Recently, I have been doing some research on some of the health problems I have. I keep coming across books and articles that speak to me about the need to change my diet more than just cutting out the gluten foods. It involves finding sources of foods that are raw such as raw milk and butter, pasture fed meats, wild caught fish, organic vegetables, limited fruit, homemade lacto-fermented foods such as kifir, yogurt, saurkraut, beet Kvass etc. It means cutting out all refined foods and sugar. This is all so overwhelming. Then there are about $175 a month worth of supplements to add in.
You might think, that is crazy. Why on earth would I think of doing this! I know I have had Celiac disease for a long time before I ever figured it out about four years ago. At that time, I was dealing with canker sores so many and so big I was desparate and when I found out going gluten free freed me of it, the commitment was easy. As it turns out, cutting gluten out of my diet has helped in several areas of my life, but now I am having difficulties with tendonitis in both arms. This is not my first aquaintance with tendonitis. I have had it a couple of times in my ankle. I've also fractured my leg and my rib as a result of osteoporosis and have had painful "unexplained" episodes with my back and my rib cage area in the last 13 months.
After reading the story of the author of "Performance Without Pain", I think I understand what is going on. She is a professional clarinetist with the Orion Ensemble. She began having painful episodes in her neck and back and then in her arms...muscle spasms, tendonitis, etc. She was found to have Celiac disease. Initially, a gluten free diet helped her and she began to feel better. But then she began to go down hill again. She experimented with a number of diet and supplement changes. While some helped for a while, she seemed to continue to go downhill again later. Her profession as a muscian was threatened. She finally found a doctor who helped her to understand that her body had been so depleted nutritionally for so many years that even though she had made some good changes, it was not enough to heal her depleated body. In order for her body to keep the vital organs going, it was robbing her muscles, tendons and other parts of her body of nutrition. She began the diet recommendations and supplements that are laid out in the book and now she is pain free. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about finding solutions to their pain.
My experience resonates with her's. The difficulty I have is that I can't afford $175 a month for the recommended supplements and I haven't found sources for the foods yet or know the extra cost involved in that. The supplements are special and more expensive then what you would typically pick up down town. One reason for this is that almost all the supplements you can buy down town have additives. It makes the vitamins so they do not break down in the intestine like they should. Many times, in people with intestinal diseases such as Celiac, they don't break down at all or too late to be absorbed and are just passed through with the stool. Another problem, I have read about elsewhere with Celiac is that people who don't find out they have Celiac before they are 30 years old often never completely heal and therefore never absorb the nutrition that they need to keep their bodies healthy. Consequently, we need all the help we can get by using additive free vitamins and minerals and using supplements to help break down the vitamins for us.
I don't know if I can pull this off, but I know God is a God of miracles and if it is His will that I get access to these items, He can make a way. So I would appreciate your prayers in this regard on my behalf.
Marsha
2 comments:
I'm homeschooling struggling with chronic illness, too. I eat a "traditional diet" and really find it's the best. We found local milk, but not yet cheese. We eat organic and include fermented foods and soaked grains and all whole foods. I don't know a lot about Celiac's disease, but the it's makes a world of difference for me (I have Lyme disease) and my husband, who is able to drink raw milk, despite a milk allergy. He can eat sprouted grains, like rice and wheat, that bother his stomach if he eats otherwise. I wish you luck on your journey. Thanks for the encouragements.
I can so relate to this difficulty. My husband has fibromyalgia and I'm always trying to find good quality supplements, etc. that are affordable. And also am constantly trying to decide just how much to modify our diets - and then how to pay for it :^) Sometimes it makes my head hurt trying to figure it all out. I will indeed pray that God will give you His wisdom to know what He would have you to do.
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