Great Health Quest

Swine Flu Pandemic - An Opportunity for Some

2009-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

The coverage of the swine flu pandemic has been downright scary. Everywhere I look it seems there are pictures of people wearing surgical masks over their faces. Although the number of deaths doesn’t warrant the kind of panic that’s being conveyed by the media, the reports indicate that the swine flu has the potential to be the next great pandemic to sweep around the globe killing millions in a short course of time.

What's Behind the Media Hype?

I’m always a bit leery when it comes to media frenzy. What’s the real story here I wonder. Is all the hype warranted? Or have things gotten a bit overblown?

It’s not that I don’t believe a pandemic is possible. History shows that it is. My grandmother’s parents and younger sister were all killed by the Spanish flu of 1918. But, part of me hates dire predictions simply because we don’t know whether they will come to pass or not.

Opportunists Will Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Another part of me hates the manipulation/opportunism that always seems to accompany dire predictions. Remember the Y2K predictions about everything from food shortages to computer malfunctions at the highest levels? A handful of people made a whole pile of money on the fears of the masses.

Swine Flu Vaccine

I understand that a vaccine against the swine flu is being worked on. Hmm. I wonder if there’s any money to be made in vaccinating billions of people.

You might be saying, “Well, of course! A vaccine is what’s needed. What else can prevent us from getting such a deadly virus?”

Actually, there’s a lot that you can do to guard against acquiring the swine flu and other contagious illness. Strengthen the immune system. Read my most recent article at Suite101.com to find out what you can do to protect yourself from swine flu.

Also, have a look at Dr. Mercola’s alert on the swine flu. I’m inclined to go along with much of what he says.

Best health to you!

Tammie

Why MSG is So Dangerous

2009-04-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

I've known for a long time that msg (monosodium glutamate) is dangerous. But I didn't know why until I read Dr. Mercola's latest article on msg

I didn't know, for instance that msg was an excitotoxin that destroys cells by stimulating them to death. When msg bonds to a cell's glutamine receptor, cell damage and death can result.

The worst part of this is that msg is in so many processed foods and most of us don't even recognize it on the label because it's hidden under other names like, natural flavour.

What surprised me was that msg is in a lot of things that we use at home, like some nutritional yeast flakes (sounds healthy, doesn't it?), soy products like soy milk and soy sauce, and many other things.

I'm going to contact the company that makes our engevita yeast powder and inquire about whether it contains msg.

The bottom line is, the more natural the food, the better - unrefined, unprocessed, in it's natural state. We eat pretty simple foods as it is. Dr. Mercola's article just reinforced the idea that we need to be diligent about reading labels and educating ourselves about what goes into our grocery carts.

Green Lemonade, Anyone?

2009-04-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've learned a little more about alkalizing our body. My mom said to drink lemon juice and chlorophyll before bed. Eeeew, I thought.

Then I made some green lemonade. Don't knock it till you've tried it. I'll take green lemonade over pink lemonade anyday! It's delicious! Really. Here's the recipe:

Green Lemonade
1 litre of water
Juice of one lemon
2 droppers of liquid chlorophyll
Stevia to taste

That's it! Surprisingly, it doesn't have an exceptionally "green" or "grassy" taste. It is exceptionally refreshing, though. (Not to mention very alkalizing, too.) How's that for a new twist on lemonade?

Here's another tip for getting alkaline in a hurry: dump two boxes of baking soda into bath water and have a good long soak. (This is good for kids with autism, I've read.)

Great health to you!

Tammie

pH: The Acid/Alkaline Balance and Your Health

2009-04-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

I picked up some pH strips to measure our family's acidity. What I've learned is that our bodies strive to maintain an alkaline state. Acidity is associated with disease. If your extracellular fluids are alkaline, you will be healthy. Because:

An Alkaline Body = A Healthy Body

An Acidic Body = A Sick Body

As a matter of fact, people with cancer happen to be extremely acidic. You have to get alkaline to get well.

So . . . we're checking our pH.

It's quite simple really. I got some pH strips (http://www.ph-ion.com/) and do three tests each day for two days. I measure urinary and saliva pH for a composite (more accurate) reading.

