Has a doctor ever scared you? Have you ever felt intimidated by a medical professional who was insisting you follow a course of treatment that’s mainly focused on prescription drugs? Has a diagnosis ever been delivered in a way that left you feeling frightened, shaken or disoriented?
Unfortunately, it’s a tactic used by some well-meaning doctors to get their way, without giving you the option of taking control your health.
In sharp contrast, the Save Institute is dedicated to providing the information and resources that the Medical Establishment doesn’t share. And we know full well that it’s also important to address the emotional impact of a diagnosis that confirms a ‘disease’, such as osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Today we’ll look at 10 effective ways to recover the calm, the positivity, and the self-assuredness than can be stunted by the shock of an osteoporosis (or other) diagnosis.
How you feel really matters. Emotions, as much as they seem intangible, are rooted in the physical, neurological, and hormonal systems of your body. And the way that you feel isn’t even the final result; the changes to those systems that create the experience of your emotions have a physical impact on your body as well.
When you experience stress, regardless of its source, your adrenal glands start to produce cortisol. In a normal situation, in which something stressful arises and your body releases cortisol, the hormone helps your body to overcome the situation and then cortisol levels go back down. That’s a good thing.
But if this happens too much, if the stress is ongoing, your cortisol levels remain elevated, leaving other systems shortchanged for the energy, resources and attention they need. Cortisol is known to steal potassium from bone cells and reduce intestinal absorption of calcium.1
Plus, cortisol is acidifying, meaning it directly contributes to the acid/alkaline imbalance that leads to bone loss.
When you’re chronically stressed and you’ve crossed the line that divides cortisol being useful to your body and entered the stage in which cortisol is harmful, in addition to the detriments described above, the hormone weakens your immune system.
You see, stress hormones interfere with the communication between the cells of your endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. This is a result of their impact on the thymus, the gland where lymphocytes are produced. You might know lymphocytes by their common name: white blood cells. On top of disrupting the production of white blood cells, stress hormones also inhibit the production of the substances that stimulate their activity: cytokine and interleukin.
So while cortisol and other stress hormones are not the direct cause, they weaken your body’s defense system which can allow pathogens to take hold.
Fortunately, you have the power to consciously prevent excess stress by engaging (or not engaging!) in certain actions. I’ve compiled ten powerful ways for reducing stress, improving mood, and shaking off the negative feelings that can get their start in the sterile and too often threatening environment of a doctor’s office.
This is an important first step to combatting a state of mind that most tend to skip over. Just ignoring a feeling, pretending you don’t feel the way you do, is a classic form of “bottling up” your emotions. And like that metaphor suggests, it doesn’t help your feelings change or dissipate. It just pressurizes them for a later explosion.
It’s normal to feel stressed, negative, depressed and frustrated every once in a while. That’s a part of being human, and we all know that life has its ups and downs.
But it’s important to not obsess over your negative feelings. If you keep thinking about them, you’ll create a negative feedback loop that will consume your energy uselessly. So once you’ve acknowledged how you’re feeling and given yourself permission to feel the way you feel, take a moment to direct your attention somewhere else.
One way to do this is taking a few minutes to sit still and focus on deep breathing. Just observe the way you breathe, and focus on the sensation of your breath entering and leaving your body. Make sure you’re breathing down into your abdominal cavity, and not up into your chest. You can read more about bone healthy breathing here.
Another possibility is to dedicate a few minutes to observing what’s going on outside of yourself. Look out the window and just mentally make note of everything you see: the colors of the dresses of the people passing by, the direction the wind is blowing, the temperature of the air, and the warmth of the sun.
Now you’ve given yourself the space to be where you are, without fixating on the problem. You’re ready to start trying some of the next actions.
While you’ve acknowledged your feelings and escaped your own head, those feelings and the sources are still swirling around inside. Find a release for them.
This can be as easy as talking to someone: a spouse, a friend, a therapist, a neighbor. And if you just need to put your feelings to words and be heard by an open ear, let your listener know that’s what you’re looking for.
