Milk: It does the body... bad?

Brandon and I represent two sides of a coin when it comes to dairy. He was raised consuming a hefty amount of dairy products, and in my household, we hardly had any, save for a couple times a month when dad made biscuits and gravy, or mom sprinkled a little on a casserole.

My family was pretty aware that dairy products didn't really mesh well with our systems, so it wasn't something we guzzled down with breakfast, while it was fairly common for my husband's family to drink a large glass of milk each morning.

I knew dairy made my stomach all sorts of icky unless I kept it to a minimum. So I could have a cheesy enchilada one day, a small ice cream the next, and be okay, and by that I mean I wouldn't be running for the bathroom, stomach bubbling furiously and my gut letting me know it hated me with frantic, stabbing pains.  But, if I had just a little too much, you can bet I would be regretting it.  The richer the dairy product, the worse the effect. So I learned to choose my dairy-treats wisely.  I didn't go for cheese on a burger. I'd rather have chips and queso. I could pass up cheese cake because I'd prefer cream cheese stuffed jalapenos!.  I'd skip milk in my cereal because several spoonfuls of gravy running over fresh southern biscuits sounded much better.

Bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed jalapenos. I could eat the whole plateful!

One thing about going on the Whole30 is that it separates you from foods you may have known caused issues, but you believed were okay as long as there was balance.  Dairy was one of those for me.  I mean, I like thick, rich creamer in my coffee. Even better, I like sweetened homemade whipped cream in my coffee! A tad here, a bit here, and I should be fine. No big deal.

So I decided to test it out yesterday with a small serving of icecream.  Ah, no tummy aches.  I felt pretty good. No real issues..... and then BAM.

Back pain.

I may have mentioned that, since taking the Whole30 challenge, my back pain has pretty much been nil. This is pretty amazing because I have suffered with back issues ever since I was really young.  My husband logged a lot of time massaging out knots and sore areas in my back.  There is one specific spot that frequently gave me trouble.  This spot in between my shoulder blades often sent stabbing pains through my body.  It would trigger my asthma and often make me feel like I was having a heart attack.  Sometimes the pain would be so bad I would hardly be able to breathe or move.  I also often had pain on the right side of my lower back/waist.  The muscle there was tender, and I also felt like my leg was out.  I had forgotten how bad the pain could be... until last night.  

As I crawled into bed, I could feel the tightening between my shoulder blades, and the pain in my lower back/side.  It was pretty miserable, and I knew it was due to dairy.  I never realized that my back pain was tied so closely to my dairy consumption.  It makes sense because as my diary consumption has increased over the years (being married to a cheese-lover and all), so has my back pain.

Back pain, migraines, rashes, and such are not normal.  These are warning signs.  After dealing with back pain for so long, I had just accepted it as a part of life, something I couldn't change but could only manage with chiropractic care and massages (which are great options, but not cures!).  Sure, changing your diet may not take away your every pain and woe, but your body doesn't hurt and break out in rashes or have a range of mild to severe reactions just because it enjoys playing such terrible games! 

This is your body's way of telling you something is wrong.  It's the alarm that says, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" or warns you that something needs fixing.  We can throw medicine down the hatch, or we can change what we throw down the hatch.  

I know some of you are thinking, "But I can't do without....."

I know some of you are major cheese addicts, much like my husband.  But, if Brandon can give it up, so can you!  The first few weeks of breaking an addiction are difficult. I'm not going to tell you that it will be easy, because it won't be, but you just might find it's worth it.  

Many foods cause inflammation- even some of the foods allowed on Whole30 may cause inflammation issues for you. But, the great thing about removing dairy, grains, and legumes is that the main inflammation culprits are taken out of the game!  If you are struggling from back pain, arthritis, migraines, or various forms of chronic pain, you may find some relief in removing these foods, just as many others have.

Another reminder- you can't just give it up for a few days or a week to see if "it works".  Your body requires time to cleanse your system and recover.  That is why the Whole30 challenge is so beneficial.  In 30 days, you can see a lot of changes and experience a good bit of healing.  For many, it will take even longer.  In 30 days, you might find a lot of food idols being broken down, and you will see that you can indeed live without the foods you thought you could never go without.