You know, even though we're doing just about everything right - eating our greens and veggies, avoiding processed foods, drinking lots of water - we're still more acidic than I 'd like us to be. I think we may be low in magnesium. (We did a checklist in Mark Hyman's UltraMind Solution. http://www.ultramind.com/)

We're going to take some vitamin and mineral supplements, eat more raw foods, and check our pH again in a couple of weeks.

Tip for the day: Check your pH!

The UltraMind Solution

2009-04-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

I just bought The UltraMind Solution: The Simple Way to Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety, and Sharpen Your Mind by Mark Hyman, M.D. (published by Scribner). What a great book! Well worth the $32 (Canadian) for the hardcover.

Reading this book has really added and built upon the knowledge I'd gained from reading Allergies: Disease in Disguise.

Doctor Hyman explains how our overall health affects the wellness of our minds. With research and case studies from his own medical practice, he builds a case for healing and nourishing the body to cure all kinds of physical and psychological illnesses.

He outlines a 6-week program that he says works for 80% of people who try it. The program is easy to follow and by accessing more than 100 pages of on-line corrollary materials (like charts and lists of medical tests that can be requested), there is value-added to the price of the book.

I have renewed hope that by adjusting our daily habits, we can find healing for our son who has severe ADHD and autism-like symptoms. There is great hope here for people who are looking for help for autism, dementia, alzheimers, depression, and a whole plethora of other psychological (and physical) problems.

What a boon to find this book. It's so well organized, sensible, and helpful, I just can't say enough good things about it!

Thanks, Dr. Hyman!

The Good Fats Miracle

2009-03-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've been reading an older book (written mid '90's) by Sam Graci called The Power of Superfoods: Thirty Days that Will Change Your Life. What a great book!

In the book, Graci shows what's wrong with our diet, why we're fat, full of cancer and degenerative diseases. It's an eye-opener.

I like that Graci became a health researcher when he finally got sick and tired of early aging and obesity when he was in his thirties. He's authentic. He speaks from experience and backs up his conclusions with research.

Interestingly, I finally have a better understanding of a miracle cure that happened in my own life, because of reading his chapter on healthy fats. Graci explains how trans fats (from hydrogenated or partly hydrogenated oils) and damaged fats (heat processed cooking/vegetable oils) not only add unhealthy toxins to our bodies, but actually prevent our bodies from accessing the essential fatty acids that we take in when we consume good fats. These unhealthy fats hit the body at a cellular level with a double whammy as a result.

The bottom line is, though many of us are eating twice the recommended daily allowance of fats, we're still deficient of the essential fatty acids that our cells need for normal functioning.

Which helps to explain something that happened in my own life. Several years ago, I had severe eczema on my hands and legs. It was extremely uncomfortable. Added to that, I had itchy, flaky scalp. I used medicated dandruff shampoo and still suffered. The doctors prescribed corticosteroid ointments for my legs and hands, but they didn't help.

Then I read a letter in an Alive magazine about someone who had similar problems. The advice given in the letter was to take flax seed oil. I began taking 2 T/day. Within 2 weeks, my skin closed up, the weeping stopped. It was a miracle! The pain was gone. Within a month or so, my skin was completely healed. Amazing.

I was deficient in essential fatty acids. Such a simple cure, but such profound results. Thanks, Sam Graci, for the explanation!

Amazing Enzymes

2009-03-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Since I’ve learned about the essential role that enzymes play in maintaining our health, I’ve been making a real effort to shift to predominantly raw foods at meal times. Although we're not 100% raw, we're striving for 70%.

What I’ve learned is that enzymes are necessary not only for digesting food, but for all communication that goes on between cells and systems within the body. The bad news is, that as we age, we produce fewer enzymes for doing all the break-down, building and maintenance work that goes on in the body. On top of that, we hasten our own degeneration by eating cooked foods, because the body is forced to produce digestive enzymes for breaking down cooked foods, since cooking destroys all enzymes. Raw food comes with its own digestive enzymes. As a result, eating raw doesn’t stress our organs the way eating cooked food does.