Some people prefer writing to speaking, especially if social interactions make them feel stressed. A journal, a scrap notepad, or a computer screen can serve the purpose equally well. Writing about your feelings can be a powerful ritual to identify exactly what is bothering you, and then being able to close the book, crumple the paper, or file it away.
There will always be bumps along the way. Don’t let setbacks knock you off course, and don’t feel like you’re a failure because you didn’t accomplish a goal perfectly the first time.
Every time something goes wrong, you learn from it. That learning is valuable, so don’t dismiss a mistake or a misstep as useless. Embrace what you now know, and use it to march forward! If you’re too scared of making a mistake, you’ll never take action at all, and the stress of worrying about potential mistakes is probably making the situation worse.
Get specific about it. Specify what you’ve learned by a situation gone awry and put it in words to yourself, to someone else, or on paper. Then make a note of how you can avoid that pitfall next time. You’ll get back on track more prepared than you were last time, and without the stress of fearing you’ve gained nothing along the way.
Sometimes, when certain life events are getting you down, it winds up feeling like a train wreck that you just can’t stop watching. The traffic of your life can snarl to a stop as you keep rubbernecking at the one thing that isn’t going well. So get back on the highway and stop gawking at a source of stress.
Intentionally take a moment to examine some parts of your life that are going well. These can be tiny, large, tangible or intangible. It could be the houseplant that’s flourishing, the volunteer position where you’re deeply valued, your consistent exercising for your bones, or your great taste in shoes! Even the fact that you’re consciously taking a moment to use this strategy is one new habit that you’re accomplishing. Focusing on those parts of your life will distract you from the source of stress and get you moving forward again.
Thinking is easy. And when we’re stressed we get caught in that nasty feedback loop of thinking about why we’re stressed, then feeling stressed about feeling stressed, and so on.
Instead of dwelling on why you feel stressed (which may not be a factor under your control), think about how you can change the way you feel. Outline for yourself the small steps you’ll take to improve your mood and leave the stress behind.
By doing this, you can escape the paralyzing feedback loop of self-analysis and get refocused on actionable steps that will lead you to a better place.
You probably heard about writing gratitude lists, or making a daily habit of meditating. You can use a small version of this idea any time.
When you’re feeling tempted to give in to feelings of sadness or stress, fight back by articulating some things you can be thankful for. These can be incredibly simple. In fact, sometimes appreciating things we too often take for granted is the most impactful redirection of energy.
You might take a moment to inwardly (or outwardly!) express your gratitude that you have drinkable water, that you have food to eat, that you have a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in, that you live in a place not under continuous threat of war or famine or disease.
Sometimes it feels like everything is at rock bottom. Different problems converge and make each other worse. Stress becomes overwhelming and it doesn’t feel like things will ever get better.
Check in with what you already know: if you’re at the bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up. Sometimes things have to get rough before we can muster the will to tackle the challenge of changing them. Remember that circumstances can and will change, like they always do, and that your desire to make things better will steer that change in the right direction.
Sometimes the key to escaping worry is to get active. Keeping busy and active is important, and sometimes the ‘doing’ itself is more important that what you’re doing. Create some habits that help you move forward every day.
Set yourself a few simple goals and write them down. Once you’ve accomplished them, check them off your list. Subdivide larger tasks into smaller steps that you can complete one by one. This may help you to get started and avoid feeling paralyzed by how much you have to do.
It’s easy to get lost in a nightmarish web of hypothetical situations. Vague fears, and what-ifs can overwhelm you and leave you stressed and inactive. Falling down the well of imagined disaster scenarios can create more problems than whatever triggered the fears to begin with.
Once you’ve nailed down the actual worst possibility you’ll probably find it’s not as bad as the monsters your brain conjured when you let it run wild. Now you can assess how to avoid that outcome, and what you’ll do if it does happen. Having a worst-case plan can help you stave off the anxiety that makes it more likely to happen.
Often the best way to calm the mind is to engage the body. Leave your worries behind by occupying yourself with an activity that has positive benefits: exercise.
