I decided to try acupuncture last week. A friend of mine goes often and says that it has changed her life.
I wasn't sure what to expect or what to look for. I went and the doctor started by taking my pulse--from that he knew I hadn't been sleeping enough (though the bags under my eyes, I think, could have told him that). He then looked at my tongue and said, "You're allergic to wheat, dairy, and sugar."
I had mixed reactions to that.
Reaction #1: Yep, I figured, all these years of achy joints, runny nose, clogged ears, and no energy--it makes sense.
Reaction #2: Holy shit--that means no more pizza, ice cream, or chocolate. What am I going to do! Ah! I have big emotional connections to those foods and they are just plain good! I'll never be satisfied again!
Reaction #3: Is this what I need to finally get healthy? This is a long journey...how can I follow through with all of this? Do I have the emotional energy to do all this stuff?
Then he put me on a table, stuck a bunch of needles in me, and I laid there for twenty minutes trying to figure out how to really change my life---realizing that, for the most part, I feel like I'm at the very, very, very beginning once again!
So--gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free.
I seriously don't know how to eat that way, but I'm going to start learning.
6 comments:
I had accupuncture when I was in the hospital in a pain program. It helped me with the drug withdrawls and pain. The doctor has been trying to get it for me again since it helped me so much but work comp is fighting it. Not sure how expensive it is but right now with me not getting to work much it is likely not an option for me.
You mentioned something to me about it helping with thyroid? That is really interesting as is this post about him saying you have an alergy to these things. It will be hard at first to give up these things but once you adjust and are feeling good it might be worth giving those things up. Good luck with this...I hope you share this journey with us too! :)
Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you...my oldest had major food allergies the first two years of his life and I've had to go dairy free to breast feed both of my kids. We have a little recipe website with links to all of food-allergy recipes we love:
http://chevrefennel.blogspot.com/search/label/Top-8%20allergy-free
A lot of them use butter, but I would just use olive oil if savory, canola oil if sweet. And, honey instead of sugar as the sweetener (though it can get expensive!).
Eggplant spread, wild rice chicken salad, and both lentil soups are a few of my favorites.
Good luck!
I know how you feel about the allergies. I have sensitivities to wheat, gluten and dairy :-(
I went to acupuncture for 2 years. He pretty much got me off coffee, which can wear out your adrenals. no wonder my anxiety got worse after drinking coffee, and then that horrible crash a few hours later. Thank God tea doesn't do that because I'm still not ready to kick the caffeine!
Anyway, before I rant any further, you have a lot of great advice already here in the comments. It's hard, but start with baby steps. Also, there's so much info and recipes on gluten, wheat and dairy-free food out there.
Best of luck!
So I don't know if you know this, but I've been gluten-free/dairy-free for 10 years. The first year is hard. But then it gets easier. Right away I realized just how much I used those foods to comfort myself, and the best lesson I ever learned was how to comfort myself in other ways. I had to learn to craft a life that made me genuinely happy, to always have a good book on hand when I needed comfort, a good chick flick, a good friend to talk to, to get outdoors enough, to make sure my life was not too busy and rushed...etc, etc, etc. Since then they have really invented a whole lot of great foods that are gluten/dairy free. And I CANNOT believe all the restaurants now that cater to the gluten-free crowd. For the first 8 years I avoided dairy completely, and now I've learned I can have certain dairy products (like cheese and chocolate--the ones with high fat content) in small amounts on occasion with out any reactions.
Before I went off gluten/dairy, I had anxiety issues, panic attacks, horrible cramping of the intestines, diarrhea/constipation, back pain, headaches 2 weeks out of every month, mouth/hand rashes. Now I have none of those. They all disappeared within the first three weeks of going gluten-free. Also, I dropped the extra 15 pounds I was carrying around naturally, without effort, and I am able to maintain my ideal weight without additional dieting. Not bad, eh?
Geez, I sound like a freakin commercial.
Good luck!!!
Oh! Try Tinkyada brown rice pasta. It's delicious with a good pesto or marinara sauce...with any sauce!
Lots of salads. Sushi. Nuts. Seeds. Fish. Fruit. Almond milk is yum. Seriously, once you start investigating, there are so many options. Email me if you ever want recipes! (Although, clearly I don't do the raw thing. My body responds to baked salmon and steamed veggies like they are medicine.)
Fletch--you are a HUGE inspiration in this new world I'm navigating. Luckily I have some good background--now it's getting through that first few months and then I know things will get better and I'll feel better and have so much more energy, less sickness, and actually feel rested after a night's sleep!
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