Heal Hashimoto's

Oh - patience.  It seems that things don’t happen quick enough and then before you know it, a year has gone by. It’s hard to believe that I have been living with Hashimoto’s for a year now. 

I have seen Dr. Chau (NAET) three times now. I go tomorrow for my final Candida treatment.  I stay on the candida diet for another week - and then, my candida is GONE! I have about 25 other foods to work on with him.  Last week - I started to cry in front of him. I thought it was the candida detoxing (partially to blame) and then I realized that I had had some Celestial Seasoning Tea (that had Barley in it!) and just a rough week in general. He tested me for emotions.  Fear, worry, sadness etc….then he just looked at me, and said, “yes, you have those right now”. I sort of laughed - he couldn’t help me with those. That was up to me. I realized that my happiness is really, truly, up to me.  Nobody can create or take it from me. I love myself as I am. I say it to my basic self every night as I fall asleep. These things I create in my life - are just my opportunities to practice that. So I can be thankful for all of the people in my life that show up and remind me.  They let me practice with them. 

I had an apt with my Functional Medicine Dr last thursday (after Dr. Chau). I went back and forth on whether to tell her about NAET.  She had a young guy in office with her. He was shadowing her. I immediately didn’t like him. You know how you just get a feeling? I allowed him to watch my session with her.  As I was telling her about NAET - he immediately said “that doesn’t work”  - I am thinking in my head “how do you know? Do you even know what it is?”  I should have said it. But it has only made me more determined. 

She said she knows how to practice NAET - but I wasn’t convinced. I asked them both - when all of my test results go back to normal, and I recover, what then? Do I eat this way forever? And she said “in moderation, yes” - well, that is not the right answer for me. I won’t ever go back to the way I used to eat, but I miss coffee…..and eggs…..and my homemade greek yogurt……So I am going to keep at NAET. 

I have been reading back on some of my older posts, wondering how to connect it all in a way that makes sense. The bigger issue is autoimmune disease. So I am going to think about that for a little bit longer. 

Thanks for all of the support - I have met some amazing people through my blog. Keep ya posted! 

So bear with me on this post….. 

First - I feel SO MUCH BETTER after eliminating Coffee & Eggs.  In addition, I have been drinking chlorine free water (Penta is my new water - it’s spectacular!). Energy is up and brain fog is down. My Thyroid feels better too.  But lately I have been thinking - is this forever? I have eliminated so much - what happens when all of tests go back to normal? Do I eat this way forever? 

Hindsight the last 9 months - I first eliminated from my diet Gluten, Dairy, Sugar, Fruit, Grains, Starches, Soy and Alcohol.  I just last week eliminated Eggs & Coffee to great success. So - why is that? Why is there such a connection with food and feeling better? Not only for me - but for almost any disease?  There is a huge correlation between autoimmune disease and inflammation.  Inflammation is caused by a host of different reasons including environmental, vaccines, candida, hormones, food & lifestyle. What is happening is that my body is allergic to A LOT of things. That is a result of the world we live in, being bombarded with so much.  

What if you could reverse your body’s response to all allergens? 

The universe continues to give the right next step just when I need it - my dear friend who is in Sun Valley told me about a technique one of her friends there is trying.  The practitioner suffered from Hashimotos as a child and has now healed completely as a result of NAET. She told me to check it out, so I did

http://www.naet.com/Patients/patientshome.aspx

NAET = Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique. What is it? 

NAET® was discovered by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad in November of 1983. Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques, also known as NAET®, are a non-invasive, drug free, natural solution to alleviate allergies of all types and intensities using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing and treatment procedures from acupuncture/acupressure, allopathy, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine.

One allergen is treated at a time. If you are not severely immune deficient, you may need just one treatment to desensitize one allergen. A person with mild to moderate amount of allergies may take about 15-20 office visits to desensitize 15-20 food and environmental allergens.

Basic essential nutrients are treated during the first few visits. Chemicals, environmental allergens, vaccinations, immunizations, etc. are treated after completing about ten basic essential nutrients. NAET® can successfully alleviate adverse reactions to egg, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, flowers, perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, make-up, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, other environmental agents. It may take several office visits to desensitize a severe allergen.

I checked their website for a practitioner near me, and I found one. He has been practicing for years. He is old school. I called and he had an appointment available the same day. The first thing he did was check me for the most common allergens via Kinesiology. They all came up about 20 of them (including my most recent eggs & caffeine). And a few new ones like tomatoes, minerals and most vitamins.  

