Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Nutritionfacts.org - BEST WEBSITE I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME.

I stumbled across this website through my research and search for information related to health and plant-based, non-gluten diets.

www.nutritionfacts.org

This site is FREE.  I watch the videos posted, search the website frequently, almost daily if not several times a week, and Dr. Greger recently published another presentation called "More Than an Apple a Day: Combating Common Disease."   The first presentation I watched called "Uprooting the leading causes of death," was excellent, as well.

I highly recommend curling up with a cup of tea, and watching each video.  They are an hour long, but worth every second!


First comprehensive video he published, extraordinary.  

Second comprehensive video he published, extraordinary.  

As I unravel my search about disease and health, i find more and more support and information around plant-based, non-gluten diets.  Particularly for anyone with auto immune diseases, gluten sensitivities, thyroid disorders, etc.  

If you suffer from anything that is auto-immune related, or any other disease, e.g., heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, etc., you need to watch these two videos, and make this website a frequent friend you visit often.

Trust me, you won't regret it and you will be informed and educated about our medical community, drug companies that try to mask the real issues, and finally get to the ROOT of the problems about disease in this country particularly, but all around the world effectively.

Enjoy!


Monday, July 15, 2013

Holistic health and medicine: Food, leaky gut, GALT, Auto Immune, Hashimotos -- an Update


I started a vegan, non-gluten, non-GMO (where possible, as food producers are not required to label foods, it’s a choice), and no refined sugar diet in March 2013.  By June, I had lost 25 pounds.  I am starting to look like “myself” again.  

It’s been a long road since last April 2012.  If you have read this blog from beginning to end, you will see that while my posts are not as frequent as I would like, I have tried to post relevant information and moments within this journey of my health.

While I’ve been a “vegetarian” on and off my entire adult life, I would continue to eat animal products such as cheese, milk in baking and coffee/tea, mayonnaise in salads, eggs, etc., I am now a vegan.  I do not eat any animal products, even casein, in any foods.  I also only eat organize fruits and vegetables, where possible and within my control, and make a conscious effort to NOT eat any food manufactured by GMO (Genetically Modified). 

Some of the books that have helped me are:

Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Clean by Dr. Alejandro Jungman

Clean Gut by Dr. Alejandro Jungman

The Food Revolution, 10th Anniversary Edition, by John Robbins

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, by Melanie Joy PhD and John Robbins

As I continue my reading journey, I’m about to start Animal Liberation by Peter Singer which has been on my reading list for quite some time, I am also nurturing and understand “health” from a holistic, common sense, scientific standpoint.  Something modern medical doctors didn’t learn in medical school, and my experience in NYC has been sub-standard in  terms of the attention, care, and thought around medicine and health. 

Peter Singer is an ethicist and researcher, as well as a animal advocate.  I had read years ago his book called Our Food Choices and Why they matter, co-authored with Jim mason.

When I moved to NYC in 2009, I was practicing a vegetarian diet, and tried eliminating most animal products and would occasionally use milk for baking or coffee/tea, and eggs occasionally as well.  I would eat tuna and fish, as well as breads, rice, and pasta.  I didn’t understand the nature of “gluten” and it’s factor in contributing to autoimmune disease.

As I have done my research and met with some spiritual practitioners, all of them had been warning me of my intestines, gut, and organs.  My stomach and gut were swollen and inflamed, and was painful to the touch, e.g., you couldn’t press on any part of my intestines without pain, and to the touch, I was told they were inflamed.  In March, I finally started probiotics and some other raw vitamins and probiotic like supplements.  At that time, I also started my vegan, non-gluten diet.  Each month, I lost weight without exercise, except occasion yoga and healing sessions with my yoga master.  By mid-June, I had lost 25 pounds.  I still have about 10-15 pounds to lose, and I am confident once I start regular exercise and strength training that I will easily shave off the final “unwanted fat” my body and mid section is holding onto. 

More important is how I feel. Emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically, I feel about 75-85% better.  I am still working on some things in all components, but my mass improvement is directly related to my diet changes.  I feel more “pure” and “clean” than ever.  I have no desire to eat animal products, and as I engage more and more into the treatment of animals and how they are treated in this world and particularly this country, I have NO DESIRE to eat animal products ever again. 

I am certain I suffered from what is called “Leaky Gut” or “GALT.” 

