  For example a recent fact/myth issue just came up on my radar revolving around the subject of; viruses, as being; living, contagious microbes.

***You can read all about that in detail in the section entitled; ‘Immune Function.’  Needless to say, i’ve had to renovate my entire book in order to accommodate the new found facts related to this subject.  Conversely; once a book becomes bound and locked up in its pages, it cannot be altered; the myth will have become a poison to the reader.  I dunno; perhaps some day this journal will grow up to be a hard copy book, one that you can curl up in front of a warm fire place and read; howbeit, until then… be my guest and snoop it out online; it’s free. 

Our lives are progressive; it’s a precious collection of knowledge and experience; wisdom being the sum total of the two.  The question is; do we… will we… ever arrive at the ultimate pinnacle of absolute truth while in our physical state of being here on earth?  I think not; therefore, we must continue to humbly adjust to the truth as it presents… and that it will.

Enough philosophy; let’s get on with the facts as we know it.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN:

It all began 45ish plus years ago when i chose to cash in my life as a devout bachelor and commit to that of a husband and father.  It wasn’t an easy shift; the thought of marriage and raising a family scared the living hell out of me to be up front and honest with you.  Howbeit, it did happen; three kids and seven grand kids later, i’m grateful for the opportunity to have been able to experience… true love.

Hmm…, speaking of true and false; that’s not really my wife and me in the picture.  I wish it was; i mean… check out those bodies.  The heads are real but we just borrowed the bodies… kinda like Hollywood does.  Nonetheless; meet Lindy-Mae and Gare-J; we were newly weds, living in a small one-horse town, although i can’t say that i ever saw a horse stroll by; nonetheless, Lindy was 6 ish months pregnant and i was in charge… or so i thought so at the time, anyway.  It all boiled down to me wanting to provide the bestus of care for my precious… ‘family to be.’  To do that, i ventured into a Natural Health Store.  I went over to the book section.  Bear in mind; i was a newbe at the time; i knew absolutely zilch about how the body functioned, nutrition, herbs, vitamins and the likes, but i was sure curious and determined to learn.  Mom use to call me stubborn but i like to call it; determined.  There is a difference; stubborn is when you refuse to move… determined is when you refuse to stop.  I was not only curious and determined, but also a tad impulsive as you will come to know throughout this journal.  I suppose that could really be said about most young people, where passion is in the driver’s seat and caution is locked up tight in the trunk.

However, i returned home from the store that day… passionately determined… and a tad impulsive/eccentric.  According to one book i glanced through; diet was of utmost priority.  As eccentricity would have it, i tossed out the white flour and sugar, followed by a schwack of other crap that i learned to be; not healthy food.  I was later to learn that mid term pregnancy was not an ideal time to radically change one’s diet; however, the internet wasn’t invented yet and so i really had no way of knowing that.

How radical was our diet change?  Well, we were both raised in the north; our diets consisted predominantly of meat, potatoes and pasta.  Salads were scarce and considered rabbit food.  We went from that diet to strict vegetarians; our cuisine revolved around… RAW.  We bought a Norwalk Juicer; this was considered the Cadillac of all juicers at the time.  It tore to shreds and then pressed the crap out of whatever you put though the hopper.  We became juice fanatics; in other words; raw juice became our breakfast dinner and supper.  It might have been good for us health wise; however, it was seriously boring… not to mention the fact that it made us lousy dinner hosts… or guests.

THUNDERING BLUNDER:

I surmised by my intensive reading that i had covered my bases regarding vitamins and minerals; however, our protein intake was apparently lacking… according to the book, anyway.  Nutritional Yeast was touted to yield some extra protein and so i decided to try it.  Hmm… lemme see, i vaguely recall seeing some yeast in our cupboard; after all, Lindy baked bread.  Ah ha… here’s some.  I mixed a couple of tablespoons of the powder into a glass of water, tossed it down the hatch and then drove off to work for an 8 hour shift at the sawmill.  I didn’t think to inquire if there was a difference between Nutritional Yeast and Bakers Yeast; like i said; the Internet wasn’t invented yet and so i just assumed them to be the same.  I soon found out that they were not the same; there was a difference… a verrrry BIGGGG difference between the two.