Eating raw is not such a big deal when you’ve got a good variety of foods to replace your normal cooked fare. For example, our usual breakfast is some form of cooked cereal, usually oatmeal. But we’ve found that a good replacement is soaked organic grains.

We’ve also found that our new raw breakfast is so easy to digest. We’re actually hungry by lunch time and eat to fill a need rather than eating just because it’s time to eat. Complete digestion is the cornerstone of good health.

Here’s what we had for breakfast this morning.
2 cups buckwheat, soaked overnight
3 or 4 apples
Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Almond/cashew cream (optional)

Rinse the buckwheat a few times with cold water. Grate the apples on a fine grater or chop them in a food processor. Stir the chopped apples into the buckwheat. Serve with nut cream.
Tip: The buckwheat can be served whole, because the grains are really soft, but we like them whizzed in our blender with the apples. I just toss the apples (cut in chunks) with the buckwheat into the blender, add enough really hot water to get it processing and then serve it with a sprinkling of sliced almonds or shredded coconut.

For more info on amazing enzymes, go to:
http://health2us.com/enzyme.htm

Three Angels Wellness Center

2009-03-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

I've recently gotten to know the lovely people at Three Angels Wellness Center, a lifestyle education and health retreat in Glendon, Alberta. I've visited there a number of times and have been very impressed with the genuine and concerned people who work there, the facility, and the programming. The focus of the center is on natural biblically-sound healing methods. Here are some photos.

The Lobby

Front Entrance

Instructor, Mamon Wilson, teaching at the Center

Far infra-red sauna

Easy Cracker Recipe

2009-03-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Easy Crackers You Can Make!
Here's a simple cracker recipe that's delicious and easy to make. Plus, there's no bad stuff in it!

2 cups whole grain flour
2 cups ground nuts or seeds of your choice (our favourites are coconut or sunflower seeds)
pinch of salt
Enough water to make a firm dough

Mix the flour with the ground nuts or seeds and salt. Make a well in the centre. Add water slowly while stirring dry ingredients into the centre. Add just enough water until the dough forms a ball that you can handle easily without sticking to your fingers. If you put too much water in, just sprinkle the dough with flour and work in until it no longer sticks.

Roll the dough flat and very thin with a rolling pin. Place on a cookie sheet and poke holes all over with a fork. Score dough with a sharp knife. Bake at 325 degrees until edges are just beginning to brown - about 12 minutes.

These crackers are great for dipping and spreading. Experiment with extras for added flavour. Try: crushed garlic and italian herbs, flavoured stevia drops (NOW makes a delicious hazelnut flavoured stevia), finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes and freshly chopped basil. Enjoy!

The Missing Component

2009-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been on our candida cleanse for almost six weeks, and frankly, I'm ready to eat toast with peanut butter and honey RIGHT NOW! We've been completely off sugars of all kinds and although no one is complaining, I'm beginning to miss things like toast for breakfast and apple crisp after supper. But while we're on the candida cleanse we're sugar-free and not eating sweets (except for stevia) or peanuts, or yeast risen breads. And I want toast.

Not the Typical Case Study
More than that, though, what's most frustrating to me is that I really haven't noticed any improvement in our son's attention/behaviour. We're on this candida cleanse diet in an attempt to help our son with his attention deficit and allergies. After reading the case studies in Allergies, Disease in Disguise by Carolee Bateson-Koch, I'd become convinced that we must be doing something wrong. All the case studies I've read described vast improvements after two weeks.

Dr. Carolee Bateson-Koch
So, today I called Dr. Bateson-Koch and spoke with her. She does telephone consultations from her clinic in the Yukon. She was very helpful and after analyzing our program, she told me the key missing component was an anti-fungal agent. I'm going to call Nature's Fare and order GSE (grapefruit seed extract) by Nutribiotics and get started on it right away.

Acidophilus - The Friendly Bacteria
I also learned that the best time to take acidophilus is just before bed. I'm going to mix the powder with water and take it in the evening. I'm always so confused about recommendations for taking acidophilus, the friendly bacteria necessary for a healthy gut and proper digestion. Some people say to take it with meals, others say take it before meals. We'll try at bedtime, now and see what happens.

