I'm not a typically a big fan of making New Years resolutions. They're usually overly positive and optimistic, but not practical or meaningful. They tend to cause us to guilt trip ourselves, and then later we beat ourselves up for failing. Most people fail at keeping New Years resolutions to some degree. I haven't made any in the past few years because I always have a goal of trying to better myself, no matter the time of year. This year, however, the beginning of the year lines up with my body's improving health. It's actually a good time for me to adopt new habits now that I have a bit more energy and mental clarity. So, what are my resolutions?
1. Make exercise a bigger priority. My doctor wants me doing 45 minutes of cardio a day. This past year I did work out regularly, but not consistently and not as hard as I needed to. I normally got at least 10 minutes of cardio in a day, on top of doing chores/ moving around purposefully. I rarely ever worked out for more than 30 minutes at a time - I rarely had the strength. While this was way better than in past years (where I had no exercise routine,) I need to try and do better, especially since I do have more energy and strength now. Small steps. I want to turn that "at least 10 minutes" into "at least 15 minutes," and I want to aim for 30-45 minute work out sessions at least twice a week (I will use my YMCA membership to ensure this.)
2. I want to make money. Somehow, someway. I want to financially contribute to our household again. I have been pursuing job opportunities in the past couple of months, but so far nothing has worked out because I either get sick inside the business (MCS issues,) or the stores that I seem to do well in are not hiring. I will not, however, take a job at a place that will make me sick. It isn't worth making a bit of money at the cost of my heath, which I've been working so very hard on repairing during the past year. (On this note - no, I have not abandoned my Zazzle shop. I will start working on it again in January. This month has been too distracting, and Zazzle isn't profitable enough to make a priority.)
3. Try to reduce our food budget without compromising the quality of the food we eat. This is a major challenge in North Dakota. It's difficult to grow food here because the weather makes for poor growing conditions during the majority of the year (unless you grow grains.) While I won't expect to be able to grow enough of my own food, there is another way to reduce our food budget, and we've already started. We bought half of a grass-fed local cow! My goal is to buy my meat directly from the ranchers from now on, because the price per pound of the beef is half that of grass-fed meat at the grocery store. I want to buy turkey, lamb, and chicken next.
4. As I need new clothes over the next year, I want to only purchase natural clothing. This is part of my goal to create the least toxic environment I can. I want to eventually (this will take years) have a wardrobe of only organic cotton, linen, hemp, wool, and real bamboo (not rayon.) My hope is that all these clothes will be free from additives of flame retardants and stiffeners, but my budget won't allow me to only buy from companies that promise no chemical additives (they're expensive!)
Small, obtainable goals, right? I think I can do these. I don't want 2015 to be a repeat of 2014, in which I spent the entire year (I'm not exaggerating here) focusing on healing. At the end of last year year I was hardly alive at all - I was horribly sick. I would say there were days where I was only 10% alive. Maybe even less. I would say I'm about 60% alive, on average, these days. I'm no longer a zombie. I feel human most days now, though a tired and weak human. I think it's time to start acting like a human again and try to rejoin society, even if just a little. I'm pretty sure I have the strength and energy to do it, as long as I don't push myself.
So, here's to a new year! Welcome, 2015!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Flu
On December 3rd, the CDC issued a warning that the 2014-2015 flu vaccine is less effective due to drifted influenza A viruses (in other words, the CDC isn't promising that this year's flu shot will work.) This may come as a shock to many people who rely on the flu vaccine to prevent the flu. Despite this warning, is it still worth getting the flu shot? Many sources still say yes, claiming that the flu shot will make any flu you get more mild.
Why rely on a shot that probably won't protect you from getting the flu, no matter how mild? Does the flu shot even work? Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. explains why it's innefective. This study also explains that "Vaccination shows no appreciable effect on working days lost or hospitalisation."
While I normally try to link to scholarly articles and studies, this article also makes a great case against the CDC for not documenting actual results of the flu shot. This is another case against the flu shot by Dr. Mercola.
But, the flu shot still has a chance of working, so it's better than nothing, right? I disagree. The flu shot is full of toxins. The CDC actually lists the ingredients in a flu shot. They're not hiding the fact that there are known toxins in it.
Formaldehyde is in the flu shot. The EPA does a great job of listing the known toxic effects of formaldehyde.
There's also the danger of the other preservatives and heavy metals in the flu shot. Rather than explaining all of this, read this. It's overly sensationalized, which is normally a turn-off for me, but it contains a lot of research all on the same page.
My intention for this blog wasn't to re-research the flu shot. Plenty of other people have already done that. My intention is to share my experience with the flu.
I can only remember having the flu once in my life. That one case was H1N1, and I got it while working at a movie theater during a particularly busy weekend, where I helped to serve more than a thousand customers in my shift. I should note that I got sick very often in my child hood. I was often told I had the flu, but we called every sickness "the flu." I rarely vomited, had the shakes, or the other symptoms associated with the flu. I normally was sick with high fevers, headaches, sinus infections, and seasonal allergies. I also got sick easily from certain objects, like gray crayons, which I now know is part of MCS. More importantly, since my early teenage years I've never had the flu shot. I don't remember if I got the flu shot when I was younger - I assume my schools required it, but I don't remember getting it.
So how is it that I've only had the flu once and I've never had the flu shot? Part of the explanation is going to be guessing, but I'll get into known facts too.
1. I've been allergic to corn my whole life, meaning I've always avoided High Fructose Corn Syrup. This means that I've eaten less sugar than the average person, because I often couldn't eat the pre-packaged foods that most people regularly ate. I also could eat out very easily, so I had to be careful. I ordered salads with oil and vinegar as a dressing, or meat without the marinade with a size of vegetables. I occasionally would get pizza from a local business that read all the ingredients they used to make sure they didn't use any corn. Don't get me wrong, I did eat sugar, but I did not eat it with most of my meals like the average American does (because HFCS is in almost everything.) Read ingredients if you don't believe me. Sugar is an immune system suppressant. It also feeds infections, promotes the growth of yeast in our bodies, and causes our bodies to become very acidic. This single article says enough for the purpose of this blog on how sugar affects whole body health.
