Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping.

First a history lesson.

I live in a city where the natural and organic food options went from slim options to moderate options over the course of a few years. At first we had to go to one of two grocery stores for organic foods. One only had a few vegetables and some organic shelf-stable options were mixed in with all the other non-organic food. The other store has its own Natural Foods section, which has always been a decent little corner in the store, and had more organic produce options than the other store. Or you could go to Walmart, which had a lawsuit several years ago about putting organic labels on conventional produce to make a higher profit. I have major trust issues with Walmart. Basically, we had slim pickings. The produce was rarely ever fresh. It had to be shipping in from so far away. The only way to get fresh produce was to go to farmers markets. The type of produce sold there was limited, and there were only a couple of vendors. I also have a super rough time with mornings, and that's when they're happening.

Then a few years ago our city opened a Community Food Co-op. Finally! A place to get local organic/ non-sprayed produce with greater options for other organic groceries! They also offered locally sourced grass fed beef and lamb that never ate grains! It was a miracle! I was really excited about this. The problem is that this co-op has had a really rocky few years since opening. The meat department started out fantastic. They had a choice of local cuts, they made their own smoked meats, made their own sausages, and kept a variety. They slowly stopped carrying any fresh (non-frozen) local meat. That deteriorated into no fresh non-packaged meat. Now their meat cooler only has prepackaged options from regional brands, and then a freezer with local beef, pork, and lamb. They have always carried Smart Chicken, which I like, but they used to carry local whole chickens. I haven't seen those in years. Their produce section didn't have it quite as rough as the meat department, but there were some rough patches. Overall they have still had the best selection of fresh organic foods in town, and most of the time I'm happy with my produce from them. Local means fresh! But not always - not when people don't buy it fast enough and it sits there too long. It's not their fault.

I work a health products store (Terry's Health Products) that sells frozen and shelf-stable foods. We have made a strong effort to make our food section good, and I can get a lot of my regular staples there. We don't carry any fresh foods, but there's plenty else we carry. I'm not being biased by saying that the store I work at has been a saving grace for my city for many many years. It has always filled in gaps in the local market, thankfully! If you live near me then I strongly encourage you to consider us as part of your grocery shopping stops, because we have things no one else in town has.

So then Natural Grocers decided to come to town. They just opened last month. I can't tell you how many people were really excited that they were coming - acting like it was an answer to all the grocery problems in this city. Having shopped there when I lived in Boise, I knew what to expect, and the store turned out to be exactly what I expected. It's probably a miracle store for some types of shoppers. But I am not the kind of shopper the store is targeted to. Their produce is not local, and has the same problem as the other stores: it's not as fresh as I want because of the shipping time. Their produce section also focuses heavily on fruits and potatoes... starches and sugars, just like what most shelf-stable foods focus on. The typical American diet. They do not have a meat department, just some pre-packaged options that they have been mostly or entirely sold out of the 3 times I've been there. The one thing they carry that I can't get anywhere else in town is organic turkey deli meat without any sugar, carrageenan, starches, flavors, or other additives. It's just turkey and salt. Unlike Applegate, who just cannot seem to ever get it right (potato starch - seriously!?) I was hoping that their frozen vegetable selection would offer some variety. Nope, not really. It's just more of what every other store carries, plus some frozen mushrooms and okra (I can't have either.) So... do I really have much reason to shop there except to stock up on deli meat? An entire natural foods store, and as an organic health foodie I can't find much there that fits my standards. This is a normal problem for me.

Now that you have my history lesson, I want to explain how I shop. I get asked this often, so I'll enlighten you.

I do not eat any sugars, starches, dairy, grains, fruits, nightshades, pork, most fish, sulfurous foods, carrageenan, enriched foods, artificial ingredients, or anything with added vitamins. I also avoid most non-sugar sweeteners and natural and artificial flavors. This is not about preference, it's about my health. I don't have much choice - my body will make that clear if I try and cheat.

I eat pasture raised organic meats, certain vegetables, certain nuts and seeds, and certain oils. That's it.

Basically, I don't eat 95% of what is offered in any grocery store. Just because it's organic and "clean" doesn't mean it's good for me, but these stores like Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Kroger, and Trader Joe's and the like will try to make you think it is good for you. There are a lot of people out there who just care that their food is natural and organic, and they'll still buy the typical cereals, sauces, pastas, energy bars... you know, the same foods they would buy at Walmart, just the organic version. If that's the type of shopper you are then these stores are perfect for you! That is not the type of shopper I am. Anymore. I used to be that type of shopper, and I was like a kid in a candy store in these types of stores. But my health doesn't allow me to eat any organic food I want to (that I'm not allergic to) anymore. 

What these stores don't do very well is cater to people like me, who are on restricted diets. There is some effort to cater to the Keto and Paleo diets, but I haven't been impressed with most of those efforts. Paleo granola still has bananas, honey, or maple syrup. How is that Paleo? Why is it a fundamental requirement that all pre-packaged foods have a sweetener in them? Where are the Paleo granolas without starchy nuts (cashews) and without sweeteners added? I can find Keto friendly breads without the grains and sugars, but then they're full of tapioca starch. Ummm... that's not Keto. Sorry, nice try, but starches will pull you out of ketosis. Especially when people eat those Keto-friendly processed foods on a regular basis. If you're not trying to stay in Ketosis and you can tolerate some starches then these breads are AMAZING. Seriously. They're very good. But they do not work for me... can you tell I tried? My gut told me to stop eating them. My actual gut, not my intuition.

So.

My main food is meat. I need to eat protein every two hours. I need a lot of protein to be stable. I order a quarter cow at a time directly from a local farm. It's certified organic and grass-fed, and they never eat grains (except some of their cows will be fed organic oats in the winter.) I pay around $800-1,000 for my quarter cow, and I buy a quarter 2-3 times a year. I have to buy my free-range chicken and lamb from the local co-op, and I probably buy $25 of chicken per week from them. You might think this is crazy expensive! Keep in mind that I'm not spending my money on other groceries - I put my budget into these quality meats and don't buy tons of other foods.

My second main food are vegetables. Non-starchy, non-nightshade, non-sulfurous vegetables. My options are fairly limited, but cheating and eating other veggies hurts. A lot. Sorry, broccoli is not good for me at all, which royally sucks because it's delicious and has great texture. Because I'm so restricted, I can't sign up for a program through one of the local organic farms where they send me a box a week. I'll get too many vegetables I can't eat, but I love those programs for other people so much. I can't get to the farmer's markets due to the times they are at, sadly. But this is where the local food co-op is a huge blessing for me. They have fresh local organic produce. They don't have every thing I want, but I am happy with what they do have. I stop there on the way home from work (it's on the way) and load up on veggies and Smart Chicken and lamb a couple times per week.

