More Change for Good!

What the Heck is Wrong with Me!

 

Part 4- Non vitamin/supplement changes

 

 

This testimony is in no way medical direction or advice.  I am not a trained medical professional.  It is simply what I have done to improve my health. I would not recommend to anyone to self-medicate without the direction of a health professional. I have had many health professionals give me direction along the way, and this lifestyle is a result of their combined advice and efforts. In essence, I have taken the good and left the bad, in my opinion.  You must do the same.

 

 

 

 

Go Organic Whenever Possible

 

Another suggestion of Dr. Sudak was that we buy organic whenever possible.  We have a great little community grocery store here in Bemidji called Harmony Food Co-Op.  For a one time fee, you can become a member and enjoy member benefits. I have found from some research that in many cases, Harmony is comparable to the food prices of the larger grocery stores in Bemidji. Except for Wal Mart, but that’s another story. I do shop at Wal Mart sometimes, but in all sincerity, I try not to.  We try to support all the grocery stores in town because we need them all. If Wal Mart pushes them all out of business, what’s to keep Wal Mart from skyrocketing their prices with no competition? We buy local when we can. At Harmony, I often buy in bulk, thus saving even more. And as members, we can volunteer as little or as many hours helping out as we like, earning discounts on our groceries.  Many communities now have these types of grocery stores. There are no trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup products at Harmony, and much of their produce and dairy is locally grown & produced, which helps to support the local farmers in our area.

 

 

 

Non-homogenized Milk

 

Here’s another goofy little pet peeve of mine.  I can’t stand drinking homogenized milk if I don’t have to. From what I understand, homogenization is only about shelf life. The milk is shaken to such a degree that the molecules are shattered to a fraction of their normal size. So instead of flowing nicely through our systems, they get lodged in our arteries. Fresh raw milk is the best, but if you can’t find that, there are a few non-homogenized brands out there. In our area, Black Cow Dairy provides this. They are not certified organic, due to restrictions and fees, but they operate organic and do not homogenize their milk.  They also sell cream, so I make my own ½ and ½ (for my coffee) by simply mixing their cream with their milk.  The only drawback that I have found is that the shelf life is shorter. But with the way my kids go through milk, it’s never a problem.

 

Chiropractic care

 

This is something I never understood until I had pain. I don’t know if I can accurately explain the importance of chiropractic care.  Our spine is the lifeblood of our body. When our spine or spinal cord is out of order, pinched, twisted, crushed, or in any other way compromised, our entire body is compromised.  So many people go through life in pain and with decreased mobility and quality of life simply because they haven’t taken care of their spine.  Chiropractic care is not a miracle cure or a quack scheme; it is simply good sense. We have purchased good supportive pillows for our necks from our chiropractor and do stretching exercises every day. Just stretching as we go about our day doesn’t feel like a big regimen; it’s just part of our lives.

 

Good Skin Care

 

Did you know that our skin is the largest, most neglected organ in our body?  Whatever we put on our skin is ingested into our bloodstream within twenty five seconds. So if you wouldn’t feel good about eating what you put on your skin, you shouldn’t put it on your skin! Feeding my skin instead of depleting it is something I’ve learned along my journey back to health, and this is where Arbonne comes in.  Arbonne’s products are pure, safe, and beneficial, botanically based, contain no mineral oil, contain no harsh dyes or chemical fragrances, are ph balanced, use no animal products or by products, are produced in the USA, are put through stringent testing batch per batch to ensure safety…the list goes on literally.  I love Arbonne. I feel good about putting it on my skin and my children’s skin.  I feel good selling it, because I am helping move people toward better health.  I love the company, because they are all about training and encouraging people to be their best, which is using their gifts to encourage and train more people to be their best for our communities.  It is expensive (because they don’t use cheap ingredients and fillers), but as a consultant, I get a great discount and can earn a lot of product at even greater discounts. So I feel it is responsible, in many ways, to use Arbonne. With Arbonne, I can choose to just buy wholesale and not worry about keeping any monthly minimums or quotas, or I can choose to build a business. There are no strings, and I made sure of that before signing up!  Contact me for more info or samples. You can check out their line of products at www.arbonne.com. 

 

 

Organic Coffee

 

To Dr. Sudak’s dismay, I am a coffee drinker. She asked me to stop. Basically, I said no.  Then she said, “Ok, if you HAVE to drink coffee, at LEAST drink organic, swiss-water decaffeinated.”  Well.  I can do that. Sort of. After much trial and error, I have settled on ½ caffeine and ½ swiss water decaf, organic, fair trade espresso and americanos. This is my reason: espresso has about 40mg caffeine per cup, while regular brewed coffee has about 300mg.  An Americano is simply a shot of espresso topped off with hot water, in essence, making a cup of coffee.  Sometimes I splurge and make a latte with espresso and steamed milk (my quirky non-homogenized stuff), and I am a cream drinker, so I put my homemade ½ and ½ in my americanos.  We use organic because coffee is the highest pesticide crop in the world, and we buy fair trade because we want the hard working farmers who grow these organic beans to get a fair price for their labor.  With those adjustments, I can feel good about drinking coffee.  And here’s a tip for you coffee lovers out there: spend a few extra dollars and buy a burr grinder, as opposed to a blade grinder. They make all the difference in the world! Why spend money on great beans and then lose half their flavor with a cheap blade grinder? Email me and I’ll let you know which kind we’ve bought and why we like it.