Nutritional yeast has been deactivated, whereas bakers yeast is very much active, although it’ll remain dormant until such time as fluid is added to it… that’s when the circus began.  Enter Gare, the clown; i had just ingested the equivalent amount of bakers yeast capable of expanding a dozen loaves of bread.  I was soon to experience the ‘power of leaven.’  I’m sure that i had beaten all production records for the sawmill that evening; however not for producing lumber; rather, for producing gas… natural gas.   I was the epitome of bloated.  Every time i moved, a roarin belch and/or rippin fart echoed throughout the mill.  Ugh… talk about wear and tear on the innards… i returned home exhausted.

BIRTH OF THE NATURAL HEALTH STORE:

Speaking of the power of leaven; the Natural Health Industry experienced a fast and furious growth spurt since its inception as well.  The industry began as a tiny seed; a simple, ‘Go Natural’ type of retail outlet… a ‘share… cause we care,’ enterprise… it was far from being a lucrative business at the time.   Its product line revolved around wholesome foods, herbs and vitamins for the most part, and its clientele consisted  of predominantly a young and passionate generation of pioneers known as, ‘Hippies.’  I’ll call them Granolas cause my wife hates being associated with the term Hippy, protesting that it relayed a connotation of uncleanliness.  The truth of the matter is that… we were clean hippies, not like the Woodstock hippies who played in the mud puddles on that so rainy day during the largest music festival in history.   Nonetheless; as demographics would have it, our passionate Granola generation began to age, which spelled aches, wrinkles and sagging body parts, which of course generated a gradual migration back to… the Natural Health store… for natural solutions to their queries, of course.

And so it was… that our tiny, natural health, corner store slowly and steadily evolved into that of an international infrastructure, aggressively climbing the economic ladder in the market place.   The downside of it all was that our once benevolent ‘share cause we care’ industry has since devolved into being just another profit driven enterprise in my opinion… ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling… hear that ol cash register sing!  The Allopathic (Pharmaceutical) health care industry better known as Big Pharma took notice of this demographic economic trend, and that was when the games began.  You see, Big Pharma had been top dog in the health industry for quite some time and it wasn’t about to give up, or even share the market with another.  Consequently, fierce competition along with all of its scandalous ploys soon entered the ring, forcing the natural health movement up against the ropes, so to speak.

Natural health agents were being downplayed as useless magic potions, expensive urine etc. and its advocates called; ‘quacks and peddlers of snake oil‘… a typical ploy of market bullying.  The older generation seems to naively trust the ‘white smock,’ scientific façade;’ however, the ‘now-all-grown-up’ Granolas don’t buy into it.  Although, we had since sloughed the hippy garments and crazy hair styles, we never lost or zeal for authenticity.  Subsequently, we wanted… demanded the real-meal-deal, homegrown and natural.. without the fluff.

Still; Allopathic health care continues to rule the health market today; however; don’t dare mess with it’s tight leashed pet, better known as; ‘the prescribed standard of care;‘ it’s meaner than a junk-yard dog.  Consequently, any agent and/or protocol that advertises the ability to cure any disease… outside of the pharmaceutical standard of care protocol, that is… will reap some pretty serious consequences.  

And so hide the Ginger and Rosemary, folks.  Now, you know i’m not referring to your girlfriends here guys; i’m talking about herbs that grow naturally in your backyard.  These, and many other popular natural home staples are being quarantined and rendered off limits to the sick and needy… and why… because they are considered dangerous to your health.  Go figure… centuries of credible efficacy and safety and yet suddenly; they are considered useless and/or suspected unsafe for public consumption. 

Having said that, in spite of the aforementioned, unethical, business tactics, Allopathic Medicine is not all, ‘Mr. Hyde’ if you will; there’s a Dr. Jekyll to the industry… a benevolent aspect to it, as well.  Some of my family wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for Pharmaceutical health care, and so i’d be foolish to wish it all gone.  However, i do wish they’d drop the $$$ and control priorities and allow natural health care to be available at the public’s discretion.  This would be an authentic benevolent gesture to humanity, indeed.

I’d best leave that subject alone now; i dare not stir the giant.

CREDENTIALS PRETENTIALS:

I just made up the word, ‘Pretentials’ by the way and so don’t attempt to use it in a game of Scrabble or you’ll get busted.  I so hate being asked what my credentials are, although i can certainly understand why one would want to know that.  However,  there are a few angles, other than a person’s education and/or training that should be factored into one’s credentials/qualifications; otherwise, you may be missing out on some genuine wisdom.

Let me ask you this: would you value advice from a marriage councilor who might have been divorced… perhaps, even… several times?  How about a financial adviser, who may have experienced bankruptcy… again, perhaps even… several times; would you consider their advice of any value?  It’d be a different issue if we were talking about… a blind barber… or a dentist with tremors; however, we’re talking about the impartation of wisdom here.