The store I work at has the nuts and seeds I can eat. Sprouted pumpkin seeds, sprouted sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and occasional sprouted almonds. All organic. I also get my jerky, vinegar, coconut aminos, coconut wraps, paleo avocado oil mayo without yolks (sulfur in the yolks), frozen veggies, collagen creamer for my tea, tea, and my spices there. I probably spend a lot of my paycheck on groceries there, ha!

Now I'm adding in Natural Grocers as a 3rd store, but really just for my deli meat. I went there today and wandered around a lot, not seeing anything else for me. That doesn't make them a bad store. They're just not catering to me.

I also shop on Vitacost.com as needed. They used to carry a lot that I couldn't find in town, but this year I've been able to find more of what I need in town. Sometimes it's way cheaper to buy from them and I'll choose them anyway.



Is the issue here me, or is it an issue with the industry? Both.

There are brands doing it right. I love those brands, I support them, and I encourage others to eat them. There are brands that are doing it right who I recommend, even though I can't eat their products due to certain ingredients.

But there are a lot of brands who just want their food to be the best tasting option. They don't care if that means they have to add sugar and starches. They don't care if that means they have to use a less healthy oil or cooking method. The ingredients might be organic, but that doesn't mean it's healthy or of the highest quality. Foods like this make up most of the industry. If you're like my husband, then this is a very good thing. He wants to only eat delicious foods and just prefers that they're organic. He loves the convenience of a can of hearty soup full of cream and potatoes and with lots of thickeners. :) I cannot be like my husband, even if I want to be, because I'll get sick eating that way. I'm far from the only one with my types of restrictions too. There should be a much bigger market for people like me.

I would probably eat a lot more packaged foods if only they followed my rules. Broth in glass without nightshades, yeast, or sugar. Paleo crackers without starches or too much vinegar (vinegar is sulfurous). Jerky without nightshades. Olives in glass without red wine vinegar. Frozen mixed vegetables without corn or nightshades and preferably in waxed paper packaging . Sunflower seed butter without sugar and with salt (I need the salt!) Paleo bread without egg yolks and starches, and maybe using a mix of nut flours beyond just almond flour (I can tolerate some, just not often.) Paleo protein powder bars without erythritol and cashews (I'm looking at you, Bulletproof - get rid of those cashews please!) You get the idea. There are a lot of products that are almost right for me.

Maybe now you understand why I don't get too excited about the organic industry. I love that the industry exists and I'm passionate about food. This industry is very very important. But I don't trust it. I find companies within the industry that are trustworthy and I stick with them. Most organic brands don't make anything for me. I am extremely judgemental and critical of foods, but I think that protects me and is a healthy thing.

But as you can see, I'm able to eat well. I'm able to find what I need. I'm able to not settle for less than what is right for me. I just had to have the determination to figure out how to shop and the willpower to stick to it. It's been working for me!

Results of New Supplements and Going Off All Supplements

I've had a rough month. Winter is never easy for me, but I chose to do some experimenting despite winter. I want to record some of what I've learned here.

1. Lithium Orotate

My doctor suggested I try this based on my gene data (23andMe.com). Lithium Carbonate has been traditionally used to treat bipolar disorder, but I've been taking Lithium Orotate. The difference is that carbonate isn't stable and a person has to take over 1,000 mg of it at a time to absorb enough to make a difference. Orotate, on the other hand, is highly absorbable and can be taken in small doses. I'm taking 5 mg a day.

For the first couple of weeks it made me feel a bit high - giddy, could laugh really easily, smiled for no reason at all, and had pleasant dreams. That effect wore off and I went back to "normal," except that I've noticed I haven't had nearly as many dark, depressing, lethargic, and apathetic thoughts. I originally started on inositol powder to help with my mood and energy. It did make a mild positive difference, but the lithium has done more.

I have also had regular large, deep, painful cystic acne since starting the lithium. I thought it was from taking the liver glandular, thinking it was detoxing me through my skin, but the problem has continued. I then learned from someone else that lithium gave them the same kind of acne. I'm now trying to decide if the better mood from lithium is worth this painful large acne.


2. Selenium

My doctor also suggested I try selenium for the same reason as trying lithium. Low selenium contributes to thyroid disorders, and my thyroid is disordered. I started and stopped the selenium twice. The first time I tried it turned me into a total zombie: very lightheaded and weak, dizzy, and unable to focus. I developed these symptoms immediately. A few weeks later I tried it again. It took 2 weeks before I developed the same symptoms. It gave me vertigo so strong that at times I couldn't walk in a straight line. So I stopped taking it. I didn't notice any other effect or benefit.

They say that the soil here in North Dakota is rich in selenium. I eat mostly locally grown organic foods, so I'm hoping this simply means that I'm getting enough regularly through my diet.

3. 4-point Saliva Cortisol Test/ Going off all supplements for 2 1/2 days.

I am very likely going to write a post on the results and preparation process when I get them. This is about the results of quitting all supplements for 2 1/2 days in order to do the test. I joined an adrenal fatigue support group on facebook based on the book Stop The Thyroid Madness. They say that it's very important to be off all supplements for 2 full weeks before doing the cortisol test, because you have to get all adaptions and other things that affect cortisol levels totally out of your body to see how your body does without support. I couldn't handle being off my supplements for 2 1/2 days, so I went ahead and did the test. I understand that some people think this will ruin the test results, but I honestly do not think it is safe for me to be off supplements any longer.

What happened?

- My blood sugar plummeted. With supplements it stays between 95-115 most of the time. Off supplements (I measured about once an hour for 2 days) I was staying between 72-98, most of the time I was in the 80's. I start to get symptomatic of hypoglycemia when I'm below 90, but below 80 I can't function. I was hypoglycemic a lot in the last 2 1/2 days. I did not change my diet of eating protein every 2 hours. (Keeping in mind that the adrenal glands do heavily affect blood sugar, and I stopped supporting my adrenals.) This morning (now that I can go back on my supplements) I did a test. My blood sugar was 84 when I got up, then after a protein shake including licorice (which affects the adrenals) it shot up to 124!!! That's a huge difference very quickly! I'm looking forward to going back on my pancreas glandular with chromium, which really helps keep my blood sugar stable.

