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!!