What he was most concerned about was the Candida. While I thought that after 9 months on my anti-candida diet including anti-fungal supplements that I had eliminated it, he found it. He then did the first treatment (of 4) that involved showing my body that Candida is just an allergen, not an invader. There is a difference.  When you have autoimmune diseases, you immune system is so broken down that it starts to attack everything - which is why it then attacks your own body.  This technique retrains your body.

So if you think about it - as I progress in my treatment - what happens at the end when I have healed it all?  I was worried about not ever going back to “normal” eating. NAET will provide that. This entire journey has showed me that I will most likely never ever go back to SAD (standard american diet) but more variety would be very nice! And as I suffer from Hashiomotos, the best way to heal it is to stop my immune system from thinking everything I put in it is an invader. If I hadn’t done my almost  year long elimination diet, I wouldn’t have this perspective or the knowledge that this could be the final step in my autoimmune journey. 

I am keeping an open mind and as usual - trusting the universe. God has been with me the whole time - I just needed to experience it. It has all showed up perfectly so far. I am keeping the faith. I am truly blessed. It was been hard work, but I have myself to thank. I have so much hope on this journey. I hope this inspires you to be hopeful too. 

More after my next appointment (including the treatment for GLUTEN!) yes - I believe. 

• Tags
• naet for hashimotos
• naet
• hashimotos
• food allergies
• naet for inflammation
• thyroid and naet

Follow up from my post last night!

I don’t suppose I am the average patient. I view patients as clients of Doctors. They need to work hard for us - customer service and quality, just like your favorite store. But as much as they are the doctors, they aren’t miracle workers.  We have to show up and advocate for ourselves to get what we want. They work for us - so ask for what you want and tell them what is happening in your body. I thought a lot last night about that fact that I might have to give up Eggs & Coffee.  So - I started the day off that way.  I drank coconut green tea and I sauteed onions with sliced organic chicken in coconut oil.  I made it through! 

The doctor I see is a Chiropractic Kinesiologist (muscle testing), Clinical Nutritionalist & Functional Medicine Doctor. 

For my appointment I brought an egg and a sample of my organic coffee so she could muscle test me for sensitivity. The result? I am extremely sensitive to both. I am experiencing cross sensitivity with both of them - as if I am ingesting gluten.  I have to cut them both out. In addition a few additional things came up to cut out: Chlorine (from tap water), aspartame (in my trident gum!) and fruit (did that 9 months ago).  

She also tested my thyroid and it was not doing so well.  So I have a new plan and a few less things to eat. It will really only effect breakfast.  And I know eliminating coffee is the right thing to do. Less than a day in - I already feel a bit better. Some improved brain fog, mental clarity and energy.  Stay tuned! 

You know - lately, while I have made so much progress (reducing my antibodies by 80%), I have started to feel a bit sluggish. Brain fog, lack of motivation and generally just wanting to sit on the couch and do nothing.  At times I sit at my desk and I pray for my brain to just work better.  Why can’t I concentrate longer? Why can’t I think about complex issues with ease?  I have followed my diet so closely.  I have had only two cheats: Almond Flour Scones (with 2 tsp of honey) and handful of potato chips.  Doesn’t seem like enough to make me feel crappy.  It has felt like two steps forward, one step back. 9 months of no wheat, dairy, sugar, fruit, starches, grains, dairy, alcohol and working out 3 to 4 days a week.  Seriously?? 

So - here I go again.  Patience, Love, Detective work. What is happening? What adjustments can I make?  Should I make? 

My sister sent me an article with new information.  There are gluten-free foods that cross react with Gluten (meaning they have the same effects/symptoms on your body as eating Gluten would). How about that? Some new information that I needed right now. Thank you universe! Maybe with my 9 month elimination diet, my body has become more sensitive so I have some foods that are reacting differently in my body?  All of this time, have I been eating foods that exactly mimic gluten? 

Just to recap from my previous posts a few theories that I now fully embrace/advocate: 

1. you will not heal your gut/immune system by eating a gluten-free diet alone (I call it faux gluten)

2. if you have hashimotos, you must eat gluten/grain/sugar/starch/dairy/alcohol free (to heal your gut which for the most part your immune system to reduce inflammation - which caused the immune system to attack the Thyroid in the first place

3. there is a high correlation between hashiomotos & celiacs (due to the leaky gut syndrome and what the Standard American Diet does to your body) 

4. If you eat foods that have the same effect as Gluten (as a hashimoto sufferer) the immune system will continue to attack the Thyroid

5. I believe you can heal autoimmune diseases completely if you eliminate enough to HEAL THE GUT

So what are the foods that cross react with Gluten? 