- Heavy menstrual bleeding just 2 weeks into my cycle. My diva cup was full, and it was very dark and clotted.

- Blood pressure got wonky. I didn't see it ever dip below 95/58, which isn't much lower than I occasionally get even when on my supplements, but my pulse pressure narrowed by about 10 points on average. Pulse pressure is the distance between systolic and diastolic, and a healthy pulse pressure is about 40. My pulse pressure was often 25-30, but I had one reading of it at 55. This isn't stable for me. I'm generally around 30-40 when on supplements, even if my overall blood pressure is on the low end.

- Disturbed sleep. I couldn't take any sleeping aids for 2 nights, which was torture. Both nights it took hours of just laying there to fall asleep, even though I was exhausted from work. Once I got to sleep I found myself waking up every couple of hours. Small sounds in the house would also wake me up. I wouldn't feel rested during the day. Last night, after finishing the coritosl test, I took my sleep pills. They normally take about hour to kick in, but they made my whole body tingle and shut down within about 10 minutes. I felt like I was fighting sleep, but after shutting the light off and trying to sleep I couldn't fall asleep for probably an hour. Once I did fall asleep I stayed asleep, thankfully.

- Couldn't find joy in doing anything, even things I liked. The first day wasn't so bad, but the second day (yesterday) was awful. Everything felt like work, most things annoyed me, and nothing was enjoyable to do. I was apathetic, but worse than that, I felt emotionally muted.

- Poor memory. I found it hard to recall information, remember how and when something happened, and found it hard to retain the instructions I was reading over and over. After only 2 1/2 days without supplements! This shows how sensitive my body is.

- Poor vision and balance. A big part of this was being hypoglycemic, but even when my blood sugar was in the 90's I would have sensations of the floor moving below me, me swaying when I was not, and objects in the distance vibrating when they were not.

- Joint aches, but surprisingly no fibromyalgia. I was feeling very inflammed.

- Digestion plugged up. I gained about 5 pounds in bloat in the last 2 days, and my IBS is acting up. I did actually take my digestive enzymes to help, but they didn't help much. I was having regular bowel movements, but staying bloated and food wouldn't move through me well.

- Intense fatigue, but not constantly. I was able to work for the first 1/2 day and the second full day without supplements, but I was dragging and "flight mode" was kicking in a lot when I was encountering minor problems. At times it took willpower to lift my legs to walk. Yesterday I had trouble getting up and moving at times, but had weird spurts of jittery energy in which I was able to run up and downstairs to do laundry.


What did I learn from all this? That my supplements really are doing me good! I was able to write this post because I'm finally able to drink a cup of green tea, which tastes like heaven right now. My adrenal glands still have A LOT of healing to do, even after 3 years of trying to repair them. I don't need the test results to feel this, but I'm very curious about how my results will look.

Book Reveiw: Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers

Several months ago my parents showed up at my place of work and handed me a book: Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers. Yes, the author is the creator of the Thigh Master and was on Three's Company. She has become one of my favorite celebrities because of her work on educating the public about mold toxicity, multiple chemical sensitives and environmental illness, poor thyroid health, and the importance of eating organic.

It took me months to read this book. Between the brain fog, fatigue, inflammation, and generally feeling unwell, I've been finding it very difficult to read at all over the past couple of years. I read this book faster than any others since I've become sick. It was very engaging for a book on health, and my brain was hungry to learn more about how to heal. I read a couple of chapters about 3 times before I understood what they said, but it was worth struggling through processing the words. Understanding this, I hope you forgive me if I forget something or misrepresent something in this review.

I highly recommend that everyone reads this book, even if you're not sick. It will open your eyes to how you can protect not only your health, but the health of those around you. If you care about and respect humans, you'll want to read this book. It's certainly not the only book with this type of information, but it might be the easiest to read and understand. The entire message of the book boils down to the dangers of environmental toxicity common in our every day lives, how toxins are the root cause of most chronic illnesses (even affecting genes that cause illness), and how to protect yourself in this toxic world we've created. It sounds like a conspiracy theory until you read about the actual science behind it - there's actually quite a bit of research, much of which even the CDC and WHO acknowledge.

As I first started reading I was a bit worried it wouldn't be anything new, other than her personal stories of mold and toxin exposure causing her cancer and bloating. She spends many many pages slowly prepping the reader for what's to come later in the book, gently asking you health questions and lifestyle questions to motivate you to want to change your habits in order to become healthier. Because so much of this long introduction wasn't new to me since I've already been living in an environmental health nightmare, I ended up skimming over the rest of it.

What was helpful to me in this introduction was her granddaughter's story. Her 14-year-old granddaughter went to a clinic in Florida that I had been curious about. I quickly found out that only celebrities can afford the clinic, but the way they treat patients is something I hope other clinics can learn from. Her granddaughter's story was heartbreaking, but she was able to recover because of this clinic.

The majority of the book is long interviews with doctors. She interviews Nick Gonzalez, M.D. (may he RIP); Sherry Rogers, M.D.; Stephen Sinatra, M.D.; Gary Gorden, M.D.; Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D.; and Walter Crinnion, N.D. While the topic of each interview might not be new to people with environmental illness, many of the details were. I learned quite a bit from each of these doctors, even though I've read up on some of them before reading this book. Each of these doctors explains some root causes they've found in patients as well as offering advice for recovery. I'll include a photo of a page from most of the interviews, so you can get a taste of what the doctors have to offer in these interviews.

Dr. Nick Gonzalez's interview made me want to see him as a patient, but sadly, he's one of the over 50 holistic doctors that have been murdered in the past year (you can read more about this on the link in the last paragraph.) As a cancer doctor, he talked quite a bit about organ health. He digs into gut health, especially the role of bacteria in fighting and preventing cancer. He explains how environmental toxins, especially mercury, messes with our gut bacteria and stem cells that we need to sustain our life, which promotes the growth of cancer cells. He digs into the concept of "leaky brain," which is an issue of a compromised blood-brain barrier. His suggestions for healing are mostly focused on liver cleanses, and so he's a big fan of bentonite clay and coffee enemas. I was a bit skeptical of these suggestions at first, mainly due to assumptions about lead in the clay and coffee enemas being harsh on the colon, but it inspired me to do further reading on the subject. I'm much less skeptical the more I read up on these treatments, but I think that's for another post.



