The Past:
About a month ago, I was sitting in my bathroom, experiencing another episode of digestion turmoil. These episodes all started about 6 years ago, when I was first pregnant with my 2nd daughter. I don't want to get to detailed, but just to give you an idea, it was severe cramping, throwing up, and cleansing out the other end too. :) Brain fog, fatigue, literally feeling poisoned after I would eat a meal, and headaches galore, were all a a part of my daily life, and ending up in the bathroom, sicker than ever, was my cup of poor health running over, only to fill back up.
The last 2 years they have become more intense, and frequent. I have done a few cleanses in the past, that helped, but I would end up going back to my normal diet of being addicted to sugar and grains soon after, thinking my body could handle it.
I have been on a health journey for the last 6 years, and have learned soooo much!
In addition to the Family Herbalist course I took, I have been studying all different sources, including trial and error, on how to stay healthy, what the body needs, what certain food sources can do to your body, and how, the way I treated my body 26 years prior, was all leading up to where I am now.
Up until a month ago, I was addicted to sugar and grains. I ate well (whole foods)90% of the time, but I sure allowed the rest of the 10% to be treats, of whatever I wanted too.
Every time I would have an "episode", I would end up praying to be able to live through it first of all. Then I would pray it would be over quickly, and then I would pray that the next day when I knew I would feel better, that I wouldn't forget the pain I had been in, so I could do better with what I was eating.
The problem was, even though I was eating a lot of food that was good for me, there were underlying reasons, why my body couldn't tolerate them either. Not actual food allergies, but my body wasn't breaking them down.
You would think that, eating squash, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, chicken, fruit, rice, whole spelt, and other good sources would help me feel better right? Little did I know, these foods were actually making things worse, because my digestive system had been destroyed by yeast overgrowth, pain medications, chemicals in my cosmetics and cleaners, parasites (from chocolate no less), and bad bacteria in the lower bowels.
These foods are all high in histamine, and they were just filling up in my body, and not getting eliminated properly.
The last time I prayed that I wouldn't forget the miserable time that I had, I truly meant it, and I was determined to make a new change last this time. I woke up the next morning, and I was determined to not eat any form of bad sugar, dairy, or grains, until I had for sure healed myself.
For about a week after, I avoided all dairy, grains, and sugars, and I
did extensive research on what was going on with my body. I searched the internet all over, and found some really great answers, that resonated true, to what I was experiencing. I found one really great article, that helped me out mentally, a lot. It is by a girl named Caroline, and her website is called mygutsy.com. She is very well put together. Her article that I loved can be read here http://www.mygutsy.com/is-h-pylori-the-cause-of-allergies-brain-fog-hypothyroid-autoimmune-disorders-adrenal-fatigue/
I knew I had developed some sort of histamine intolerance, because after the last 3 "episodes", I ended up with an itching attack. My whole body itched everywhere. The first time this happened, I scratched out of desperation. It left my body covered in claw marks the next day, because even though I was scratching, my tissue was so swollen that it felt numb, and scratching as hard as I could, could barely be felt. I have found though now, that if I don't scratch when this happens, it all goes a way quicker and with more ease, even though it is almost unbearable.
I discovered, this is caused from histamine build up. The liver and gall bladder do not have all the enzymes needed to break down histamine, that is naturally found in foods (thus the reason why a lot of whole foods that I love, were adding to the issue).
The reason for this loss or deficiency in enzymes, is caused from a few different factors, one is: being over 30 years old. I read a statistic somewhere that if you do not eat at least one raw food meal a day, from the time you are little, that by age 30, you will lose important enzymes that only your body produces. I am coincidentally 32 years of age. :)
Also, on the Standard American Diet, you can have yeast overgrowth, and not know it. Yeast, synthetic drugs, chemicals in the air, and in your products, and sugar, will all be abrasive to your stomach and digestive lining. Much like the H. Pylori, that Caroline talks about in her article, they create holes in your lining, and then your immune system fights everything that gets in your blood stream, from the holes.
