Diet seems to be the key

I've been tinkering with my diet after flipping through JJ Virgins latest book.  I cut all the carbs out of my diet except for the slowest digesting.  Which means squash, that's it, because the rest on the list are fruit, beans and quinoa and other equally forbidden things. And of course most the green vegetables are okay but depending on where I am with my teeth (braces, rubber chains, screws and what not), I can't always chew the green veggies without wanting to cry.  Oh, and no honey.  But guess what, I felt better, my energy was more consistent and I didn't look 6 months pregnant at bedtime.  Well, that sucks!  I mean my yams, occasional bananas and my hot chocolate with a touch of honey were my only REAL treats and oh how I loved them.  But survive I will. I made a yam, squash and spinach bake thing for Thanksgiving and have eaten it, probably in a bit larger quantities than I should have, since and what am I??  Constipated and bloated, that's what I am. Yuck and bummer!

Oh and did I fail to mention that I agreed to do a triathlon on Thanksgiving morning??  What the heck??  I haven't swam a lap in over 10 years.  It's been at least 5 since I jogged on a regular basis.  Not the brightest of ideas, and yes it was mine.  I took a little bit of extra digestive support after I completed it in the form of Endozin because stressing the body is so bad for the gut.  Not sure if Endozin would be helpful but it is what I had on hand so I popped one with the other supplements I take.  I should have taken my aminos but could they be more nasty???  NO!  I need to get some capsules for them.

Back to the basics tomorrow.  Protein and sauteed veggies.  What did my family spend the weekend eating??  Buttermilk pancakes and pizza.  The nerve!

Cookbook Black Friday Deal

This is one of my very favorite cookbooks and right now it's only $2.99 on the kindle! Many of the recipes in this books can be easily adapted to be low FODMAP.  She uses cashews in many of her baked goods but you can swap out macadamia nuts or a variety of nuts to make the recipe work for you.

Amazon is also offering 30% off a book purchase with the code Holiday30 until November 30th.

Digestion Sessions Encore

Dr. Siebecker is back in the encore of the Digestion Sessions, as is Dr. Kharrazian.  There is also a link where you can print the transcripts which I am definitely going to do as there is a ton of information that I will never remember and my notes just aren't as good.

The bottom line with Dr. Siebecker is that everyone is different and your treatment and especially your diet must be individualized.  And when it comes to diet the only person who can really figure that out is you (with or without the help of your provider).  Soooo helpful :) Wouldn't it be nice if there were a one size fits all treatment and diet??

Dr. Kharrazian's book "Why Isn't My Brain Working" on hold at the library.  I may decide I can't wait and just download it from Amazon, since it's only $10.

As a side note, my aunt has been very ill and her doctor's can not figure out what's wrong with her. Turns out she has these bouts of nausea, exhaustion, etc when she is with my grandmother or talks to my grandmother who isn't the nicest to her.  I tell you this why? Because if you don't deal with your stress and set limits with people, you will never be well. And again, you need to figure out what works best for you in terms of relieving your stress. I've mentioned before that I tap, do yoga and take daily walks.  What I still need to work on is being more present because it's so easy to get wrapped up in things I want to do rather than what I am doing.

Digestion Sessions

If you have not clicked this you should!  There was an excellent video today with Dr. Datis Kharrazian all about the brain - gut connection, how it impacts your motility and simple exercises you can do to fix it.  I'm all about trying things that cost NOTHING!  I'm going to get this all wrong because there was so much information but it has to do with your vagus nerve not functioning properly and how you can exercise this nerve by gargling to the point of tearing up several times a day (like everytime you go to the bathroom) and using tongue depressors to stimulate the gag reflex.  He also said coffee enemas help too although I didn't really catch or understand all the science behind it.  It wasn't about detoxing, it was about a chemical reaction.  Anyway, you need to listen for yourself!

In other news in addition to braces I now have 8 shiny screws in my jaw in an attempt to move my teeth up and allow my jaw to sit differently so my teeth actually touch enough that I can chew.  It's been fun I tell you.  It's made it even more difficult to chew my food and I end up with enough stuck in the bands in my cheeks to tide me over until my next meal.  Fingers crossed it works and I don't have to have my jaw broken and realigned.  The things we do for digestive health I tell you!!!

I've ditched the iodine for now since I am having enough trouble taking everything else my ND has me on.

Dr. Siebecker video for limited time!!!

Sorry!  I just discovered this in my facebook feed.  Looks likes weeks of really interesting videos!

I that link doesn't get you there, this should.