When I got the IUD, I had already gained weight, had been living a very unhealthy lifestyle, had not been exercising, had gained a lot of weight, was not feeling well in any of the above-listed components, and my body I think got “tipped off.”  The Mirena iUD is made of silicone, and, as the blood test showed, I had silicone in my body.  When I retook the silicone test in March 2013, it came back as “zero” silicone detected.  This was after many months of eating vegetarian and doing several cleanses (standard process, juice cleanses).  And, the Mirena had been removed for many months.

A big factor to our health is the food we ingest.  A lot of “food” we eat is not really “food” at all.  It offers no nutritional value.  I stopped drinking alcohol last summer (2012), as I don’t remember the “last drink” I had, but my health was so much more important, and I thought to myself – Why would I continue to put poison into my body that offered it zero nutritional value?

I also started reading a lot and learning about the effects of animal products overall.  Checkout Nutritionfacts.org, and in particular this video http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/.  It’s one of the most informative websites I have found to date, and have learned invaluable information from the site.

Today, as I continue on my health journey, I am 100% certain that food was a major factor in my health demise.  The triggers, e.g., Mirena iUD, the silicone, the leaky gut, etc., were all major pieces of my health issues.  The spiritual factor is also very significant.  IF I can’t be at peace and living my soul’s purpose, how can I be “well” “holistically.”  Thus, I continue to work on my spiritual practice, e.g., yoga, meditation, exercising. 

I have also learned to ALWAYS TRUST YOUR INSTINCT.  My Rheumatologist was narrow minded, uneducated, and clueless about health.  She wanted to give me biologic drugs, and continue feeding my poison and I didn’t need it.  I sit here today with no “flare up” after stopping methotrexate, and I am confident I will continue to get better.  She never tested for the Hashimotos, and I had to fly across the country to the Mayo Clinic to get a blood test to find out what was really going on from a “blood” perspective.  The doctor out there was open minded, a true scientist and doctor. 

I do not have any prescription drugs in my system today and I feel pretty good, except some issues I still need to sort out.  I am seeing a referral doctor today, and I’m hoping to start treating with someone who can kick me off in the right direction, and I also am seeking a functional medicine MD who practices holistically considering diet as a major factor. 

My main “physical complaints” today are heel pain, and lower back pain.  I think they are related, but as I stretch out my heels, it has significantly improved over the last few weeks.  I am also confident that as I see a chiropractor and do stretches, yoga, and exercise regularly, my back pain will also disappear soon. 

I only have one “physical” thing I still have no idea about – why my period stopped and am I in fact in full blown menopause after the Mirena iUD insertion and removal?  I am 42 years old and did not expect this to happen at this age, as I had regular periods until the Mirena IUD.

The journey continues.  IF I had to recommend anything to anyone reading this blog, I would recommend that you read 2 books immediately:

The Food Revolution, by John Robbins (10th anniversary edition)
Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

My friend is treating with Dr. Fuhrman’s office (as he no longer takes new patients due to his schedule and traveling etc.).   They are in NJ and I don’t want the hassle of driving 30 miles. LOL.  Yes, it’s NYC and it’s sort of a pain going over certain bridges, like the GWB (George Washington Bridge), hence why I’m looking in the city for a functional medicine doctor. 

I will try to regularly post more often, and It's great to receive the responses i've gotten to date from other people who suffer from similar or different ailments.  Please share, as It's very helpful.






Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Mirena IUD is Poisonous / Hashimoto / Silicone Toxicity

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I've been busy trying to heal and get my health back on track.  

Today, I sit in a hotel room at the Courtyard Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I made an appointment with the Rheumatology Dept last November and had my visit this week.

In a nutshell, the Rheumatologist does not think I have an auto-immune disease, nor do I present with any signs of RA (Sero Negative and my tests are still negative for any indication that I have an auto immune disease or RA).  She said I do not present with any signs of RA on examination. 

She did, however, do a LOAD of tests.  The main test that came back positive (through the roof) wasa the TPO --- which tests for Hashimoto Disease.  My TPO result was 160.8, normal is a number less than 9.0.  TPO = Thyroperoxidose (TPO) Anti-Bodies Serum test.  It differentiates thyroid auto immune disorders from non-auto immune disorders such as goiter or hypothyroidism.  Hashimoto Thyroiditis is when the immune system attacks the thyroid.  I had a severe attack.  My TSH (thyroid function) is normal and "survived the attack."

Bottom line, she thinks I should wean off the methotrexate over time.  If the methotrexate is responsible for "putting this sero negative RA into remission" then weaning off it would trigger a flare up.  She does not think that's the case, but the only thing I can do is prove it by weaning off of it. 