2. I've spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, getting a lot of sunshine. I grew up in Idaho and Oregon, meaning all year round I had access to amazing outdoorsy things to do. I was in girl scouts, soccer, sailing camp, track, and more sports. I also just spent a ton of time on the ocean and went for plenty of bike rides and walks. I got plenty of sun. In my adult years, I've spent less time outside, but I have started taking vitamin D regularly at the request of my chiropractor. Vitamin D is known to prevent the flu. The sun is the best source of vitamin D, and the sun is known to boost immunity.
3. I've been getting chiropractic adjustments regularly for about 6 six years. The trouble with offering a source for how chiropractic adjustments help fight the flu is that most sources are written by chiropractors, well researched or not. I have personally had so much benefit from chiropractic care, that it doesn't surprise me at all that it helps prevent the flu because of what it does for the body. Remember, chiropractors are nervous system doctors, not bone doctors. They manipulate bones in order to free nerves so they can do their jobs. When the nervous system is working well because nerves aren't blocked or pinched, the body can respond well to invasion or harm. I'm going to link you to a chiropractic article anyway.
In conclusion, I hope that my perspective at least raises awareness of how the flu shot is not a guaranteed to prevent you from getting the flu. I hope that my perspective helps raise awareness of the fact that our bodies have a great natural defense system that needs to be nurtured in order to work effectively. If you're afraid of the flu, I highly recommend working on boosting your own immune system by avoiding sugar, getting enough vitamin D, and even going to a chiropractor regularly.
Why rely on a shot that probably won't protect you from getting the flu, no matter how mild? Does the flu shot even work? Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. explains why it's innefective. This study also explains that "Vaccination shows no appreciable effect on working days lost or hospitalisation."
While I normally try to link to scholarly articles and studies, this article also makes a great case against the CDC for not documenting actual results of the flu shot. This is another case against the flu shot by Dr. Mercola.
But, the flu shot still has a chance of working, so it's better than nothing, right? I disagree. The flu shot is full of toxins. The CDC actually lists the ingredients in a flu shot. They're not hiding the fact that there are known toxins in it.
Formaldehyde is in the flu shot. The EPA does a great job of listing the known toxic effects of formaldehyde.
Thimerosal is a type of mercury. The FDA recognizes that it does cause many people to have allergic reactions, but also claims that it's a different type of mercury than the known toxic kind (the kind found in ocean fish.) However, there are still many studies out there about the harmful effects of thimersal.
There's also the danger of the other preservatives and heavy metals in the flu shot. Rather than explaining all of this, read this. It's overly sensationalized, which is normally a turn-off for me, but it contains a lot of research all on the same page.
My intention for this blog wasn't to re-research the flu shot. Plenty of other people have already done that. My intention is to share my experience with the flu.
I can only remember having the flu once in my life. That one case was H1N1, and I got it while working at a movie theater during a particularly busy weekend, where I helped to serve more than a thousand customers in my shift. I should note that I got sick very often in my child hood. I was often told I had the flu, but we called every sickness "the flu." I rarely vomited, had the shakes, or the other symptoms associated with the flu. I normally was sick with high fevers, headaches, sinus infections, and seasonal allergies. I also got sick easily from certain objects, like gray crayons, which I now know is part of MCS. More importantly, since my early teenage years I've never had the flu shot. I don't remember if I got the flu shot when I was younger - I assume my schools required it, but I don't remember getting it.
So how is it that I've only had the flu once and I've never had the flu shot? Part of the explanation is going to be guessing, but I'll get into known facts too.
1. I've been allergic to corn my whole life, meaning I've always avoided High Fructose Corn Syrup. This means that I've eaten less sugar than the average person, because I often couldn't eat the pre-packaged foods that most people regularly ate. I also could eat out very easily, so I had to be careful. I ordered salads with oil and vinegar as a dressing, or meat without the marinade with a size of vegetables. I occasionally would get pizza from a local business that read all the ingredients they used to make sure they didn't use any corn. Don't get me wrong, I did eat sugar, but I did not eat it with most of my meals like the average American does (because HFCS is in almost everything.) Read ingredients if you don't believe me. Sugar is an immune system suppressant. It also feeds infections, promotes the growth of yeast in our bodies, and causes our bodies to become very acidic. This single article says enough for the purpose of this blog on how sugar affects whole body health.
2. I've spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, getting a lot of sunshine. I grew up in Idaho and Oregon, meaning all year round I had access to amazing outdoorsy things to do. I was in girl scouts, soccer, sailing camp, track, and more sports. I also just spent a ton of time on the ocean and went for plenty of bike rides and walks. I got plenty of sun. In my adult years, I've spent less time outside, but I have started taking vitamin D regularly at the request of my chiropractor. Vitamin D is known to prevent the flu. The sun is the best source of vitamin D, and the sun is known to boost immunity.
3. I've been getting chiropractic adjustments regularly for about 6 six years. The trouble with offering a source for how chiropractic adjustments help fight the flu is that most sources are written by chiropractors, well researched or not. I have personally had so much benefit from chiropractic care, that it doesn't surprise me at all that it helps prevent the flu because of what it does for the body. Remember, chiropractors are nervous system doctors, not bone doctors. They manipulate bones in order to free nerves so they can do their jobs. When the nervous system is working well because nerves aren't blocked or pinched, the body can respond well to invasion or harm. I'm going to link you to a chiropractic article anyway.
In conclusion, I hope that my perspective at least raises awareness of how the flu shot is not a guaranteed to prevent you from getting the flu. I hope that my perspective helps raise awareness of the fact that our bodies have a great natural defense system that needs to be nurtured in order to work effectively. If you're afraid of the flu, I highly recommend working on boosting your own immune system by avoiding sugar, getting enough vitamin D, and even going to a chiropractor regularly.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Make Up
I've been really sensitive to skin care products my whole life. They've caused rashes, hives, and eczema. Despite this, through the years I decided to keep trying products anyway. Since one product gave me eczema, I needed another one to calm my skin. It was a never-ending cycle. One year I decided to try Proactive for my acne. I had a terrible case of acne. There was one point where my whole face was broken out and you couldn't tell the natural color of my skin. Very bad. Proactive not only didn't work, it made me worse by causing a horrible case of eczema on top of the acne. I saw dermatologists and used their creams, which also did not work. This is part of what led me to wearing make up (the other part was that my first job at Ripley's Believe It Or Not required that I wore some. I loved that job.)
