Tryptophan

So, recently I've been able to get my paws on this great stuff. Tryptophan is an amino acid made by organisms as a precursor to serotonin and niacin (those wonderful B vitamins). In other words, you need this stuff to feel happy-pappy-cappy, content-ta-mament and invigorated-macated.

Woe though, this stuff has a history of misinformation and stupidity since it got banned in 1990. What's silly, is that the reason it got banned was from a tainted shipment that got people sick. The company owned up and said that they did not harvest the stuff properly leading to contamination (look I'm not going to break it all down, you can read more about it from this link here:). Unfortunately some people got sick and were killed by this tainted shipment. This opened the flood gates for stupidity and greed. The FDA subsequently banned the stuff in the US, and other countries followed suit like silly ol' pawns. Thankfully sanity resettled and now people can sell it and buy it over the counter again (1990-2002); although you'd probably be hard pressed to readily find it in a typical store.

Well, since I've already established that tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, the stuff helps people to deal with their depression and anxiety and PMS. Even better, it is ridiculously cheap. Much cheaper and safer than the pharmaceuticals. But, the politics of greed have stepped in, and that twelve year ban did a lot of harm stemming from one company's tragic err. In the 90's, all that was left for the depression stricken masses to help boost their serotonin were pills like Prozac and what not - the reason I feel why white kids in the "Prozac" generation are shooting up their schools, and, now that they are old enough, their universities; and also why Black kids and other nonwhite groups are so fuckin' delusional to how society fucks them up the ass everyday like a prison bitch (matter of fact they bend over and spread their cheeks willingly but yet don't call being fucked up the arse as being fucked up the arse). I mean denial is powerful, but so is the so-so feeling inducingness of anti-depression drugs.

Oh, it gets worse! Those so called antidepression pills seem to really do nothing for erasing depression in people unless they are severly depressed. See article linked here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/26/mentalhealth.medicalresearch?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

So, what's the deal, yo? Tryptophan isn't banned anymore maybe cause stocks in antidepression pills on the market now will soon plummet??? Cause I know this info was known in 2002. It take time for research to be peer reviewed and published.


Anywho, I started taking L-trpytophan recently and it has been great stuff. Got me through one of the most nerve wracking days of my life so far!! Buy some and try it!!!

Trying to make what's fake seem real

It has been many years since I've reflected on the topic of natural hair and women of color or afros; and, for just as long I've been trying to free myself from the constraints of adding chemicals to my hair. At first it was to empower myself and curiosity of wanting to know what kind of curly hair type I have. It's funny, you are unconsciously taught that in order to be a Black woman and wear your hair in an afro it has to be an "acceptable" natural hair type. I was curious to see if my hair fit under "acceptable". As the years went by I started to see more shaved heads and more broad spectrum Black women with natural "curly" hair ranging from very very loose curly afros to very very tightly curled afros.

I decided, okay I need to let go of the relaxer cause I was feeling very phony and my hair was breaking off - a sign that curly hair don't need such abuse. So I stopped, had all my relaxed hair cut and then totally copped out. It felt bizarre. So I went and got my hair texturized, which is a nice way of saying "mildly relaxed". I felt more comfortable, but a nagging voice raged in the back of my head "hey girl, you know your mind is still shackled".

I was puzzled. I obviously thought women with afros were beautiful and they appealed to me more than Black women who did not have afros. What in the choock was stopping me? Was it the desire to not have short hair? Partly. What else though? It was something stronger. Something much much stronger, strong enough for me, who tries to live a no " harmful chemical" lifestyle (from food, to beauty products, etc ...), to put harmful caustic chemicals on my scalp once a month-every three months and have it absorb into said scalp through pores and do all sorts of unspeakable nastiness.

Here's the low down:

I have never known my hair in its natural state.

That's a heavy statement which transcends ideals of beauty. I've never known my hair to be anything other than chemically choked. As far back as I can remember I've always had relaxed hair. I can just close my eyes and hear my mother say "come on, time to relax your hair, it needs to be done." It was as if she were trying to hide a shameful secret that would rue my life. The act of hiding it was what actually did the ruing though. My whole construct of "me" has never involved my face + natural hair. So when I finally did have natural hair, and very short too, I was shocked to the bones. The person I saw in the mirror was not the me I was used to and comfortable with; infact part of me said it wasn't me at all. Oh no. The me in the mirror looked strange to me even if she didn't look strange to others.

