Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The power of food

4 months ago my health forced me to change my diet. I was suffering with arthritis and fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue, and early onset of menopause, and to top it all off, a nodule was found on my thyroid. Each doctor and health care professional I saw wanted to throw medication at me, which seemed good at the time because I was desperate to make the madness stop. Within a couple of weeks, while my hair was falling out, I decided that I was too young to start taking meds on a daily basis, there had to be a way to get a firm grasp on what was wreaking havoc in my body. I referred back to a nutritionist, Karen Hurd (http://www.karenhurd.com/) , who had worked wonders in my daughters life after she had suffered with human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (from a tick bite) for several months.
I have learned that by keeping my diet as simple as possible when I dare to eat, sugars or dairy products, I feel it within minutes. My diet today consists of vegetables, proteins, nuts, legumes and water. That's it! I shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store and avoid all processed foods. I'm not cured yet, but I've regained energy and strength, and the aches and pains are much less intense. And if I over do my workout or physically work hard for too long, I make sure I eat more frequent and replenish my system with water. Food is my medicine!
Eventually I will be able to eat from a less strict menu, but right now my body is working on healing itself. I do test myself occasionally with a piece of cheese or something sweet, but it still brings out the arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Good habits and nutrition take time. I am all for using food in a medicinal way before hitting that bottle or bottles of medication. I am proof that the science of food really works wonders in how a body feels. I challenge anyone to quit shoveling the processed and over sweetened crap into your body for a month and see and FEEL what happens. You'll have energy, your hair will start to grow faster, your skin will be more resilient, and you'll drop pounds quickly.......just to name a few advantages.
Following a strict diet seems pretty drastic, but I knew that it would be my last hope before accepting a life of medication. What I felt before was like being near death and at the age of 47 that just wasn't acceptable. I have always walked and biked or worked out at my local gym. By no means was I neglecting my health. But I continually felt like I was dragging my ass out of bed in the morning to barely put in a full day of life. I truly felt like I was at least 80 years old. What I was doing to myself is what many of us women continue to do. I thought that I needed to increase my intake of dairy products (for calcium to maintain bone) as I age. But now I'm getting more of that in the vegetables and meat than I ever could in the dairy products. I was fooled into believing that the only way to get optimal calcium was in that glass of milk or piece of cheese. Now I've learned that all it was doing for me was causing my joints to become more inflamed and messing with my muscles too.
Someday I will be reintroducing some 'tastier', heavier things back into my diet, but right now my focus is on getting well. I was told in the beginning that it will probably take 18 months to 2 years to get the full benefit of eating right. Four months ago that seemed daunting, but once I got started and really felt the improvement I welcome the daily challenge. There's no turning back now!!!