When your stomach and digestive lining is destroyed, you don't produce enough stomach acid, to breakdown your food, and histamine. This can also be linked with sensitivity, to oxilates, and amines.
The Present:
After about a week, I called my sister, who does muscle testing, and is studying to become a master Herbalist, through the School of Natural Healing. We have learned a lot of things together, and she has done the same course for the Family Herbalist, that I have done. In our family we talk about health on a daily basis, and learn a lot of new things together. She is moving on in the course, and does muscle testing for clients too, and I am so glad to have her! I can muscle test myself, but sometimes its easier for me to have someone else do it, so I am not trying to justify, being able to eat things.
She muscle tested me, and suggested I do a 3 day juice cleanse to start, and then follow up with a 2 week herbal cleanse.
I tested for a carrot juice cleanse, while taking olive oil, and Dr. Christopher's Lower Bowel Formula, and his Liver and Gall bladder formula. You can find the protocol here http://articles.herballegacy.com/3-day-juice-cleanse/
The first day went great. Then that night, at about 3 am, I woke up to intense spots of itching. I have learned to not scratch, when I itch anymore from this. It just makes it spread more, and swell. It would itch intensely in one spot, about the size of a dime, and then calm down, just as another spot would start. This lasted for a couple of hours, and I don't believe I ever fell back to sleep after that.
I realized later, that this intense itching wasn't histamine this time, but instead toxins in my blood, from all the cleansing. So I started the cleansing back up to get things eliminating again.
Everything went well after that, and if it didn't take so much time to clean every organic carrot, and juice 10 every hour, I would have continued on longer with it.
When my sister tested me for the two week cleanse, a couple of days later, I found out my diet was going to be very, very simple, for the next couple of weeks, and possibly longer.
I just finished the two weeks.
Here is what I could have:
Zucchini
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Quinoa
Organic butter
coconut oil
Honey
15 bean soup, minus the seasoning packet
cumin
and nutmeg
For cleansing, I tested for Myrrh, Catnip, Cayenne, Yellow Dock, and Caprylic Acid
I was thankful for what I could have, out of the other about 60 foods that she tested me for. :)
So, I have basically lived off of that list, and lots of distilled water (to help draw out toxins) for the last two weeks.
I have learned to make some really yummy things out of Zucchini and quinoa, and they have been my staples.
The Future:
I am hoping to get retested for all the foods again, here in the next couple of days. I really, really hope, that there are a few more things I can add in, however, I am prepared, mentally, to go as long as I need to, with whatever diet my body says is necessary, to heal completely.
I did cheat with some snacks yesterday, but I still have a great desire, to avoid the foods that are harming me, for however long I need to.
One of the biggest changes I have made this last year, is chewing my food to a paste. I have been doing this for a about a year now, for a few reasons, and it has helped a lot with my digestion.
When you have parasites, and yeast and bacteria, it ends up eating your nutrition, before you can absorb it, so not only are you not breaking food down, but you are deficient in minerals, and vitamin b12. Saliva, has a specific ingredient in it, that when stomach acid combines with it, it creates a new acid, to break down the food. If you are not thoroughly mixing saliva with your food in your mouth, while you chew, you will not have enough for your stomach's digestive process either.
When I started doing this, I noticed I eat less, because it takes longer to chew, and I had less episodes also.
Chewing your liquids helps also.
I read that for every year you have been sick, it will take a month to heal. I feel that my body has been struggling with these issues since child hood, so I am thinking it will probably take 3 years to heal. That is what I am planning for anyway!
If I am able to, I hope it can take less time, but I do not plan on ever going to back to the way I ate before!
I have been wishing I could have a bite of pizza, the last couple of days, but whenever I have these temptations, I just remember, that I want my liver and digestive system to heal, more than I want that temporary happiness of eating a slice of pizza. Someday, I may be able to have the combination of red sauce and cheese again, but you can bet, I wont be eating it on refined bread, that is full of yeast and sugar, and things that got me here in the first place. :)
I have a long way to go, but I am excited about it!