We’d all have to admit to having made mistakes throughout our lives… and each time we did, we would have learned a lesson or two… specifically, how not to repeat them.  Subsequently, your once or thrice divorced, marriage councilor or financial adviser that felt the woes of divorce/bankruptcy might just very well have some serious expertise on the matter to offer, afterwards.  They may even be more qualified to advise on an issue in that they would have experienced both the; successes and failures… bonus.  Even our aforementioned; blind barber and/or dentist with tremors would qualify as valuable consultants; howbeit, not in a ‘hands on’ application.

Moral of the story; imparted wisdom in the end should empower one to discern/salvage the baby from the bathwater, so to speak.

Albeit, the exchange of wisdom is one thing, what one chooses to do with that wisdom is another story… this is where the rubber really meets the road.  I’ve learned an important lesson on my natural health journey; some people you can help, while others you cannot.  Such was the case with my father; he no longer wanted to fight for his life, therefore i was unable to help him, regardless of my abilities/credentials.  Consequently, i could only patiently wait at his bedside, watching as death slowly stole his mind… and then eventually, snatch his diseased body.  His Spirit could not be stolen, for that belonged to One much greater than death and the grave.  That’s a completely different story; ***refer to section entitled, ‘Remedy for a wounded spirit,’ for more on that subject.

Nonetheless; as for my credentials, you’ll not see me clad in a white smock, i get dirty far too fast.  My Mom can attest to that; she used to cover her sofa with a bed sheet whenever i’d visit, a habit she continued from when i was a mud whompin little brat some 50 years prior.  Furthermore, you’ll not see me with a stethoscope wrapped around my neck, unless i happen to be checking out a noise that the motor in my car was making.

My experience and name tags read: Chartered Herbalist, Natural Health Researcher (40+ years) and Applied Kinesionics Practitioner. 

***Refer to section entitled, ‘Alternative Health Practices’ for detailed information on  Applied Kinesionics.

However, my most credible credential is… that i care… care enough to share everything that i’ve learned to be true with you… and to offer it for free… no fine print… strings attached.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT MY BOOK?

There are many books revolving around natural health now in circulation, and so what makes mine different?  First of all, my book is simple and very practical, if i may say so myself.  It’s not littered with complicated jargon and medical terminology as so many others are.  Secondly; my book is the result of over 40 plus years of research; 20 ish years, serving customers in the Natural Health retail industry.  The retail experience offered me a rather unique advantageous observation post as i had access to very many customers, with a wide variety of health issues.  Their personal testimonies revealed to me what ‘actually‘ worked as opposed to what was ‘supposed‘ to work… there is a difference.  In essence, my book has been written by; real people with real health challenges and solutions.

However; i do caution any analytical reader; my book is void of fancy vocabulary and so called; appropriate grammar… diseases that writers can get, in my opinion.  Biggg-n-fancy words may be impressive, but they tend to be confusing to many, especially those who didn’t waste… er… i mean… spend most of their lives in school as i did, and so i avoid using them unless it is absolutely necessary.   As for appropriate grammar… well… i have a good excuse for that as well, although you might deem it to be a tad eccentric.  Many years back when in elementary prison… er… i mean… school… i fell victim to an over zealous, tyrannical English teacher.  He seemed bent on pro-creating a superior race of grammatically-correct English clones… and… well… i refuse to be one of his trophies.

Howbeit; if you can tolerate a schwack of made-up words and out of sorts grammar and sentence structure shortcuts, then i’m sure you’ll find my book both; practical and entertaining.  What-d-ya think; is it worth the read?

BLOOPERS:

The following is not seriously health related; howbeit, it is in one sense, i suppose; it might raise a smile or two… and hey… laughter is like a medicine.  If you are a serious person and would rather just gather facts then fast forward the following; all others; welcome aboard.

As mentioned, i worked in a Natural Health Store interacting with mega customers everyday.  The problem is that i am hearing impaired, no thanks to a train/truck collision many years back.  I now require hearing aids and so don’t always hear things right.  Our store offered a quite wide variety of items, ranging from; vitamins, herbs and specialized foods to mega books and gifts.  While this would pose no problem for someone with good hearing; it certainly did for me.  Consequently; i didn’t always accurately comprehend the customer’s request.