After his interview she digs into the rising issue of gluten sensitivities, borrowing research from some of the leaders such as Dr. Perlmutter (author of Grain Brain.)

This leads into an interview with Dr. Sherry Rogers on Environmental Illness. Her back story is very interesting. She went into Environmental Heath after formaldehyde poisoning from working on cadavers in medical school. She later was told that as a 35-year-old her bones looked like those of a 78-year-old's. She found out that the only way to manage her chronic pain was to eliminate all nightshades from her diet, even the spices like paprika. She had been through a lot, and it lead her to writing the book Detoxify or Die, which I'm interested in reading. She digs into Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, thyroid lab tests showing normal results when the thyroid is sick, nutrition problems such as with magnesium, and more.


Next, she moves into a chapter on the heart. This is the chapter that many people are going to feel most resistant to because it gives advice that's opposite of what our government's nutritional advice says. She digs into the necessity of eating saturated fats and the role of cholesterol. But don't just take her word for it or the word of the research she borrows from, read her interview with Cardiologist and Psychotherapist Dr. Stephen Sinatra. He explains how the low-fat craze all started when President Eisenhower had a heart attack. Ansel Keys conducted his Seven Countries Study and found that people who consumed the lowest amount of fat and the least heart disease, and that Eisnenhower ate a high fat diet. Dr. Sinatra then explains that Ansel Keys cherry picked his data to draw this conclusion, not being fully honest in the study, in order to prove his hypothesis. George McGovern was the secretary of health at the time and decided to set into motion the low-fat craze across the nation, based solely on Ansel Key's "research." This is when margarine was invented and "heart healthy" oils like corn oils took over the market. Then the Framingham study came out, showing correlation between high cholesterol and cardiovascular events. The correlation caused a mass assumption that cholesterol was a risk factor in heart disease. Dr. Sinatra then explains that this is when drug companies first started making statins to lower cholesterol. Dr. Sinatra was a spokesperson for statins, being paid very very well to promote their use. He said after a few years of promoting them, he started to see problems.

"Well, after a few years, we were realizing that something was wrong; we made all these changes to our diets, yet the incidence of heart disease was skyrocketing... Because of the food. Corn oil, margarine, and all the other new foods that were trans fats; we had not realized that these fake foods and poor quality oils were dangerous. What an irony; we gave up butter and steaks and got sicker and fatter! Then I had an epiphany relative to statins; I realized I was barking up the wrong tree. It was in 1993 when I read an article showing that statin drugs diminished CoQ10, which is a vital nutrient made in every cell in the body and is a major nutrient for the production of cellular energy. Also CoQ10 is critically important for the strong pumping action of the heart. I had started using CoQ10 with my patients a decade before, in the early 80's, and was very impressed; I was able to avert a heart transplant with a patient I put on CoQ10. So I had to ask myself this question: How can a statin drug that's supposed to be so good for the heart deplete it of CoQ10, the most vital nutrient for the heart to survive? It didn't make sense! Then I discovered that Merck Pharmaceuticals had a patent on CoQ10 in the same pill called Lovastatin or Mevacor, meaning they knew that statins would deplete the heart of CoQ10 but kept it hidden from the public. So I had to wonder, if Merck knows about this situation, why don't they exercise the patient? ...Probably because the drugs were selling so well, and the doctors had been convinced to believe they were so safe. ...Why alert people to a problem when the drug is the darling of the industry? ...Statin drugs are some of the top selling drugs in the world."

He then goes into much more detail on how to naturally treat heart disease and how fat is actually necessary to keep the heart healthy. VERY eye-opening interview!

Next, Suzanne explores the thyroid, digging into hormone replacement drugs too. This prompts an interview with Dr. Garry Gordon, a functional medicine doctor recognized for his expertise in chelation therapy and antiaging medicine. This interview, for me, was the weakest of them all because I've already done so much research into synthetic chemicals that are endocrine dispruptors (act like hormones in the body.) This is a fantastic interview for people who have not read up on this subject.


She then moves onto Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. If you have been diagnosed with mold toxicity, I would be surprised if you haven't heard his name. He is behind the Shoemaker Protocol, and he is the world's leading researcher on mold toxicity. This interview made me angry, but more than anything it made me feel overwhelmed. The amount of energy and MONEY it takes to do follow his protocol is beyond what I can afford. Even if I had the money, how could I possibly do all the the work? What's going to prevent me from getting mold toxic all over again, when I'd then have to redo the entire program? Even though this interview left me feeling scared due to the reality check, I think it's one of the most important chapters in the entire book. Mold is a reality that every person faces today, and mold is not the same problem it was even 50 years ago. This is the first thing he says in the interview:

"Thank you, Suzanne. Well, that's a series of questions. The Leviticus discussion about indoor mold is one that people always will talk about, but we know that there were some rather dramatic changes in fungi (mold) beginning early in the '70's. The Pittsburgh Paint Company started adding a fungicide to paint so that it was easier to clean and therefore easier to maintain. The particular compound created mutations in fungi, and just about all the players that make people ill indoors now come out of this mutated line. The toxic compounds made by these mutated fungi I worry about having a different shape compared to the same compounds made my earlier generations of fungi. Our immune systems recognize this compound as foreign and create a much greater immune response to them than they did in the unmutatd form. So the simplest answer is no, the fungi we had then are not the same as they are now."

This interview is dense - very dense. He goes onto explain that 25% of the population have certain HLA genes that cause those people (of which I am one) to have a harder time detoxing from mold. He digs into how so many chronic illnesses are diagnosed as other diseases, like Parkinson's, but are actually caused by mold. There's so much information here that I can't possibly cover it well enough in this review. If nothing else, go to the library, find this book, and read this chapter.

Finally, she interviews Walter Crinnion, N.D. This interview focuses on how to clean up your home environment in order to heal. I read this chapter last night and I honestly can't remember enough of it, except that he's the scientific researcher for a certain enzyme brand that we sell at the store I work at. What really stood out to me in this interview is how he advocates colonic irrigations. Colinics have been my favorite therapy of all because they give me immediate relief and help my MCS more than anything else. I'm less reactive after a few colonics, until I accumulate more toxins in my colon. He really digs into the effect of toxins on gut health, the methodology of Natuopathy vs Western trained doctors, and how toxins affect the immune system. He explains the role of air purifiers, such as which types are worth it and which ones are not. He made a strong case against carpets:


The last pages of her book focuses on supplements she personally recommends, an appendix, bibliography and citations, and index. I skimmed over most of this since my doctor already has me on the supplements that are working for me, and I was very tired at that point.

