Category: My Story

I’ll be back soon!

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So, it’s been almost 2 months since my last post.  Ugh.  As tempted as I am to feel like a failure at this whole blogging thing, I have had a lot going on.  In the past 2 months, I’ve traveled over 14,000 miles for work, decided to buy a house, put an offer on a house, missed husband’s emergency surgery while traveling, became a home owner for the first time, organized and completed renovations on our new home, and finally, moved in.  Needless to say, I am really looking forward to going on a beach vacation next weekend to relax a little!

Homeowners!

In the meantime, I’ve read a couple interesting health books that I can’t wait to share reviews of with you – one about why we get fat and the other about the miracle of coconut oil (yum!).  I promise, I’ll return to Healthy & Hopeful soon.  As much as I miss it, my body misses it more… all this stress and traveling has sure taken a toll and I am ready to get back to normal!

Plus, now that we have a yard, hopefully I can experiment with gardening – anyone want to learn with me?

– Christine

My Health Journey

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Strawberry PickingI’ve been battling intense allergies for the past two weeks, so I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  I have to admit that I became a bit discouraged, starting to believe that this new healthy lifestyle wasn’t helping at all.  But I realized that I need to reflect a little and remember how far I really have come with my health. Since I haven’t shared my story with you yet, I thought this would be the perfect time…

For as long as I can remember, I have been sick or in pain most of the time.  While it’s never been anything super serious, I’ve definitely had a few debilitating days.  For the most part, it’s simply just kept me from enjoying life to the fullest.  Throughout my childhood, I got sick pretty often, mainly suffering from respiratory illnesses, and I’ve always had nearly constant back pain.  I moved to Austin at age 6 and developed allergies and asthma, often developing into a sinus infection, pneumonia, bronchitis, you name it, and then of course, taking lots of medicine. I always complained of back pain as a kid and my parents did everything they could to discover the cause: taking me to multiple doctors & specialists, having MRIs & xrays and doing physical therapy.  No one could figure it out. When I reached middle & high school, participation in sports only made it worse, and I started to have shoulder pain as well.  Doctors prescribed muscle relaxers, Advil or physical therapy to manage the pain.  Then, with the onset of puberty came acne (and other hormonal problems).  My dermatologist prescribed an antibiotic for the acne, which I proceeded to take for only the next 8 years.

In college, everything got even worse.  I was sick with bronchitis for the entire second semester of my Freshman year.  Then, winter of Sophomore year brought even more illness.  It started with my typical holiday seasonal allergies, developing into an apparent sinus infection compounded with bronchitis.  Over the course of a month and a half, I was prescribed 6 courses of antibiotics and 3 steroid packs.  Since I had a fever every day, the doctors also suggested Advil every 4-6 hours… for a whole month.  My back pain became so intense that one doctor even said I “probably” had ovarian cancer… I didn’t.  I saw 10 different doctors, trying to figure out what was actually wrong.  No one could diagnose me.  By March, my stomach became so inflamed from all those medications that I couldn’t keep any food down or sleep.  It eventually culminated in a trip to the ER and a week-long stay in the hospital for gastritis.

I was furious, depressed and hopeless…  I still didn’t have any answers and doctors were making me worse, not better.  This was my turning point.  As a last straw, I made an appointment to visit an “alternative doctor,” who immediately put me on probiotics to rebuild my immune system and my gut.  She gave me some vitamins and changed my diet from the bland, carb-heavy “sick diet” to lots of protein and vegetables.  Within a week, I was a different person, and continued to get better and better.  That experience made me realize that there had to be something to this alternative, holistic medicine thing.

Since that time, I’ve been healthier – staying away from fast food, eating more veggies and taking vitamins.  But, I still felt like my immune system just wasn’t performing up to par… it takes me awhile to get over being sick, I’ve suffered from hormonal issues (girls, you know) and I struggled with back pain daily.   After watching a couple of great documentaries and reading some surprising health articles, I realized that even this was not normal and that I didn’t have to live this way.  Providing even more motivation, after getting married a year ago, I inevitably began to think about my future children.  I certainly didn’t want my kids to be sick all the time, and, I was frightened by the epidemics of food allergies and autism in kids today, not to even mention the possible (again, epidemic) fertility problems I could face trying to get pregnant someday.  If you know me, you know I don’t accept “well, that’s just how things are” very easily.  I was going to find answers.

Now, I read books, watch lots of documentaries, and keep up with new research and articles.  I learn something new every day that I can put into practice immediately.  Now, my healing comes from food that I can buy from a local farmer, not from medication – it’s much more delicious and there’s no long list of terrible side effects! I know that it may take my body a while to recover from all the toxins I put in it for so many years, but I have complete confidence that it will rebuild itself.  God designed our bodies to heal themselves given the right nutrients. I’ve already seen a huge difference – pain and sickness are now in the minority in my life and I’m feeling better every day.  Plus, I’m giving my future children a real chance to be healthy, and that will be the most rewarding result of all.

It’s That Time of Year…

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Cold and flu season. Up until a couple of years ago, I generally spent December – March being sick all the time.  No matter how many times I washed my hands or tried to stay away from people, I always caught something.  And when I got a cold, it would be weeks, if not months before I got over it; plus, it usually developed into bronchitis or a sinus infection, and even pneumonia once, at some point too.