For example, you could go for a walk or a jog; maybe it’s throwing a frisbee with a friend or partner in the park; or maybe it’s joining a yoga or dance class. Exercise improves mood by releasing endorphins and directly reducing cortisol levels. Plus the benefits to your cardiovascular, muscular, and immune systems all work together to keep you feeling good.
When you’re fighting the stress that deteriorates bone, exercise is a particularly impactful response, because of the benefits of exercise to bone health. When you engage in weight-bearing and other targeted exercises, the muscular force that is applied to your bones actually stimulates new bone growth.
The Densercise™ Epidensity Training System was created to provide the maximum stimulation for bone growth. If concerns about osteoporosis or osteopenia are part of what causes stress in your life, then Densercise™ can help assuage your negative feelings in multiple ways. Not only does it offer the stress reducing benefits that all physical exercise offers, but it’s directly and efficiently addressing the source of your concern.
I hope that these suggestions prove useful, and that you remember that you’re not alone on this journey! We’re all experiencing the ups and downs that are a normal part of life. And if you’re reading this, you’re already well on your way!
I started with these exercises last year. six months after starting, I had my 2 year bone scan, it still shows osteoporosis, and the doctor begged me to take the Fosamax, which I couldn’t if I wanted because of the side effects (my esophagus is bad now.) apparently he didn’t pay attention to the numbers because I noticed a tiny note that said I had improved bone density by 1.7%. a tiny improvement, but I was only on the program for six months, so I am very encouraged by the exercises. next time I have an appointment I will point out the improvement. Can’t have a scan for another year and a half, but I am convinced it will be better.
Thank you for sticking with all of us that are fighting Bone Loss. Stress is a real pit fall. I fight it all the time. Life is so complicated. You’re right, if we dwell on bad things long enough, they will affect our overall health. I plan to reread my Save Our Bones manual. Bless you for doing so much research.
Regarding my previous note on using essential oils to help with bone density, MAKE SURE that the oils you use are pure, organic, and unadulterated, otherwise you will get no clinical benefits and the whole exercise would be futile. So sure that the oils are of the best quality from a reputable source and not cheap over the counter stuff.
if you are on WARFARIN or Aspirin you can use the, if on any other meds please consult a qualified Aromatherapist before using them.
I am studying aromatherapy and have come across information that applying essential oils topically on bones may help in increasing bone density. Try using cypress, fir, and helichrysum essential oils mixed with a carrier oil such as grape seed oil. Mix 15 drops total of the three essential oils in 30ml carrier oil and have it massaged over your body or the area that has most bone damage and in need of bone repair. Apply oils topically 3x daily to area. You need to give it some time to take effect, but this is a natural solution and worth a try.
Thank you! Interesting to explore – would be good to do a study of a number of people to see the effects. I’ll have a go.. 🙂
I am disabled with Osteoporosis having lost 9inches in height, and am unable to leave the house on my own. In a wheelchair every bump hurts. I am unable to do the exercises. Is there any I can do sitting down?
You may want to check out some ‘chair yoga’ videos on YouTube. You can start and stop them as you need to. I attach a link to one for people in wheelchairs, below in this comment. All the best to you and try to keep moving. Take care.
Thank you v v much for this article and all the links that you put in it as well. It has come at a good time for me as I have been almost beside myself with stress for a month, pacing up and down at night etc etc. I knew it was bad for me but I just couldn’t stop the loop. I am 70 with osteoporosis.
I have tried looking at various websites talking about bad mistakes and stress and they haven’t helped as they seem directed at younger people with time to rectify.
However, your article and all the links have made a difference already. The link to foods to relieve stress and the wonderful video in that link particularly. I watched and listened to it a straight 6 times, all the while sniffing lavender oil from the bottle. I live in England UK. and the song is ‘Fall comes to New England’.
Thanks to you and your article and all the links to more information I think that I have turned the corner and that I will sleep tonight. Thank you so much.
You have given yet another gift – this one a special help for an intangible lots of us deal with, but may have a hard time getting a handle on. (Some of us have been struggling for years.)
