A Post A Day

I'm in the process of preparing my house for a greener living situation and have had time for little more than a post per day.  I should be posting like normal by Monday.  I'll talk more about our soon-to-be greener house then.

My health is slowly but consistently improving every day.  So far, I highly recommend the GAPS diet and I haven't even been on the introductory part of the diet which is the most rigorous part of the whole thing.  I haven't felt any issues with fatigue in over a week now.  I'm still trying to expand my menu, but I need to be careful in the process so that the fatigue doesn't come back.

Kombucha Experiment

I've tried experimenting with a batch of kombucha two weeks ago.  I tried using less sugar and I used coconut palm sugar instead of cane sugar.  It produced a SCOBY, but the tea was flat... no fiz at all.

I'm going to keep experimenting.  I actually put probiotic cultures in one batch and it worked, but I feel like I need to try again with another batch... one with less sugar.

My nutritionist said that the cultures are great for me, so she wants me to have kombucha.  She only cautions me to drink a little each day and not overdo it.  I don't mind that, I feel really good on kombucha so I'm trying to make a batch that I could have more of.  Since the main thing that she is concerned about is sugar, then I try to make a batch with as little sugar as I can.

Heal Wounds Naturally

I'll bet that there are many who think that honey is only good for things like tea and toast.  Of course, people use it to sweeten many other foods like their cereal.  Then there are others who use honey for when they are sick; for example, honey is good for a cough.  But these are all only PART of what honey can do!  Honey is a powerful microbial killing healer.

I hurt my thumb a few days ago.  I didn't even think that I needed a bandage for it, it bled a little and then it stopped.  For days, it was a little tender.  Actually, it was VERY tender.  Okay, it was bleeding on and off for two or three days straight and last night it was not only very, very tender but also warm and a little swollen.  I started to think that it may have been infected.

Two nights ago, I spread some manuka honey on it and wrapped a band-aid around it before I went to sleep.  In the morning I spread more manuka honey on it and put another band-aid on it.  I did this again last night and now my thumb barely hurts at all; even when I put pressure on it.  I can feel that it is finally healing.  I tried soaking it in disinfectant a few days before I tried the honey, but it didn't heal it quite as effectively nor as gently.

I don't know about you, but I will never see honey quite the same.  Even on my diet to eliminate candida overgrowth my nutritionist preferred honey over xylitol!  I can see how xylitol is good for some people; for me, however, honey is going to be the way to go if I'm heading for my health.

Jeffery Smith

I love Jeffery Smith!  This is nearly a one hour presentation, but Smith puts ALL the information about GMOs on the table... all that most of us need to know anyway.  This video was made years ago and so much has happened since, but I watched because there is always much to be learned about GMOs even though I avoid it like the bad disease that it is.

I hope you find it as educational and enlightening as I did.

Candida Die Off

Candida die off (aka the "healing crisis") is what makes fighting this disease a REAL pain... literatlly.  When one uses a potent fungal killer and it just makes one sicker, it's just such a monster bummer.

Candida can make one sick while it is alive in the body, however, when it dies it releases a toxin that just makes one sicker.  This phenomenon called "die off" symptoms lasts until the toxin is out of the body completely.  So one needs to know that when fighting candida, there is a double edge sword involved; if you're sick you'll stay sick unless you treat, but if you treat the candida you'll be sick until the toxins are out of the body completely.

The article below talks about steps that one could take to minimize die off symptoms; this was a great relief for me to know about.

Candida Die Off

More On the Menu

My Menu has decreased considerably over the last couple of months.  The GAPS diet gave me one unexpected pleasure that I am grateful for; it actually expanded my menu.  It didn't expand it much, but enough to give me things to snack on during the day.  There are even desserts that I can have, although I had to get creative.

I can't have any starches, but my nutritionist allowed me one starch that I can make crackers and other stuff from.  I used to use a little xylitol and stevia to sweeten certain foods, but my nutritionist suggested honey.  She said that honey doesn't feed yeast and since I eat such a small amount of honey anyway, she said that she even preferred honey over the other sweeteners for me.