Well, I joined the club and caught a cold over the weekend.  But, I’m already much better.  Coincidence?  I think not!  Eating healthy gives you the nutrients your body needs to keep your immune system in good shape so that it can do it’s job.  I focus on a few key items in my diet, especially when I’m sick, to aid the healing process:

  • Kombucha tea – contains lots of probiotics that fight off the bad bacteria attacking your system
  • Bone broth – soups with broth made from chicken/beef bones and full of veggies pack lots of nutrients (I’ll be sharing an easy recipe later this week!)
  • Water – drink lots of it… not only does it help move toxins through your body, but it moisturizes mucous and helps move it through the sinuses

I also want to share a few great articles to expand upon some of the supplements I take daily (and more of when I’m sick) as well as a few other natural ways to help prevent or fight off a cold or the flu fast:

Supplements cannot replace a good diet, but since many of our foods are now lacking the nutrients they had just a hundred years ago, they can definitely help boost your system. When buying supplements, make sure you look for those made from whole foods.  Taking fake vitamins that are manufactured from chemicals won’t help… you need real vitamins from real foods.  I find the best selection at People’s Pharmacy and Natural Grocer here in Austin.

Stay healthy!

– Christine

My Inspiration – Deep Nutrition

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A few months ago, some dear friends loaned me a book that changed my perspective on health forever – Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, written by Dr. Catherine Shanahan and her husband, Chef Luke.  I was first inspired by Dr. Cate’s own personal story: after visiting many doctors and trying to use what she had learned in medical school to solve her unexplained health issues, she finally found healing by studying, at Luke’s suggestion, nutrition. It’s a miraculous story, and I don’t want to spoil it in hopes that someday you’ll read it too, but it’s what finally gave me hope for finding my own healing.

Since Dr. Cate is an expert in genetics, she uses this book to connect the dots between nutrition and it’s effect on our genes.  I can be quite the critic, so although I struggled at times through this science-heavy book, I appreciated the fact that she explains the biological reasons behind every claim she makes.  Essentially, our genes have been shaped by what our ancestors ate, and continue to be influenced by every bite we take.  You don’t have to go back as far as Paleolithic times, diets for which we have very little evidence, to find out what makes our bodies survive and thrive; you only need to look at the traditional cuisine of authentic cultures that exist worldwide today and have endured the test of time. Dr. Cate’s theory is the “Four Pillars of Authentic Cuisine:”

  • Meat cooked on the bone
  • Organs and offals
  • Fresh (raw) plant and animal products
  • Fermented and sprouted foods

Thankfully, our genes bounce back very well, so it’s never too late to make a change.  I’ve only been following this nutritional method (though I’ll admit, not as closely as I should, hence my resolution) for a few months and I’ve already seen a dramatic change in how I feel.  More than that, I’m making a difference in the lives of my future children by passing down my genetic wealth and giving them a real chance to be happy and healthy.

Deep Nutrition is full of so much great information that one post, or even a few, would not do it justice.  I’ll spend the next few weeks delving into these four pillars and the topics discussed in the chapters of this book, as well as share some recipes that I’ve created to follow these ideas in a practical world.

Which of the four pillars are most surprising to you?

Happy New Year!

Published on by Christine5 Comments

Dinner on New Year's Eve - Lamb Loin with Minted Smashed Parsnips and Carrots

I’ve never been one to have a new year’s resolution, but I am finally going join the bandwagon and make one.  Judging by the crazy amount of Weight Watcher’s commercials and plastic surgery advertisements out there right now, I’m guessing that a lot of people out there want to lose a little weight.  I’d be lying to say that’s not part of my goal as well, but there’s much more to my resolution than just my weight.  This year, 2013, I want to become healthy.

They say the keys to keeping a resolution are achievability and accountability.  As if one overwhelming, ambiguous resolution weren’t enough for me, I also decided to start a blog. Well, actually, I’m hoping that the commitment of regularly writing blog posts will be a motivator for my pursuit of health.  I mean, what better way to stay accountable than by putting this out there for the world to see?  I plan to take this one post at a time, committing to researching and writing about my new knowledge and progress step-by-step.  With such a long road ahead of me, I think motivation is crucial to keeping my goal. The more I understand, the more motivation I have to change.

I’ll share more about my health history later, but essentially I’ve struggled with unexplained health issues and chronic pain my entire life.  For years, I looked for answers and cures the conventional way with no luck. Recently, I have finally begun to discover understanding and healing through nutrition. My newfound passion for all of this has opened up my eyes to so much hope that I feel compelled to share it with everyone I can.

Illnesses like obesity, cancer, food allergies, depression, insomnia/lack of energy, hormonal issues and pain have become commonplace in our world, but they are not normal.  So what is normal?  What does it mean to be truly healthy?  And with so many dieticians, nutritionists, doctors and celebrity experts out there claiming different solutions, where’s the truth in health?

I hope you’ll join me on this journey as I share my research on nutrition and holistic medicine and learn how to live healthy in a real world.  I’ll share my reviews on books from the experts and controversial documentaries, try new recipes, buy organic groceries on a budget, and document my healing progress.  All I ask is that you keep an open mind, as I’ve had to… this is going to rock our world… a lot.

Wishing you a healthy & hopeful new year,

–Christine