Of course, make up ended up being just as bad as the skin care products I tried. The difference was, however, that at least the product that cased a rash also covered up the rash. So I put up with it and kept wearing it.
I eventually "woke up." The more I sought to eat an organic diet, the more research I came across warning about the toxins in make up and skin care. The problem was that I couldn't afford the organic and natural products, and I wasn't willing to go without make up since I became reliant on the way it hid my bad skin. So I allowed myself to get sucked into the marketing campaigns by companies like Almay, which tried to convince us consumers that their products were safer than typical drug store brands. They used terms like "98.7% Natural" or even claimed to be an organic line, despite only using a few organic ingredients in a long ingredient list. I was young and inexperienced, so I thought that meant the products were safe. I had no idea that the term "natural" didn't mean anything at all. I also didn't pick up on the fact that the "organic" products were not certified organic, but just used the word "organic" in their names. The blessing was that those products didn't irritate my skin nearly as much as the other drug store brands I used to use. The problem was that because they weren't irritating my skin, I kept using them without realizing how many toxins were still in them. I wore those products for years and years.
It wasn't until about 3 years ago that I found a truly natural brand of make up's foundation on sale and bought it. The difference was astounding. My skin thanked me! My skin stopped "putting up with" the Almay foundation I was using and started to heal. The redness in my skin started to disappear, my acne lessened, my fine lines (at the age of 24) vanished, my skin grew softer, I wasn't fighting peeling skin every morning, and the make up looked so much better. It didn't look like I was wearing heavy cakey make up anymore. My face looked so much more natural. Major difference. That was my wake-up call, and since then I've never looked back at drug store make up.
The foundation that converted to me to organic and truly natural make up brands was MyChelle's Cream Foundation. MyChelle is awesome. Some of their products are a little too pricy for my budget, though, so I buy them when they're on sale. Thankfully, they do last a while, and I honestly believe that their products are fairly priced. I should note that while they offer safe products, they are not organic. Their foundation does have a mild natural scent to it. It doesn't smell like fragrance, but I think the ingredients themselves have a smell to them. It has not bothered me (I just wore it yesterday with no problem,) but for those of you with MCS, I would be cautious with MyChelle.
This caused me to look around for more brands that would work for me. I soon discovered another foundation on sale: Mineral Fusion's Pressed Powder Foundation. This foundation is actually slightly more expensive than MyChelle's foundation stick, but I've been able to find it on sale much more easily. I believe I only paid full price one time in the past 2 years of using it regularly. Between Amazon.com, Vine.com, LuckyVitamin.com, and Whole Foods it's possible to find a great price. I also use their mascara, 3-in-1 blush/ eyeshadow/ lip goss, and eye pencil. I'm madly in love with their products. They offer, by far, my favorite make up ever. The foundation is perfect: it's a bunch of minerals that I get to paint on with a brush. It's a lot like Bare Minerals, if you've heard of them, only a much more trustworthy brand with higher health standards. It looks totally natural and even. Even when my skin looks good without make up, I still like to wear this foundation because it enhances my natural skin and protects it very well.
This is me wearing Mineral Fusion foundation, a heavier amount than normal since you're supposed to do that for photo shoots. (Ignore how tired my eyes look - I have chronic fatigue, give me a break!)
I have not had any eczema or rashes on my face from my make up since switching to natural make up. It has made a profound difference. I wish I had the confidence to switch to being totally free from make-up, but since my skin has a lot of old damage and I prefer to look professional, I doubt I'll quit any time soon. If wearing make up were not considered a professional thing to do, I probably would go without more often... except for the fact that I love how the Mineral Fusion foundation looks on me. ;)
So what's so bad about drug store make up and non-organic make up anyway? A lot of things.
1. Your skin absorbs up to 60% of what you put on it. This news story claims that women have up to 5 lbs of cosmetics in their bloodstream per year.
2. The ingredients in cosmetics are designed to look good and stay put on your skin, not be good for you. Cosmetics are not a health product. Most companies care about how well the product works and how good it looks, meaning they'll use whatever ingredient they feel works best for the job, no matter how toxic or safe. The FDA essentially lets cosmetic companies to do whatever they want.
3. Many common cosmetic ingredients are known toxins and carcinogens.
4. There is a ton of information out there on the subject. When a health issue is this well documented, it's time to take notice:
http://stason.org/articles/wellbeing/health/Hidden-Dangers-Lurking-in-your-Products.html#.VIjPRHuwHP8
http://safecosmetics.org/section.php?id=33
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-cunningham/dangerous-beauty-products_b_4168587.html
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/environmental-breast-cancer-links/cosmetics/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/04/new-study-finds-major-toxins-in-many-cosmetics.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Beauty-Cosmetics-Personal-Care-Products/dp/1933771623
http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/03/12/dangerous-beauty-top-5-contaminated-beauty-products/
Need I post more links to news stories, studies, and information?
Of course, make up ended up being just as bad as the skin care products I tried. The difference was, however, that at least the product that cased a rash also covered up the rash. So I put up with it and kept wearing it.
I eventually "woke up." The more I sought to eat an organic diet, the more research I came across warning about the toxins in make up and skin care. The problem was that I couldn't afford the organic and natural products, and I wasn't willing to go without make up since I became reliant on the way it hid my bad skin. So I allowed myself to get sucked into the marketing campaigns by companies like Almay, which tried to convince us consumers that their products were safer than typical drug store brands. They used terms like "98.7% Natural" or even claimed to be an organic line, despite only using a few organic ingredients in a long ingredient list. I was young and inexperienced, so I thought that meant the products were safe. I had no idea that the term "natural" didn't mean anything at all. I also didn't pick up on the fact that the "organic" products were not certified organic, but just used the word "organic" in their names. The blessing was that those products didn't irritate my skin nearly as much as the other drug store brands I used to use. The problem was that because they weren't irritating my skin, I kept using them without realizing how many toxins were still in them. I wore those products for years and years.
