Felt Tired FOREVER...What I Did To Fix It

[Ambrocious]

For a long time I would wake up every morning feeling like crap. Threw out the whole day I would feel more and more brain dead and it was really starting to worry me. Here in the United States of America, the food quality is getting more and more atrocious, it's literally toxic in many respects! By even trying to eat a healthier diet, I was STILL not feeling alive. I felt like sleeping all day AND possibly even killing myself.

I started to really dig into some information on how to get healthier by more natural means and I'm glad I did. Most people might not care about this info BUT YOU REALLY SHOULD! Chances are, you may be suffering from similar conditions right now. Feeling tired or sluggish for the better part of the day? Feeling like you didn't get enough sleep, can't seem to remember things, and all you want to do is sit and relax? Yup...these are symptoms of a huge lacking of nutrition.

You heard me right. The crap they feed us here in the States is getting worse. I wanted to do something about it and in the mean time, maybe share this info as well because it might help you too.

Here is what I bought to feel better and think clearer and improve my mood 100 times more than it has been in literally YEARS. You can buy whatever kind of brand you like, it almost doesn't matter unless you have a preference.

Ginkgo biloba extract (Doctor's Best)

Multivitamin (Centrum) (some multivitamins are better than this but of course cost more)

Omega 3-6-9 Complex (Natrol)

Oil of Oregano (Solaray)

Vitamin C 1,000 mg (per day)

Since I'm a guy, I also target my male based system by using Enzyte...the only downside is that your sex drive is OVER 9000.

THAT'S ALL! I took it for a month since natural solutions take longer but work better. So I'm not exactly sure why I'm posting this minus to share some general good info.

So...I'm curious as to what other people are using to feel better. I'm all ears.

[Shadowx]

My God dude, that just worried me Don't give up hope till the end of your life , cause we all here nsaner always be with you.

Hey dude snap out of it. U MAD BRO

[nIGHT]

Feeling tired or sluggish for the better part of the day? Feeling like you didn't get enough sleep, can't seem to remember things, and all you want to do is sit and relax? Yup...these are symptoms of a huge lacking of nutrition.

I have the same symptoms when I was in 3rd grade elementary. Our family doctor, also happens to be the director of that hospital, told me I have a CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), very rare and very few has it, only one in a billion chances. He told me that only after I was in 2nd year high and that I have only less than two years to live. He cried in front of me and told me I should start doing things I want. Even given advice to fuck a lot of girls, go to nice places and many more. i was the son he never had, that he told me. My family didn't know about it and my doctor knows I didn't want them to now. He is considered one of the best surgeon in our country. He consulted a lot other doctors on my condition to get second opinions.

The pain is all over my body with a numbing, occasionally an electric shock sensation, frequently a nonstop sensation of being pinch by a thousand needles in all parts of your body, your back and some parts of the body felt like being stab by a large knife. And all these plus feeling a thousand tons of weigh being pressed on your body you can barely lift your finger. This is when I called season time occurs. The interval disappears for a moment maybe a day or week or months and back again. That I descibes is when your body in a state of shit. The symptoms I have that is severe insomia, astigmatism, chronic severe fatigue, frequent blackouts (almost died here), memory loss (you need to have an identification paper with you and a paper saying you are the one who wrote this and you are sick as hell and your name is this and go find your doctor at this number and address immediately). On rare occasion I suffered vision impairement in normal season.

I get tired on hearing they didn't have a cure for it and fuck I'm dying! I started researching everything, the probable cause of my disease, parts affected, since its a syndrome I also have to study other cases of symptoms. Research and studied genetics and lipids, brain cells composition. My research broaden even to include diabetes and cancer, even AIDS (as requested by our librarian hehe!). Well, I did that when I was in 3rd and 4th year high school. Not being boastful but I was right with some of my findings, and was supported/guided by my doctor.

I didn't want to die. It somehow driven me to the edge that I never feel scared doing anything. I never thought that there is a thing I couldn't do or at least tried it. After all the months and months of having sleepless night doing research. I consulted my doctor about my findings and he collaborated it. We tested doing simple test and have almost a daily checkup again, it includes having my blood examine everyday (glucose and fat/cholesterol content). Its been more than two decades now, My doctor died by liver cancer when i was in 3rd year college. I cried a lot like a girl (hehe!) knowing one of the few men who tried saving my life but neglected his own. Shit! Something got into my eyes again. lol! :D

My research still continues up to this day. With some better access to research and information. Now you can see a lot of sites/forums researching about my disease (Thanks internet!), glutathione might be a part of the solution but my research are not yet done. My disease is the exact opposite of those having diabetes. We, inflicted with CFS, need saturated fats and unsaturated fats as well as high levels of glucose.

