I always knew that food was the fuel to the body. Science class in elementary school teaches you that food is vital for survival. What I didn't really put together until adulthood is that food can not only fuel your body, but poison it. I had been poisoning my body for 30 years. I feel as though I should formally apologize to my intestines, stomach and colon.
Organs,
I am truly sorry for putting you through so much! I didn't realize I was supplying you with so many toxins; that I actually was creating holes in you! I really do love you, and will spend the rest of my life proving it to you. Please forgive me. Xoxox
Ok, let's explore what i was actually doing to my body!
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 24. The first doctor I went to (remember how fun he was?) was able to see that my thyroid wasn't quite functioning normally....looking back, I am actually impressed that he was able to admit that before shoving diet pills down my throat. It wasn't until I went to the great doctor that I really was told that the food I had been eating all of my life was the sole reason for me feeling awful. She connected the food I was eating to the problems my thyroid was having functioning! It was the first huge life altering food change I had to make. As I mentioned in my story, it was also the first, and only time, a doctor connected my sickness and my thyroid problems with food. What I've also learned since then is that not every doctor is on board with the idea that this food/sickness can be the reality. What was actually happening was the food I was eating had most likely caused the hypothyroidism and had been fueling it and keeping it raging for all these years. Yikes! Again, sorry organs!
When I started talking to Jen (the best health and wellness woman around!) I began telling her my story. She immediately connected the dots for me. I was still feeling bad, because I was still not feeding myself the right food. My body was still revolting and very angry at me. My hypothyroidism was not going to ever get better, or even go away if I continued to eat the way I was. Looking at the lists above, there are definitely some that stood out and I said "WOW!" that's why that made me feel so sick! It was riling up my system! Of course, I am now avoiding all grains, so those are off limits to me because my body can't handle them, but overall this list seems accurate.
I was honestly a bit surprised to hear another person connect my autoimmune disease to food because after that doctor moved away, no one else had connected those dots. Jen also sent me to her blog, which I will plug now because it's amazing! Click here to read more about how OVER 100 autoimmune diseases can be fueled by the food we eat. It seems so crazy that so many of the illnesses that Americans are suffering from can be at least partially caused by food! Now, not to overstate this, but as Jen says in her blog, "food is your medicine". This is a mentality I have taken on whole heartily.
Learning to use food to heal the damage I have caused my poor body has actually been a fun process! I am trying new things every single week! Discovering all of the options that I didn't realize were available, and how they could benefit me has been truly life changing. I have been reading a book called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen, and have found that in all aspects of life, small steps turn into huge ones. Small steps I've taken to better my health have started amounting to huge ones.
What has been vital to my organ recovery, as I've said before is knowledge. Jen was a HUGE help in that department, but I also have done some research of my own, now that I have a better idea of what I am looking for. Below are some links that can help you understand autoimmune diseases; how some can develop, what some triggers can be, and how in the world to begin feeling better! I will continue to tell you all about what I am doing to feel better and my story specifically, but here is some helpful literature!
Another vital piece to my recovery has been Isagenix. I'll talk more about that in a future post but you can find more about it on Jen's blog!
Enjoy the reading material and: eat good food!
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