It wasn't until about 3 years ago that I found a truly natural brand of make up's foundation on sale and bought it. The difference was astounding. My skin thanked me! My skin stopped "putting up with" the Almay foundation I was using and started to heal. The redness in my skin started to disappear, my acne lessened, my fine lines (at the age of 24) vanished, my skin grew softer, I wasn't fighting peeling skin every morning, and the make up looked so much better. It didn't look like I was wearing heavy cakey make up anymore. My face looked so much more natural. Major difference. That was my wake-up call, and since then I've never looked back at drug store make up.
The foundation that converted to me to organic and truly natural make up brands was MyChelle's Cream Foundation. MyChelle is awesome. Some of their products are a little too pricy for my budget, though, so I buy them when they're on sale. Thankfully, they do last a while, and I honestly believe that their products are fairly priced. I should note that while they offer safe products, they are not organic. Their foundation does have a mild natural scent to it. It doesn't smell like fragrance, but I think the ingredients themselves have a smell to them. It has not bothered me (I just wore it yesterday with no problem,) but for those of you with MCS, I would be cautious with MyChelle.
This caused me to look around for more brands that would work for me. I soon discovered another foundation on sale: Mineral Fusion's Pressed Powder Foundation. This foundation is actually slightly more expensive than MyChelle's foundation stick, but I've been able to find it on sale much more easily. I believe I only paid full price one time in the past 2 years of using it regularly. Between Amazon.com, Vine.com, LuckyVitamin.com, and Whole Foods it's possible to find a great price. I also use their mascara, 3-in-1 blush/ eyeshadow/ lip goss, and eye pencil. I'm madly in love with their products. They offer, by far, my favorite make up ever. The foundation is perfect: it's a bunch of minerals that I get to paint on with a brush. It's a lot like Bare Minerals, if you've heard of them, only a much more trustworthy brand with higher health standards. It looks totally natural and even. Even when my skin looks good without make up, I still like to wear this foundation because it enhances my natural skin and protects it very well.
This is me wearing Mineral Fusion foundation, a heavier amount than normal since you're supposed to do that for photo shoots. (Ignore how tired my eyes look - I have chronic fatigue, give me a break!)
I have not had any eczema or rashes on my face from my make up since switching to natural make up. It has made a profound difference. I wish I had the confidence to switch to being totally free from make-up, but since my skin has a lot of old damage and I prefer to look professional, I doubt I'll quit any time soon. If wearing make up were not considered a professional thing to do, I probably would go without more often... except for the fact that I love how the Mineral Fusion foundation looks on me. ;)
So what's so bad about drug store make up and non-organic make up anyway? A lot of things.
1. Your skin absorbs up to 60% of what you put on it. This news story claims that women have up to 5 lbs of cosmetics in their bloodstream per year.
2. The ingredients in cosmetics are designed to look good and stay put on your skin, not be good for you. Cosmetics are not a health product. Most companies care about how well the product works and how good it looks, meaning they'll use whatever ingredient they feel works best for the job, no matter how toxic or safe. The FDA essentially lets cosmetic companies to do whatever they want.
3. Many common cosmetic ingredients are known toxins and carcinogens.
4. There is a ton of information out there on the subject. When a health issue is this well documented, it's time to take notice:
http://stason.org/articles/wellbeing/health/Hidden-Dangers-Lurking-in-your-Products.html#.VIjPRHuwHP8
http://safecosmetics.org/section.php?id=33
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-cunningham/dangerous-beauty-products_b_4168587.html
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/environmental-breast-cancer-links/cosmetics/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/04/new-study-finds-major-toxins-in-many-cosmetics.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Beauty-Cosmetics-Personal-Care-Products/dp/1933771623
http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/03/12/dangerous-beauty-top-5-contaminated-beauty-products/
Need I post more links to news stories, studies, and information?
Monday, December 8, 2014
Weight
Note: Forgive the formatting issues. Blogger makes positioning photos very difficult. The published result looks a lot different from when I was composing this post. I tried hard to get paragraphs and photos to look even, and I'm giving up.
It's a touchy subject. Most of my life I was a good, healthy weight. I normally wore size small. I'm writing this to show how easy it is to gain weight and how possible it is to lose weight.
About 4 years ago I had gained some weight. I was working at a Chinese Restaurant that served us a free meal each shift. I think you can see where this is going. I did gain about 10 pounds. I was wearing the same clothes, but they fit tightly. It was the first time I had ever shown some weight. I was starting to shop size medium shirt and size 10 pants.
About a year later, I had gained a couple more pounds. It put me over the edge, needing to wear a size large shirt and size 12 pants. I knew I was gaining because out how my clothes were fitting, but I didn't think I looked overweight... yet. This is 2011. I was about 145 lbs.
Another year after that, 2012, I was at my heaviest. I gained weight rapidly. Over about 2-3 months (this is not well documented, because I was in denial and avoided keeping records,) I went from around 150 lbs to 175 lbs. Something happened that was beyond my control. I figured it was a combination of being over stressed (I just suffered the most stressful event of my life,) over eating, and resting too much. I also noticed I went from feeling somewhat tired all the time to extremely tired all the time. I didn't want to do anything. I also avoided photos, and I conveniently can't seem to find the photos I knew I was in at this point in time. I'm worried I actually deleted them, which is unfortunate because I visited some awesome places in New England at that time. I can't find those photos either.
I tried doing something called a Rotary Diversified Diet early that year. I won't explain because I don't recommend doing it. Long story short, it helped me lose about 15 pounds in 2 months, but it was so terribly demanding and tedious that it was nearly impossible to follow accurately at times. It also left me hungry, which isn't right. It helped at the time, but it was not a long-term solution. So this is what I looked like by Christmas of 2012. Around 160 lbs.
