The UPS Man

The UPS man came by the other day.  Here’s what he brought me:

From VitaminShoppe.com -
KAL Nutritional Yeast Tablets – a food source of vitamin B. Bs are beneficial for lots of reasons, but for me they reduce stress, keep me from being as irritable (my kids appreciate that), and keep me upbeat.  You can read more about nutritional yeast here.

Concentrace Minerals – minerals are vital to health. I add a few drops of this to each glass of water I drink. It makes my water taste so good.  Click here to read a primer on minerals.

Magnesium Capsules – I started taking these after researching adrenal fatigue. I’m still taking them to be proactive.  The above mineral primer includes information on Magnesium.

Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra – fabulous probiotic! You really get what you pay for. I decided to save a little a while back and bought a cheaper brand. They did not do for me what these do. When I was still dealing with dermatitis, and after I used up all the cheap probiotics, I ordered these. After taking one pill I noticed a difference in my hand. I don’t even think we fully understand the role of probiotics in our body. They aid digestion and help with intestinal issues, but beyond that, many, many issues are rooted in intestinal health. When our gut is out of whack, the rest of our body is. Probiotics help heal your gut. Dr. McBride has discovered that autism and even dyslexia are rooted in gut health.  Click here for a great article about probiotics.

Maca Capsules – I have heard great things about this herb. Click here to read more. I have heard that it is great for your adrenals and even though I have been healed, I want to be proactive and prevent future flare-ups. I have been extra tired lately and am hoping these will give me energy. I have been taking them four days now and am feeling pretty great. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence. I’ll have to see if it lasts.  Click here to read one woman’s experience with maca and click here for more information.

Papaya Chewable Enzyme Tablets – I take an enzyme supplement because a few months ago I had a few episodes of intense intestinal discomfort. It happened three times and was horrible. They would last about an hour, but then I was still weak for a while afterwards. My husband discovered years ago that enzymes cured his IBS, so I figured they would help me for whatever this issue was. I bought these chewable ones for the kids. My son has had a few of those episodes like I had in his little life. So he is really the one I bought them for. (On a side note, as I write this I am thinking that I do not recall him having any stomach aches while I gave him coconut oil regularly. I haven’t been giving him any the last couple months and he has had two stomach aches. I am going to start giving it to him consistently again.)  You can read about enzymes here.

From Green Pastures –
Blue Ice Cod Liver Oil – this is the best source of vitamins A and D you can get.  Amazingly, this cod liver oil doesn’t taste bad and I’m not just saying that.  :)  Since I have been taking cod liver oil, I have noticed that I don’t ever really get sick and when I do, it’s incredibly mild and doesn’t even slow me down.  Cod liver oil is a preventative measure and coconut oil is for fighting sickness when it hits (among other things).  Read more about cod liver oil here.

Virgin Coconut Oil (for friends, I still have about a gallon) – You can read about my experience with coconut oil here.

Hippocrates (460BC – 377BC) said, “Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” I really try to keep in line with this. However, our modern food supply is very, very deficient, supplements are sometimes needed. The best supplements to buy are those that are from food. Not just natural, but an actual food item, like the yeast tablets and cod liver oil. These are called superfoods. They are food items that are packed with nutrition.  As always, remember My Motto.  This holds true for vitamins.  If it is a chemical version of a vitamin, our bodies won’t absorb it.  If it is a compound taken from food, it still isn’t very good, it’s missing all the other parts.  The best is in it’s whole food form, with all of its cofactors and such present.  There are things that scientists still haven’t even discovered about vitamins, but God knows just what your body needs.

Links of the Month

A new feature here, I want to point out good articles from my fellow bloggers.  Theses caught my attention this month:

70% of U.S. Children Have Insufficient Vitamin D – report from Cheeseslave.

We can learn a lot from history – Lessons on Real Food from 100 Years Ago, from Food Renegade.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop has posted a really great article about gut health, a passion of mine - Gut Health 101: 6 Questions and Answers About A Strong Immune System and the GAPS Diet

Two posts from Nourished Kitchen have caught my eye - Iron Deficiency and the Breastfed Baby and Water Kefir: A Quick Tutorial.  What is water kefir?  It’s a fizzy drink that’s full of wonderful probiotics, apparently tastes milder than kombucha and is easy to make.  A great substitute for soda pop.  I need to try this soon.

And finally, a recipe – Rustic Fresh Tomato Tart – from The Nourishing Gourmet.  This looks so yummy and I love the photos!

Get To The Root

I have said it before and I will say it again–most of our health issues are rooted in our diets (and the diets of our mothers and grandmothers, certain things we were born with, were because of their diets, but most can be reversed).

 

I thought I had found the root of the dermatitis I was experiencing–stress, and I detailed that here.  But I removed sources of stress in my life and slowed things down and saw a little recovery, but not full.  Anytime something came up, EVEN just having to leave the house(!), I would experience a flare-up.  On top of a patch of dermatitis on my hand, I was also experiencing eczema and hives on most of the rest of my body.  Not fun!!!

 

Through all this, I have tried my best to put my trust in the Lord and NOT lean on my own understanding.  Sometimes this is difficult for me, since I have studied up on health so much!  I just had to get to the point where I turned it TOTALLY over to the Lord and didn’t worry or think about it anymore, including no more research.

 

I was constantly reminded of the verse that says, “God is not the author of confusion,” so anytime a solution came to my mind that brought anxiety, I knew it wasn’t from God.  I only followed leadings that brought peace.  (For instance, I had thoughts of trying the GAPS diet, where you eliminate all grains, all dairy, and all starchy vegetables and fruit, but that brought me great anxiety.  I think GAPS is wonderful, but it wasn’t the answer for me at this time.)

 

One day, I felt the need to research hives and adrenals glands and low and behold (!), I found information that matched what I had been experiencing, PLUS other issues, like the dizzy spells I detailed here, and low blood sugar issues, mentioned here, hay fever, and quite possible the irregular cycles I’ve always experienced.

 

So, it seems I WAS correct in saying that our diet is the root of our problems.  I was experiencing stress, but that was because my adrenal glands were fatigued and couldn’t handle the stress properly.  (When your adrenal glands are tired, everything stresses you out.)  I am now focusing on healing the adrenals and am seeing bigger recovery.  My hand is almost 100% clear and the rest of the skin issues are greatly diminished as well.  

 

Here are the articles that helped me so much:

Adrenals & Allergic Response (hives are an allergic response, as is eczema and dermatitis) by Dr. Thomas Cowan

Adrenal Fatigue & Your Diet by Dr. Marcelle Pick

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue (My craving for salt started years ago, I had no idea that was related to adrenals!)

 

This is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival hosted by Cheeseslave and Kelly the Kitchen Kop.  This week’s topic is Real Food Testimonials, check out the link to read many more inspiring stories of how diet has changed people’s lives!