 

Parasite Cleanse

 

More and more, I am beginning to understand the connection between digestive health and parasites. I simply cannot go into all the details here; do a search online and you will find myriads of information on the subject, probably more than you want.  Because of the ease of international trade and travel, we come in contact with parasites more easily than ever.  Cleaning our fruits and vegetables before we consume them will help (I use a sink full of water with about ½ tsp. of grapefruit seed extract), but we still get some exposure. They take up residence in our digestive system, they breed, they lay eggs, they excrete toxins into our bodies.  Yuck.  Once when I had a particularly bad Candida reaction, I mentioned to the ladies in our health food store that I was experiencing acne galore and panic attacks. While these are symptoms of Candida, they are also huge red flags for parasite infestation.  So I did a cleanse, and immediately my skin cleared up and I felt like I was my old self again – no more panic attacks.  Four months later, however, it all came back. I am thinking I didn’t do the job well enough the first time, and now I am on a serious three month regimen to rid my body of anything that would seek to rob me of my life!  I am two weeks into this as I write, and I feel good.  No more constipation, bloating, panic attacks, acne, or candida reactions.  I don’t feel like I have a mild bladder infection all the time.  I can eat pizza and not get sick.  The only thing I continue to deal with is a tight feeling in my chest if I drink too much caffeine.  So then I cut back on caffeine and I feel better. 

 

Part of the cleanse is just getting constant elimination. I think I have lived in a state of semi-constipation my entire life. I remember times when elimination once a week was normal for me! Now I drink detox tea at night and fiber in the morning.  Arbonne has a really good fiber shake called “Just Go” and if you blend it with ice, orange juice, and a banana, it tastes like an Orange Julius.  Fabulous.  It’s great in the summer with berries as well. They also have a Colon Cleanse supplement; I try to take that for a week per month, just to make sure stuff is moving along.  And their detox tea is wonderful.  Sometimes when elimination seems to be slow, I’ll also drink 1/8-1/4 c. of pure organic aloe vera juice with my juice in the morning. Aloe vera helps on the inside as well as the out.

 

Eat Low-Glycemic, Whole Foods, and Stop Eating at Night!

 

I took a class on eating low-glycemic and it was eye opening. Most of us eat white bread, white flour, white sugar, white rice and white potatoes. And instant, at that. All that white stuff gunks us up! Foods that are high in sugar (as white stuff is) cause our blood sugar to spike and then crash. Are you tired at 1pm? What did you have for lunch? I found that when I started eating lower glycemic foods, or at least eating proteins with them, I had more energy.  The goal is to keep our blood sugar levels constant, rather than up and down. When they’re constantly fluctuating, they mess with our metabolism, making it difficult to lose excess weight. I can’t explain all the fine points; you might get a good book on the subject or check online. Or take a class like I did. I’m still trying to eat better- it’s a lifestyle change that takes time.  I have stopped buying white stuff for the most part. We use ½ brown rice and ½ white. I make sweet potatoes with white. (minus the brown sugar and marshmallows!) When I make bread, I try to use whole grains and wheat flours with my white.  The closer a food is to its original form, the better.  Sugars that are less processed, fruits and vegetables from local gardens, whole grains. And read your labels – just because something says “Whole Grain” doesn’t mean it is!  It may have loads of trans fat and high fructose corn syrup, but because they put oats in it, they call it “whole grain.” It’s just a re-training of how you look at things, and again, it takes time. It’s all a step in the right direction. 

 

Another thing I’ve really been working on is to STOP eating at night!  We used to eat popcorn almost every night and then go to bed. So in essence I was eating a SUPER high glycemic food and then sleeping! No wonder I have extra weight.  We try not to eat after 8pm at our house, and are working on making that 7pm, and then 6pm.  These are all just little things you can do, one at a time, to improve your health.

 

Tea Tree Oil/Essential Oils

 

Essential oils are simply the oils found in plants. For instance, it takes 1000 rose petals to extract one drop of Rose oil. So you can imagine, essential oils are powerful and need to be used with caution. So many plants have different healing properties, so using essential oils can have wonderful health benefits. I don’t claim to be a specialist on them, but I use Lavender and Tea Tree almost daily.  Tea Tree oil in our house is synonymous with burn or wound. Anytime anyone gets sunburn or a scrape or cut or anything, on goes the tea tree oil.  We dilute it 4:1 with olive oil and use it as an ear drop for earaches. I mix it with Arbonne’s face moisturizers and use it on sunburn. We apply it direct to cuts and burns. It’s really wonderful stuff: anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral.  If anyone has a canker sore or cut in the mouth or sore throat, we dilute it ½ tsp. to ½ c. of water and gargle. (don’t swallow it though!)  When my children were in diapers, I made homemade wet wipes with it:

 

1 super heavy paper towel roll, such as Bounty, cut in 1/2, take out the cardboard center

2c. purified water

2 tbsp. oil- olive or avocado or almond or mixture

1 tsp. lavender essential oil

½ tsp. tea tree essential oil

1 tupperware container large enough to hold ½ paper towel roll

 

Mix all the liquid in a Tupperware large enough to hold ½ the paper towel roll, then place ½ roll inside, cut side down, secure lid, and flip over. Let all moisture soak into towels, and they’re ready to use.  You can adjust the oil levels if you like the towels less oily or less fragrant. We rarely had any diaper rash or cradle cap when we used these – I used them on their whole bodies as “baths.”  Makes babies smell wonderful J  And it makes a great baby gift- include the ingredients so the new Mom can refill as needed!

 

There are many other uses for essential oils and there are many good books on the subject. Have fun!

 

 

Hormone Balancing

What the Heck is Wrong with Me!?