I actually have a diet that is tolerable now that there are more things on my menu.  I've actually came up with recipes for VERY healing foods as well and I can see that the candida is slowly starting to finally go away.  I just hope that it STAYS away this time.  It went away when I ate nothing but meat and vegetables for two weeks, but the moment I started eating manna bread, it slowly started to come back.  I'm hoping that this time, it doesn't come back.  I look forward to the introductory GAPS diet whenever I'm able to do that.

GAPS Diet Progress

So far, I feel that the GAPS diet has been good to me, yet I haven't been on it for very long.  The candida is slowly going away.  I am so hoping that it STAYS away this time, but because I'm still experimenting with different foods, it may come back temporarily.  I also feel better.  I don't feel the fatigue or the fogginess as much as I did a few weeks ago.

My new batch of kombucha tea is almost finished.  I made it differently this time though. I used MUCH less sugar than usual and instead of sugar I used coconut crystals.  This is to ensure that the sugar is ALL eaten and whatever hasn't been eaten isn't enough to hurt me.  I'll see how I do on this new batch of tea.  If I don't do well, I will sadly need to add kombucha to the "no-no" list for a while.

I haven't been on the GAPS diet for long enough to really say whether or not it works, but so far there is so much that it has done for me.  I'm daring to hope for more progress in the near future and I'm looking forward to it.

American Farmland Trust: No Farms No Food - Local Food

I support this cause in every way.  It upsets me that it's so difficult to find real whole food; and when I do find real whole food it costs SO much money.  It's a shame that so many farms are having trouble; like in Michigan when the government had small pig farmers slaughter their pigs for reasons that I can only describe as foolish.

I signed this petition in the hopes that I can have access to more real food one day.  If you feel the same about this cause then please get involved and sign.

American Farmland Trust: No Farms No Food - Local Food

Happy Valentine's Day!

Better late than never!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone! <3

Body Types

This video confirmed so many things that I'm learning.  For example, I'm learning more and more about foods my body responds well to every day.  I recently found out that I don't need lots of meat, but lots of animal protein.  Because there are so few animal proteins that I can eat these days, my body craves after meat by the ton.  My nutritionist gave me a recipe for broths that I tweaked and now absolutely love.  For once in the last few years, I'm no longer in a situation where I'm either sick, fatigued or hungry all the time which is WONDERFUL.

As daunting as illness can be, it can also be our greatest health teacher.  I'm learning so much because of the illnesses that I've suffered; and it won't be long before my suffering will come to an end.  I look forward to that day and I cherish all that I have learned.

Lotsa Cultured Veggies!

I posted on facebook about one particular reason that I'm excited about GAPS.  I didn't mention in my last post that this diet will force me to make lots and lots of cultured vegetables.  I love, love, love cultured vegetables.  They take a little bit of time to make so sometimes I just eat my veggies raw, but I'm not suppose to eat raw vegetables right now.  I'm supposed to eat them either cooked or cultured and since I prefer them cultured, I will be making a LOT of cultured vegetables in the days to come.  I just need to be disciplined about waiting until they are fully fermented before eating them.

I've recently made some VERY good cultured vegetables.  I'm also experimenting with Kombucha.  I'm trying a different sugar and I'm trying to feed it less sugar and more tea.  I'm hoping that it would be less alcoholic but still produce many cultures.

Journey Back To Health

I don't want to live in California, but I miss feeling as healthy as I was when I lived there.  I didn't get cold or flu and fatigue was something that was way in my past.  Because I now live in a state that doesn't get as much sun, I can feel a dramatic difference in my health and it can be a bit daunting sometimes.

I know that wanting to be healthy is not an impractical desire and I also know that it's possible for me to be healthy again.  This is why I welcome this GAPS diet journey even though I have a long road ahead.  I'm even excited about this diet because I've got high hopes that this is exactly what I need in order to finally get my health back.  I feel so strongly about this, in fact, that I even believe moving here was a blessing in disguise.  I needed this weather to show me that there was something incomplete and the GAPS diet may be just the thing to completely repair what needed attention for years whether I've know it or not.  If this is what this move was all for, then I'm so glad that I have moved.

I'm starting with the full GAPS diet and I will be doing the introductory GAPS diet early next year.  There are certain foods (healthy foods, of course) that I miss, but I'll be able to eat them once I'm off the GAPS diet and that is enough for me.

