Whew. It’s been two
weeks since I’ve written. Apologies to
myself and to others for this. I have
been facing some serious health challenges as Spring sets in. Just this past week, I finally admitted to
myself that I was having intense pain in two ways. First, in my right hip, which is the result
of a long-term spinal injury. I am no
longer allowed to run because of this injury, until it heals. Tomorrow I am buying a bicycle to ride to
work and about town.
Second, I having been having intense intestinal/stomach pain
every time I eat bread. Or probably,
more likely, wheat. Going in to get
tested on this on Tuesday. They are also
tested me more for Thyroid-related stuff, but that has not shown up
before. Having this diagnosis of Chronic
Fatigue syndrome is annoying because it feels like they are just looking for
things to assign the pain and inflammation to.
First, they thought it might be related to various allergies –
especially dairy. That turned out to be
false. Then, they thought it might be
rheumatoid arthritis. Turns out that was
wrong too, thank God. Now it is possible
that it is celiac disease, which I have been researching and I think it is
doubtful, but I will go get the tests.
My year of total health is going great, I think, five months
into this whole thing. In the past few
weeks, I have been reading and researching the effects of wheat on the body, in
preparation for going in for these tests.
Turns out, most of us probably cannot metabolize wheat that is
genetically modified. We have not
evolved to be able to handle this, so it is immediately turned to fat, because
the body treats it like sugar. So, if
you get inflammation due to sugar, which I do, then you may also get
inflammation to modern day wheat. Not
easy to give up. It’s in
everything. But, like sugar, it is
possible. I actually found that just
eating whole food does the trick! If you
are interested in the science of wheat, take a look at this article:
Anyway, I am off of sugar and wheat entirely until they
figure this out, if they ever do.
Now, to a question a friend of mine asked….”Do you take
probiotics? Should I take them?”
OK, I do not take probiotics, but choose to get them from
fermented foods instead. I eat yogurt at
least once a day. I choose full fat, not
Greek, yogurt because the cultures seem better in it. Greek yogurt is really not good for the cows
or the environment. Chobani is
particularly bad:
The best way I have found to get probiotics is through
brewing my own kombucha. My kids freak
out when they see a jar of iced tea with a big gelatinous fungus blob floating
in it, but I am telling you, this stuff is healing healing healing. I will not turn back from this probiotic in
my life. I feel energized, cleansed, it
curbs hunger, and it gives you billions of probiotics. And it is SUPER cheap to brew on your own,
once you get a starter culture. Here’s a
website to help you get started if you are interested!
And, if that’s not enough for you, here are the list of
kombucha health benekifits:
Reduced urinary tract infections
Reduced kidney infections
Reduced inflammation
Better digestion
Lower gastrointestinal distress
Increases regularity
Decreases fatigue
Lowers hunger in the body
Decreases acid reflux
My own personal story with it is that I was just feeling
super low energy on hot summer days, and I was in the health food store and saw
it, although I had never tried it. So, I
bout a bottle, at $4.00 a pop, and drank it as I was wandering around the
store. As I was leaving, I realized that
my fatigue was ebbing away, and that I felt much better overall. Hyped might be the right word, but not
wired. This fermented drink has been
known to help many people, so just give it a try. Just a try to see if it works for you too!
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