Glucose source (any of the following, I tried it all and I settled to softdrinks)

1. drink 3-4 glasses or can/bottles of softdrinks a day.

2. drink 3-4 glasses of water with a three TBSP sugar a day.

After two-three weeks have a break for a week or two or more then start again. I never took a break now and my blood sugar is low, I have very little fats in my body with low cholesterol. :P

Saturated fat (you'll fear it if you know it but it is needed)

1. The main sources of saturated fat are from animal products: red meat and whole-milk dairy products, including cheese, sour cream, ice cream and butter. But there are also plant-based sources of saturated fat, principally coconut oil and coconut milk, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, and palm oil. And while you probably don’t go to the store and buy these—with the exception of coconut milk—these plant-based saturated fats crop up in a number of commercially prepared products. Cocoa butter is in chocolate. Coconut oil and palm oils are in anything from non-dairy whipped toppings and coffee creamers, to cookies and cakes.

2. Or, just simply fry a pork belly or a fatty beef part in a coconut oil. the oil is what you needed.

Once a week, and after a month stop for a month then resume it again.

If you drink a TBSP of saturated oil be sure to have a bacon or fried salted meat as this does not taste and smell nice. :s

Unsaturated fat

1. Used to consider the fresh coconut oil as the source but that is now replaced by virgin coconut oil.

2. to extract virgin coconut oil - gratet coconut meat from its shell, pour a glass of water per piece of fruit, mix it by hand, squeeze it using hands only, put the white extract in a container (glass is preferred), wait for two to four days, oil will emerge to the top. scoop the oil (you can use a spoon), filter it using anything you can think of. The oil will last a long time.

Drink a TBSP for every other day. That depends on how painful you feel. Start it with an interval of four days for the next consumption.

If you drink a TBSP of VCO be sure to have a bacon or fried salted meat as this does not taste and smell nice. :s

This is what I take and have loads of faith that I still wake up the next day so I can logged in here in nsane. ;)

The world will not stop spinning because you're sick BTW, so don't let anything stops you from trying to live a good life.

This diease just got me stronger. :P

[Ambrocious]

Feeling tired or sluggish for the better part of the day? Feeling like you didn't get enough sleep, can't seem to remember things, and all you want to do is sit and relax? Yup...these are symptoms of a huge lacking of nutrition.