She said it doesn't mean I won't present with auto immune disease in the future, as no one can predict the future, and it doesn't mean that i won't present with RA symptoms after I wean off, but it seems likely that I won't, my interpretation.

Furthermore,  I retook the Silicone Serum test and it received a call from my doctor on Tuesday. The silicone test came back 0.00.  Yes. ZERO.  The day i took my blood for the first test, it was .19, now it is zero.  If you remember, i removed the IUD the same day i had my blood drawn.

The Mayo Clinic doctor said, when you got the IUD, you got sick.  When you removed it, you felt better and continue to get better.  She said, so, continue doing what you are doing with your diet, etc.  She said the only toxic thing going into my body right now is the methotrexate.  I also shared with her my doctor in NY wanted me to start taking a biologic, enbrel or humira, she said DO NOT TAKE IT, you don't need it.

She said  I should follow up with my OB/GYN re my period not showing up since I had the IUD inserted.  I think i'll be on a diligent search for new doctors who think and treat patients with an open mind, consider holistic medicine, and alternative medicine, along with science.

This is what I think happened.

I had already been feeling tired, my diet had been poor, i stopped exercising.  I stopped YAZ and had the IUD inserted.  My body did start attacking itself, just as I felt it was, and I believe it started attacking my thyroid - now that I have the Hashimoto Diagnosis.  At the same time, the MIRENA IUD, which is made from silicone started leaking silicone in my body.  So, at the same time, i started to present with silicon toxicity symptoms.  I copy & paste below the symptoms for Hashimoto and Silicone Toxicity. 

I did ask the Dr., why do i still have joint pain.  She thinks it's residual from whatever happened... Time will tell, it always does.

I am currently waiting for the formal report, which will be posted on my Mayo Clinic web page.  How great to see a doctor who is open minded, intelligent, and thorough.  The tests she took were NOT TAKEN by my doctors. Also, how great that MAYO posts everything onto your account in real time!  They hide nothing, including their clinical notes and reports!   In fact, my NY doctors wouldn't even entertain the IUD was a factor.  I believe it is, but, again, time will tell as I wean off methotrexate.  You can't just stop it, so I'll do wha tthe doctor recommends.

Next steps, get my final report from Mayo, including test resuts, and meet with my doctors face to face in NYC to discuss these results and fnidings, and recommendations.  Mayo doc said if i can't get in synch with our mind sets -- FIND A NEW DOCTOR! :) 

Thank you, Mayo clinic and Rheumatology.  I can't wait to see how I progress.  In the meantime, I have also started reading Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Furhman and am going to make an appointment with his office. 

I will write more as I get more information.  WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT GET THE MIRENA IUD. 

HASHIMOTO SYMPTOMS
  • Fatigue and sluggishness
  • Increased sensitivity to cold
  • Constipation
  • Pale, dry skin
  • A puffy face
  • Hoarse voice
  • An elevated blood cholesterol level
  • Unexplained weight gain — occurring infrequently and rarely exceeding 10 to 20 pounds, most of which is fluid
  • Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness, especially in your shoulders and hips
  • Pain and stiffness in your joints and swelling in your knees or the small joints in your hands and feet
  • Muscle weakness, especially in your lower extremities
  • Excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia) - no sign of this, i have no period
  • Depression
  • Without treatment, signs and symptoms gradually become more severe and your thyroid gland may become enlarged (goiter). In addition, you may become more forgetful, your thought processes may slow or you may feel depressed.
    When to see a doctor
    See your doctor if you develop these signs and symptoms:
    • Tiredness for no apparent reason
    • Dry skin
    • Pale, puffy face
    • Constipation
    • Hoarse voice
     The Signs and Symptoms of Silicone Immune Toxicity Syndrome are as follows:
    • Multipe chemical sensitivities and sensitivities to perfume, smoke and other inhalants
    • Muscle inflammation
    • Joint pain
    • Fatigue
    • Weakness
    • Anxiety and depression
    • Hair loss
    • Memory loss
    • Foggy thinking
    • Night sweats
    • Tingling in the hands and feet
    • Heacaches
    • Abdominal pain
    • Chest pain
    • Other autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma, fibromayalgia, and multiple sclerosis
    In silicone immune toxicity syndrome, the body produces antibodies against the complex that forms when silicon attaches to protein molecules in various organs, resulting in an autoimmune response.