People ask me why I eat the way I do and why don’t I just enjoy life. Well I want to enjoy life by feeling good and eating healthy is one of the keys. I started eating healthy about 6 or 7 years ago out of necessity. I won’t go into a lot of details but just say that I have an autoimmune disease that affected my thyroid. Most autoimmune diseases don’t just affect 1 part of your body though. After complaining to my endocrinologist that my hair was falling out in clumps, I had no energy, and a lot of headaches he suggested I try going on a gluten free diet. I decided that instead of buying a lot of gluten free foods, which are pricey and weren’t readily available where I lived that I would just eat “clean”. That meant no bread and very limited processed foods. It worked. I felt better within a month and my headaches decreased.
Like all diets though, after I felt better I gradually went back to my unhealthy patterns. In 2016, while in Las Vegas I got a huge wakeup call. Again, I won’t go into details but just tell you that I lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks. My doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong, I went to the ER twice, then went to a gastroenterologist in Lubbock. He discovered that I have Microscopic Colitis, another autoimmune disease. The good news though is that I tested negative for gluten. His solution was for me to take steroids although he didn’t know how long I would need them. Not what I wanted to do. Through a friend I found a wellness doctor in Midland that has helped me recover my health without steroids. She encouraged me to heal myself with good foods, probiotics, exercise, and some supplements she recommended. It worked. No steroids needed.
I still wander away from the “clean” side sometimes but I usually try to get back on track pretty soon just because I feel so bad. A have to admit that on a couple of those “smell the roses” trips I didn’t eat so well. I felt rundown when I got home though so now I’m back on track.
If you aren’t feeling as good as you want to, try eating a healthy diet for a couple of weeks. I’m not saying you have to go vegan or vegetarian, just lay off the junk food, processed foods, and processed sugar and throw in a few more organic fruits and vegetables. I promise you will have more energy, your skin will look better, and you might even drop a few pounds.
I have a friend from Stephenville who has a page on Facebook called “Eating in Granny’s Kitchen”. When I quit working at the school where she taught she was using a scooter to get around. Now she posts how far she walks most days, all due to her diet and she is planning to backpack in Colorado this summer. She has graciously accepted my invitation to write a post about her health journey that I think you will find amazing.
I will suggest something that is very healing to your stomach. You can buy it at any grocery store now, or find a recipe online for “bone broth”. The research on it’s healing properties are amazing. I use it in soups, stews, and gravies or you can just or drink it like a broth. The other thing, which is everywhere now and I actually like the flavors of “kombucha”. Again, you can make your own or you can buy it in nearly all grocery stores. I don’t have a smoothie every day but when I do I use “Ancient Nutrition” Bone Broth Collagen superfood powder because it has bone broth in it. It also has collagen which is good for our skin, joints, and cartilage.
I hope none of you are going through anything like I have gone through but before you take a lot of medicines that might do more harm than good, please at least look at the benefits of a healthy diet. If you don’t agree with your doctor, seek a second opinion, and be your own advocate.
That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil–this is a gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13
If you eat things made by people in lab coats, you will be seeing a lot more of people in lab coats.
Food Matters Podcast, episode 11
I am attaching a page with the name of a book about autoimmune disease that was very helpful to me. I also have a couple of quick, easy recipes for you to try. https://www.westtxwoman.com/clean-recipes/
So true! I tried clicking the recipe link but it gave me an error like the page was gone?
I didn’t mean to publish that yet. I was still working on the recipe page. Oops.