I have the same symptoms when I was in 3rd grade elementary. Our family doctor, also happens to be the director of that hospital, told me I have a CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), very rare and very few has it, only one in a billion chances. He told me that only after I was in 2nd year high and that I have only less than two years to live. He cried in front of me and told me I should start doing things I want. Even given advice to fuck a lot of girls, go to nice places and many more. i was the son he never had, that he told me. My family didn't know about it and my doctor knows I didn't want them to now. He is considered one of the best surgeon in our country. He consulted a lot other doctors on my condition to get second opinions.The pain is all over my body with a numbing, occasionally an electric shock sensation, frequently a nonstop sensation of being pinch by a thousand needles in all parts of your body, your back and some parts of the body felt like being stab by a large knife. And all these plus feeling a thousand tons of weigh being pressed on your body you can barely lift your finger. This is when I called season time occurs. The interval disappears for a moment maybe a day or week or months and back again. That I descibes is when your body in a state of shit. The symptoms I have that is severe insomia, astigmatism, chronic severe fatigue, frequent blackouts (almost died here), memory loss (you need to have an identification paper with you and a paper saying you are the one who wrote this and you are sick as hell and your name is this and go find your doctor at this number and address immediately). On rare occasion I suffered vision impairement in normal season.I get tired on hearing they didn't have a cure for it and fuck I'm dying! I started researching everything, the probable cause of my disease, parts affected, since its a syndrome I also have to study other cases of symptoms. Research and studied genetics and lipids, brain cells composition. My research broaden even to include diabetes and cancer, even AIDS (as requested by our librarian hehe!). Well, I did that when I was in 3rd and 4th year high school. Not being boastful but I was right with some of my findings, and was supported/guided by my doctor.I didn't want to die. It somehow driven me to the edge that I never feel scared doing anything. I never thought that there is a thing I couldn't do or at least tried it. After all the months and months of having sleepless night doing research. I consulted my doctor about my findings and he collaborated it. We tested doing simple test and have almost a daily checkup again, it includes having my blood examine everyday (glucose and fat/cholesterol content). Its been more than two decades now, My doctor died by liver cancer when i was in 3rd year college. I cried a lot like a girl (hehe!) knowing one of the few men who tried saving my life but neglected his own. Shit! Something got into my eyes again. lol! :DMy research still continues up to this day. With some better access to research and information. Now you can see a lot of sites/forums researching about my disease (Thanks internet!), glutathione might be a part of the solution but my research are not yet done. My disease is the exact opposite of those having diabetes. We, inflicted with CFS, need saturated fats and unsaturated fats as well as high levels of glucose.Glucose source (any of the following, I tried it all and I settled to softdrinks)1. drink 3-4 glasses or can/bottles of softdrinks a day.2. drink 3-4 glasses of water with a three TBSP sugar a day.After two-three weeks have a break for a week or two or more then start again. I never took a break now and my blood sugar is low, I have very little fats in my body with low cholesterol. :PSaturated fat (you'll fear it if you know it but it is needed)1. The main sources of saturated fat are from animal products: red meat and whole-milk dairy products, including cheese, sour cream, ice cream and butter. But there are also plant-based sources of saturated fat, principally coconut oil and coconut milk, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, and palm oil. And while you probably don’t go to the store and buy these—with the exception of coconut milk—these plant-based saturated fats crop up in a number of commercially prepared products. Cocoa butter is in chocolate. Coconut oil and palm oils are in anything from non-dairy whipped toppings and coffee creamers, to cookies and cakes.2. Or, just simply fry a pork belly or a fatty beef part in a coconut oil. the oil is what you needed.Once a week, and after a month stop for a month then resume it again.If you drink a TBSP of saturated oil be sure to have a bacon or fried salted meat as this does not taste and smell nice. :sUnsaturated fat1. Used to consider the fresh coconut oil as the source but that is now replaced by virgin coconut oil.2. to extract virgin coconut oil - gratet coconut meat from its shell, pour a glass of water per piece of fruit, mix it by hand, squeeze it using hands only, put the white extract in a container (glass is preferred), wait for two to four days, oil will emerge to the top. scoop the oil (you can use a spoon), filter it using anything you can think of. The oil will last a long time.Drink a TBSP for every other day. That depends on how painful you feel. Start it with an interval of four days for the next consumption. If you drink a TBSP of VCO be sure to have a bacon or fried salted meat as this does not taste and smell nice. :sThis is what I take and have loads of faith that I still wake up the next day so I can logged in here in nsane. ;)The world will not stop spinning because you're sick BTW, so don't let anything stops you from trying to live a good life.This diease just got me stronger. :P

Everything you just said, your symptoms and all, those things are all happening to me too! You really got me thinking now....I may have what you say you have too! I'm not just misdiagnosing the issue either, I truly match up with what you say you have 100 percent! All the doctors around here are freaking stupid and they couldn't diagnose a bruised banana. It's really funny that you talk about coconut oils because I recently have heard about how great they are from the Alex Jones show. Of course they say it's good for Alzheimer patients but all of these fatty acids are INCREDIBLY good for the brain, even as you said before, saturated fats are good too in the right amounts. Since I went and shared my info with you I figure I'll share this too, for your health and everyone elses: http://infowarshealth.com/ Thank you for telling me about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as I strongly believe that's what I have! All the random sharp pains on the body, some days my vision is REALLY blurry, I get so tired some days I just have to lay down, can't hardly even think, everything you described sounded so freaking familiar. Here is that video about the coconut oils and how amazingly great they are for you (you already know but others should too!) Yes it IS from the Alex Jones show but you guys would be amazed at the topics he covers and how resourceful the man is when it comes to knowledge!

DON'T MIND THE FUNNY FACE THERE, THAT MADE ME LAUGH A LITTLE TOO

[Ambrocious]

My God dude, that just worried me Don't give up hope till the end of your life , cause we all here nsaner always be with you.