I have some great recipes I want to share also! They will be in another post!
For now though, Happy Healthy Healing to you all!!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
It was Not IBS
When I was a little girl, we lived literally out in the middle of no where. We were about 10 miles out of town from Rock Springs Wyoming, which wasn't very big either. My parents had a nice piece of land, in the middle of more barren land with a few scattered neighbors here and there. As little kids, we were always running free. There was really little fear of strangers. We knew our neighbors and loved them. Anyway, this has little to do with what I am going to talk about it, I just always get lost in that memory of bliss when I think about it.
I can remember when I first felt the signs of what I thought was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I was probably 7, running around with my sisters on the dirt road in front of our home, when I felt a cramping feeling in my lower bowels. I would hunch over for a few minutes and then run off to play again.
This cramping feeling was only felt mildly as a child, and it was pretty rare.
When I got pregnant with my second child at age 26, the first month or two was spent with these cramping feelings intensified. I asked my OBGYN about them, and he asked me a few questions, and determined it could probably be my Gall Bladder.
I knew it wasn't my Gall Bladder. First of all your Gall bladder is up under your right rib cage, not down by your bladder.
I still avoided the foods they suggested to cut out of my diet, and I was fortunate to be able spend the rest of my pregnancy feeling pretty good.
My next pregnancy, I was feeling cruddy again, and I would have "an attack" in my lower bowels about once a month. This pregnancy was spent eating very well, and I was very healthy, and ate very clean, felt great for the most part, yet I still had these symptoms.
My last pregnancy, last year 2012, I was miserable on a weekly basis. I ate clean, for the most part, and had a wonderful pregnancy, but I still had these issues. I was more than convinced it was IBS, and I had not had any doctor tell me that was what it was. I like to study things extensively, and that was the only thing I could link it to. I knew yeast had a link to Lower Bowel diseases, but I didn't realize there was a little bit more to it.
A couple of months ago, I went to my friend Tisha to do a yeast cleanse. I told her that I had been dealing with IBS symptoms since I was a child, and I just wanted to take care of it for good now.
As she started muscle testing my body for different things, she told me "I don't believe it is IBS that you have. I believe it is yeast, parasites, and bacteria."
I had all 3 of those built up in my system.
The parasites are a small, and they eat all of the nutrition you put into your body.
I did a cleanse for 2 weeks, that consisted of avoiding the foods that feed yeast, listed in a previous post, and taking herbs that would help clean me out.
I took Pau d'arco tea twice a day and a clove of Garlic for the yeast once a day. I took Burdock for the bacteria, and Wormwood Combination for the parasites. I also took Astragalus for immune boosting, Raspberry leaf herb for nourishment, Slippery elm, for healing the digestive lining, and Cilantro for chemicals and radiation in my body.
After the two weeks, she muscle tested me again. and I was clear and free of the parasites, and bacteria, and my yeast levels of 10 went down to 6.
I absolutely felt better, and I haven't had an "IBS" attack since.
She advised me to take the Wormwood Combination once a week for maintenance, and to continue to take a clove of Garlic daily, and to switch between the Astragalus and Slippery Elm every other week.
We can get parasites and bacteria from these foods:
chocolate (the cockroach and bugs will climb in to the cocoa bean, thus being a source for parasites)
red meat
processed and packaged foods from the manufacturers and distributors uncleanliness
canned foods
Radiation and chemicals are a hard thing to avoid now days, with computers, cell phones, and all the technology that we are exposed to that puts off radiation. Chemicals are in our processed and non organic foods, our tap water, and from pollution from vehicles and the chem trails from airplanes, and from synthetic supplements and pain killers. It is important to keep up on cleansing these things from our bodies in addition to the yeast. In combination, they will make you miserable. Its not hopeless though! Eating organic foods, exercising to encourage healthy elimination, and educating ourselves on what natural wholefoods are good for, will all help.