Some find that raw dairy suits them just fine, but, for many of us, the only dairy we can handle is butter.  And I love butter, so that's fine with me.

W30- Day 21

Wow, day 21! I can't believe we are nearing the end of our Whole30 Challenge!  I figured it was time for an update, including photos, although photos really do not do justice to the changes we've noticed in our bodies.

I (Mandy) have seen significant changes in Brandon's appearance over the last few days, even since the I took these photos of Brandon below.  I was checking him out (as I often do) from across the room the last night when we were at our fellowship gathering/potluck, and I couldn't help but notice how his face looks slimmer, specifically around the ears, as does his neck.  

Brandon and our youngest (of five) children, Molly Jo.

I (Brandon) am amazed by the quality of sleep I'm getting. I feel so much more alert in the morning, no fog brain. I once had a perpetual hunger, and now I actually feel full for a while after I eat. I also don't feel as gassy and bloated as I once did (which is to say, I used to always feel gassy and bloated). 

I (Mandy) feel like I've been really, really, really emotional and hormonal which has probably been one of the most difficult challenges of our diet change. I know food has a huge impact on our hormones, and all of that is getting worked out during this time.  I'm sure many people fly through the Whole30 without ever feeling these things, but I have felt so, so down at times.  It's been hard not to turn to food, but I have committed to ruling that out as a coping mechanism so I've found myself pacing the floors not knowing what to do!  I've come to realize that, in the past, I usually turned to food for comfort and rest/relaxation rather resting in my Savior and turning to His peace.  I would pop a few pieces of chocolate in my mouth or, during a really trying time, make myself a "mini" chocolate cake (which should have qualified as 3 or 4 servings) and down the whole warm, gooey, chocolatey thing.  I would always find excuses to give myself little "pick me ups" when I was running errands- a Sonic slush, Chick-fil-a nuggets, a caramel frappucino.....  I had no idea how often I comforted myself with food, and with clearing out that option left me feeling weird.  

Food keeps the hands busy.  It gives us something to do.  It occupies us for a while, distracts us, and yes, even soothes us for a bit so that we can avoid the real issues.

I feel like another reason why I have been so emotional is that normal coping methods were gone so I felt even more sad.  That sadness turned into feeling lonely and abandoned, even though that certainly wasn't true.  Honestly, I'm still working through a lot of that right now. 

I projected a lot of that onto God as well. I felt like He was distant (Which is not true- God is never distant.  Jesus Christ is in me, and I am in Christ, and Christ is in the Father.  We are never distant because, reality is, we are inseparable.), and I felt very unloved.  During my sickness and detox, I felt like He had abandoned me.  It shocks me to see how I projected my issues with food on my Heavenly Father.  Just goes to show you how many issues food can cause in our life- even spiritual issues!

Physically, I'm feeling good. I'm sleeping very soundly. I no longer wake up feeling sluggish.  I have been having some issues with my anemia these last couple days, but I'm pretty sure that's because I haven't felt very hungry so I've actually skipped some meals (whoops, bad I know).  As a mom, it's easy for me to forget a meal. I might have a cup of coffee in the morning and trick my stomach into thinking I've actually eaten something.  I get the kids dressed, start on chores, and then it's lunch time!  I've been much better about breaking that habit since being on the Whole30, but being sick threw me off a bit.

I'm really excited about being able to wear certain clothes in my closet!  I have a few pairs of jeans that were my favorite that had been tucked away indefinitely! There's about a dozen shirts I haven't been able to wear because I feel so uncomfortable in them.  They are some of my favorite shirts (and the cutest in my wardrobe), and now I can wear them without feeling like a stuffed sausage! Yay! 

Detoxing stinks. Literally.

It's day 14 of our Whole30 challenge, and I thought I'd pop in for an update.  I'm doing a lot better, although I am still gaining back my energy.  I still feel pretty weak at times, and I can tell my body is still detoxing.

