Beautiful Belize

Winters in Quebec are REALLY, REALLY rough. Temperatures fall to -20 to -30 degrees Celsius (and even colder sometimes!!). Don't get me wrong, I love the beauty and serenity of winter and the many outdoor sports it has to offer, but this year we decided to chase the sun.

We hopped on a plane and took off to Belize - "Mother Nature's Best Kept Secret." The description says it all - it hasn't fully become a tourist location where an island is an island is an island. Belize is full of untouched beauty. The jungle is amazing - another blessing of God's creation. After we booked our trip we realized we would be there for the much anticipated December 21st, 2012. Intimidating? A little. An adventure? FOR SURE! Belize is full of Mayan ruins as well as many Mayan descendants. As I'm sure you know, the media portrayed December 21st to be the end of the world. There were tons of documentaries and articles that included "evidence" of why the world was going to end.

But, what did the Mayan people say about this date?

Well, to our surprise, nothing really. Apparently all along, the Mayan people knew that it wasn't the end of the calendar (as in the end of the world), but instead it was the beginning of another. We went to an incredible Mayan ruin on December 21st (apropos). We enjoyed the powerful energy there (although while I was at the top I thought - "This temple could sink into the ground at any moment if the prediction is correct" - a little scary, but so very cool at the same time).

Cahal Pech, Mayan Ruin December 20,2012

Needless to say, we survived and are now back in our very snowy home. So you ask, why am I writing this article on my health blog? A good question indeed.

While we were in Belize I had some very interesting awarenesses.

• I love the sun ... oh wait ... I already knew that. 
• The diets of Belizeans aren't so great. We saw young children walking around drinking Coca-Cola and other sugary drinks. This isn't much different from the United States, but I was shocked at how young the children were. 
• Most of the bottled water in Belize is filled with Fluoride. Although they say fluoride is good for dental decay - it's also responsible for crippling bone diseases (1), lowered IQ (2), bone cancer (3) and many more symptoms (4). It was really difficult to find water that wasn't fluoridated.
• Many Belizeans also have a marking in their eye that is a gel-like substance in the white part. Young Belizeans and old Belizeans have this marking. I remembered coming across this marking while reading a sclerology book once. *Sclerology is the study of the white part of the eye showing tissue weakness, etc.* When we got home I found the book (Sclerology: A New View of an Ancient Art). The marking is called a Pinguicula and, according to Leonard Mehlmauer, "...it refers to liver/gall bladder problems in dealing with saturated fats, especially superheated fats and oils, and usually of animal origin." This makes a lot of sense because the Belizean diet is mostly animal products (high in fat) and rice. It's rare to see someone eating a salad (or any vegetable for that matter).
• We heard a lot of stories about young people suffering from diabetes and not having proper access to medical care. We met a beautiful wood carver who lost his toes from diabetes. He spent a lot of time in the states receiving medical treatment and therefore had a lot of debt to pay off.

I wish I could open a Homeopathic Clinic in Belize. It would really benefit the beautiful Belizean people that have such a special place in my heart.

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Svea Lynn is a traditional Naturopath, classical homeopath and holistic doula. Her private doula practice can be found here.