I strongly encourage you to buy this book and read it. STRONGLY. There are some fantastic books out there that explain this information in better detail, but this book is so easy to digest and understand. It's so easy to share information from it with family members and friends. It's not daunting, and it's so packed with lots of valuable information.

Overall this book left me feeling depressed about the state of our world. What have we done to our world? It's horrifying! It feels like a 50's sci-fi movie in which humanity slowly dies off from a chemical invasion, except that it's actually happening. We're allowing it to happen. In fact, so many of us have bought into the idea that we're better off and healthier because of all the synthetics in our world today! Follow the money trail, and you'll find nothing but greed, not respect for humanity.

The book is also so important because it gives us this reality check. We need to understand the assault on human health so that we can protect ourselves from it. We need to learn the tools to recover our health, which is very hard to do when our environments are so poisonous. It all sounds like a conspiracy theory until you fall sick to chronic illness and no MD can treat you. I'm just one of too many people suffering poor health due to toxicity.

Have you read it? Please share your thoughts below!

Candida

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for me to talk about this issue so soon, but after discovering how common of an issue it is, I decided I would share my story so far. I need some type of outlet for this issue, because my goodness, it's the only thing on my mind right now! It also will serve as an explanation for what's going on - why I've been extra quiet and distant this week.

My doctor told me it's time to address my candida overgrowth. This surprised me. I didn't know I had a candida issue, and from what I knew of candida symptoms, I assumed I would have figured out on my own that I have a candida problem. As it turns out, I didn't know that much about candida, despite reading quite a bit of the Yeast Connection book two years ago when I was searching for answers. Yes, I had tons of the symptoms listed in the book: multiple chemical sensitives, rashes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, regular discharge, extreme menstrual pain and flow, and digestive issues. All of these symptoms, though, were explained by other methods. What I did not have were regular yeast infections (I've only had 3 in my life, one of which was expected as a side effect of antibiotics I was temporarily put on for a MRSA abscess.) So I dismissed candida, thinking it probably wasn't my issue. Even though it turns out to be one of my issues, it is good that I didn't try to address it on my own before seeing my doctor, because I was not nearly strong enough back then to handle a candida cleanse.

What I know now is that heavy antibiotic use throughout life causes candida overgrowth. As you may know, I've been put on lots of antibiotics - 1-2 rounds a year at least for most of my childhood and teen years. I was also on antibiotics for a full year when I was 1 year old due to a chronic ear infection. Antibiotics destroy both good and bad bacteria in the gut, and when there's an imbalance of good bacteria in the gut, the candida yeast spreads. I've also had several mold exposures, and yeast can feed on mold. I was also eating plenty of sugar, and yeast loves sugar. The Yeast Connection book I linked to earlier explains all of this. I suggest that you do your own research and talk to your doctor if it's something you want to know more about. There are tons of websites, books, and studies dedicated to candida. I am writing this post to share my experience, not explain candida.

My Naturopathic Doctor has me on a candida cleanse using lots and lots of herbs. I will not tell you what he's having me take. What I'm taking is very strong and cannot be purchased off store shelves. If you want to do a cleanse, talk to your doctor (I highly recommend finding a licensed Naturopthic doctor for this, but from what I've heard from others I've talked to who have also done cleanses, a licensed acupuncturist or Chinese Medicine Doctor can also provide the same type of herbs I'm on right now.) I'm taking 4 rounds of pills a day until the candida is gone. This is a process.

I'm currently on day 6 of the cleanse, but I should be clear that I've been on a diet that does not promote candida growth for over a year. I've had almost no sugar and I've been very low carb.

Here's what I've been going through, symptoms starting at day 2 of the cleanse:

- Intense bloating!!
- Constipation AND too many extra trips to the bathroom
- Rashes
- Night sweats
- Restless aching muscles that burn like acid after being worked
- Fibromyalgia flares like I haven't felt in a year
- Inability to eat much because of intense bloating
- Adrenaline rushes/ jittery uncomfortable energy
- Debilitating fatigue
- Sleeplessness and over sleeping
- Teeth sensitivity flares
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Muscle Tension
- Heart palpitations

Yes, it's been really unpleasant. Apparently most of this is due to the "die-off effect." Candida can go anywhere in the body and cause problems, so as the yeast dies off, we can have die-off symptoms where the yeast was.

Let me explain the bloating symptom, because I want to complain (ha!) I didn't think to measure my belly before starting the cleanse, unfortunately, but I do know that I've been wearing a size 6 pant, which translates to a waist size of 27 1/2" as far as fashion sizes are concerned (not hip size, waist size.) I measured about an inch below my waist once I started measuring.

On day 2 the bloating began, and it was so bad that I couldn't even get my loose-fitting dresses to cover it up. I looked 7-8 months pregnant. I didn't take measurements until the after noon of day 3. Measuring at about half an inch below my belly button, I measured 36.5". The morning of day 4 I measured 34.5", at 1:30 that afternoon I was at 36", and at 7:30 pm I was at 37". Day 5 morning measurement was 36", afternoon was 37", and evening 36.5". This morning, day 6, I measured at 35" (but I forgot to measure until after taking my pills, which is an instant bloater - I looked my thinnest of the week this morning.) I'm currently at 36.5" after eating breakfast.

I don't think my belly could grow larger than 37" without bursting open! The bloating has been painful because I've felt stretched to my limit. My stomach has felt very firm, like a balloon filled to capacity. This isn't the jiggly "feeling fat" type of bloating - it's about as firm as possible. My clothing hasn't fit, so I haven't left the house. I'm sporting sweat pants and over sized shirts.

I don't know how long this cleanse will take, but I'm seriously looking forward to being done with it. Until it's done, it's dominating my thoughts. The discomfort is constant, and it's making me less interested in anything else for the time being.

Please leave a comment here on my blog or on Facebook with your candida experience. I want to hear what you've gone through on your cleanses!

Product Review: Acupressure Mat

This is my acupressure mat. I have used it about 3-4 times a week for just under a year, sometimes more often if needed. I bought it on Amazon.com. (Only I got mine on sale for $17.) There are so many different brands out there, most of them appear to be pretty much the same. I highly recommend getting one with the neck pillow, but you can use the regular mat on your neck too.