Detoxing is no fun.  Really. It's not.

When detox begins, you may think you've come down with some sort of funk.  You might be right, because I know many people, including myself, find themselves coming down with all sorts of bugs and viruses during detox.  For me, it was a sty and strep. Fun stuff, both bacteria-related.  It might feel like the worst bout of sickness you've ever had. This is how my week of sickness/detox went. Maybe some of you can relate.

When I first realized my eye was swollen, I was pretty sure I had scratched it when putting in my contacts.  That's probably the case too, but then the sty morphed into strep.  It was pretty nasty. All day and especially at night, I was sweating profusely.  And, this is extra awesome.... I smelled like death.  My husband put it well.

He explained, "It's not that you smell like B.O. (body odor).  It's more putrid.... like...."
"Death." I stated.  "I smell like death."

I washed the sheets in hot water and showered every morning, scrubbing my body but still feeling like I couldn't scrub the smell off of me.  I couldn't, because the smell was coming from INSIDE of me.  It was seeping out my skin.  That's what often happens during detox.  You may sweat it out.

The reason why detoxing has been more difficult for me is because I got knocked down with strep and was already having a difficult time keeping hydrated. My detox experience is a perfect example as to why you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to drink as much water as possible.  You'd rather pee out your toxins than sweat them out.  Take my word on it.

By Wednesday, I was very, very emotional. I spent most of the day crying. I had been fighting my emotions for a couple days, and I know my hormones are getting a total overhaul on this challenge, so I kept telling myself, "It's just hormones."  But I'm pretty sure some of it was just that it REALLY sucks to be sick. It's no fun to detox.  It stinks to be quarantined away from everyone, to not be able to function for your family, and to not be able to see your friends for a while.  Plus, it made me wish I was twelve again so could just lay in bed and ring my bell when I needed my mom, rather than having to worry about and tend to my own health all by myself.  It was good though, because, the next day, I felt so much better.  Maybe I needed that emotional release!

I was pretty adamant about treating strep in a natural way without the use of pharmaceutical antibiotics. Anyone who has tried to do this naturally may have experienced some negative comments from friends who think you are insane.  And, a couple days in, you may wonder if you are insane.  I did.  I started wondering if I should just give up and take the antibiotics which would kill even the healthy bacteria and probably make my system worse than it was.  Many people made it sound like the alternative (natural methods) would lead to the inevitable breakdown of my body and eventual death.  Hmm.

But, I kept plugging along because I kept seeing things improve little by little.  Of course, I was hoping ALL things would just be cured overnight, but, I knew that was not realistic.

The first day and a half, I gargled warm water mixed with salt and apple cider vinegar, plus smoothed various essential oils on my throat (glands, etc).  I sipped on water with fresh lemon squeezed in it. Since I had a hard time eating (I didn't even feel like eating!), I mostly sipped on smoothies. My husband made me one with a base of avocado, which made it very thick and creamy. Delicious.

Tuesday, Brandon brought home Colloidal Silver (CS), and I began taking that regularly- gargling it for as long as I could, then swallowing it, every couple hours. I had also put CS in my infected eye the on Saturday when we were at a friend's home. I continued doing the lemon water regularly, plus a wellness tea at least once a day (Echinacea, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, etc), and bit by bit, I saw my condition improve.   First my eye improved, then my glands become less swollen.  I began to gain a little energy and feel more clear-headed.  Then my throat became less inflamed, and the white spots began to go away one by one.

I am still taking CS twice a day and sipping on my Wellness Tea until I feel like I have completely regained my energy.

There were temptations to just order out for some comfort food, but I kept thinking, "I am feeling the result of the bad food choices I made before. I do not want to feel this ever again."  Plus, I knew that eating unhealthy food would not make me better quicker, but likely prolong my sickness.

When I think about it, detoxing from these nasty food-like-substances is a lot of going through drug withdraws. Sugar effects the same happy-hormones in the brain that street drugs do, so it's no surprise that people find themselves so addicted.  I'll have to save that for another post!