My sister can set people up on the cleanse that I did. She is a student to become a Master Herbalist, and has been mentored by Tisha, who helped people on this path for 30 years. She is really good at what she does, and works with essential oils from Green Organics International also. Her website is http://kerissataylor.com/blog/ Look for a master Herbalist in your area too. Chances are they are familiar with the bio-kinetic muscle testing also, and would love to help you!
My other sister has been doing the cleanse protocol from Dr. Christopher, and has been sharing her journey. If you would like to see how she is doing and what she is doing you can check it out here http://inthegardenofeatin.blogspot.com/2013/05/healing-diet-part-3-day-25.html
Consider your sypmtoms to not only being yeast. Yeast is a huge culprit, its not exactly easy to kill off completely, but bacteria, parasites, and chemicals and radiation are also big culprits, and in our day and society they are very common, even though we might not know it.
I can remember when I first felt the signs of what I thought was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I was probably 7, running around with my sisters on the dirt road in front of our home, when I felt a cramping feeling in my lower bowels. I would hunch over for a few minutes and then run off to play again.
This cramping feeling was only felt mildly as a child, and it was pretty rare.
When I got pregnant with my second child at age 26, the first month or two was spent with these cramping feelings intensified. I asked my OBGYN about them, and he asked me a few questions, and determined it could probably be my Gall Bladder.
I knew it wasn't my Gall Bladder. First of all your Gall bladder is up under your right rib cage, not down by your bladder.
I still avoided the foods they suggested to cut out of my diet, and I was fortunate to be able spend the rest of my pregnancy feeling pretty good.
My next pregnancy, I was feeling cruddy again, and I would have "an attack" in my lower bowels about once a month. This pregnancy was spent eating very well, and I was very healthy, and ate very clean, felt great for the most part, yet I still had these symptoms.
My last pregnancy, last year 2012, I was miserable on a weekly basis. I ate clean, for the most part, and had a wonderful pregnancy, but I still had these issues. I was more than convinced it was IBS, and I had not had any doctor tell me that was what it was. I like to study things extensively, and that was the only thing I could link it to. I knew yeast had a link to Lower Bowel diseases, but I didn't realize there was a little bit more to it.
A couple of months ago, I went to my friend Tisha to do a yeast cleanse. I told her that I had been dealing with IBS symptoms since I was a child, and I just wanted to take care of it for good now.
As she started muscle testing my body for different things, she told me "I don't believe it is IBS that you have. I believe it is yeast, parasites, and bacteria."
I had all 3 of those built up in my system.
The parasites are a small, and they eat all of the nutrition you put into your body.
I did a cleanse for 2 weeks, that consisted of avoiding the foods that feed yeast, listed in a previous post, and taking herbs that would help clean me out.
I took Pau d'arco tea twice a day and a clove of Garlic for the yeast once a day. I took Burdock for the bacteria, and Wormwood Combination for the parasites. I also took Astragalus for immune boosting, Raspberry leaf herb for nourishment, Slippery elm, for healing the digestive lining, and Cilantro for chemicals and radiation in my body.
After the two weeks, she muscle tested me again. and I was clear and free of the parasites, and bacteria, and my yeast levels of 10 went down to 6.
I absolutely felt better, and I haven't had an "IBS" attack since.
She advised me to take the Wormwood Combination once a week for maintenance, and to continue to take a clove of Garlic daily, and to switch between the Astragalus and Slippery Elm every other week.
We can get parasites and bacteria from these foods:
chocolate (the cockroach and bugs will climb in to the cocoa bean, thus being a source for parasites)
red meat
processed and packaged foods from the manufacturers and distributors uncleanliness
canned foods
Radiation and chemicals are a hard thing to avoid now days, with computers, cell phones, and all the technology that we are exposed to that puts off radiation. Chemicals are in our processed and non organic foods, our tap water, and from pollution from vehicles and the chem trails from airplanes, and from synthetic supplements and pain killers. It is important to keep up on cleansing these things from our bodies in addition to the yeast. In combination, they will make you miserable. Its not hopeless though! Eating organic foods, exercising to encourage healthy elimination, and educating ourselves on what natural wholefoods are good for, will all help.