I did try doing another round of the diet in 2013. It helped again, a little bit. I managed to get down to 150 lbs on my own. I couldn't keep the diet up, though. I was getting too tired to care, and the diet was a ton of work. Eating was the easy part, managing what I was allowed to eat and when was too much. Despite the weight loss, I was feeling worse and worse. I had a few weeks on the diet where I felt more energy and was feeling pretty good, but that didn't last. I was feeling sick all the time, and this is when I decided to start seeing doctors, thinking I might have an auto-immune disease or
thyroid issue.
By November of 2013, I found myself seeing a my Naturopathic Doctor, who put me on a strict diet, supplements, and an exercise program. This photo was taken about 4 months into the diet. It was my first time fitting into a size small shirt again! I was down to size 8 pants too!
It's been almost exactly a year with my doctor and on the diet he put me on. What's most important is that I'm feeling a lot better and my body is working a lot better, but the weight loss also feels great. I don't, for whatever reason, have a recent photo of me that shows my current weight. All the photos I've been in recently hardly show my body. I'll remedy this soon, and when I do get a good photo taken I'll edit this post and include it. I am, however, at 130 lbs, wearing size XS - Small shirts (depending on the brand,) and size 6 pants. I've been at this weight for a while now and I haven't managed to lose any weight in the past few months. I'm not complaining - I no longer look overweight!
Lately I've been seeing lots of posts about how many people lost weight by cutting all grains from their diet. This makes me so happy. As you know, I've also been totally grain-free all year. I've also been totally sugar-free all year (no fruit, no honey, no agave - no sweeteners or sugars.) I have no desire whatsoever to ever go back to consuming grains, and I honestly have no interest in the taste of sugar either. I'm fairly certain that a big part of my weight loss was going grain-free and sugar-free. :)
It's a touchy subject. Most of my life I was a good, healthy weight. I normally wore size small. I'm writing this to show how easy it is to gain weight and how possible it is to lose weight.
About 4 years ago I had gained some weight. I was working at a Chinese Restaurant that served us a free meal each shift. I think you can see where this is going. I did gain about 10 pounds. I was wearing the same clothes, but they fit tightly. It was the first time I had ever shown some weight. I was starting to shop size medium shirt and size 10 pants.
About a year later, I had gained a couple more pounds. It put me over the edge, needing to wear a size large shirt and size 12 pants. I knew I was gaining because out how my clothes were fitting, but I didn't think I looked overweight... yet. This is 2011. I was about 145 lbs.
Another year after that, 2012, I was at my heaviest. I gained weight rapidly. Over about 2-3 months (this is not well documented, because I was in denial and avoided keeping records,) I went from around 150 lbs to 175 lbs. Something happened that was beyond my control. I figured it was a combination of being over stressed (I just suffered the most stressful event of my life,) over eating, and resting too much. I also noticed I went from feeling somewhat tired all the time to extremely tired all the time. I didn't want to do anything. I also avoided photos, and I conveniently can't seem to find the photos I knew I was in at this point in time. I'm worried I actually deleted them, which is unfortunate because I visited some awesome places in New England at that time. I can't find those photos either. I tried doing something called a Rotary Diversified Diet early that year. I won't explain because I don't recommend doing it. Long story short, it helped me lose about 15 pounds in 2 months, but it was so terribly demanding and tedious that it was nearly impossible to follow accurately at times. It also left me hungry, which isn't right. It helped at the time, but it was not a long-term solution. So this is what I looked like by Christmas of 2012. Around 160 lbs.
I did try doing another round of the diet in 2013. It helped again, a little bit. I managed to get down to 150 lbs on my own. I couldn't keep the diet up, though. I was getting too tired to care, and the diet was a ton of work. Eating was the easy part, managing what I was allowed to eat and when was too much. Despite the weight loss, I was feeling worse and worse. I had a few weeks on the diet where I felt more energy and was feeling pretty good, but that didn't last. I was feeling sick all the time, and this is when I decided to start seeing doctors, thinking I might have an auto-immune disease or
thyroid issue.
By November of 2013, I found myself seeing a my Naturopathic Doctor, who put me on a strict diet, supplements, and an exercise program. This photo was taken about 4 months into the diet. It was my first time fitting into a size small shirt again! I was down to size 8 pants too!
It's been almost exactly a year with my doctor and on the diet he put me on. What's most important is that I'm feeling a lot better and my body is working a lot better, but the weight loss also feels great. I don't, for whatever reason, have a recent photo of me that shows my current weight. All the photos I've been in recently hardly show my body. I'll remedy this soon, and when I do get a good photo taken I'll edit this post and include it. I am, however, at 130 lbs, wearing size XS - Small shirts (depending on the brand,) and size 6 pants. I've been at this weight for a while now and I haven't managed to lose any weight in the past few months. I'm not complaining - I no longer look overweight!
Lately I've been seeing lots of posts about how many people lost weight by cutting all grains from their diet. This makes me so happy. As you know, I've also been totally grain-free all year. I've also been totally sugar-free all year (no fruit, no honey, no agave - no sweeteners or sugars.) I have no desire whatsoever to ever go back to consuming grains, and I honestly have no interest in the taste of sugar either. I'm fairly certain that a big part of my weight loss was going grain-free and sugar-free. :)
Thursday, December 4, 2014
This is a "GUTsy" post.
I'm going to write this post about an area of your body you normally don't want to talk about: your gut. No, I don't mean your belly fat, I mean your actual gut, your intestines and colon. This is an area that has become very important to me. I didn't know my gut was in need of a lot of healing, but now that it's functioning much better I'm very surprised that I ever put up with how poorly it was functioning before. I didn't know I was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome until I reduced its irritation.
The problem is, I'm not an expert on this. I am still healing and still learning. I'm not in a position to write about details, but I am in a position to share research studies with you and tell my story (so far.) I hope this post encourages you to take another look at your gut health, especially as the underlying cause of many of your other (seemingly) unrelated health struggles.
I'll start with my experience...