No Toast
So, it's back to the diet once again. No honey, no peanut butter, no toast. For now. I think I'll go make some biscuits with stevia and have them with almond butter for breakfast tomorrow.

Living the Sweet Life...Without Sugar

2009-02-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

No Sugar, No Problem
I'm surprised at how easy it is to live without sugar. Believe it or not, it really is not that difficult.

Candida CleanseOur family is abstaining from refined sugars because we're on a candida cleanse. We're trying not to feed those dreadful yeastie beasties that wreak havoc with people's health. I just finished reading a chapter about the yeast - allergies connection in the book Allergies, Disease in Disguise by Carolee Bateson-Koch. Candida albicans is responsible for such a vast array of symptoms - everything from indigestion and fibromyalgia to general muscle aches and pains and everything in between, including allergies of all varieties. Health professionals call it the yeast syndrome.

Sweet Stevia
So we're off sweets. Well, sort of. I've discovered stevia. Apparently, stevia is ok for people who are doing a candida cleanse. What a relief. Not that we've ever eaten a lot of refined sugars. We've always been careful about that. But sugar is in almost everything. I couldn't even use my favourite vanilla because it has sugar in it.

Diabetics Rejoice!
But now we've got stevia. Sweet! And it's ok for diabetics, as well. And it's natural! (In fact, we've grown it in a pot in the house for years. The leaves are very sweet and nice for adding to tea.)

Want a Recipe? Just ask!
I've found a way to make carrot cookies with stevia and tapioca flour - sounds weird, but they're delicious. No sugar, gluten-free, egg-free, but delicious, none-the-less! (Email me and I'll send you the recipe!)

We're just about at the end of our candida cleanse, and it really hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. If anyone would like some ideas about eating great while doing a candida cleanse, please contact me and I'll share the specifics.

Tammie

Inheriting Bad Genes

2009-01-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you'll forgive me, but I always get fumed up when I hear someone say, "I must have inherited bad genes" when a person is talking about "inherited" illness, obesity, or poor health.

It's true, our genes have a part to play in our health, our stature, our longevity. But more often what we inherit from our parents to our detriment is our lifestyle. That includes the foods we like to eat, how, when and why we eat, whether we exercise or not, etc., etc.

My husband and I are making a concerted effort to model a healthy lifestyle for our children to copy. And it seems to be working. They're not fussy eaters. They enjoy going outside to play (even when it's -30 degrees Celsius, like it was today!). Hopefully, they're inheriting a healthy lifestyle and attitudes from us.

Afterall, it's the little daily habits that add up to either good health or poor health. With young children, we have the opportunity to make a healthy lifestyle "normal". It's about choices.

Tammie

Where's the Real Food?

2009-01-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we stopped for groceries before heading to the pool. Our shopping trip took about 15 minutes start to finish. Part of the reason for this is that we didn't have many items on our shopping list. The other part of the reason is that I'm becoming more convinced that Kevin Trudeau is right about what's on the shelves. Most of what's on offer at the grocery store just doesn't provide good nutrition. So, we ended up passing by a whole lot of stuff.

Later, our family talked about the way grocery stores are set up. Have you ever noticed all the small ticket impulse junk-food stuff that surrounds the till area. There's gum, candy, chocolate bars, pop in a small cooler. It's pathetic. "They" know that you've got nothing better to do while waiting your turn in line than muse about how to spend your loose change polluting your body and mind (I forgot to mention all the cheap tabloid reading material situated on racks around the till).

When we go shopping, we do the circuit route: produce on the outside wall near the entrance, back wall past the meats to the opposite far outside wall where the frozen veggies are kept and then back along the front of the store to the tills. I think Kevin Trudeau (author of Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About) is right. What's in the center of the store has just about "0" nutrition in it. Think about it: all the crackers, sweetened instant cereals, canned and packaged soup mixes, boiled additive-loaded juices, and tinned meats and sauces have nearly no nutrient value whatsoever. And all that stuff makes up the bulk of what's in the store.

It's no wonder North Americans have such a problem with obesity and disease. Most of us are undernourished and overfed. The stuff in the middle of the store is loaded with artificial flavourings, preservatives, fat, sugar, and salt. If I make crackers at home, they won't last indefinitely on the cupboard shelf the way the commercial ones do. There's a big difference in nutrient quality as well.