My sister can set people up on the cleanse that I did. She is a student to become a Master Herbalist, and has been mentored by Tisha, who helped people on this path for 30 years. She is really good at what she does, and works with essential oils from Green Organics International also. Her website is http://kerissataylor.com/blog/ Look for a master Herbalist in your area too. Chances are they are familiar with the bio-kinetic muscle testing also, and would love to help you!
My other sister has been doing the cleanse protocol from Dr. Christopher, and has been sharing her journey. If you would like to see how she is doing and what she is doing you can check it out here http://inthegardenofeatin.blogspot.com/2013/05/healing-diet-part-3-day-25.html
Consider your sypmtoms to not only being yeast. Yeast is a huge culprit, its not exactly easy to kill off completely, but bacteria, parasites, and chemicals and radiation are also big culprits, and in our day and society they are very common, even though we might not know it.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Foods to Avoid while fighting yeast
Here is a list of foods that should be avoided if you have yeast issues.
Bread with yeast in it:
This includes pastries, doughnuts, pretzels, and crackers. Harsh, I know!
Potatoes and potato products
Corn and corn products
Read your labels, almost everything processed or refined has potato or corn starch in it, It's terrible!
Sugar
Fruit sugars will feed yeast too, so if you are trying to kill yeast off, avoid fruits during initial cleansing.
Peanuts (these are actually considered a legume, and they are in more of the fungus family)
Processed meats
Canned goods
Aged foods such as cheese
alchoholic drinks
sour cream
mushrooms
left overs over 2 days old
High Fats
Red meat (very harsh on digestive lining, and it takes 3-5 days to fully digest it, and it can add to any bacterial issues).
Bread with yeast in it:
This includes pastries, doughnuts, pretzels, and crackers. Harsh, I know!
Potatoes and potato products
Corn and corn products
Read your labels, almost everything processed or refined has potato or corn starch in it, It's terrible!
Sugar
Fruit sugars will feed yeast too, so if you are trying to kill yeast off, avoid fruits during initial cleansing.
Peanuts (these are actually considered a legume, and they are in more of the fungus family)
Processed meats
Canned goods
Aged foods such as cheese
alchoholic drinks
sour cream
mushrooms
left overs over 2 days old
High Fats
Red meat (very harsh on digestive lining, and it takes 3-5 days to fully digest it, and it can add to any bacterial issues).
You don't have to starve!
When I finally decided "this has to be taken care of for good now", I literally searched the internet for 3 weeks to find the perfect protocol for killing off excess yeast in the body.
I was first directed to the "GAPS" diet, which is a good try, but it was so overwhelming to take all the information in. That and I just could not get over the fact that it has you drink bone and fat broth as part of the remedy.
You have to understand, I cannot stand the idea of eating something that once had eyes, or blood, or poop for that matter, lol. I do not call myself a Vegan, because I will eat meat sometimes, If someone else prepared and cooked it, and if I know it was a free-range fed, non hormonal, and non antibiotic injected white meat animal. Meat sold in stores or from fast food restaurants, does not pass the healthy and good for you test in my opinion.
Not only that, but meat just doesn't taste good to me sometimes. It tastes like..........flesh. I have no judgement to those who do eat meat, to not eat it is just my personal preference.
Then I went to the School of Natural Healing forums to see if they had any ideas. Why I didn't start there in the first place is beyond me, since I have my Family Herbal certificate from the School, and live and love Dr. Christopher's remedies for natural healing! I have been doing this natural healing stuff for 6 years now, and have had my certificate for 3 of them.
They didn't have a whole lot talked about on the forums, but I did come across a post that mentioned an article explaining exactly what I could do to take care of the yeast issue.
Click on this link for the protocol I found.
It was seriously like the heavens had been opened up for me. I trust Dr. Christopher's remedies with all my intuition. I have tried several on myself, and they have all worked wonders for me. I wanted to get started right away!