Part 3- Hormone Balancing

 

This testimony is in no way medical direction or advice.  I am not a trained medical professional.  It is simply what I have done to improve my health. I would not recommend to anyone to self-medicate without the direction of a health professional. I have had many health professionals give me direction along the way, and this lifestyle is a result of their combined advice and efforts. In essence, I have taken the good and left the bad, in my opinion.  You must do the same.

 

Natural Progesterone

 

Hormone Balancing is such a big subject that I can only scratch the surface here and point you in the right direction.  I’m attaching a document that Dr. Deanna Osborn, an Executive Regional Vice President with Arbonne in my upline, has written on the subject.  Some wonderful books on the subject are What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopauseand What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PremenopauseI have used natural progesterone off and on since I was 35, and I will continue through menopause and beyond!  I am convinced of the health benefits. Here is that document for you:

 

 

Hormone Balancing     Deanna Osborn, MD

 

Board Certified Family Practitioner

Arbonne International

Independent Consultant

Executive Regional Vice President

Naples, Florida

Natural Progesterone Cream

1. Should not contain Mineral Oil. Mineral Oil coats skin and works as a barrier not allowing any other ingredients to penetrate.

2. Should be in airtight container to prevent oxidation.  If air is allowed to enter container, the cream will become less and less effective.

3. Should not be compounded hormones as compound hormones are hand mixed. All ingredients should be mixed thoroughly by machine. Machine mixing creates an even consistency throughout.

4. Apply correct dosage.  Using a metered container ensures the right dosage every time.

Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance

There are about 80 known symptoms. The following are only the most common complaints of women Dr. Osborn has found in her practice.

• PMS               

• Mood Swings               

• Irritability               

• Fibroid Tumors – Does not turn to cancer but may cause extra bleeding and pain. One third of all hysterectomies done in the U.S. are because of Fibroid Tumors. Most are not aware that these tumors shrink and may go away after menopause.               

• Breast Cancer – Too much estrogen in the body contributes to Breast Cancer and can lead to breast cancer according to research Women’s Health Initiative published in July 2002.  This study found that continual exposure to estrogen had a huge increase risk for Breast Cancer, Heart Attacks, Strokes, Blood Clots in the Leg and Blood Clots in the Lung as well as Dementia.               

• Breast Cancer at one time was known as a disease that general happened to women over the age of 50.  This is no longer true. Today women as young as 28 have contracted Breast Cancer.               

• Fibrocystic Breast Disease – A condition where the breast is tender, painful during certain times of the month. Breast may feel lumpy as well.               

• Weight gain – Weight gain of 5 to 10 pounds yearly in the middle area of body due to no change in diet or lack of activity.               

• Depression               

• Fibromyalgia               

• Lupus               

• Auto-immune Thyroid Disorders               

• Arthritis — Certain types of               

• Decrease Sex Drive               

• Vaginal Dryness               

• Thin, Wrinkly Skin               

• Postpartum Depression – Known years ago as the “Baby Blues.”               

• Osteoporosis               

• Infertility – Becoming an epidemic with women in their 30’s. Women who use hormone-balancing cream are finding wonderful results.               

• Abnormal Periods – Excess bleeding, inconsistent cycles

How Hormones are Suppose to Work in our Bodies

There are 2 hormones in our bodies:  Estrogen and Progesterone.

A.Estrogen – 3 types:   Estrone, Estrodiol and Estriol

• Estrone and Estrodiol are in lower or lesser concentration. Both are stronger estrogens and are more likely to cause cancer.               

• Estriol is in higher concentration and is the safer estrogen.  Dr. John Lee has coined this estrogen as the “designer estrogen”.

Estrogen’s Job in our Bodies – As a reproductive hormone, its job is to grow the lining of the uterus. It tells cells to multiply and divide so that if an egg were fertilized, it would have an appropriate place to implant itself.  Estrogen does this job during the first part of a woman’s cycle.

Estrogen is a reproductive and growth hormone.

B. Progesterone

• Comes during the middle of cycle when the woman ovulates.  Progesterone is responsible for increased sex drive at mid-cycle.               

• Its job is to oppose the estrogen. It tells estrogen that the lining in the uterus is good and stops estrogen’s process of multiplying and dividing               

• Gets its name from “progestation” meaning pregnancy. It is the pregnancy hormone.               

• In the last trimester, a woman produces up to 400 mg of Progesterone per day.               

• Progesterone is necessary for woman’s body to maintain pregnancy.  Frequent trimester miscarriages are often due to low progesterone level               

• Progesterone plays in the development of the nervous system.

Ways Hormones Become Imbalance

1. Prescription Synthetic Hormones

• Birth Control Pills – Over time women may notice inability to handle stress, not able to sleep well, depression or hot flashes. Doctors may diagnose PeriMenopausal and prescribed HRT               

• Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) – According to the American Heart Assoc. HRT is very dangerous to the heart.

2. Diet – Chicken, beef and pork are often fed with estrogen to promote growth to get livestock quickly to the market.

• Dairy Farmers also feed estrogen to cows to increase production.

** Twenty years ago the average age for a woman to begin menstruating was 14. Today the average is 10.7 years. This is the result of consumption of hormone-induced diets.

3. Environment

A. Petrochemicals

• Dr. John Lee refers to these as “false” estrogen               

• Toxic to humans               

• Have ability to bind to estrogen receptors and mess up the body.

a. pesticides, fungicide, dry cleaning solutions, chemical household products, plastics, mineral oil/baby oil,

** When plastic is heated in the microwave, dioxins are released into the air and into the food. Dioxin is considered the most toxic man-made substance.

