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, 10^th 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 (10^th 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.