What is it and what does it do? It's a foam mat (the foam is removable) with little "flower" spikes all over it:

You lay the mat on the floor (or your bed if it's an even surface) and then you lay down on it without any clothing in the way. It does not work well unless your skin is naked against the needles.

Let me make something very clear: I have never once been punctured or bled from the use of my acupressure mat.

You then continue to lay down on it for at least 10 minutes, but up to 45 minutes. The more you need the benefits from the mat, the more the first 1-2 minutes of laying on it will hurt. It might be so intense that you can hardly take the pain, but that pain does go away quickly. The more often you use it, or the better your health in general, the less painful it will be in those first couple of minutes. I usually only have mild pain from it, but when I'm feeling weak or sick, it is more painful. You will then start to feel light throbbing and heat for about a minute. Then you'll start to feel wonderful. I can easily get so relaxed on this mat that I fall into a very deep sleep on it. It's the most relieving feeling I can create for myself at home. When you are done, you slowly lift yourself off the mat. Let your skin breathe for a minute or two before you clothe yourself. You will notice your skin looks very prickly and bright red:

(I normally would not be inclined to post a photo of my stomach on the internet - I'm a modest person, but I wasn't able to get a photo of my back to show you. This was after about 5 minutes after I got up off the mat, so the redness and indentations have lessened a bit by this photo. I feel that it's important that you understand how the mat works in order to over come fear of it, and therefore I want to show you that it does not pierce even soft delicate skin.)

Let me explain what the mat actually does for you:

It does not replace acupuncture. Please see an acupuncturist if you need help with a medical issue that can be helped by acupuncture. This mat is the equivalent of rolling a tennis ball on your aching muscles as whereas acupuncture would be like going to a massage therapist for those muscles. Both are very helpful, but the mat is helpful to a lesser degree.

It does, however, replace the need for finding acupressure points on your body. Acupressure is used to either relieve pain or relieve a health symptom. My most common use for this mat is to relieve muscle tension in my back, neck, and shoulders. It really does help a lot! I get best results when I follow up with stretching. My second most common use for the mat is to help improve my digestion. I lay on my stomach (like in the above photo.) My digestion has been very bad this week, so laying on my stomach today was almost more than I could handle, but I stuck with it and after a few minutes I felt my stomach really relax. After about 10 minutes I felt things moving in my organs, which was badly needed. I actually felt hungry afterwords - meaning it worked! I've et way too little today because I haven't felt hunger due to liver and spleen issues.

Sometimes I will actually stand on the mat. Yes, barefoot. You may think me crazy, but like I've already made very clear, the points will not puncture the skin. Not even the skin of my feet. We have hundreds of pressure points on the bottom of our feet that are tied directly to all sorts of bodily systems and organs. Check this website out for a detailed map of the reflexology of our feet. No, it doesn't feel good to stand on the mat, but it does relax my whole body very quickly. It's an amazing way to let go of stress and calm the body down.

You can also lay on your side, sit on it, or use it on your hips and thighs. It can help relieve most areas of the body.

For the price of the mat, I highly recommend it for everyone! It's not just for those with medical issues or who are in pain. It promotes relaxation, stress relief, pain relief, better sleep, better digestion, and a better mood. Everyone can benefit from it.

A detailed retelling of my break down. What it was like to work while chronically sick.

Every time I go through a period where my gut is irritated and unhappy, I'm reminded of how horrible my health was just over a year ago. I didn't know it back then, but my gut health was one of my most significant problems, causing issues in the rest of my body. I haven't detailed just how terrible my health was on this blog because it's not a time in my life that I like to revisit. I've only said as much as I needed to in order to make my point in that post. I think I will revisit it, to some degree, in this post as a way of connecting with my readers who are currently suffering. The best time to write about this topic is when I'm not feeling my best, because I want to express the pain in some way. (I'm okay- don't worry. What I'm experiencing at the moment will pass in an hour or two. I knew something was wrong when I woke up this morning because my dreams were very hostile and angry, and sure enough, my gut isn't in good shape today.)

Most people would assume that when you're deeply suffering you have two options: you either fight to survive, or you break down in tears and give in. What if neither option works for you? That's where I was at for a few months in late 2013. I simply didn't have the energy, strength, or mental capacity to fight or cry. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep living, because I couldn't see the point when I was a total vegetable. Crying wouldn't have helped because it would have taken up the tiny bit of energy I needed to stay alive. I was blank. My brain didn't work right: I couldn't think well, my memory wasn't working, I didn't feel time passing, and my dreams were so weak they couldn't even form a story. My body wouldn't respond to my will: I spent my days mostly in bed because I couldn't support myself, getting up and going to the bathroom felt like I was training to run a marathon, cooking and eating felt futile and unimportant because of how much energy it took, and everything hurt all the time.

Some days were better than others. I was at my weakest after 13 days on Cymbalta. It made me so much worse! Before that horrible anti-depressant experiment, I was functioning on some level. I was still going to my 30 hour per week secretarial job, but I wasn't holding myself together. I couldn't remember the names of people who came into the office regularly, my eyes were crossing as if I hadn't slept in days, I took much longer to complete a basic task than I should have needed, and I just couldn't get excited about things happening in the office that I should have been excited about. During the year I was at that job I got worse and worse. When I first started the job in 2012 I did feel exhausted, but capable of working. Shortly after starting the job, I got a MRSA abscess on an area of my body with extremely delicate skin and tons of nerve endings. I took 2 weeks of sick time to recover from that (much of that time was spent in the doctor's office and in the ER screaming at the top of m lungs in sheer pain.) A few months after that I lost all motion in my right wrist and thumb, finding myself in a splint and brace for 4 weeks. I had to do my job with my left hand, which wore it out. I then found my left hand in a splint and brace for 4 weeks. By that point, my exhaustion had turned into physical pain, and after several months of seeing doctors, I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It's a wonder they ever put up with me - I'm shocked they didn't fire me for being too sick all the time. It was then that I was put on Cymbalta, which forced me to be bed ridden. I missed about 3 weeks of work because it was impossible to get out of bed, even after I quit the Cymbalta. That's when my parents brought me out to New Hampshire to see a naturopathic doctor who could help me, and he's been the greatest blessing for me (along with my husband and parents, who I love very very much!) I quit my job after I came home from seeing him, because I finally learned, in detail, just how poor my health was. I knew I needed to put all my energy into recovering, not working. And frankly, I no longer had the strength to work. It was no surprise to anyone that I quit my job.