The image you have of yourself in your mind is very powerful. If you live in a society that forces your mothers and fathers to teach you to look at your natural hair as something that must be chemical bombed in order to be beautiful, normal, professional, pretty, controllable/manageable; then if you are suddenly left staring at yourself in the mirror with natural hair you will feel a powerful since of dis-ease. Members in society who know how you looked before will respond to you in such an intense way. The afro is a thing of scorn, mystery. It is a "trend". Some women who rock one do so because they don't see it as their normal selves, but rather as their trendy selves, or that they're giving their "hair" a break and that soon they'll be back relaxing again.

Ugh!

How can I live as natural as possible if I can only envision myself as beautiful and normal with a relaxer. What the bleep am I gonna do if the world ended and the expiration dates on the all the boxes of relaxers have expired? I don't wish to wait until then to get my shit together. Tina Turner be damned in Beyond Thunder Dome. That bitch character had to be wearing a wig, fuck it. There ain't no relaxers in the wastes of the Australian post apocalyptic desert. And I didn't want to cop out again and loc my hair or turn to acceptable "curly" weaves or wigs and crap or have it braided or twisted up forever (I mean, I don't mind all of said things. I love getting my hair braided and twisted and I have a lot of respect for locs, but I always like choosing the harder path - an afro). Hells naw.

It has taken me three years since the day I first went completely natural to finally be comfortable with a me with natural hair. So I've been growing my hair natural again and plan to chop the texturized chemically mess off. I know I still have some kinks to work out (quite a lot in fact), but hey, I'm envisioning myself with a beautiful tightly curled afro because hey, that's my hair! It's what I've been born with and will have until the day I die. I can hate the world or I can embrace myself. So I've embraced myself (my middle still flies up whenever I see a globe though).




So, after coming to that epiphany, with the help of a little inspiration, I've decided to go natural again and stay that way.




www.anitagrant.com for some hair products that show afro hair love

The Natural Health Low Down

This is a series of posts in which I shall invest my time. I suppose for starters I'll dig into the magic of Tumeric/Turmeric.

Good ol' tumeric, as I've grown up to call it. This stuff is what makes curry so yellow. Known for it's anti-inflammatory properties, it is highly touted as a supplement for those suffering from arthritis to ingest, break down, and get all unarthritis-ee.

I personally like it for what it does for the skin. This stuff is a gold mine for black skin types. It is good for getting rid of dark spots without harmful as well as dark skin hating bleach (damn you bleach! I want toned skin that isn't gonna make my face lighter than the rest of mah body!)Taking it orally and applying it topically, tumeric is one of the main beauty products in my repetoire. I'd say the stuff makes your glow like a bronzed fire ... *dreamy eyes*

Tumeric Mask

What is does: clears pores, gets rid of dark spots, tones, sticks its tongue out to bleach and goes "Meh!!" Back tah Black beauty product hell with ya. "F" hydroquinone or whatever that crap is.

Whatcha need:

• Powdered Green Clay
• Tumeric
• Apple Cider vinegar (with mother - a type of bacteria)/water
• Aloe Gel (for the moisture)
• Funky love

So basically dole out the green clay powder in a cup. About half a cup or however much you want to make. Add 2 teaspoons, or more depending on how strong of a concotion you want to make, and blend. Add enough apple cider so that the mixture is a nice liquidy paste. Squirt in some aloe gel and keep on mixing. Apply to face and let dry. As a caution, tumeric is tends to stain, albeit not permenantly. Wash off (of course). Repeat once a day, twice, or however often you want. I recommend 1-2 times a day for the best benefits. Store your leftover stuff in the fridge. You should have enough to last you for quite a long time depending on how frequently you use it.

As for stuffing you face with tumeric, you can take pills or add it to your food. In addition to keeping your skin looking great and your joint unarthritis-ee, this stuff is purported to increase longevity.