Thank you so much for adding these clear, highly effective, accessible tools! Once again, you’ve made all the difference. Plus, you’ve made it Christmas in May!
Thank you Vivian for this email. I think you may have just answered the question of why I have osteoporosis. Since having C.F.S. in my mid thirties I have had high levels of cortisol in my blood and a low white blood count. I feel stressed and also suffer panic attacks. I also have very low sodium levels. I am now in my mid sixties and have acquired other health problems along the way. I try to follow your advice as much as possible. I was told when I was 57 that I had the bones of a 90 year old and because I refused to take medication I will not be seen at the clinic again. I hope they feel proud of their scare mongering.
hi vivian i would like to find out how to detox and a good probatic to take can you help me thank you bea
When I was diagnosed with osteo. 20 yrs. ago I was told I had the bones of a 70 yr old and I was only 60, my doctor told me not to stand on any ladders and put me on Fosamax which I took for 11yrs., for a yr. and a half my body froze up for being so careful, I went to an other Dr. and she sent me for physical therapy the instructor was
very helpful in educating me about osteo., once I got my head thinking in the right direction I was able to cope with my diagnose. I have been following your program for several years and are so thankful for keeping me educated on this subject.
I have a definite diagnosis of osteoporisis that deteriorated 50% in 5 years. I have constantly resisted drugs as I react badly to most. My consultant basically told me that if I feel and fractured my vertebrae that I would die. When I was tearful he then told me I was depressed…. so now all I do is cancel the appointments as I can’t deal with his aggression….
Yesterday my bone density was so bad I started to cry. I have lost 3 lbs since my last scan. I have fought with them about going on forteo. Now do I really have a choice. Anyone know much about it? Everything I read is negative as I fade away I am frightened. I am so thin and have severe scoliosis. Thanks anyone who can help!
Terry, you may not realize it, but you have already taken the most important step in recovering your bone health: you’re reaching out! You’re clearly seeking information and researching your options, and you’ve tapped into a supportive and knowledgeable community. Please take some time to search this site and connect with other Savers, and you’ll feel much, much better as you begin to realize you have positive, drug-free options. Hang in there!
I read all of the emails you send, and I practice most of the healthy helpful and healthful tips you offer…BUT, today’s list, with the extremely meaningful and clear explanations is the BEST yet! I am fortunate to have made these 10 steps a part of my life for most of my life, and I can attest to the value not only of Positive thinking, but Positive Living. Exercise, Yoga, Meditation, refocussing, sharing and expressing gratitude all create and reinforce the foundation of a healthy and happy life. We are part of the Universe, built from the same material…it’s SO good to recognize and honor that. Thank you!!!
There are fascinating connections between bone health and your sense of smell, Lin! You might like to read this post, which discusses a French study that uncovers a link between the sense of smell and bone density:
Today we bring you a recently-published meta-analysis (a statistical procedure used to assess previous research studies) that has laid to rest a long-standing argument on the value of low-carbohydrate diets. In fact, this study confirms a desirable outcome from moderate protein consumption and ample complex carbohydrate intake.
This is especially relevant, since diets that profoundly reduce carbohydrates and replace them with animal proteins and a variety of fats, such as the Atkins diet or paleo diets, have become popular in recent years.
The Save Institute has advocated a pH-balanced diet from the get-go, which requires consuming moderate amounts of protein and plenty of healthful carbohydrates. We’ll analyze this fascinating study and its positive implications on life extension and more.
For this groundbreaking study, researchers in the United States examined 15,428 participants aged 45-64 years in four US communities to investigate the association between carbohydrate intake and mortality. Their primary question was simple: Does carbohydrate consumption impact longevity?
To answer this question, the researchers asked about the dietary habits of the study’s participants via detailed questionnaires to learn about the percentage of carbohydrates in their typical diet. Twenty-five years later, 6,283 of those participants had died. Researchers then charted the relationship between the deceased participants’ carbohydrate intake and their lifespan.