What was it like in detail?
Oh my goodness. Try going to work every day with a foggy cloud wrapped around your head and your eyes. I was always a bit dizzy. My speech was mumbled and slurred, and I couldn't find the right words to say. I had a difficult time focusing my vision because everything I looked at was a little on the blurry side. My legs and arms had a constant dull ache which would turn into sharp jabbing pains when I moved them. I had to go to the bathroom every 5-20 minutes because my bladder muscles felt too weak. I was nearly constantly clenching so I wouldn't leak. My gut gurgled and churned on a regular basis. I could often feel it pulsing (the same type of feeling as when a nerve twitches under your skin.)  My skin was almost always icy cold and pale, and I hated touching my body because it felt achy and cold. My brain refused to work, even when I tried as hard as I could to focus it. Every thought I wanted to have turned into a blurry, floating, dreamy image that would linger for a second then fly away, leaving my brain blank. I found myself thinking out loud to people, because I really didn't have the ability to think about my response before responding to them. I'm sure I said a lot of things that made no sense to people. I caught myself not breathing fairly often, and when I was breathing it was very short and shallow breaths. I caught myself staring at my computer screen for minutes at a time, having no clue how much time had just passed while I was zoned out. My coworker/ office mate would often start talking to me and I would be so zoned out that I didn't even notice. I got scared very easily, and my adrenaline and heart rate would sky rocket when someone unexpectedly walked into my office. I was also growing more and more dyslexic, in that I was often typing the last letter of a word first, or writing a number different from the number someone told me to write down. I couldn't trust that I took accurate notes. Oh my goodness, then there were the times when I was teaching Faith Formation classes as a substitute or even leading the classes of 1-8th graders through the hallways or to the church - I found myself sweating and panting from all the stairs and long hallways through the church education building. It was embarrassing to look like I was working out at the YMCA every time I needed to physically work with the kids. 

When I could no longer work and I quit my job, the time I spent my days laying in bed was miserable, but better. I didn't have to work, didn't have to impress anyone, didn't have to think straight, didn't have to be coherent to anyone... I was free of the burden of being a functioning member of society. The problem was that it allowed me to focus only on my pain all day long. I couldn't see anything other than my own misery. In a way I felt better because I wasn't spending my energy on things other than my health, but in a way I felt worse because I wasn't using my body anymore. It was a true "break down." I laid there with my whole stomach and gut churning and throbbing, my legs and arms aching and stabbing, my muscles building tension like they were violin strings getting tuned, my bones cracking and swelling with every motion, and my brain lost in the twilight zone.

I didn't know how to fight.
I didn't have the energy or care to cry.

A year a few months later, I'm writing this post while feeling about 50-60% better on average (though I have occasional periods of time where I feel 70% better.) I now have the knowledge and tools I need to fight, and so I'm spending every day fighting. The effort is paying off. I now have the energy and care to cry, but I haven't felt like it. The feeling of hope that has developed has me too happy and excited to want to return to how dark and painful those times were.

I sincerely hope that my story reaches your heart and helps build a sense of empathy within you. It's so easy to make assumptions about people who are sick. It's so easy to say, "Gee, maybe he'd feel a lot better if he didn't eat fast food all the time," when in reality that person is overweight and lethargic even though he's eating only whole foods and goes for daily walks. It's so easy to say, "Well you know that person just wants attention and isn't trying to do anything about their perceived pain; I mean, if you're in pain, go to a doctor and fix it," when in reality that person has spent $10,000 on doctors who haven't been able to help. It's so easy to say, "That person is useless to society, look at the way she brings everyone around her down with her depression and weak body," when in reality that person might be desperately trying to hold on to friendships and a social life so she feels like she does have meaning in her life, despite her constant pain. Please, avoid judgment. While many people do actually make themselves miserable by eating a stereotypical fast food diet and refuse to see doctors, many people are sick despite their best efforts to be well.

I ate mostly organic non-processed foods before I got that sick. I did get some regular exercise in (in that I wasn't a couch potato.) I did see doctors. I did try to get help. I still had a complete break down.

You should know that my memory was very bad during the time when I was my most sick. There's a lot that I simply cannot recall because my brain wasn't healthy enough to form memories. This post is probably lacking a lot of detail because of this. I sincerely hope that you cannot relate to this problem, but as I've been reaching out I've been meeting many people who, unfortunately, can relate. If you're one of the people who can relate, do not give up. Healing is possible. You probably won't find the help you need through western medicine, surgery, or drugs (as you probably have already learned,) but help is out there in other forms. That is what this blog is about. Don't give up.

High Fat? I'm thinking so!

I am completely exhausted, and only moderately interested in writing this blog post. The sinus infection wiped me out and I'm still attempting to recover from it. My husband's schedule has been chaotic and I've been trying to keep up with helping him out (and attending a performance he played piano for, which made me a little sick because I was surrounded by perfume and hairspray in the audience.) The weather has been jumping up and down too, and the barometric pressure is really messing with me today. I just can't win. I'm toast.

...Except for the energy I gained from what I just ate. It's not much, but I'm choosing to dedicate it to this post.

As many of you already know, I've been eating a high protein diet with very low carbs and no sugar. It's been working very well for me. I wasn't paying attention to one important thing, though: fat. All along I've been using whole fat coconut milk, coconut oil, avocados, walnuts, fatty steaks, and so on. I have not been avoiding fat by any means, but I have not been focusing on it. Since reading all the success stories that other people have had by being on a high fat diet (mainly based on Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis,) I decided to experiment.

Last night I mixed whole fat organic coconut milk fat in with organic unsweetened sunflower seed butter (I cannot tolerate almonds or peanuts, so sunbutter is my preference.) I did this because the cans of coconut milk I ordered came with the fat separated, and no amount of shaking or stirring would fix it, so I wanted a way to use the fat. This is the result:



Coconut milk fat whips the same way that heavy cream does: it turns into "whipped cream." I didn't blend the two ingredients quite long enough for it to become a thick whipped cream, I just blended until the ingredients were not separate. The result was a super rich, creamy, desert-like texture and taste. Yum! Next time I want to try adding raw organic coco powder in as well.

I ate a little bit before I went to bed last night. I normally eat a little protein before sleeping to keep my blood sugar level stable throughout the night (hypoglycemic issue.) This did not work as well as pure protein before bed. I struggled to fall asleep because I actually gained some energy, and woke up much hungrier than normal. (My blood sugar felt okay, thankfully, because hunger usually means I'm totally zoned out, and I had the ability to focus - my stomach was actually growling, which is a sound I haven't heard in over a year.)