** The World Health Organization list Mineral Oil as a carcinogen (a cancer causing substance).

** The U.S. government did a study on 3,000 chemicals found in everyday cosmetics and personal care products such as body lotions, moisturizers, makeup, etc.

• Findings showed that 1 out 3 of the chemicals were toxic enough to kill if in the right concentration.               

• 1 out of 10 could cause cancer or a birth defect               

• 1 out of 11 could cause reproductive problems               

• 98% of personal care products contain mineral oil

** The medical field has known for years that the skin is an excellent vehicle to penetrate the body.

** According to the EPA, it takes 26 seconds from the time you put a toxic substance on your skin for it to be absorbed into the body and reach all major organs.

** Estrogen is “fat-loving”. It stores itself in fat tissues in the body such as the breast.

• After a mastectomy, if the breast tissues are examined, traces of all the carcinogenic substances are found

4. Stress

• When stress occurs, our adrenal glands produces cortisol to beat stress.  The building block for cortisol is progesterone.  The body uses cortisol to fight stress. If all the progesterone is used to produce cortisol, no progesterone is left to fight Osteoporosis.               

• Low levels of progesterone cause osteoporosis.

Ways to Bring Hormone Balance Back

1. Eat organic meats, produce and dairy products as much as possible.

2. Never use plastic products in the microwave.

3. Learn to recognize when you are under stress and find ways to balance yourself.

4. Use organic products for the home and garden.

5. Air out dry cleaning 1-2 days prior to bringing into the home.

6. Supplement with natural hormone balancing cream.

How to Use and Evaluate Natural Progesterone

1. Absolutely must say USP Progesterone – Standard Pharmacopeia assures real Progesterone.

2. Read label to make sure it does not contain Mineral Oil.

3. Air-tight container to preserve integrity

4. Dosage of 20mg per ¼ of teaspoon.

Who Should Use Plain Progesterone

1. Women who have cycles. – Count from 1st day of period to day 12. Start the cream on day 12. Use 1 pump per night on one side of inner arm. Rotating sites of left arm, right arm, chest, etc. Use for 2 weeks. Period should begin after 3 days of stopping use.

2. Women who’ve completed menopause, not taking any hormones and not having hot flashes. – If having symptoms described earlier, use one pump of cream nightly 25 days per month. Take 5-day break.

• If no symptoms, women who want to prevent breast cancer may use hormone balancing cream
• May be used to prevent or reverse Osteoporosis (use ½ pump daily for 25 days with 5 days off)

** Natural Hormone Cream will not interact with any medications.

Who Should Use Progesterone with Phytoestrogens

1. Women who have hot flashes. – Use 1 pump per day, 25 days and 5 days off. If hot flashes continue after 2 weeks of use, increase to 2 pumps per day.

2. Women who are trying to wean off HRT – Check with doctor prior to coming off HRT. During first month, cut HRT to ½ dosage and use daily. In the 2nd month, decrease HRT to every other day.  In the 3rd month, use HRT only every 3rd day.

All the while decreasing HRT, use hormone cream from day 1. Use 1 pump a day for 25 days and 5-day break.

90% of women get desired results.  If not, check with your doctor. Especial mixture of estrogen and progesterone may be needed.  However mixed, the cream should always contain both hormones.

When compounding mixture, Estriol is the desired estrogen type. It is the safer estrogen.

** Those with uncontrolled high-blood pressure should begin with Progesterone without Phytoestrogens until blood pressure is under control. Phytoprolief contains Licorice and a study shows that Licorice may increase blood pressure.  Although Phytoprolief has a low level of Licorice, use caution and begin with Prolief first.

 

 

Lindsey’s 35 Reasons

What the Heck is Wrong with Me!?

Part 2: Exercise- Lindsey’s 35 Reasons

 

 

 

 

This testimony is in no way medical direction or advice.  I am not a trained medical professional.  It is simply what I have done to improve my health. I would not recommend to anyone to self-medicate without the direction of a health professional. I have had many health professionals give me direction along the way, and this lifestyle is a result of their combined advice and efforts. In essence, I have taken the good and left the bad, in my opinion.  You must do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sudak also got me started exercising to oxygenate my body. I never understood before that yeast thrives on sweet, dark places with no air. When we exercise, we introduce oxygen to our blood, and yeast can’t stand oxygen.  So the more I exercise, the more yeast-unfriendly my body becomes.

 

Exercise has always been a challenge for me.  For some reason, I would begin and be faithful for about six weeks, and then I would just quit. Then of course it’s hard to get started again, but somehow I always would, and have to work to get back where I was when I quit. Sometimes I would quit for months and months.

Recently, I heard a teaching that really helped me with this dilemma.  It spoke of four seasons we all go through for just about everything in our lives – from our relationships to our resolutions to our jobs.  We all go through phases; they’re naturally occurring, we can’t stop them, we can’t avoid them, they happen and they happen to all of us in every area of our lives. Here they are:

1- Enthusiastic – the “go for it” stage. It’s called the honeymoon, literal or figurative. Everyone is happy and excited and you can’t stop talking about whatever you’re excited about.

2- Doldrums. This happens typically 6-8 weeks after you’ve started whatever it is you’re excited about. A new baby is exciting but after 8 weeks of no sleep you hit the doldrums. A wedding is exciting but then after the honeymoon you go back to normal life. Etc. We sometimes get pessimistic, frustrated, fearful. Sometimes we want to quit, sometimes we do quit.