I remember Deepak Chopra said that the concept holistic and the concept of health and healing all mean something similar.  He said that they refer to returning to a memory of wholeness.  In other words, health is wholeness and holistic medicine is a practice that seeks the return to wholeness.  Who can argue with that, right?

Jamaica Gleaner News - From farm to table - Social - Friday | August 13, 2010

My parents read this article about an American couple who are now Jamaican residents.  They build a sustainable home in Jamaica; they use solar energy, they recycle and live a life that I myself would like to emulate.  My father knows that this is of great interest to me which is why he sent the article my way.

Although these are things that would catch my attention, this isn't what caught my parents' attention.  To their utter surprise, this American couple happen to be neighbors of some family members!  I found this to be an amazing coincidence and simply had to share.  This made me so happy because I would really just love to meet them one day.

Enjoy the article below.

Jamaica Gleaner News - From farm to table - Social - Friday | August 13, 2010

Comments Regarding "Candida Diet No-Nos" Article

In light of what I posted the last few times, I HAD to comment on this article that I read recently.  I feel the "no-no" list below is overwhelming (click the link below to see the list).  If I was given a list like this I would be frustrated to tears.  It's bad enough that right now I'm barely eating anything other than meat and vegetables.

My nutritionist actually told me to eat MANY of the foods on this no-no list.  For example, I was shocked to see kefir on the no-no list below.  Even my nutritionist suggests that my eating generous helpings of kefir and cultured vegetables is helpful.  In the article below, it says that kefir is a no-no because it contains sugar and alcohol.  Kefir is a very, VERY important part of the GAPS diet because they provide the body with the cultures that is necessary for healing.

If the list below is what your diet looks like now, please go to my BeWell BookWorms page and check out this month's book.  The GAPS diet may me much more feasible and beneficial to someone who is fighting this battle.


Candida Diet No-Nos

January's Book: GAPS Diet

Several months ago, we explored the wonders of the BED (body ecology diet) to heal the intestine.  This month I thought Dr. Campbell-McBride's book was most appropriate since I started the GAPS diet myself recently.  I didn't start it on my own, a professional (who is both a nutritionist and GAPS specialist) is helping me through this whole process.

I started it because I'm realizing that my issues with Candida may be worse than I thought.  When I lived in San Diego, I felt like the healthiest person.  I almost NEVER got sick, I had energy to burn and it wasn't difficult to enjoy my life even when things didn't go my way.  Occasionally, Candida would get me, but I would take probiotics for about two weeks and then forget about it.  Marriage brought me to Colorado and as happy as I am with my marriage, I wasn't very happy with my new environment.  I seem to get sick pretty frequently, I am attacked by fatigue constantly and it's harder to enjoy my life because of this even though there is more in my life to enjoy.  I finally made the decision that I must heal.  Meat and vegetables are wonderful, but I can't spend the rest of my life dependent on nothing but meat and vegetables three times a day.  Maybe for the next two years when I'm on this diet, but not longer than that.  I like to eat vegan sometimes, but that will make me sick right now.

I thought that I would make both Campbell McBride's book and cookbook available since they would both be useful to anyone who is seeking healing like I am.

Absence

I am grateful that I haven't had a migraine in the last couple of months despite the nasty one that I've been suffering for the last three days.  I may have been spared migraines for two months because of a gall bladder flush that I did two months ago.  I'll do it more often if I find out that that is what helped me.

I'm going to start the GAPS diet, so I guess there is no need to wonder what inspired this month's book (which I haven't had a chance to post yet).  I'm hoping that this will help me get rid of my candida forever; it's really been a pain and I would be too happy to get rid of it and all of its awful symptoms.

I will post my successes and failures; as with all journeys, I expect to experience both at some point or another.

The Key to Victory over Candida (Part 5)

Basically, I have a choice:  I can either figure out a way to eat more meat or I can just be sick all the time.  Because I desperately do NOT want illness anymore, that leaves me with one choice.  I will therefore be searching intensely for places for good, clean meat at a good price.

After months of research, battles with hateful diets and yo-yoing between fatigue and fitness; this is an observation that will change my whole life!  I'm so looking forward to what this new knowledge will do for me.  Oprah Winfrey was right, God will throw a pebble, but will eventually throw a brick.  Trust me, WELCOME that brick with open arms; it was provided to make you better.  The brick may just hold the key to the all the answers that you've hunted for!