I ate the rest of this as my afternoon snack. Within 20 minutes of eating it, I went from dragging so hard that I could barely focus on my computer screen to feeling a current of energy beneath my tired eyes and head. I have felt very satisfied for the last hour. I didn't feel like I ate much food (so I didn't feel "full" when I was done,) but I've had no desire to eat more and I'm still feeling satisfied.

This was not my first experiment with focusing on high fat foods in my diet. Over the past 2 weeks I've stopped cutting the fat off my meat. I hate the texture of animal fat, but I've been eating it anyway. I've had whole avocados as snacks (I can't have them too often because they're starchy, so I limit to 3 a week.) I've been adding coconut oil into my tea and I've been choosing to cook with it instead of olive oil. I've felt less hungry than normal these past two weeks, and the bloating in my gut went away. I haven't lost more weight yet, but my inflammation is down, so I look slimmer.

In other words, eating high fat is complimenting my high protein diet very well. Food is more filling, satisfies for longer, gives me more energy, and has been very gentle on my delicate gut. It sure beats eating extra vegetables to feel more satisfied, which in turn bloat me and give me a bit of a sugar high because vegetables are so high in carbs! I don't know why I keep eating so many vegetables. They don't do me any favors. I just like the taste of them. Sigh.

There's a lot to know about what fat does for the body. Rather than explaining it myself, since I'm a little too tired to care to get into the details, watch this testimony. She has done some serious research (and is a nutrition major in college,) and explains why our bodies need fat in an easy-to-understand way:

Perfume and wheat is a painful combonation!

I'm treating this post more as a record for myself, but this experience is worth sharing.

Let me begin with this statement by Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly:

As a Roman Catholic, one of my biggest contentions with my religion is the use of modern wheat to make the hosts used as the Eucharist. My issue isn't with the transubstantiation itself, it's very simply with the use of modern wheat, which isn't even the same type of wheat that was in the bread that Jesus broke at the Last Supper. I think the Vatican needs to hire a nutritionist to compare the type of wheat the Jews ate in 32 AD to the new strain of wheat we're served today.  (If you read Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis, you'll learn that the wheat in Jesus's time only had something like 24 chromosomes while wheat today, which is an intentionally dwarfed modified version, has 48 chromosomes - lots of differences - but I have not verified these numbers to make sure they're correct, so don't quote me.) Since the theology of the wheat is so paramount to the Mass, shouldn't the church explore what the correct wheat to use is?

The reason for my theological thoughts are due to my choice last night (though this is an issue I've been struggling with since my doctor had me go grain-free.) Since going grain-free over a year ago, I have rarely taken the Eucharist, knowing any wheat at all would mess with my body's ability to heal. Every time I ate the Eucharist, I did notice a reaction of mild heart palpitations. Last night I took the Eucharist again, hoping a mild allergic reaction (because I am actually allergic to wheat) would be the worst of it. This time, the effect was much worse.

Let me back up a bit first. I was already feeling a bit ill when I went up to receive the Eucharist.  As you know, I'm intolerant of perfumes and other chemicals. A heavily perfumed woman sat next to me at Mass. I was very frustrated, because I waited right before Mass started to take a seat so that I could carefully choose a seat away from people wearing perfume at the end of the pew. I found a great spot, and then about 5 minutes into the Mass this woman, without asking, suddenly stood next to me and gave me the "make room for me" look. She assumed I would slide over so she could sit next to me at the end of the pew. The problem is that it's normal to slide over to make room for people, so her expectation that I would move over for her was normal. I didn't know what to do - I slid over and let her in. I didn't want to be rude, it was difficult to talk to her because the Mass had started, and I didn't realize at first that she was heavily scented. A few minutes later I started to notice the smell of bananas (yes - she smelled like banana ice cream, of all weird scents) radiating from her, and about 15 minutes later I was feeling pretty ill. There were several points where I wanted to get up and find a new seat, but looking around, I didn't see any better options. The sanctuary was packed. It's also very difficult to walk around discreetly in that church - everyone would notice if I got up and walked around. So I decided, for the sake of an experiment, I would sit next to this lady all of Mass and see just how bad my reaction to her perfume would get. My eyes were burning, my brain shut down, I was really fatigued, my eye was twitching, and I had mild heart palpitations. I made it through Mass, though, and I didn't get to the point where I "couldn't take it anymore." I wasn't feeling well, but I was functioning well enough to make it through Mass (though I had zero focus for the homily.) I think this means that my chemical sensitives may be improving - I am, after all, on a remedy that should help lessen the reactions. (Have I ever mentioned how helpful my doctor is? :) )

Keeping the fact that I was already reacting in mind, the Eucharist made me feel more ill. I quickly had worsened heart palpitations. After getting home from Mass, I noticed my gut was starting to ache. I soon had painful, sharp gut cramps and started to bloat. My bowel was irritated in several ways, and I couldn't seem to reduce the pain. I drank plenty of lemon ginger tea, took some enzymes, took some anti-inflammatory supplements, and even took extra probiotics. Nothing helped. I went to bed hoping I would feel better in the morning. I did sleep fairly well for 9 hours, thankfully. My gut, however, wasn't feeling much better this morning. Several trips to the bathroom revealed just how irritated my gut actually was. I also have been in a horrible mood all morning. I've been angry, aggressive, frustrated, unhappy, and cynical. My skin has been itchy, and my muscles are aching and pulsing. This post is partly the result of trying to get my agitation out - I needed a venue to complain.

I don't doubt that the MCS perfume reaction made the wheat reaction worse. MCS reactions have triggered digestive issues, such as heartburn, for me before. I do know, however, that many people report having similar reactions to any grain, especially wheat, after being grain-free for a year or more (like I have.) Wheat is known to be very harsh on the gut, causing IBS, leaky gut, small bacterial overgrowth, candida, and more gut problems. I had many of these issues before going grain-free, so it's no surprise to me that consuming wheat can make this problems return.

As for the problem of receiving the Eucharist, I have already spoken about this with priests and friends who have a solid theological understanding of the Eucharist. If you are reading this and want to discuss this dilemma with me, please contact me and I'll let you know what I learned. As much as I love to discuss theology (it is, after all, what my degree is in,) this blog isn't meant to be about theology.

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