When I saw my naturopathic doctor for the first time, I was not expecting him to say anything about my gut. I thought I was going to him to get help with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, heart palpitations, and possibly mental heath issues. I quickly found out that I actually went to him to get help with the many root causes of those symptoms, including irritable bowel syndrome. I was surprised, because up until that point I really thought that IBS was caused by eating high fructose corn syrup, which I never eat because I'm allergic to corn, because of several studied I had read. The next day I returned to his clinic for my first treatments, including a colonic irrigation. I didn't know what it was, so believe me when I say I was a little shocked when I saw the machine with the tube for the first time. A nurse (both nurses at the clinic are the nicest, most gentle, most amazing nurses you can imagine,) inserted a tube into my butt that poured sanitized water up my colon and then let it flow back out through the tube. After 45 minutes, I lost several pounds of waste out of my colon through that tube, and it felt wonderful. I felt lighter, more clear-headed, more stable, and more free. Before the colonic, my brain wasn't working well - I didn't have the energy to think. In fact, I had a very difficult time forming sentences because I couldn't remember the words. It was amazing how much better my brain worked out of that colonic. I felt better able to converse with my doctor and the nurses, and I could actually think through decisions better. Within the following week, I also noticed that I wasn't as gassy or bloated. I didn't have sharp pains in my gut when sitting down or moving around (that I honestly thought were normal because I had them so long.) I had a much easier time in the bathroom (I didn't realize I was struggling before.) I also noticed that slowly, over the following weeks, that I was getting bloated and foggy-headed again. Every time I go back to the clinic, I look forward to those colonic. They're one of the fastest forms of relief I've ever experienced. (Note: There is a TON of media out there saying that colonic irrigations are dangerous and they don't work. In fact, you'd think Google was paid to not show you any positive results for a colonic irrigation. The problem is, they don't define "work." In my experience, they have been very relieving, very hydrating, and perfectly safe. I personally would never want to try a DIY system - I've only done a "closed" system in which the nurses controls the machine and the tube the whole time. There's great information about colincs here.)
I've been following my doctor's regimen (diet, supplements, exercise, and more) for a little more than a year now. I've noticed a huge difference in my gut. When I'm eating right and am not suffering any type of MCS reaction, my gut is flat, handles waste very well, doesn't cause me any type of pain, and is very gentle on the rest of my organs. When I'm doing something wrong or am suffering a MCS reaction, it lets me know. It bloats (sometimes by a couple inches,) makes me feel like I have the flu, sends waves of discomfort through my whole body, makes me feel gassy without actually releasing any, and makes it very difficult to go to the bathroom. I also get the most foggy-headed when my gut isn't feeling well.
I've noticed another very important point, which will be the topic of my next "Menstrual Solutions" post: I'm fairly sure a good portion of my menstrual pain was coming from my gut, not my reproductive organs. The better my gut health, the lesser my menstrual pain. I've discovered that the pain of trouble in my colon is the exact same pain that almost crippled me on the first day of my periods for the past several years.
It's been a year, and I haven't quite mastered keeping my gut happy. I'm guessing it isn't done getting repaired anyway. I made my poor gut suffer for many years. I've recently figured out one of the problems. Almonds. As many of you know, I'm on a very limited, very strict diet. No grains, no sugar (not even fruit or honey,) no starches, no alcohol, no dairy, and no nightshades. Even my selection of vegetables is very limited because many are starchy, sugary, and difficult to digest. What this means is that when something causes me to react, it isn't hard to figure out what it was. My gut was improving a lot over the year, but I was still fighting heavy bloating trouble. We started by eliminating the whey protein powder in my protein shakes and switching to organic pea protein. That actually helped, so I thought I had found the culprit. I think because I cleared up the issues from the whey powder that I had an easier time detecting a problem from almonds. I was still bloating after drinking the shakes, but I was using almond milk. I noticed that my heart lightly palpitated after eating almond butter. Regretfully, because I love almond milk and almond butter, I cut almonds from my diet. This was just a few weeks ago. Now, the only time I bloat is when I drink too much water, but that's a different issue with my kidneys that I'll get into in another post. Yesterday I tried an experiment: I ate almonds at bed time (I need a bit of protein to help me sleep and not wake up with overly low blood sugar.) I've been gassy, constipated, bloated, and a big foggy all day. Very unpleasant. Of all things, almonds! So now I have to use coconut milk, which I like, but is much more expensive. I also have switched to sunflower seed butter, which is working well for me and is cheaper, but not as tasty. Oh well.
My own personal conclusions...
I'm guessing that most people who have health issues probably have some degree of an irritated bowel. It has become clear to me that the health of my gut is in direct correlation with my mental health. I always struggle with brain fog or anxiety when my gut isn't well. Always. I can struggle with anxiety when my gut is well, so I won't say that gut health is the only cause of anxiety. It has also become clear to me that my joint pain is worse when my gut isn't happy. I've also noticed that I have more acne when my gut isn't happy. My periods are more painful when my gut isn't happy. I'm more fatigued when my gut isn't happy. I get occasional heart burn and indigestion when my gut isn't happy. When my gut is happy and functioning well, I usually am too.
My conclusion is that caring for our gut is one of the most important steps to caring for our overall health!
I recommend...
Eliminating grains. Here's the deal: Even if you're a person who can tolerate certain grains, it won't hurt you to eliminate them for a couple of weeks just to see what happens. Wheat, specifically, is known to cause inflammation of the gut as well as leaky gut syndrome. In fact, it's arguable that wheat (at least in it's modern form,) isn't meant for human consumption, but I'll get to that in the next section. In some people, like myself, all grains have have this effect in the gut.
Eliminating sugar. You don't need sugar. It's not a necessarily nutrient. In fact, it doesn't offer any benefit to the body, but it does do harm. What you need is glucose, which your body makes by breaking down other forms of nutrients. If you only eat protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates, you will get enough glucose. Trust me - I've increased my blood glucose by avoiding all sugar. Try eliminating sugar in every possible form along with grains. I mean ALL sugar: no fruit, no honey, no packaged food (which almost always has added sugar,) no juice, no glazed nuts, no beets, no jerky (unless you make it yourself to avoid sugar,) no salad dressing... you get the idea. Do not replace it with artificial sweeteners - they can do more damage than the sugar itself! Here's the deal: sugar causes inflammation. It also feeds bad bacteria, yeast, and infections. By eliminating sugar, you eliminate the right environment for bad bacteria, yeast, and infections to build and grow. Your gut can then naturally heal itself.