Hey dude snap out of it. U MAD BRO

Thanks man, I appreciate your care. We gotta keep each other strong here on nsane. We are all family here, even the guys who I annoy to no end!

[Ambrocious]

My God dude, that just worried me Don't give up hope till the end of your life , cause we all here nsaner always be with you.

Hey dude snap out of it. U MAD BRO

Thanks man, I appreciate your care. We gotta keep each other strong here on nsane. We are all family here, even the guys who I annoy to no end!

Like Who? :rolleyes: I Take Pills! :P

Well I suppose taking pills would be one hell of a great way to always be happy.

On the very lucky side of things...here in Colorado, Pot is now legal. Nature provides so many awesome cures...it's no wonder the world elite kept pot illegal in most countries for so long....

[Ramjade]

For those who wants vitamins, visit iherb.com. They have plenty of choice and offer. Their selection is better than my country. Even include free delivery nationwide (US) and international if order above US40. I regularly shop there. They have discounts for first time buyers. PM me for the discount. Do your research before you plan to buy.

Basically what I do is supplement my day with some vitamins. Then include in high antioxidant food like dragon fruit, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, pineapple, olive oil, sesame oil, green tea and cut down on saturated fat.

[Ambrocious]

For those who wants vitamins, visit iherb.com. They have plenty of choice and offer. Their selection is better than my country. Even include free delivery nationwide (US) and international if order above US40. I regularly shop there. They have discounts for first time buyers. PM me for the discount. Do your research before you plan to buy.

Basically what I do is supplement my day with some vitamins. Then include in high antioxidant food like dragon fruit, avocado, bell pepper, pineapple, olive oil, sesame oil, green tea and cut down on saturated fat.

Thank you for that helpful tip. You see, as an American, the food we eat here is incredibly bad for us, hence the reason most of us are OBESE! Any useful information helps and I think that there should be a health and wellness section right here on the nsane forums. Why not? Wouldn't hurt, in fact it would do the opposite of hurt!

The best way you can tell if someone gives a dam about you is if they insist that you are healthier, even if it's annoying info. I however am in no way annoyed by health info, I'm invigorated and I want to trim my fat ass down and get super healthy! Here's to the new nsane health section eh? Who's with me on that?

[Ramjade]

Actually if you cook yourself, it will be much healthier. Not to forget you all can get cherries easily which is a superfood. Eat it. Then there is a book on Mediterranean diet recipes (Can get a book from Amazon to cook it) which I am planning to buy as

[Ramjade]

@Ambrocious, there is this website www.juicing-for-health.com.

You should go and read it. Contain lots of info on how to let the body heal itself.

[majithia23]

I can understand what Ambrocious you and the fellow other nsaner kenmelagi mention regarding your physical well ( or not so well ) being ,

so i just wish you guys luck and hope you find yourself in a better shape , soon !

( not that , i too experience something like what you mention , but i know ! ;) )

If i am to pitch in my 2 cents ---

Avocados

Salmon Omega Oils

Fried Fish

Aloe Vera

Walnuts

Cucumber

Bitter Gourd

All Citrus fruits

Pine nuts

Flax Seeds / Oils

Psyllium Husk

Organic Green tea

Mature High Grade Red Wine

Ghee ( Clarified Clear Butter )

Extra Virgin First Press Olive Oil

Fresh Organic Raw Tomatoes

Raw Turmeric

Ginger

Clove Oil

Almond Oil

Green and Ripe Papaya

Black Pepper

And -- Anything which is natural and raw and as it is .

( .... and of course plenty of other stuff , i cant recall right now .... :P )

These are some of the foods which are known to be GEMS of the Nature .

Call 'em the Elixir of Life !

Each one has some unique content which is extremely beneficial for the over all enrichment of the body in some way or the other .

These are not some wonder or magical edible things , but require slow , diligent and careful and trusting intake to reap out the juice .

Nutshell , the trick to good diet and thus a good health is - Keep it natural .

NO processed , stored , deep fried , deep freezed , extra sweet , extra spicy , artificially flavored , instantly cooked , ready to cook , fizzy drinks , cheesy stuffed AND the LIKE stuff .

Know what to eat and Burn what you eat .

Keep it active , every body part .

Sufficient sleep and maintain cleanliness in , on and around you .