The researchers also examined other studies from around globe comparing the lifespan and carbohydrate consumption of an additional 135,335 people. The conclusion was overwhelmingly clear:
“Both high and low percentages of carbohydrate diets were associated with increased mortality, with minimal risk observed at 50–55% carbohydrate intake.”1
This outcome is a strong reinforcement of The Save Institute’s long-held dietary guidelines, which emphasize a well-rounded diet that maintains an alkaline pH.
By learning the dietary habits of 15,428 participants then comparing the occurrences of mortality 25 years later, researchers found that people who eat a low or high carbohydrate diet don’t live as long as people who eat a moderate amount of carbohydrates.
While the researchers connected low-carb diets with earlier death, not all low-carb diets were the same. Participants who replaced carbohydrates with animal fats and proteins died younger than those who replaced carbs with plant sources of those nutrients.
“Low carbohydrate dietary patterns favouring animal-derived protein and fat sources, from sources such as lamb, beef, pork, and chicken, were associated with higher mortality, whereas those that favoured plant-derived protein and fat intake, from sources such as vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, and whole-grain breads, were associated with lower mortality, suggesting that the source of food notably modifies the association between carbohydrate intake and mortality.”1
While this study didn’t examine the causes of death, all animal proteins are acidifying, which would have had an impact on the health of people consuming large amounts of those foods.
Of the participants who ate a low-carb diet, those who replaced carbs with animal fats and proteins died younger than those who replaced them with plant sources of those nutrients.
The message is clear- a diet that comprises ample carbohydrate consumption is associated with the longest lifespan, but the type of carbohydrate makes a big difference.
Simple carbohydrates refer to sugars like fructose, glucose or sucrose, starches, and polyols like sorbitol and mannitol. With such a range of sugars, it should come as no surprise that they have different effects on the body.
Your body quickly breaks down simple sugars like monosaccharides and disaccharides, causing an insulin spike. They make you feel satisfied, but their energy is short lived. You find these simple carbs in sweets, foods baked with white flour, and fruit juice concentrate.
Complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides) take longer for your body to break down since they contain starches and fiber. These foods cause a more gradual increase in insulin, controlling the release of insulin. Complex carbs include legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Spikes in blood sugar have been linked to cardiovascular problems and even cognitive decline.2 Fortunately, it’s possible to find out which foods cause this unwanted physical response by checking their glycemic load.
Glycemic load describes how much a single serving of a type of food will increase your blood sugar level. Nutritionists based glycemic load on an older model for describing the impact of foods on blood sugar- glycemic index. Glycemic load is a more practical measurement because it describes the effect of a typical serving of food. Whereas, glycemic index describes the impact of whatever amount of that food would contain 50 grams of carbohydrates- no matter how much or little of the food that may be.
Raisins, for example, have a high glycemic load. So even though they’re a fruit, they aren’t as healthy as the carbohydrates contained in a portion of food with a lower glycemic load. Strawberries, on the other hand, have a low glycemic load (and many health benefits!)
A moderate-carbohydrate diet is the healthiest choice, but simple carbohydrates put a strain on your body- spiking your blood sugar, and causing other detrimental health issues. Complex carbohydrates, like those found in legumes, grains, vegetables, and certain fruits provide more benefits without spiking your insulin.
The meta-analysis we reviewed in this article further confirms the many health benefits of a pH-balanced diet, including an increase in life expectancy.
Just a side note-I have breast cancer and it was highly suggested by my Dr. at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas to eat a very low carb/20 carbs or less daily ketogenic diet. Testing with the urine test strips to make sure they turn & stay purple. Then as long as my weight is with in a good range & my body can handle the adding of very healthly carbs at 5 carbs more per day & if the strips still are turning purple daily then that is good. If the strips stop turning purple, then its too much carb for your body to handle and cut back on carbs again to 20 till purple again-then add 1-2 carbs more each day till you find your bodys max allowable tolerance for carbs. This way you have no extra carbs to gain weight on (If over weight, you will lose weight if you stay on this plan) and no extra carbs to feed a cancer tumour. This will help to shrink tumour and starve any other cancer cells circulating in your body. It is definitely working/ it is a strict way to eat-but it is worth it if it kills cancer cells!