Eliminate alcohol. Just try it for a couple of weeks along with the sugar and the grains! Alcohol is usually based on sugar and grains, so it should be obvious that alcohol should be avoided. Furthermore, alcohol kills all bacteria, even the good bacteria. You will not notice an improvement in your gut health if you kill off the good bacteria that helps it heal.
I highly recommend also eliminating dairy. Dairy is high in sugar (lactose,) but it also causes inflammation and causes your body to produce mucus. Ask any vocalist: they never consume dairy before a performance because it it produces mucus in their throats. While some people do seem to digest dairy well, the more I talk to people, the more I find that people who have eliminated dairy do feel a lot better. I, personally, never reacted to dairy. I used to eat cheese, yogurt, and milk regularly without any obvious consequence. I did, however, lose quite a bit of weight after eliminating just dairy. I also noticed my joint pain wasn't as bad and I wasn't catching colds as easily as everyone else. And before you say, "But yogurt has probiotics" I'll respond. First, most major yogurt companies don't actually include any probiotics ("Live Active Cultures" doesn't necessarily mean probiotics.) Second, the companies that do include probiotics don't include very many. Third, most major yogurt companies culture the yogurt so quickly that there is no time for the probiotics to grow and cultivate. They need about a day to culture properly to offer you benefits, but many yogurt companies only let their yogurt cultivate for about 4 hours. There are better sources of better probiotics. I love this argument.
For the sake of the experiment, I also recommend avoiding broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. They are brassica vegetables, which can make you fairly gassy. They'll throw off the experiment.
After a couple of weeks, see how your gut feels. I'm willing to bet you will lose weight - maybe even a lot of weight. I'm willing to bet you'll feel more clear-headed and mentally sharp. I'm willing to bet that you'll find going to the bathroom is a lot easier, and you might even go more often. I'm also willing to bet that you'll be less gassy and in less pain.
After those two weeks, you can try to reintroduce grains, sugar, and dairy one at a time. See how you react. You might quickly find that you bloat, get gassy, or get cramps. It's a sure way of knowing just how poorly your gut has been feeling. It's also a good way of finding out what you're intolerant to!
Don't just take my word for it. Check out all this research...
How the gut affects the brain:
A Healthy Gut Means a Healthy Brain by Dr. Amy Myers
The Gut-Brain Connection, Mental Illness, and Disease on Psychology Today
Connection between gut health and overall health:
You Are What you Digest and Absorb by Dr. Amy Myers
Inflammation Connection by Kelly Brogan MD
Gut Health Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke on Huffington Post
Healing our guts:
4 Steps to Heal Leaky Gut by Dr. Axe (Though I disagree with eating dairy.)
Is Your Digestive System Making You Fat by Dr. Mark Hyman
The problem is, I'm not an expert on this. I am still healing and still learning. I'm not in a position to write about details, but I am in a position to share research studies with you and tell my story (so far.) I hope this post encourages you to take another look at your gut health, especially as the underlying cause of many of your other (seemingly) unrelated health struggles.
I'll start with my experience...
When I saw my naturopathic doctor for the first time, I was not expecting him to say anything about my gut. I thought I was going to him to get help with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, heart palpitations, and possibly mental heath issues. I quickly found out that I actually went to him to get help with the many root causes of those symptoms, including irritable bowel syndrome. I was surprised, because up until that point I really thought that IBS was caused by eating high fructose corn syrup, which I never eat because I'm allergic to corn, because of several studied I had read. The next day I returned to his clinic for my first treatments, including a colonic irrigation. I didn't know what it was, so believe me when I say I was a little shocked when I saw the machine with the tube for the first time. A nurse (both nurses at the clinic are the nicest, most gentle, most amazing nurses you can imagine,) inserted a tube into my butt that poured sanitized water up my colon and then let it flow back out through the tube. After 45 minutes, I lost several pounds of waste out of my colon through that tube, and it felt wonderful. I felt lighter, more clear-headed, more stable, and more free. Before the colonic, my brain wasn't working well - I didn't have the energy to think. In fact, I had a very difficult time forming sentences because I couldn't remember the words. It was amazing how much better my brain worked out of that colonic. I felt better able to converse with my doctor and the nurses, and I could actually think through decisions better. Within the following week, I also noticed that I wasn't as gassy or bloated. I didn't have sharp pains in my gut when sitting down or moving around (that I honestly thought were normal because I had them so long.) I had a much easier time in the bathroom (I didn't realize I was struggling before.) I also noticed that slowly, over the following weeks, that I was getting bloated and foggy-headed again. Every time I go back to the clinic, I look forward to those colonic. They're one of the fastest forms of relief I've ever experienced. (Note: There is a TON of media out there saying that colonic irrigations are dangerous and they don't work. In fact, you'd think Google was paid to not show you any positive results for a colonic irrigation. The problem is, they don't define "work." In my experience, they have been very relieving, very hydrating, and perfectly safe. I personally would never want to try a DIY system - I've only done a "closed" system in which the nurses controls the machine and the tube the whole time. There's great information about colincs here.)
I've been following my doctor's regimen (diet, supplements, exercise, and more) for a little more than a year now. I've noticed a huge difference in my gut. When I'm eating right and am not suffering any type of MCS reaction, my gut is flat, handles waste very well, doesn't cause me any type of pain, and is very gentle on the rest of my organs. When I'm doing something wrong or am suffering a MCS reaction, it lets me know. It bloats (sometimes by a couple inches,) makes me feel like I have the flu, sends waves of discomfort through my whole body, makes me feel gassy without actually releasing any, and makes it very difficult to go to the bathroom. I also get the most foggy-headed when my gut isn't feeling well.
I've noticed another very important point, which will be the topic of my next "Menstrual Solutions" post: I'm fairly sure a good portion of my menstrual pain was coming from my gut, not my reproductive organs. The better my gut health, the lesser my menstrual pain. I've discovered that the pain of trouble in my colon is the exact same pain that almost crippled me on the first day of my periods for the past several years.