The same time I was researching all this, I also had called to set up an appointment with my friend Tisha Mecham, who is a master herbalist through the School of Natural Healing, and does Bio-Kinetic testing. She will test your energy, with muscle testing, to see the weak areas of your body, and then she can tell you what herbs would help you cleanse, and heal, and what foods to avoid during the cleansing process. I did a cleanse with her about 5 years ago also, and my 7 year old did one at 9 months, and it worked wonders for both of us.
I went to order the herbs for the Dr. Christopher's protocol, and some were out of stock, so while I was waiting a few days to order them, Tisha called and set up an appointment with me.
I went to my appointment and started a two week cleanse went pretty great, except for the fact that I did not know what to eat! I know what I can't eat, and trying to find anything that isn't produce in a normal grocery store is impossible!
I finally found some great options at the store Whole Foods, and I am excited to share what I have been munching on since. :) I am so excited, I am going to be continuing the diet on my own terms. :)
I later realized that while nursing a baby, I should probably keep my cleansing gentle, because while cleansing the toxins are released into your blood stream and the baby will then need to cleanse of them too. So I decided to not do the protocol from Dr. Christopher's website while I am nursing, but when I am done, it will definitely be a cleanse I give a go at.
Anyway read on, I will be posting recipes and giving ideas for food you can have while doing a yeast cleanse. :)
I was first directed to the "GAPS" diet, which is a good try, but it was so overwhelming to take all the information in. That and I just could not get over the fact that it has you drink bone and fat broth as part of the remedy.
You have to understand, I cannot stand the idea of eating something that once had eyes, or blood, or poop for that matter, lol. I do not call myself a Vegan, because I will eat meat sometimes, If someone else prepared and cooked it, and if I know it was a free-range fed, non hormonal, and non antibiotic injected white meat animal. Meat sold in stores or from fast food restaurants, does not pass the healthy and good for you test in my opinion.
Not only that, but meat just doesn't taste good to me sometimes. It tastes like..........flesh. I have no judgement to those who do eat meat, to not eat it is just my personal preference.
Then I went to the School of Natural Healing forums to see if they had any ideas. Why I didn't start there in the first place is beyond me, since I have my Family Herbal certificate from the School, and live and love Dr. Christopher's remedies for natural healing! I have been doing this natural healing stuff for 6 years now, and have had my certificate for 3 of them.
They didn't have a whole lot talked about on the forums, but I did come across a post that mentioned an article explaining exactly what I could do to take care of the yeast issue.
Click on this link for the protocol I found.
It was seriously like the heavens had been opened up for me. I trust Dr. Christopher's remedies with all my intuition. I have tried several on myself, and they have all worked wonders for me. I wanted to get started right away!
The same time I was researching all this, I also had called to set up an appointment with my friend Tisha Mecham, who is a master herbalist through the School of Natural Healing, and does Bio-Kinetic testing. She will test your energy, with muscle testing, to see the weak areas of your body, and then she can tell you what herbs would help you cleanse, and heal, and what foods to avoid during the cleansing process. I did a cleanse with her about 5 years ago also, and my 7 year old did one at 9 months, and it worked wonders for both of us.
I went to order the herbs for the Dr. Christopher's protocol, and some were out of stock, so while I was waiting a few days to order them, Tisha called and set up an appointment with me.
I went to my appointment and started a two week cleanse went pretty great, except for the fact that I did not know what to eat! I know what I can't eat, and trying to find anything that isn't produce in a normal grocery store is impossible!
I finally found some great options at the store Whole Foods, and I am excited to share what I have been munching on since. :) I am so excited, I am going to be continuing the diet on my own terms. :)
I later realized that while nursing a baby, I should probably keep my cleansing gentle, because while cleansing the toxins are released into your blood stream and the baby will then need to cleanse of them too. So I decided to not do the protocol from Dr. Christopher's website while I am nursing, but when I am done, it will definitely be a cleanse I give a go at.
Anyway read on, I will be posting recipes and giving ideas for food you can have while doing a yeast cleanse. :)
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