3- Introspection – a time for pulling in. We ask ourselves – “is this what I want? Can I do this?” It’s a time of re-purposing, re-attaching, renewing our commitment and passion to/for something. Like the Bob Dylan song -”returning to the same place and seeing it for the first time.”

4- New energy and commitment. Back to enthusiasm, happy, go-for-it stage.

This is huge. Because it’s a cycle of experience, it’s not about ME, there’s nothing wrong with ME. Because I know this, I can strategize and plan for the doldrum times. If I think there’s something wrong with me and I don’t understand why I feel the way I do, I become a victim because I give up my own power to control the interpretation of how I’m feeling. Make sense? I am in control of how I feel. I can choose to say, on a yuck day, “this is ok, I’m in a doldrum phase, it will pass. I’ll do something fun today to help get out of it” or whatever.  It’s not about the EVENT, but the INTERPRETATION. Amazing!  I wish I had known this years ago!

The beauty is, if we know this about ourselves, we can help others through it when we see them in the throes of confusion. Another resource that has really helped me through the exercise challenge is the magazine “Experience Life” put out by Lifetime Fitness.  You can find them online. Each month, the issue is packed full of all the stuff you read about here, and more.  It is encouragement in glossy pages.  I highly recommend it!

Here is a note for you from my friend, Lindsey Sykes. She is an inspiration to me; and hopefully to you too!

Why Exercise is Good for You!

 

 My name is Lindsey Sykes.  I have a master’s degree in exercise science and I work in cardiac rehabilitation as an exercise physiologist, teaching people how to live healthier through lifestyle changes.  Michelle was telling me one day that she needed something to motivate her to exercise more.  For some people, it helps to know what you might gain from such feats of work and sweat.  I thought I might share with you a few of the things from which you and your body will reap the fruits as you choose to groove your body like they say on those “Do” commercials.   Remember, anything you do to get yourself moving is better than nothing, but the goal is to accumulate 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week.  That means, even if you have to split the time up into three 10 minute sections and you feel like you are working somewhat hard on at least three or more days per week, you will gain the health benefits.  Find something you even slightly like to do, find someone to do things with if you need, and then, to steal a very profound quote from Nike, “Just do it!”  Here are some benefits of exercise, and this certainly is not an exhaustive list!

 

 1. Stress relief – burn your cares in calorie form!

 2. Keeps you limber (who wants to be like an old rubber band?)

 3. Decreases resting blood pressure

 4. Decreases resting heart rate

 5. Increases HDL (your “good” or “healthy” cholesterol)

 6. Decreases triglycerides (fatty globules that float around in your blood stream which if they don’t get used will be stored as fat)

 7. Lowers risk for developing diabetes by helping control blood sugar levels

 8. Helps you burn more calories at a higher rate not only while you are exercising but for a couple hours afterwards as well

 9. Builds muscle mass

10. Decreases fat mass

11. Increases resting metabolism (you eventually burn more calories even in the time you’re just sitting around!)

12. Helps increase muscle strength

13. Increases overall endurance (you can go longer without getting tired as fast as you used to!)

14. Improves balance

15. Improves coordination (to some degree, depending on what exercise you are doing)

16. Increases the number of capillaries in your muscle tissue (better blood flow)

17. Increases the number of mitochondria in your muscle cells (more energy producers)

18. Decreases rate of bone density loss and can actually increase bone density in some people

19. Slows the process of aging!

20. Increases sense of well-being and healthiness

21. Decreases risk of developing heart disease

22. Can improve reflexes

23. Makes your body more efficient at using oxygen

24. Decreases risk of developing peripheral vascular disease

25. Makes you less likely to be part of the smoking crowd

26. Decreases risk for carotid artery problems

27. Increases daily stamina

28. Helps you sleep better at night

29. May improve your emotional stability (especially during menstruation)

30. Can help to provoke more healthy lifestyle disciplines overall

31. May help to increase self-confidence

32. Can help improve your sex life

33. Strong but no conclusive evidence that it may help prevent many kinds of cancer

34. Helps improve your body’s ability to cool down

35. Want a smaller pants size?  Lose inches off your waist!

36. Keeps muscles toned and firm instead of flabby and wobbly

37. Waiting for more?  Experience regular exercise and find out for yourself!

 

What the Heck is Wrong with Me!?

A HEALTH LIFE-STORY IN SHORT: ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY OF FAITH, HEALING, AND CHANGE

Part 1 

This testimony is in no way medical direction or advice.  I am not a trained medical professional.  It is simply what I have done to improve my health. I would not recommend to anyone to self-medicate without the direction of a health professional. I have had many health professionals give me direction along the way, and this lifestyle is a result of their combined advice and efforts. In essence, I have taken the good and left the bad, in my opinion.  You must do the same.

 

 

            My health story begins as a child sugar addict. As far as I can remember, there were never any limits to the amount of sugar I ingested. If I wanted to walk to the candy store and spend my allowance on candy and eat it all in one hour, so be it. I made cookies whenever I liked, and ate dozens. And white bread and sugar jellies and peanut butters were always available. Potatoes, pasta, and white rice were part of our menus. Not to mention the ever healthy school lunches: hamburgers and french fries daily, with ice cream sandwiches available for 25 cents. I’m sure my mom would have been upset if she had known the levels of my ingestion, but I never told.

 

            Contrary to my grandmother, my mom was a great cook. She worked to put a good meal on the table every evening, and it always included vegetables, meat, starch, the typical American diet. She did a good job. And she is still a great cook. In addition to good wholesome dinners, I just learned to eat a lot of sugar. And then….someone created the vanilla latte.