[weylin]

We are just starting to understand how nutrition influences our wellness. Much of the previous assumptions are now proven to be untrue.

Many problems are caused by:

FOOD ALLERGIES:

• Soy
• Corn
• Gluten
• Dairy
• Sugar and artificial sweeteners
• Eggs
• Peanuts

AUTOIMMUNE ILLNESS

INFLAMMATION

SUGAR!

Body weight is controlled by insulin, not fat intake! Some people (including doctors) still don't realize this fact.

Some Super-foods to include in your diet are:

Greens

Onions

Mushrooms

Berries

Seeds and Nuts

[Ambrocious]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll see what else I can do to get myself feeling a little less like a zombie.

[nIGHT]

@ambrocious I skip some details with the symptoms part as I was typing that using my smartphone.

As it is a syndrome, this means it has a number of different sets of symptoms. A CNN episode about CFS, around 1997 or 1998, showed that there are 9 recent recorded CFS cases as of the 1990's. Two have just died when they made that report,.so I'm the eight one who still lives with CFS. They were interviewed and they told symptoms some similar to mine except they didn't have that "seasonal period" like I have. They all have "bad/negative" symptoms. I have a "good/positive/beneficial " symptoms.

An addition to the list of symptoms I posted above are low metabolic rate or low metabolism and high blood pressure readings (systolics/diastolic usually been in 140/100 going to more like 180/120 and bp count 100+ when you get so tired). These are read during I was only 14 years old to 16 years old. I usually get that "Emergency" call. Most new nurse would yell that I'm might having a heart attack when in fact I wasn't. My doctor even asked for several Aneroid sphygmomanometers and/or Mercury sphygmomanometers to see if the ones that was used on me was damaged or broken.

It turns out these are some of the positive benefits of this disease.

Here are some parts missing to my story (skip my post if you don't want to know about it)

My doctor can only find less than 10 reported cases of CFS that was published/known/recorded in medical books. As this only affects very few people and most of them have lived very shortly, the information about this disease is quite little. I have to take notes about every thing I feel, what I did, ate, time and hours of sleep/waken, even time I piss and more. I gave my notes to my doctor every week and he compiles it. Even when we did the test/medications I took notes all the time I feel pain, the type of pain/blackouts/memory loss/vision impairment and its duration, the time I ate, sleep and discharge. My doctors have my blood taken and examined everyday, a vial or three of test tubes size blood taken from me everyday. Anyway, I'm dying so I insist on it. My doctors license was at risk too. Doing this kind of testing/medication is not permitted and he told me he could loose his license. I insists on doing it on myself with or without his help. At the end, he agreed and took the risk, and I owe him big time now that I still live a decade more than what he told me. What we did worked, I owe him my life!

When I was first checked with this disease most doctors would only say I have chronic fatigue ("without the syndrome"), and I better get some rest. They not even examined me, my blood or do any test. We went to more than 10 doctors and they didn't know what the cause of my fatigue and how to cure it. Just the usual "Take some rest and sleep." My doctor, the one who really helped me, still have the same diagnosis. It took years he secretly research my case and still was skeptic that it might be CFS. It took so long before he told me that I "might" have CFS. This is how the conventional way things are done in the medical world. They never rush into judgement if they are not sure. But I almost ran out of time!

My doctor told me i have less than two years left, that I need a miracle to lived. So advice that I should better do what I want to do in my remaining time here. But instead I told him I will not waste time, I will go find that miracle. He insisted that I haven't that much left. But I insisted that I want to try to find that miracle and maybe a cure. That is when he told me that those he given that ultimatum really did died early more than he predicted but those who have died with faith died peacefully (less pain than those who didn't have faith). He decided to help me then with the risk of losing his license to practice. He did want to help me, and why they (whoever that is in authority) will take his license then? We were not caught and I live! They better check their protocol. I could have died because of their stupid protocol! Their medical protocol or medical laws didn't give me a fighting chance to fight this disease, so as other with the same life threatening disease. The "cocktail drug" or the combination of several pills that is used to treat patients with HIV or AIDS, it was not your effort or by the way of your protocol that made way for this discovery as a treatment, it was the desperate people who tried to find a cure or to delay the progress of their disease. Your doctors didn't helped them at first for they were so afraid to lose their license to practice medicine. These people took chance because nobody wants to help them not even an advice about the proper dosage and how to conduct/record the test and its effects! When you discovered it worked on these people, their white blood or antibodies have increased, you were even promoting this stuff for profit with your own version of combination pills! Good job!