What u hv to say abt fruits sounds confusing. On the one hand fructose u say ia simple carb, and on the other u include fruits in the list of complex carbs. Is there something in fruits which makes the fructose into a complex carb?
The study you cite is misleading in more ways than one. No single diet fits everyone. A minority of people tolerate carbs and they are generally thin. Most people, particularly those prone to weight gain should avoid carbs, particularly grains and choose only low-starch vegetables. Legumes are also problematic because of their anti-nutritive effects.
Since caloric content is used to define diet type, and non-starch vegetables and berries contain few calories any healthy non-vegetarian plant based diet like paleo appears to be low carb. If a study does not take into account food types and puts together Atkins and paelo diets it should be an indicator that the study is highly if not intentinally flawed.
First, it was flawed because it was done using food questionnaires. People cannot reliably recall what they ate, and some would even lie, thinking that’s the best answer (versus the actual truth of what they ate).
Second, it is misleading because of how they defined a low-carb diet. I believe they said it applied to those who ate less than 40% of their calories as carbs. That is laughable. In the low-carb community in general, keto eaters and such, many would be eating fewer than 10% of their calories as carbs. Show me a survey where they evaluated truly low-carb eaters and then I might pay attention.
You mentioned that one must be careful to identify complex carbs such as legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables because they produce a more gradual release of insulin. This again (as per Dr. Davis) is misguided advice. Yes, the insulin response may be slower than with simple carbs, but it can still be dangerously way off the chart with complex carbs. How can you tell? Eat a couple of slices of whole-grain toast, or a bowl of oatmeal, a cup of brown rice or a ripe banana and test your blood sugar 30 – 45 minutes later. Chances are it will have skyrocketed. Don’t let the safe “complex carb” advice fool you. Do your own testing with a finger-prick glucose device to get to the truth.
We appreciate your input, Malcolm. Please check out this article that further explains your arguments:
I agree with Robert’s comment. People who use glycemic index and glycemic load can easily fall into the trap of continuing to consume too many carbs. I like the advice of Dr. Davis (the Wheat Belly guy). He says do not look at glycemic index and load. Instead, track your net carbohydrate consumption at each meal instead, and keep it under 15 net grams. Ideally, space your eating periods 6 hours apart and don’t snack between meals. This will prevent sugar and insulin spikes that could indeed still occur if people follow your “glycemic” approach. Dr. Davis says anyone can monitor his or her glucose response after eating by using a finger-prick device (like diabetics do). Simply measure your blood glucose before eating and then retest about 30 – 60 minutes after you started eating. If the number remains the same, that’s great. If it rises, then you have eaten something that was too high-carb for you, and/or you have probably consumed too many carbs at that meal. Maintaining supreme blood sugar control will reduce/prevent the common chronic diseases of today. Unfortunately, reading headlines from studies that appear to be valid (but are actually terribly faulty) will not help people achieve health. And I’m sorry you shared this story with your readers because it can be very misleading.
What amount of animal protein is considered “moderate” or “low” in this study? What was the threshold of animal protein that appeared to induce risk of premature death?
The study focused on carbohydrate consumption, and as quoted above, the ideal consumption was determined at 50 to 55% percent.
I don’t think that answers Christine’s question. You mentioned 50-55% carbs, but there is no breakdown of the remaking percentage of how much of that is fat versus how much is protein.
Also, I find the headline of this article very misleading. The study was about high vs low carbs not protein amounts.
GI = 100gram serving of a food or drink is subject to a blood glucose test whose resultant GI number is then related to consuming 100grams of glucose which is a GI of 100. EG An Avocado is Approx 30.
