So I visited a naturopathic doctor. I entered a calm tranquil place with that new age music that scares me to death. The last time I did that, I ended up boiling curry powder to get bad vibes out of my house. I was desperate so I did it.. but I'm not sure if it worked or if I felt so dumb doing it that I got over myself :-) I don't mean to poke fun at people's beliefs.. I certainly do not have all the answers and I do not believe that modern medical practices have them all either. But I am essentially a fairly practical person.. so for something to work for me, it needs to make sense.
I had a wonderful visit and learned a LOT about nutrition and using food as a healing tool rather than pharmaceuticals. I still have a few supplements but not many and very specific ones.
First of all, it is important to note that thinking about the 'Food as Medicine' approach to wellness is not the same as thinking about Food Allergies. If I eat something I was advised to avoid, it doesn't mean that I will have an immediate negative reaction. What it means is that what I am eating is not nourishing or helping me. My body is not processing it well and the food may well be adding to my ill health by stressing my body.
This is a difficult concept. It is a pro-active approach to health and wellness... kind of like when you exercise... you can't always SEE or FEEL the benefit of one exercise session. So I can't SEE or FEEL the benefits of the foods I am avoiding... but the I have to say that the collective effect has been fantastic
I was advised to try to follow the 'Eat for your blood type' diet.... for me, I am Blood Type O. More information is available on www.dadamo.com.
The main diet for me is, simply put, that of a primitive hunter / gatherer. If I can hunt it or pick it, my system gets optimum nutrition. My protein should come from 'quality animal sources'. Recommended meats... buffalo (really?), turkey, wild game, cold-water fish & lamb. Lots of vegetables.... cooked and raw.... nuts and eggs...
NO wheat, corn or barley. Wow! That knocks out all breads and tortillas. (or so I thought).
I also have allergies... autoimmune tendencies... which also aggravate my eye problems.. so... for me - NO 'cow' or soy products - that is dairy OR beef (avoiding beef was okay for the most part but my protein requirements had been managed with whey protein, yogurts and cheeses) Yikes! Now my protein needed to come from 'quality animal sources'... but not beef :-(
And then there is the 'eliminate all processed sugars and chemicals' part.... yikes.... forget fat free... sugar free.. and almost ANYthing processed..
And my all-day coffee habit would have to go..
Talk about changes!! I thought I WAS eating healthy. I don't care much for meat and don't know how to cook it. I have spent most of my adult life moving closer and closer to a vegetarian diet with the exception of meat that is already prepared or of the 'boneless, skinless' frozen variety. I despise fish. I do not live near a major city.... my grocery stores (each a minimum of 40 minutes away) do not carry much in the way of organic produce or wheat free products....certainly free range meat or eggs is not available.... I had no idea even how to shop!
And so began a series of fun and 'not-so-fun' shopping / eating adventures!
Right at first I bought snacks! Basically junk food that was wheat and dairy free. Of course, junk is junk so that wasn't helpful. I tried to be positive.. but I was clueless. My weight loss plan that had been so successful.... well - all those 'go to' foods were GONE! All that fat-free, sugar-free yogurt and cheese... the power bars.... the whey protein smoothies.. Back to the drawing board for new tools!
I have to tell you... as hard as I work to remain positive and accept a challenge... I FREAKED! I did check out every grocery store within a 50 mile radius and discovered what each carried that I could eat.
I DID find out that there are specific brands of bread that use SPROUTED wheats & grains... no flour.. that were just fine for me. Thank goodness! My favorite is the Ezekiel brand. I have not only found bread, but also English muffins, pita bread, raisin bread & tortillas sold in the freezer section. WHEW! www.foodforlife.com
I found a lot of the right things.... but I also worried about gaining weight again.. And I did .... but that was really due to a late night binge habit that got worse from the WORRY about gaining weight. It's a terrible thing to watch yourself do.... emerging from an empty bag of chips with no memory of what happened. My own fault, of course.. but that realization didn't really help solve the problem!
Within 2 weeks - because of a 5-pound weight gain and my own concerns about eating behaviors coming to a head... I was back in my doctor's office for more hand-holding.. I'll write another post to finish the story next Thursday.....
Btw, I did try a bison meat loaf but it was horrible. It doesn't help that I don't like cooking much... I am going to have to try again - so maybe I should ask you if any of YOU have good recipes for buffalo. Or lamb... I bought some ground lamb too but the bison experience was so bad, I'm still scared to try it!
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