Bear in mind; natural supplements, herbs in particular can have some pretty outlandish names, not to mention how they are often pronounced.  And so every now and again, i’d hear something a little different… er… sometimes… a lot different than what a customer actually requested.  I’ll share a few of those experiences with you and leave the customer’s response to your own imagination.

I said… COOKIES… NOT TURKEYS: A mid aged woman came in looking for cookies; one day; however, that is not what i heard; i heard… ‘turkeys,’ to which i replied; “No, sorry, we’re all out of those… however, we do have some pretty darn good tasting chickens… and they’re organic too… follow me and i’ll show you.”  One can only imagine what was goin on in her brain with my totally unrelated response.  She eventually interrupted my offer with, “I said…. cookies!” to which i replied; “Oh… uh… well… i suppose chickens aren’t gonna work at all then, are they?”  We had a good laugh over it… and like i said; that is always a good thing.

I said… MATCHA TEA… NOT MOCCASINS: This next one was pretty outrageous.  Two young men walked into the store; the younger one requested what i thought was… Moccasins; we sell lots of them around Christmas time.  Gare’s first question was; “Who’s it for?”  I could tell by the expression on their faces that my question appeared a tad irrelevant; however, that was understandable; quite a normal response; besides; it was nearing the end of a very lonnnng day and my wear-n-tear department was nigh at its end.  I yawned and then elaborated; “My reason for asking that was because they come in both men and women sizes; furthermore; they’re notorious for stretching… one increment in size beyond a person’s normal shoe size.”  At that, the younger one awkwardly blurted out, “Ah… well… hmm… i dunno… it’s for my Mom.”  “Okay, so what size does she wear?” I asked.  That seemed to rattle him; however, he remained engaged.  Bear in mind that they were inquiring about Matcha tea… not moccasins.  The two exchanged uncomfortable glances and then the younger obliged with; “I dunno… a medium, I guess.”  “Okay, i’d suspect here to be about a size eight, then; that’s the most popular ladies size… and; if that be the case then i’d suggest you go for a size seven, cause… like i said… they do stretch.”  That did it; the older kid had had enough, stepped up to the plate to end the confusing charade and assertively asked; “What the hell does the size of his Mom’s feet have to do with Matcha Tea?”  Ugh… that was when i realized that i had heard him all wrong; ah… yes… matcha tea… follow me to the tea section already then!

I said… KID’S BEADS… NOT KIDNEY BEANS: A mid-aged couple entered the store; the fella asked for, what i thought was; ‘kidney beans.’   “Ah… what… say again please.” I asked, as i made my way toward him.  “Kidney beans,” he said.  “I believe we do; how would you like them… canned or in a package.”  It appeared as if he didn’t hear me; i noticed he too wore hearing aids and so i was extra patient with him.  He mumbled the same thing again, although a tad louder this time, while frantically scanning the shelves; “Kidney beans… we’re looking for… kidney beans!”  Ugh… now we’re at a stand off; meanwhile, his wife was in the next aisle in the gift section sorting through the jewelry.  The ordeal ended when his wife hollered; “Never mind, I found them.”  As it turned out, they were actually looking for… kid’s beads… properly called; ‘hazelnut necklaces;’ a teething aid… ugh… some people!

I said… OXYGEN… NOT SAUSAGES: An elderly lady came into the store requesting ‘oxygen;’ however, i thought she said/wanted; sausages.  And so i beckoned her to follow me over to the cooler, asking; “What kind would you like; chicken, pork… or beef?”  Of course; confusion stole her face for a few seconds; however, she managed to reset her composure and then… clearly said; “I’m looking for Oxygen… Aerobic Oxygen.”  I turned about face… red faced… and directed her to our alphabetically organized herbal section of natural aids, where we kept the… aerobic oxygen.

Here’s one that could have gone bad… realll baaad.  I said… DANDELION… NOT PANTY LINERS.  Thank God that one never did get off the ground.  After several blunders, i had learned to double check the audio department of my brain for clarity before going too far with a request.  She was actually looking for Dandelion Root not panty liners… there is a difference… a biggg difference.  Don’t ask me how i heard panty liners from that; welcome to the world of the ‘hearing impaired.’

Hang on to that smile; com-a-long then, we now have miles of natural health experiences to explore… here’s the menu;

Chapter 1; DIARY OF NATURAL HEALTH REMEDIES.  You’re already here and reading it.

Chapter 2; JOURNEY FOR LIFE is an eye opener for those with a life sentence chronic disease.  I share some seriously relevant info revolving around my son’s Type 1 Diabetes and my Rheumatoid Arthritis fight.  This chapter is guaranteed to stir up some passion within you.