 

            Fast forward a few years. I’m out of college, married, have three babies under six years old, and my husband Phil and I are opening an espresso café with friends. I have loved coffee since Phil and I were dating, but once this latte thing came on the scene, I was hooked. Forever.

 

            Working at an espresso café has its benefits. Free coffee. Free lattes. Free syrup. I kid you not – when I made myself an iced caramel latte on a hot summer day, I put 1 ½ inches of caramel in the 20 oz. cup before adding the espresso and milk.

 

            I was not completely oblivious, however. Somehow I knew that if I didn’t cut the sugar, I was going to have health problems down the line. I had read Sugar Bluesand had my suspicions about my health already. Adult onset acne. Serious mood swings. Foggy thinking. Complete lack of energy by about 2 in the afternoon. Depression. Excess weight. Painful bloating.

 

            It wasn’t until the birth of our fourth child, Elijah, in the spring of 2003 that my cup overflowed. A friend told me once that our bodies are like an empty cup at birth. As we grow, we put things in our cup that compromise our systems: bad food, sugars, lack of exercise, stress, overuse of antibiotics, pesticides or chemical dyes in our food/water/skin care, chlorinated water, other types of bad water, excess weight, lack of spinal care, chemically altered food, trans-fats, pollution in our air. Our bodies are so amazingly made that for a long time, most people can deal with these stresses without obvious repercussions. But eventually, that cup is going to overflow, and the overflow is called pain.

 

            Shortly after Eli was born, I contracted a bladder infection. Without thinking, I called my doctor and got the culture and took the antibiotic. When the infection didn’t seem to subside after several days, I went in again. This time it was on a weekend and there was no one in the lab to do the culture. So another doctor prescribed another antibiotic without seeing the test results. The second day into this, I woke up with severe bladder pain. I have never experienced anything like it. I ran back to my doctor, and being that this was a Monday, they were able to read the culture from the weekend and take another one. Neither came up with any infection at all. They could not tell me why I had pain.

 

            I finally thought to call my midwife, Joy, who had delivered Eli in our home. With dismay, she told me that there are many ways to cure a bladder infection without an antibiotic, and that just having taken two rounds of one seriously compromised my system.  She was gently regretful that I hadn’t called her, and set me on the path to rebuild the good flora in my system that I had just killed off.

 

            Our digestive system is filled with all sorts of stuff, among them, good and bad bacteria.  We naturally have some yeasts in our digestive tract, but they are kept in check by the good bacteria. An antibiotic will kill ALL bacteria, good or bad. Some may survive one shot of an antibiotic, but two or more will wipe them all out, leaving our systems vulnerable to any kind of yeast or fungal overgrowth.  Besides the fact that my system was already under stress from just having a baby and the hormonal fluctuations involved with that, and the fact that I regularly ingested heavy amounts of sugar (which yeasts and fungi thrive on), now I had wiped out all my natural defenses. I was vulnerable. And post-partum.  And scared.

 

            I took Joy’s advice and cut out sugar and began drinking lots and lots of water and uva-ursi tea. I tried straight cranberry juice but couldn’t tolerate the taste. I found that when I cut out most sugar and kept up the liquids, I felt better and could function fairly normally. But breast feeding was excruciatingly painful. Eli had thrush in his mouth, and looking back, I had it too. We treated him with probiotic powder on his tongue and his infection cleared up. I would literally cry while feeding him, and I was tempted to quit and go to formula. But guilt plagued me. I loved nursing my babies and really felt it was the best option for them, and he was our last planned child and I really wanted to do the same for him. Joy recommended we rent an electric breast pump to help me heal a little and still get Eli the milk he needed. This ended up saving our “breast feeding relationship.” The pump enabled me to heal enough so I could slowly go back to nursing him, and kept my milk coming in fairly well. We did end up having to supplement with formula, and I found a great organic soy formula when we needed it. In the end, I nursed him until he quit at thirteen months.

 

            But by the end of summer, things had gotten worse. One morning while visiting my mom’s, I woke up with intense burning. The pain actually woke me up. I remember lying there asking God what “new devilry was this?” The thought came to my mind, very clearly, “Yeast.” I woke my husband and we drove to an all-night store and got some over the counter yeast medication. It enabled me to go back to sleep. But after talking to my midwife again, I decided to go the natural route. Cut the sugar, drink lots of liquids and uva-ursi tea, and try some natural yeast medications, such as “Yeast-Away” suppositories and Candex.  I couldn’t find the Yeast-Away, but I did find Candex, and I began that right away.  It helped a lot. Within two weeks, although I was still trying to steer away from sugars, I found that with the Candex I could eat freer. I wasn’t afraid with every bite I took that I would wake up with intense bladder pain, vaginal burning, and that horrible bloated feeling like you’ve been constipated for weeks. Sometimes when I had these episodes, which I learned later would last 3-4 hours, I had diarrhea as well.

 

            I also learned later that when your “gut” is out of order, which mine certainly was, there were a host of other problems. Skin eruptions are common, along with emotional stress, feelings of fear and anxiety, and generally like you just have a rotten flu.  I also learned later that what I was experiencing was a full blown systemic version of Candida. 