Believe me or don't. In my opinion, the grocery stores have a large part to play in our unhappy state of health. Don't believe what the marketers say about their products being good for you. If it's packaged and preserved, it's not the best. Skip the centre aisles and go for the fresh, natural foods on the outskirts of the store. That's where the real food is at!

Tammie

Cilantro and Quinoa

2009-01-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sure glad we've got cilantro in the freezer and cumin in the cupboard. My husband said he read about a group of guys who went on a ten-day canoe trip and forgot the salt and seasonings. He said, "I'd go back. I would. I'd say, 'See you guys, but I'm going back for the salt!'"

Right. I think I'd go back for the cumin and cilantro! Healthy eating (read: eating mostly raw, natural foods) wouldn't be half as much fun without the cumin and cilantro...and freshly squeezed lemon.

Lunch today: quinoa, fresh guacamole (with lots of cilantro and cumin), grated beets, grated carrots, and sprouts (the crunchy pea sprout mix and broccoli mix from Mumm's Sprouting Seeds:http://www.sprouting.com/). All this was topped with a splash of Bragg Liquid Aminos and a squirt of flax seed oil. (There was also a creamy cashew dressing for the sprouts - the kids'll eat the sprouts with a bit of dressing!) Macro munchies to fuel the afternoon!

My favourite guac:
4 avocadoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup frozen/fresh chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
1 t cumin (or more)
1/2 t coarse sea salt

Mix all in food processor. Yum!

Glutamine and the Allergy/Gut Connection

2009-01-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

I’ve been swamped with work lately. We’re sticking to our allergy elimination diet, though and have begun taking our supplements to aid in the candida cleanse. My husband and I are taking drops and two capsules twice a day and are supplementing with probiotics and glutamine.

Glutamine is an amino acid which the cells of the small intestine use as an energy source. It is necessary for the repair and maintenance of the gastrointestinal lining. Supplementation may be helpful in healing leaky gut syndrome. It’s the small holes in the gastrointestinal lining that allow undigested proteins to circulate in the blood stream which leads to the development of allergies.

We’ve been on our candida cleanse for about a week and a half now. My husband has been having fewer symptoms of indigestion and seems to be feeling better overall. Our son Samuel, who has attention deficit, hasn’t shown any behavioural improvements that are noticeable. I’m wondering if there’s still something he’s eating that’s irritating his system.

As we read and learn more about our health, I’m amazed by the complexity of the human body and its ability to cope with the junk that we put into it. I’m praying that God will lead us in our quest for great health and show us how to care for this wonderful body He’s given us.

Tammie

Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About

2009-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Errands Day Today

First stop: the post office to see if my supplements order had arrived from Nature's Fare (great place to order vitamins from: http://www.naturesfare.com/.). It hadn't. I'll check again tomorrow. I'm anxious to get my family started on enzyme therapy.

Next stop: the book store. I stopped at the local book store and picked up a copy of Kevin Trudeau's book, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, for a friend of mine who has cancer. It's a great book - lots of common sense truth and advice. The book offers hope to all of us who are suffering from poor health or disease. Trudeau starts off by saying, "I should be dead by now." In his own quest to find an answer to a serious heart problem while he was still in his twenties, he stumbled across a conspiracy to keep real, natural cures from the public. Check out his website at http://www.naturalcures.com/.

Finally, the grocery store. Picked up some lovely deep red roma tomatoes (hoped they weren't genetically modified and part fish or frog or something else!), two bags of avocadoes (ooh, how I love guacamole stuffed with garlic and all that wonderful cilantro we stored away in the freezer from our garden), lemons, celery, and...that's it!

Came home starving and whipped up a vegan protein shake: 1 cup soaked almonds, 1 T carob powder, 2 scoops soy protein, 1T tahini, and liquid stevia to taste. Mmmm. A lot like those malted milks I used to buy at the mall when I was a kid.

Great health to you!

Tammie

Do What You Love

2009-01-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

I recently started an exercise program. Years ago, I was very active, cycling, skiing, running, etc. But, I haven't been regularly exercising in quite some time.