Chapter 3; LET’S GO SHOPPING is a 1 page fast in-n-out shopping list for a Natural Health Store, where you are guaranteed to get the best bang for your buck.  It is ideal for those who cannot be bothered to learn the ‘ins and outs;’ just wanna subsidize their health naturally.

Chapter 4; PROBIOTICS, ENZYMES, FIBER, HERBS AND STUFF is a more in depth version of the quick shopper’s menu/list and then some; ideal for the reader who has a little more time to read but not all bloody day.

Chapter 5; TERMINOLOGY AND NATURAL HEALTH JARGON is a crash course explaining the jargon surrounding natural health.  Definitely helpful info as it explains the why behind it all.

Chapter 6; DIGESTION is a must read in my opinion.  If i ever decided to print any part of this  book this chapter would be a small book in itself.  If you get this part right… your digestion sorted out… then you will be good to go.

Chapter 7; HORMONES, BEHAVIOUR AND EMOTIONS is a simplified and somewhat humorous review of the Endocrine System.  This is normally a very complex subject; however, add a little common sense and some humour and it remains well within reach of the lay person.  It is a must read for today’s environmentally challenging world.

Chapter 8; HYPERTENSION/CARDIOVASCULAR SUSTEM requires a chapter all on its own; afterall, if your heart stops, it’s game over, right?

Chapter 9; ACHES AND PAINS speaks for itself.  I walk you through the maze of potential natural agents and protocols to offer some serious pain relief/management for some pharmaceutical-fail-to address chronic ailments such as; arthritis, back pain and migraine headaches.

Chapter 10; IMMUNE SYSTEM.  In this chapter, i open up Pandora’s Box.  I begin by challenging the theory that ‘germs cause disease,’ which morphs into today’s Covid-19 pandemic and the supposed antidote… an un-vaccine.  I then offer some insight into the Common cold/Flu, Shingles, Asthma, Eczema, Psoriasis… and then i venture deep into Biggg Pharma’s controversial playground of artificial immunization.  Lastly; i attempt to make some sense out of so called; auto immune diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes, Lyme’s disease, Lupus, Lou Gehrig’s and more.  It’s a must read for those who are chronically ill and just don’t know why… or what to do about it.  Medical professionals too may benefit from this out-of-the-box perspective on these life sentence illnesses, mind you; i don’t expect to make any new friends sharing this research.  Medically trained people in particular often tend to write off anything/anybody outside of the Pharmaceutical, prescribed standard of care protocol as quacks; however, i owe it to humanity to share my knowledge freely regardless of the opposition.

Chapter 11; VITAMINS/MINERALS FACTS AND MYTHS speaks for itself.  It’s a comprehensive guide to understanding natural health supplements, many of which are far from natural, i’m sorry to admit.  It might be a tad controversial for a natural health practitioner and/or natural health sales personnel.

Chapter 12; MISCELLANEOUS HEALTH AILMENTS AND AIDS is an immediate reach-for reference for those who just want to fix their nagging health issue and again; too busy to read too long and deep.  I’ve arranged it alphabetically for easier access.

Chapter 13; GARE’S HALL OF FAME is a chapter devoted to supplements that i deem especially magical/amazing and therefore; worth investigating and/or accessing.  Some of these are not easy to access but where there is a will, there is a way.

Chapter 14; THE MYSTERY OF WATER; don’t let the title fool you; this is truly an enlightening read.  Not all water is created equal.  We are made up of over 70% of this wet stuff and so if you can wrap your brain around the differences then you are well ahead in the race… the human race, that is.  Hmm… the same race that nobody ever wins, incidentally.

Chapter 15; ALTERNATIVE HEALTH PRACTICES AND TECHNIQUES reveals natural innovative health devices/technology and techniques, many of which most people never knew even existed.

Chapter 16; REMEDY FOR A WOUNDED SPIRIT is by far my fave work.  It has been my experience that the many people that i succeeded in helping with their health had an issue in their Spirit department more so than in their physical body.  This too would be a small book all on its own worth printing in my opinion.

Chapter 17; CANCER; this too requires a chapter all on its own.  I tackle the facts and myths surrounding this health issue as well as offer many natural alternative agents and protocols, some of which you may never come across anywhere else.

Chapter 18; COVID CIRCUS.  Trying to make sense out of a cataclysmic event that began in 2019 and is still going on.