 

            All of this to say, I had to change my life.  While all this was going on, we were in process of renting our house so we could move, packing, moving to Duluth, leaving everyone & everything we knew, and starting a new vocation in life. We moved to Duluth in August of 2003 and Phil began an internship with the University of Minnesota Duluth Chi Alpha.  There were many times in Duluth when I would just sit in front of my computer and cry, searching the internet for clues as to what was wrong with me. I had seen a few doctors in our hometown, and one in Duluth, along with a urologist, a chiropractor, and a homeopathic practitioner.  Eventually it got to where I couldn’t sit “Indian-style” anymore; my inner thighs hurt so much when I tried to stretch them.  My chiropractor told me that nothing could be done; it’s just the way it was. But in Duluth, I found both a chiropractor who believed that something could be done, and a female M.D. who specialized in holistic medicine.  I also found a product online called “Three-Lac” that helped immensely. I learned that the yeast that was carefully controlled in my body by my beneficial bacteria had grown and run rampant, and was now invading other areas of my body. My skin, my “gut,” my muscles, my bladder and female organs, my brain – all these were affected.  If I ate perfectly, no sugar at all, including anything white- white bread, rice, potatoes- even milk and most fruit – if I cut all these out of my diet, along with my beloved coffee, I would feel ok.  Basically, I could eat meat, vegetables, nuts and berries.  But I had difficulty living with those restrictions. I chose not to. I found another way.

 

            So what I ended up doing was a combination of many solutions that I have read and heard over the four years now since this all began.  At the end of this essay I will give you a list of the reading I have done, and the websites and products that have helped.  As I sit here today, I still have to eat differently, live differently. But I can tell you that I feel better than I ever have, and I don’t feel like I am deprived. For awhile I did, and I think I actually grieved sugar, but now I truly don’t miss it anymore. I know how it makes me feel and it isn’t worth it to me.  And I have my indulgences!  You would think that I would be slim and svelte with the way I’ve eaten the past several years, but I really am not much different – only healthier.

 

            What follows are the steps I’ve taken to get healthy. When I start to feel unduly bloated at the wrong time of the month, for instance, I know that I’ve been pushing it too much, being too free with what I’m eating. I continue to add to these and step it up a notch when I feel things getting unhealthy again.

 

            I did not begin to do all these things at once; they have been a process of adding and building over the past four years. And I am not perfect in all of these – they are just things I have made part of my life. Sometimes I do well, sometimes I don’t. Most of the time I feel good.  Sometimes I have a relapse. But I am certain that if I have a relapse, it is because I haven’t taken care of myself. I have gotten to know my body well enough that I can tell when I am slipping. And a relapse always does one positive thing: it reminds me to take care of myself. I liken it to a stomach stapling surgery. When an obese person has his/her stomach stapled, they have made it physically impossible to eat too much. If they eat too much, they would have severe pain and complications. Candida has done that for me. If I don’t take care of myself, eventually I have pain, and personally I hate pain, so I take care of myself. Make sense? It’s just a good example of how God will take something bad in our lives and turn it into something good, if we allow Him.  He has healed me over the years, of instances of severe pain, when I have called out in fear and agony and despair. I can name at least three times when the pain was instantly gone and I was healed. But I am convinced that he allowed the candida to stay to train me. Many women (and men) live with this every day. I have learned so much, and we comfort others with the comfort we have received. So I thank God most of all, for my healings, and for my health.

 

Three-Lac, Boric Acid regimen

 

I name only these two, but actually there were many things I did under the care of Dr. Sudak to begin to kill off the yeast. Dr. Sudak prescribed boric acid suppositories, which I used every night for a month or more. She also had me begin using supplements which I continue to this day. I did a lot of crazy things that she didn’t direct me to do but I found somewhere online or in a book, like fresh garlic and plain yogurt suppositories.  I think they helped some, but they sure were strange. It’s amazing what you’ll do when you’re desperate for some relief! 

 

Dr. Sudak also got me started taking probiotics – getting healthy flora reintroduced into my digestive system.  She did not prescribe Three-Lac, but another brand. I found Three-Lac on my own online. It is a powdered probiotic specifically designed to eat yeast and sugars. I found a difference after using it for several weeks –the pain in my inner thighs left and I was able to stretch again. Between the Three Lac and the boric acid, supplements, and exercise, along with the changed diet, I began to make my way back to a healthy digestive system.

 

Primal Defense

 

A year after my symptoms started, a friend gave me a book called, Patient, Heal Thyself, by Jordan Rubin. Jordan had Crone’s disease and was near death. His father, a holistic doctor, was frantically trying to find something to help his son. Nothing seemed to work, until they stumbled upon a formula of probiotics and “dirt” that replaced his body’s natural flora and strengthened his immune system, enabling his body to come back from Crone’s disease.  That, combined with diet, has enabled Jordan to live a good life. He has written another book called The Maker’s Diet that is wonderful as well. After reading them, I began to take Jordan’s supplements regularly, and continue to do so today. I rarely get sick anymore, be it a common cold or a nasty flu going around, and I am wondering if it isn’t because I have spent these four years building my immune system to the point that it can withstand many bugs that come my way.  If I get a cold these days, it runs through my system in three or four days, and it rarely “gets hold” – meaning, the symptoms are small. I can tell I have a little cold, but that’s all it ever is anymore.

 

Enzymes

 

These are the “big guns” I believe, in controlling my Candida symptoms. I have found two brands that work well for me. One is Candex, and the other is called Candi-Zyme.  They are very similar.  I buy them at our little health food store in Bemidji, Sunrise Foods. I have seen them in many other health food stores and even in health food sections in supermarkets. And they are readily available online. These enzymes basically digest sugars for me, keeping them from feeding any rogue yeasts in my system.  These enzymes cost about $30 a month, but they are worth it to me because they act as a buffer. On days that I don’t eat so well, the enzymes make up for it. I have even been known to eat a half a piece of cheesecake or a cookie or a small bowl of ice cream, and as long as I don’t do that every day, the enzymes cover it for me. 

