In For the Duration

So here it is - our first day on the program that will (hopefully) naturally eliminate allergies in our family.

This morning we sat down at the breakfast table and had our two fruit servings for the day: wild blueberries and cherries (both picked last summer, frozen, and thawed overnight). As a family, we talked about how allergy affects all of us and how good it would be for all of us to have great health. "Do you think having great health and being allergy free is worth 6 weeks of self-denial?" I asked. The unanimous vote was, It's worth a try.

There were no long faces over the lack of peanut butter and honey toast and cereal at the table. I'm proud of the children! We reasoned it out and marked the calendar for the date that we will be reintroducing some of the forbidden foods (wheat, yeast-containing baked goods, peanuts, and all sugar-containing products). The natural cure for allergies program begins with a candida cleanse. Since yeast overgrowth in the body relies on a steady supply of sugars, we're cutting sugars (except for the two servings of fruit in the morning) completely out of our diet.

Lunch was mostly raw foods: coleslaw of cabbage, carrots and beets, drizzled with lime juice, flax seed oil, and sprinkled with salt. We also had rice crackers with sesame tahini.

I worried all night about how we would live with no sweets. We're so motivated by food. When we're not indulging in the things we like, we're thinking about them, it seems. But surprisingly, no one seems to have missed the toast at breakfast or the regular sweet treat following lunch. We filled up and are going about our business as usual. No big deal.

I hope we can stick this program out for the full six weeks. When I first read about the all natural program for getting allergy free, it sounded easy. Just a 4 -6 week commitment to be cured of allergies for a lifetime. Not hard at all, I thought. Changing your diet radically is no easy feat, however. Even if it only is for one month.

I'm going to find out if we can use stevia as a sweetener. I don't think it counts as a sugar because it has a different chemical make-up. (We're steering clear of all artificial sweeteners, as well. Stevia is a green plant that has very sweet leaves. You can buy the extract in a liquid or white powder.)