It's been a year, and I haven't quite mastered keeping my gut happy. I'm guessing it isn't done getting repaired anyway. I made my poor gut suffer for many years. I've recently figured out one of the problems. Almonds. As many of you know, I'm on a very limited, very strict diet. No grains, no sugar (not even fruit or honey,) no starches, no alcohol, no dairy, and no nightshades. Even my selection of vegetables is very limited because many are starchy, sugary, and difficult to digest. What this means is that when something causes me to react, it isn't hard to figure out what it was. My gut was improving a lot over the year, but I was still fighting heavy bloating trouble. We started by eliminating the whey protein powder in my protein shakes and switching to organic pea protein. That actually helped, so I thought I had found the culprit. I think because I cleared up the issues from the whey powder that I had an easier time detecting a problem from almonds. I was still bloating after drinking the shakes, but I was using almond milk. I noticed that my heart lightly palpitated after eating almond butter. Regretfully, because I love almond milk and almond butter, I cut almonds from my diet. This was just a few weeks ago. Now, the only time I bloat is when I drink too much water, but that's a different issue with my kidneys that I'll get into in another post. Yesterday I tried an experiment: I ate almonds at bed time (I need a bit of protein to help me sleep and not wake up with overly low blood sugar.) I've been gassy, constipated, bloated, and a big foggy all day. Very unpleasant. Of all things, almonds! So now I have to use coconut milk, which I like, but is much more expensive. I also have switched to sunflower seed butter, which is working well for me and is cheaper, but not as tasty. Oh well.
My own personal conclusions...
I'm guessing that most people who have health issues probably have some degree of an irritated bowel. It has become clear to me that the health of my gut is in direct correlation with my mental health. I always struggle with brain fog or anxiety when my gut isn't well. Always. I can struggle with anxiety when my gut is well, so I won't say that gut health is the only cause of anxiety. It has also become clear to me that my joint pain is worse when my gut isn't happy. I've also noticed that I have more acne when my gut isn't happy. My periods are more painful when my gut isn't happy. I'm more fatigued when my gut isn't happy. I get occasional heart burn and indigestion when my gut isn't happy. When my gut is happy and functioning well, I usually am too.
My conclusion is that caring for our gut is one of the most important steps to caring for our overall health!
I recommend...
Eliminating grains. Here's the deal: Even if you're a person who can tolerate certain grains, it won't hurt you to eliminate them for a couple of weeks just to see what happens. Wheat, specifically, is known to cause inflammation of the gut as well as leaky gut syndrome. In fact, it's arguable that wheat (at least in it's modern form,) isn't meant for human consumption, but I'll get to that in the next section. In some people, like myself, all grains have have this effect in the gut.
Eliminating sugar. You don't need sugar. It's not a necessarily nutrient. In fact, it doesn't offer any benefit to the body, but it does do harm. What you need is glucose, which your body makes by breaking down other forms of nutrients. If you only eat protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates, you will get enough glucose. Trust me - I've increased my blood glucose by avoiding all sugar. Try eliminating sugar in every possible form along with grains. I mean ALL sugar: no fruit, no honey, no packaged food (which almost always has added sugar,) no juice, no glazed nuts, no beets, no jerky (unless you make it yourself to avoid sugar,) no salad dressing... you get the idea. Do not replace it with artificial sweeteners - they can do more damage than the sugar itself! Here's the deal: sugar causes inflammation. It also feeds bad bacteria, yeast, and infections. By eliminating sugar, you eliminate the right environment for bad bacteria, yeast, and infections to build and grow. Your gut can then naturally heal itself.
Eliminate alcohol. Just try it for a couple of weeks along with the sugar and the grains! Alcohol is usually based on sugar and grains, so it should be obvious that alcohol should be avoided. Furthermore, alcohol kills all bacteria, even the good bacteria. You will not notice an improvement in your gut health if you kill off the good bacteria that helps it heal.
I highly recommend also eliminating dairy. Dairy is high in sugar (lactose,) but it also causes inflammation and causes your body to produce mucus. Ask any vocalist: they never consume dairy before a performance because it it produces mucus in their throats. While some people do seem to digest dairy well, the more I talk to people, the more I find that people who have eliminated dairy do feel a lot better. I, personally, never reacted to dairy. I used to eat cheese, yogurt, and milk regularly without any obvious consequence. I did, however, lose quite a bit of weight after eliminating just dairy. I also noticed my joint pain wasn't as bad and I wasn't catching colds as easily as everyone else. And before you say, "But yogurt has probiotics" I'll respond. First, most major yogurt companies don't actually include any probiotics ("Live Active Cultures" doesn't necessarily mean probiotics.) Second, the companies that do include probiotics don't include very many. Third, most major yogurt companies culture the yogurt so quickly that there is no time for the probiotics to grow and cultivate. They need about a day to culture properly to offer you benefits, but many yogurt companies only let their yogurt cultivate for about 4 hours. There are better sources of better probiotics. I love this argument.
For the sake of the experiment, I also recommend avoiding broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. They are brassica vegetables, which can make you fairly gassy. They'll throw off the experiment.
After a couple of weeks, see how your gut feels. I'm willing to bet you will lose weight - maybe even a lot of weight. I'm willing to bet you'll feel more clear-headed and mentally sharp. I'm willing to bet that you'll find going to the bathroom is a lot easier, and you might even go more often. I'm also willing to bet that you'll be less gassy and in less pain.
After those two weeks, you can try to reintroduce grains, sugar, and dairy one at a time. See how you react. You might quickly find that you bloat, get gassy, or get cramps. It's a sure way of knowing just how poorly your gut has been feeling. It's also a good way of finding out what you're intolerant to!
Don't just take my word for it. Check out all this research...
How the gut affects the brain:
A Healthy Gut Means a Healthy Brain by Dr. Amy Myers
The Gut-Brain Connection, Mental Illness, and Disease on Psychology Today
Connection between gut health and overall health:
You Are What you Digest and Absorb by Dr. Amy Myers
Inflammation Connection by Kelly Brogan MD
Gut Health Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke on Huffington Post
Healing our guts:
4 Steps to Heal Leaky Gut by Dr. Axe (Though I disagree with eating dairy.)
Is Your Digestive System Making You Fat by Dr. Mark Hyman