Let's get back to my story. hehe! It's been three years since we did the test/medications. He told me that I will still die soon. I might just delayed the progress of my disease or worst hidden the symptoms. I might need another 2nd miracle. I said to him, I was able to have the first miracle then why God would not gave me another. That's when I saw some tears in him, he told me never to lose faith and never stop wanting to live, the opposite of what he/other doctors usually tell their patients, as he may not be there for me for long. Later, I discovered he had a malignant liver cancer. He died but I still continue up to this day our research and experiment. I am living more than a decade now (more but I want to conceal my real age) from that point I was informed about my disease .God did gave me another miracle and I am grateful. Thank you my Lord God!

Since I have a low metabolism, the findings we found that it is beneficial for me to eat less even though my body does not retain fats and sugar only if I'm in that season time but need to take the medication I mention on my first post. The less i eat the less cell oxidation occurs that results to longer time the cell rupture, giving the cell more lifetime. This means i grow old slower plus with very slow metabolism I look just like a 17 year old teenager when I'm way older than that;Good positive benefits from this disease, so I'm lucky I might die early but I die looking young. It still hurts to make a sarcastic joke on myself about dying. hehe! Just a side note, fats can be converted to sugar and vice versa. My disease is the opposite of diabetes. The good thing with my disease is that you can eat and drink lots and lots of sweets. hehe!

Oh yeah, since my doctor at that time was the director of a hospital, he offered me a bed inside an ICU to be monitored and medicated free-of-charge. He told me that since I didn't told my family about my condition he sought help from his colleagues to help me ease my pain while I'm dying. The only regret with his colleagues he have was that we were given the condition that when I die my body will be donated to that hospital to be studied. He made that choice for me not to agree with it.

I have been medicated with lots and lots of pain relievers at first after I was told about this disease. During my research i found out that these things will kill me first due to intoxication and liver rupture. I stopped taking those things and tried to find some ways around the pains. I read about "conditioning the mind or subject (that is me)" in one of several books of psychology I read. We experimented about it and it worked. It somehow reduced the pain. Never think about the pain or when the pain is too much think about how good feeling it, maybe thinking about having sex with a girl and tried to fool yourself that pain is pleasure; It worked for me. About that psychology thing, we even considered that it might be just psychological but our test does not link this as the cause. i remember there was that time my doctor recommends me to have a general anesthesia as my last resort out of my pain, but it will only have an effect for just six months or more or less as I became resistant to pain relievers. I haven't taken any pain relievers anymore after I learned that "mind conditioning' concept.

About the VCO, there was a group of scientists that did conduct research on VCO and its benefits here in our country. They called a conference and told the press that they will soon lose their job for what they are going to reveal about the results of their research. Their findings indicate that VCO can cure HIV and AIDS, and that their sponsor (I will not mention that pharmaceutical company) will not allow them to publish the results due to the reason they couldn't make money out of it. Two years later, one of our national tv station ABSCBN or GMA networks features a segment of their own survey/research about people who have HIV/AIDS that took a TBSP of VCO a day. Several showed their previous results of white blood cell/antibodies counts comparing to their current ones, and they all showed great improvements in their health, from a 75 white blood cell/antibodies counts going up to 500 white blood cell/antibodies counts. Some have a 100 white blood cell/antibodies counts improve to 600 white blood cell/antibodies counts. Another episode on maybe either of one of our national tv station ABSCBN or GMA networks features a segment about women with breast cancer who took a TBSP of VCO a day while being treated by radiation therapy. Those who took VCO showed a much faster recovery on radiation and a healthier body as compared to those who didn't take VCO.

I made a wall of text and I'm sorry for that. I only want to help those who might need these kind of informations; and I think telling my story somehow might be useful.

@majithia23 Thanks :)

[Ramjade]

@Ambrocious

You should read this site, Juiicing for health

Also, since you are living in the US, you are able to buy fresh produce easily from farmers. They have so many such organization which helps consumer buy from small farmers directly. Buying from small farmers is better because you can get organic fruits and veges at a lower price, less insecticide and etc. One such group is Red Tomato