The human body on a plant based diet would not normally consume foods lower than a GI of 30. Eating foods with a much higher level of GI causes Glycation which leads to advanced glycation end products, AGEs (at the point of eating). This is made worse when grilling or roasting the foods before consuming and much worse if consumed with meat proteins. If you consume a mixture of foods one with a GI of 40 and one with a GI of 10 the resultant GI is the average.
GL is a confusing system using the average of the day to allow people to eat high GI foods. EG it allows a person to eat 50% of the meals in the day with a GI of 100 and the other 50 with a GI of 10 and then claim this is OK as the GL is only 55. This is crazy as the Glycation damage is done after each meal and it does not even mean mixing two foods on the same plate. Email me if you want me to clarify the above as this box was not made for so much text.
For the last 3 years I have been sort of following the Banting Diet here in RSA. Low carb and sugar. I have not gone for high fat. I eat berries, occasional banana and citrus, tomato, avocado ,broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, pumpkin and butternut/squash, chicken, minimal beef and mutton, fish, almonds, and I add a slice of either rye bread or wholegrain bread. I also have the occasional small slice of cake. I have 1 glass of red wine/day and 1 square of dark chocolate. no sweet , fizzy drinks and coffee/tea with sugar replacement. I lost 7 kgs and am maintaining my weight. occasionally I get palpatations after a meal (?serving too large) I am 74 yrs old, weigh 67kgs and go to gym at least 5 times a week. should I make any changes or is this satisfactory.
I remember reading a book that said tomato’s are constricting to the arteries. … If it helps. All the best.
Thanks for sharing your diet, Penny. It sounds as though you’re on the right track. To get more information on the pH-balanced, bone-building nutritional plan, you can search our articles. Here’s one to get you started:
The Save the Confluence (STC) families are currently in a battle to stop a bill that proposes to construct a tram at the Grand Canyon Eastern rim. However, the plight of the STC families is appealing to Navajo voters.
Save the Confluence is asking all supporters to convince the Navajo Nation Council delegates to vote down the Grand Canyon Escalade bill. The Navajo council will debate the controversial legislation during a special session at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in Window Rock, Arizona.
STC is asking for Navajo voters to contact their council delegates and encourage them to vote against the bill. The Escalade bill wants Navajo lawmakers to approve a master agreement with Confluence Partners LLC from Scottsdale. The Partners will ask the council to withdraw 420-acres of land, waive certain parts of the Navajo Nation Code and provide $65 million for the Escalade project’s infrastructure.
The proposed Grand Canyon Escalade would feature a hotel, restaurant, discovery center and a parking lot on the rim overlooking the confluence of the Colorado Rivers. The bill also proposes a tram that takes tourists to the canyon floor where a café, amphitheater, garden, and a river walk will be available.
Approximately 30 Navajo families have grazing permits to the 420-acre property identified in the legislation for development. Navajo law requires the developers to get consent from these permit holders before the council will consider a bill.
“The partners want the council to skirt the law and withdraw the 420 acres through the Escalade legislation”, said Earlene Reid in a letter to the Navajo Times. Reid is one of the grazing permit holders from the area in dispute.
“There are also …other relatives that live in the area that have grazing permits and home-site leases who have never given their consent to the Escalade Project,” Reid said. “We were never properly consulted and we will never give our consent for this project, that will not benefit us or our children.The project will only benefit the developers from outside the Navajo Nation and investors from across the oceans.”
Some families, who practice the traditional Earth-based Navajo faith, also take their prayers to the confluence of the Little and Colorado rivers to take their offerings and prayers to the Navajo Holy People.
“The confluence of (the Colorado and Little Colorado) rivers is sacred,” said Renae Yellowhorse, STC member. “You get up early, you say your prayers, you take care of the land. If they built a tourist development here, it would block our prayers and where would our prayers go?”
Larry Foster, a Save the Confluence families advisor, said the 14 councilmen approved a special session because they wanted to lock in a date to discuss and debate the legislation. This may provide some relief to the STC families because the bill’s sponsor has a history of pulling the legislation off-and-on agendas of the council’s standing committees since August 2016.
“Some (delegates) say they just want to get the legislation over with, some support it,” Foster said.