Things I Have Tried Lately

I found these Merrell Barefoot Glove shoes new at the thrift store for $10. I just added a missing button to the side for closure. They have really thin, flexible soles which mimics the feeling of walking barefoot while still being protected from broken glass. Like Vibram Five Fingers, except less funny-looking. I love them! Until now I hadn't really considered how sensitive the bottoms of feet are and how much sensory experience I miss out on wearing normal shoes. I like being able to feel variations in my terrain, and having a firmer grip on the ground. Until now I was a Kalso Earth shoe devotee, but I'm switching my loyalty. Apparently, walking without arch support actually strengthens your foot muscles and gives you all the support you need, provided your soles aren't stiff and immobilizing those fine muscles.

I was in the market for a better shampoo, and decided to take the $20 plunge and buy this soap nuts shampoo because it had amazing reviews and was the most environmentally friendly, chemical free shampoo on the market. Despite the steep price tag, it hasn't been that great---I have to wash my hair twice to get it clean, and sometimes it will leave my hair still dirty if I don't really work at it. There is a reason companies put endocrine-disrupting immunotoxins in hair products--they make your hair soft, clean, manageable, and shiny. I'm not sure it can be replicated without the bad stuff...but I'll keep looking.

This summer I've been reading Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis about how the genetic modification of wheat over the last 50 years has essentially made it a different plant. He proposes that a large portion of the population has inflammatory responses to this new food. As the title suggests, it also makes you gain abdominal fat, as wheat spikes your blood sugar higher and faster than table sugar--isn't that crazy? Einkorn wheat was around in 10, 000 B.C. and has never been hybridized. The company Jovial makes pasta with einkorn wheat, which we tried for the first time this week. It was great, didn't taste any different, just more expensive. 

I started taking this liquid iron supplement last week, after reading that persistent fatigue and lightheadedness when standing from a crouch are signs of iron deficiency. I have a ton of energy now, and I haven't even remembered to take it twice in one day yet, as the bottle suggests! (In fact, I've forgotten to take it at all a few days.) The tough part is remembering to take it 30 minutes before eating. It just tastes like a sip of mixed-fruit juice, which it largely is.