 

I could control the Candida without spending money on enzymes, but I have just learned that I am not a perfect eater.  Even when I thought I was eating perfect, at times it seemed I would have reactions.  Sometimes there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason.  The enzymes just cover the slack for me, and I appreciate it! I can be a little bit – normal. This is not to say that I eat like I used to. I haven’t had a caramel or vanilla latte in four years. I have learned to love espresso with steamed milk and no sugar at all.  I have learned to forego cookies and candy and cake, but once in awhile, because I have enzymes, I have a bite of Phil’s cake.  I find that a bite is all I need, and it tastes wonderful.  And I am able to indulge in things like my mom’s Almond Biscotti – a fabulous recipe with very little sugar, but sweet enough for me!  I can eat blueberry muffins and Breyer’s ice cream and a ginger cookie once in awhile- because I take enzymes. 

 

Better Sugars

 

Here’s something I learned about sugar. The more refined it is, the harder it is for your body to digest, and the longer it takes for your body to “run it through.”  The longer it’s in your body, the more likely it is to feed the ruffian yeasts.  So I have moved our entire family to “better sugars.”  No sugar is really good, but some are better than others.  In our house, we use honey, molasses, pure cane brown sugar, and brown rice syrup.  I don’t even buy white sugar anymore. I also use Stevia, an extremely sweet herb, but I haven’t really found consistent ways to use it well. If anyone wants sugar in their coffee at my house, they get pure cane brown or organic raw sugar.  No one seems to mind.

 

One of the worst sugars you can possibly ingest is called “high fructose corn syrup.”  We have made an effort to completely cut this out of our diets.  Sometimes it’s impossible, but in every way we are able, it is out of our house, and our bodies.  From what I understand, high fructose corn syrup, besides being highly addictive, actually inhibits your body’s ability to know when it is full.  So you never feel full, and you just keep eating.  And it is everywhere, in everything. It is a cheap sweetener, and a health disaster in our country.  Check your labels; you’ll see what I mean.

 

Trans-Fats

 

When I first went to see Dr. Sudak, this is one of the first things I was told to do. Cut all trans fats out of our diets. Why, and what the heck is a trans fat?  Trans fats are fats that have been altered, so much so that our bodies do not know what to do with them, and our cells actually have to mutate to deal with them.  They cause heart disease and a host of other health problems. They are not safe, and it is now law in our country to include them on labels in foods.  Most oils are not stable at high temperatures. When they are heated as such, the oils change and become “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated.”  This is a trans fat.  So not only have we cut out anything with these ingredients in the labels, but we have discontinued using canola, corn, or other vegetable oils in frying.  We are a popcorn family; we love it and have it several times a week.  But I use Palm oil to make popcorn, because palm oil is stable at very high temperatures and does not change to a trans fat when it is heated.  Neither does coconut oil, but my family didn’t like the taste of coconut oil popcorn.  So we stick to palm.  I still use other oils in baking, but not frying.  Olive oil is not stable at high temperatures, but it is fine at low, so I use it for stir-frying a lot.  And it makes a great addition to butter: whip 1# butter with 1c. olive oil to make “better butter.”  The olive oil provides the good fats you need and lowers the bad fats in butter, yet you still get the taste of butter.  Great compromise.

 

Pure Water & Chlorophyll

 

I learned of the benefits of drinking pure several years ago from Dave & Annie Frohm’s book, Healthy Habits.  Since then, we have had some type of water purifier in our home, and most recently, we have a counter-top model of Multi Pure.  It’s portable, so we actually take it with us sometimes and hook it up wherever we are so we can have pure water to go.  Most tap water has chlorine added, but even in small amounts, chlorine can compromise people with yeast issues by killing off good bacteria. Chlorophyll is a liquid found in plants – and Joy prescribed it during my Eli pregnancy to keep my iron up.  I was anemic, and a midwife can’t deliver a baby at home when Mom is anemic.  So if I wanted a home birth, I had to drink my chlorophyll.  I always buy the mint flavored kind- and now I really like it and am still drinking it in my water bottle several times a day.  I get strange looks for drinking green water, but it’s a great conversation starter!

 

D-Mannose & Cranberry

 

This has been one of the biggest medical blessings our family has encountered.  I think I stumbled upon this online at some point.  D-Mannose is actually a sugar, similar to that found in cranberries, and it attracts and adheres to bacteria in the bladder, thus inhibiting the bacteria to stick to the bladder wall and grow, causing infection. The mannose & bacteria is then flushed out of the body. Anytime anyone in our family has a little urinary burning, they take a few D-Mannose tablets and before an infection can set in, it’s cleansed out. It’s wonderful. We haven’t been to the doctor for bladder infections for four years, and we’ve had a few sneak up on us. The Mannose has taken care of them. I found a brand of D-Mannose & Cranberry from the company “Pure Encapsulations” on the website www.illnessisoptional.com.  I just carry it along on trips or vacations, and if anyone needs it, it’s there.  It can also be purchased in powder form for smaller children, and it’s just sweet like a sugar, so I mixed it in water or juice.  Antibiotics are wonderful things, but most doctors are agreeing these days that they are overused and thus becoming less and less effective, and even giving way to stronger strains of bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant. Why use them when we don’t have to? Save the antibiotic for when it is really needed.

 

 

Later in this series we will address other changes you can make in your health that are not vitamins or supplements. There is a light at the end of this tunnel!!