It's so hard to start and stick to a new exercise routine when you've become accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle. I suppose having stairs in the house helps. But running upstairs for laundry, bathroom breaks, cleaning, and fetching things on a random basis throughout the day is not the same as participating in a focused, prolonged, pulse-raising activity.

I'm supposed to be engaged in my workout now. See, it is hard to stick with it. Besides, it's really cold out there today. Truth be told, I really would rather be writing at this moment.

I'm going to go out. Really I am.

Anyway, I started my fitness routine because I remembered how great I felt when I was really fit. Besides, I know that great health requires regular exercise.

For one thing, it's good for the heart. Exercise strengthens the heart muscle. Everybody knows this. For another thing, it's necessary for the removal of toxins from the body. This is crucial. The circulatory system has a strong pump - the heart. The lymph system has no pump and relies on exercise and heat-inducing activities for circulation of lymph fluids. Simply stated, sweating rids the body of deadly, toxic poisons that might otherwise manifest themselves in some dreaded disease.

So, out the door I go.

Sticking with my new program is really not as hard as I'd convinced myself it would be. I really love being outdoors and being active. It does feel great and I'm glad I'm back at it!

Raw Foods and Enzymes

2009-01-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

"The totally cooked food, processed food, radiated food, chemicalized food diet is actually the extreme diet, as no other people on the face of the earth have ever before existed on it and there is no scientific evidence that they can." Carolee Bateson-Koch in Allergies, Disease in Disguise.

We're finding out just how easy it is to subsist on a mostly raw foods diet. Bateson-Koch recommends a 70% raw foods diet and supplementation with plant enzymes when cooked food is eaten to improve digestion, strengthen the immune system (the gastro-intestinal tract is an important part of the immune system), and ultimately defeat allergies.

My husband had a gassy stomach this morning and took a couple of enzyme capsules. He experienced immediate relief. Enzymes appear to be the missing ingredient in complete digestion. A lack of enzymes results in indigestion and other digestive difficulties. Antacids only suppress the symptoms and de-acidify our stomachs. I read somewhere that contrary to what most people believe, more people have a problem with not enough stomach acid, than too much.

On the whole, I'm finding that raw foods are easier and quicker to digest than our normal fare of mostly cooked food. The Standard American Diet, or SAD diet, with its fast-food, high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods is killing us. Devoid of the enzymes necessary for adequate digestion, dpeleted of natural nutrients, the results of this kind of diet can be seen in our soaring rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, depression, and on and on and on.

I think Bateson-Koch is right. The SAD diet is extreme.

Here's a simple point that is completely overlooked by most of us. Humans were created to thrive on a raw, natural, plant-based diet.

"And God said, 'See I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.'" Genesis 1:29

Sure doughnuts and steaks might be the preferred food choice for many. It's what we're used to. But in the long run, the SAD diet hurts us. The closer we can stick to the original diet, the better off we'll be. I really believe it.

Tammie

In For the Duration

2009-01-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

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.)

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

I spent a couple of hours skimming through a book I found in the house. I've no idea where the book came from - was it given to us, did I buy it and forget it, did my husband pick it up at a yard sale somewhere? It's called Allergies - Disease in Disguise: How to heal your allergic condition permanently and naturally, by Carolee Bateson-Koch (Alive Books).

I almost fell off my chair when I realized that what I held in my hand could change our lives. The author presents a clear program for eliminating allergies within 4 -6 weeks. And it's completely reasonable and plausible to believe from the background information that she presents that allergy elimination is possible within that time-frame.

Our 9 year old son has a severe wasp sting allergy. Plus we suspect that undiagnosed food allergies are behind his erratic behaviours and attention deficit problems. I thanked the Lord all afternoon for some hope on the horizon via this book.

My husband suffers digestive difficulties that are sure to improve on this program as well.

The program involves a candida cleanse, enzyme therapy, and avoidance of suspected allergens for 4 -6 weeks. Living on a slightly restricted diet and taking some supplements will be a small price to pay for a lifetime of allergy-free living.

We're going to commit to this program for the duration (by the grace of God). Pray for our success!

Happy New Year to everyone!