It's no secret I think good quality food is our best medicine. It will be a great day when doctors and naturopaths look to a patient's diet 1st before prescribing potentially unnecessary products. (I say this knowing I am embarrassed to show my doctor my food log from Christmas up to last week!)
There is no difference in my mind between a doctor that prescribes a medicine to help a symptom of a disease and a naturopath who recommends a natural supplement to do the same thing. If neither are trying to fix the underlying cause in the 1st place...well...you see my point. (This is provided the patient is willing to go the distance required to regain their health.) I firmly believe our bodies were made to heal themselves. Unfortunately, many disease processes are caught too late or not diagnosed properly at all.
When we supplement with prescriptions or natural products, what is our goal? a) To live with an underlying illness still running rampant in our bodies...while the symptoms that were meant to alarm us are dampened by some pill, or b) to gain a full recovery, possibly evidenced by pertinent bio-markers like blood work or other testing? Ultimately, I want to know if what I'm doing is working. In my case, not just by how I feel- because that has tricked me before- but by the biomarkers headed in the right direction.
Take eczema as a medical diagnosis. What an alarm that can be. I've seen it so bad that the child needs to be admitted for steroids, fluids and antibiotics. It's at that point the doctors really have no choice but to do allergy testing (hopefully). But what about that small patch or 2 of eczema that's been nagging someone for the longest time? Why isn't that addressed in it's beginning stage? Something is causing it, right? So, why tell a patient to apply hydrocortisone or triamcinolone over and over and over again? Seems to me that is suppressing your body's alarm without addressing the root cause. And I think it's important to note that a great way to determine a cause is to remove certain foods for a time period, then reintroduce them after about a month...and see what happens.
I know in the last post I told my sob story about all the lotions and potions I was taking. Well...
Since then, I had a wonderful talk with a friend that also has Hashi's. She is such an amazing person. She filled my "tank" up quite a bit during our conversation where I was whining about all I have to take at this point. She too is following a treatment plan of her own, so we related to each others highs and lows. I think I have been very wrong to have a pity party about my supplements. I mean...THEY'RE WORKING!!! My autoimmune antibodies have dropped, so that's a giant step in the right direction! So what if I have to take them for a few more years? I'm not diabetic, I'm not depressed, I don't ache all over, and I'm learning SO much about my body (and the health of my family) going through all these steps. I have a smart and supportive husband, family, and friends...what on Earth was I complaining about? Without this program, my antibodies would be who knows where- and my body would continue to fall into autoimmunity land. With that said...I'm ready to pick up my responsibility and move forward.
Drumroll... I have not had a TJ's gluten free Gingersnap since the last post. I survived an entire weekend of work and denied all those little kisses and M&Ms. Not even a prune. I did however, eat some strawberries with canned coconut milk the other day...and I'm hooked. Good news? It doesn't even budge my blood sugar! All the good coconut fat must supress the sugar spike. So, I have a new favorite snack. Canned coconut milk. I just opened up a can tonight and it was SO thick, I needed a spoon. Halfway down the can...was the separated coconut water. That thick top 1/2 was to die for. The kids and I sat there and played, "pass the can." Yeah, we got our fat on tonight...and had to stop ourselves so we can have more tomorrow.
And, yes, I am checking my blood sugar now. Not because I'm diabetic, but because blood sugars and hormones are interrelated. I want to see what foods I should eat together to prevent a spike and a fall which could easily send me on a war path. And after speaking to my Hashi's friend, I am not alone. When we were talking she said something that made me think, "ME TOO!" We both could be fine all day...eating grass fed beef, eggs, veggies, etc...but eating even a small handful of raisins could make my kids go into duck and cover mode. No, it wasn't a hot fudge sundae. It wasn't a piece of birthday cake. I can go nuts over the amount of sugar in a couple of prunes. (Pitiful, I know...but don't pity me. :) I am not sure if it's all completely Hashi's related, or if it's also the fact I have eliminated so many negatives from my diet that now I can sense more of what's going on under the hood, per se.
Many friends who care about me say, Oh Wendy...you've been so strict...have a piece of candy- "you deserve it." They mean well. I don't expect them to know all there is to know about blood glucoses, Hashimotos, and autoimmunity. Most doctors don't even know, even GI docs. I mean, they are just coming out with new lab testing now, in 2011!
Recently I spoke with a surgeon who disclosed to me that he and other family members have Hashi's and other autoimmunity. After telling him about removing gluten, my success so far, Robb Wolf's book, and Dr. K's Book, he said he was "ordering it tonight" and, "You'd think I'd know this stuff." Now why would I think that? They're not teaching this stuff in medical school...(yet.) He also said he was dieting, and mainly eating meat and vegetables (but not because of the autoimmune diagnosis), and said he "already feels better." Hmmmm. It's like this stuff works. It even works if you aren't aware of it!
I like the Whole9Life's Food Evangelist T-Shirt. It's how I roll, even when others look perplexed at my diet and/or lifestyle. But, hey...you can't argue with progress.
Cheers!
