"Starting Over" - Toni Riddick

Isn’t it crazy how life pans out sometimes. I have had numerous jobs throughout my life, but nothing quite so satisfying, as what I do today. Never did I think I would be helping others to heal, offering advice and tips, to those starting out on their own journeys.

Having had cancer, it has really changed my outlook on life. Leaving my career as a barber, left me feeling unsure what path to take next. Chemotherapy had left me with osteoarthritis in my hands, which are now mis-shaped and bent, so please don’t stop and ask me to point you in the right direction, as you’ve no chance of reaching your destination!!!

It was time to get my thinking cap on and, try to think of a way to get us out of the financial mess, that cancer had left us in. You see, some people think that once you have completed your treatment, that everything is fine, but this isn’t the case. Cancer has a never ending ripple effect, it doesn’t give a shit about you, so the thoughts don’t really leave your head. They are always there somewhere, tucked away, ready to pounce at any time.

Then alongside the physical, comes the emotional, financial and mental stress too, my reactions cause ripples to those closest to me, they then cause ripples to others close to themselves and so on…

So, something had to change, and this is what I came up with…

I had been asked by a friend of mine if I would make up some juices and smoothies for her, as she had watched my live videos, regarding my new alkaline lifestyle, and she too is big in to fitness and looking after her body.

Elaine Jack, Co-Owner of Royal Beauty Training Academy, Broughton, Preston, encouraged me to think about taking this further, and as lockdown continued, with more people working from home, or furloughed, it seemed the perfect time and platform to create interest via social media.

I received a message from a good friend up in bonnie Scotland, she had placed an order, a mix of juices and smoothies to keep her going over a weeks period, but by the time the smoothie pouches arrived at their destination, actually they were more curdled slush at this point, had turned in transit…YUK!!! I was gutted, but luckily Natalie was absolutely fine about it. She suggested that sending dry ingredients would be a more effective way of making up the packs. It would certainly be easier, juicing and the mess it causes in the kitchen, was really starting to annoy the shit out of me, plus beetroot stains, where even Heineken can’t reach. In other words, cover everything in your kitchen with wipeable sheets.

With this new idea, now pinballing around in my head, I filled my kitchen worktop with jars of all shapes and sizes, all containing organic and natural seeds, spices, and ground leaf, and got to work, trying out new blends. I began a “Good Gut Health, Detox & Well Being” Group on Telegram. Two of the group members are professional holistic therapists, I no longer take any conventional medication…No more repeat prescriptions of anti depressants, citalopram, prozac, sertaline, blah blah blah, blockers not cures!!!

Gabi is a professional herbalist, and Lynne is a colonic hydrotherapist, both of whom support my new venture and, both purchase my product!!!

It is only during my cancer recovery, that I was introduced to, and inspired to research more about, The Gerson Therapy, an Alkaline Lifestyle, and Good Gut Health. Thank you to Kate Shemirani, Dee Mani Mitchell, and Sally Ann Shafe, for sharing all their professional knowledge and keeping me going, and still do to this day. I can contact them anytime for help and support, and they never let me down.

Knowledge is power as they say, and knowledge is what I had been blessed with, and besides it would be so sad to not be able to share this power with others that also need healing.

Once I got to grips with such a lifestyle change, I understood so much more about how my body works, what makes it tick, and what makes it sick!!!!

“80% of disease begins in the gut”…Hippocrates.

If I eat toxic, I create toxic. Trigger foods as I like to call them, they can seriously affect my mood, my mental health, bloating, fatigue, anxiety, self worth, the list goes on, throw some menopause in for good measure and HOLY SHIT…I could be up for murder.

Only today, my good friend Fiona, a fellow villager, and myself went off to Iced Bakes, for a bite to eat and a good old catch up, no husbands, no dogs, just the two of us. It’s always good to see the owners, Lynne Ashton and Jill Cross, old friends from way back in Scorton. They are situated just outside Preston on Moss Lane, well worth a visit. a beautiful little shop and tearoom, surrounded by fields. I couldn’t resist the fruit cake, it was delicious, but my god I suffered on our return home, a thirty minute coma, no motivation, fatigued, bloated, sickness, and sweating buckets. Thankfully I know what to eat and drink in order to get my body alkaline again, and that’s the key, knowing your limits, having a treat is okay, but know when to get back on track. This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. The more you educate yourself, the more you see how toxic certain foods make you feel, the more you will introduce alkaline produce, as there is no feeling like it.

Eating clean, is cleansing, refreshing, clears brain fog, removes toxins, rids anxiety, helps with insomnia, supports healthy nails, hair and skin. But…

What I really love about eating clean is how it lifts my mood, how it energises the body, how it focuses the brain, all whilst BOOSTING the immune system.

Anyway back to the story…

Now the decision had been made, my mind was made up, dry ingredients was the way forward. This was going to be my new business venture.

I honestly believed that I would be up and running in just a few weeks. I couldn’t have been more wrong!!!

I registered the business, followed all the legalities, had a label designed ready to send off to Trading Standards, and then the nightmare started….You’d think I was making bombs, with all the hoops I had to jump through!!!

I’m thinking, this is really starting to grate my carrot now, but like the stubborn ass I can be, I dug my heels in, continued to conform, oh how that nearly killed me, dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s, then spent three months to and fro with the authorities, label designer, and printers, only to kept being told…”You can’t do this, you can’t do that…I’m like FFS!!!

At this point my head is shouting at me “What the fuck are you doing?… “Starting over!!!”…Really??? Heels dig in even deeper, my heart is bellowing back at my head….”Keep going, you’ve got this”

A few tweaks had to be made, till I was happy with the final ingredients present in this specially blended mix.

“Dandelion. Milk Thistle & Hemp Seed Mix”

Eleven good gut foods, strengthening the immune system, and giving overall well being.

If you suffer from any of the following, then it is highly likely that you need to CLEANSE THE GUT

SUGAR CRAVINGS
POOR SLEEP
ITCHY SKIN
SLUGGISH BOWEL
FATIGUE
LOW MOOD
ANXIETY
BLOATING
SWEATING
ITCHY BOTTOM
ECZEMA
PSORIASIS
IBS
ACNE
LEAKY GUT
FLAKY SCALP
BRITTLE NAILS
LIMP HAIR
DEHYDRATION
MENOPAUSE

The feedback I have received has been incredible, I am overwhelmed with the support and love I am surrounded by. Without you all this wouldn’t be possible. So a huge thank you to each and every one of you.

For the next twelve months, till July 2022, I will donate £2 from every pack of my Dandelion, Milk Thistle and Hemp Seed Mix, to a local charity, @cancercarecharity a charity very close to my heart, they held my hand through my darkest and toughest days of my life. For that I am forever grateful.