• Cow dairy (50% of those who are gluten intolerant are sensitive to dairy)
• American cheese
• Milk chocolate
• Sesame
• Hemp
• Rye
• Barley
• Polish wheat
• Buckwheat
• Sorghum
• Millet
• Spelt
• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Yeast
• Tapioca
• Oats
• Coffee (has the highest rate of cross reaction with gluten - from this list!!)
• Corn
• Rice
• Potato
• Eggs (while not on the original source, I found it on another site and added it)

What do I eat every single day from that list? Eggs & Coffee. I LOVE my morning cup of coffee. LOVE LOVE LOVE - dream about it the night before. It’s my only vice!  And if I replace eggs - I am not sure what to eat for breakfast.  Double ugg! 

So - what do you do?  I have an appointment with my Dr. tomorrow and we are going to discuss.  I know I don’t feel that great right now, so something is off.  I might request the Gluten Associated Sensitivity and Cross Reactive Food Test (Cyrex Labs Array #4) or I may look into GlutenFlam Digestive Enzymes by Apex Energetics. 

I will let you know how it goes! 

• Tags
• cross reaction with gluten
• celiacs
• Hashimotos
• Hashimoto's thyroiditis
• apex energetics
• cyrex labs
• glutenflam digestive enzymes
• eggs and gluten sensitivity
• coffee and gluten sensitivity
• reducing inflammation
• leaky gut

As I continue on my path of researching Celiacs & Hashimoto’s - I found the root cause in not only Celiacs and Hashimoto’s, but MOST autoimmune diseases = Loss of Intestinal Barrier Function (aka: Leaky Gut).  This is a critical piece for understanding, treating and moreover healing auto immune diseases. Understanding what causes Leaky Gut and how to heal it, I predict to be the next focus in medicine. 

So, just how important is a healthy gut? 60-70% of your body’s immunity starts in the gut. So healing should start there too, right? What exactly is leaky gut?  Here is Wikipedia’s definition: 

Leaky gut syndrome is a proposed condition of an altered or damaged bowel lining. The term is used by some alternative medicine practitioners, but the syndrome is not a recognized diagnosis.^[1] It is hypothesized to be caused by increased permeability of the gut wall resulting from toxins, poor diet, parasites, infection, or medications.^[2] The leaky gut then allows substances such as toxins, microbes, undigested food, waste, or larger than normal macromolecules to leak through an abnormally permeable gut wall. Proponents propose that these out-of-place substances affect the body directly or initiate an immune reaction.^[3]

In my case - blood tests showed that I was only absorbing 50% of my food (malabsorption).  The rest of it was floating into my bloodstream causing my immune system to work overtime and it then started to attack my Thyroid.  I believe this is the very first start of any autoimmune disease.  This should be the first place physicians start to heal anyone with an autoimmune disease. 

The foundation of healing the gut is changing what you eat.  The SAD (standard american diet) is chock full of things that are inflammatory (gluten, casein, sugar, grains, GMO soy, dairy, alcohol, starches). Those are the things that must be eliminated to heal the gut (makes sense, right?).  Eliminating gluten has already show to help improve many autoimmune diseases - but that isn’t enough to restore intestinal integrity.  

According to the Well Being Journal “Less than half of the patients with celiacs disease on a gluten-free diet for an average of 9.7 years have complete normalization, as shown by intestinal biopsy test results (Duerksen et al. 2010). A systematic regimen of reducing inflammation and healing the existing damage must be implemented for long-term optimal results and true healing: this is a process that is likely to take at least one year of dedicated effort” 

Complete “normalization” can’t happen if starches, grains (aka gluten free foods), dairy, casein, sugar, fruit, alcohol and soy are not eliminated as well.  Why is that?  Because of how our body processes grains, starches and sugars.   AKA: the body’s ability to digest a monosaccharide vs. a disaccharide. 

More on this to come! If you want to start researching this immediately, I highly recommend starting with Breaking the Vicious Cycle (Elaine Gottschall) and an article in Well Being Journal (The Grim Side of Gluten Grains may/june 2012 issue). 

• Tags
• leaky gut
• autoimmune disease
• Hashimotos
• Hashimoto's thyroiditis
• celiacs
• immune system
• autism
• gluten allergy

It took me a while to figure out how to be loving to myself this past year.  I wasn’t sure what it looked like until a dear friend recapped all of the things she saw me doing for myself.  The old saying “the more you give out, the more you get back” - I think that has been a component for the last year for me.  After I was diagnosed with Celiacs last February, and happened to buy three cookbooks (unknowingly) that were SCD (the specific carbohydrate diet) - I adopted the diet immediately - sign from the universe!  SCD - no gluten, grains, starches, sugars.  The author Elaine Gottschall (she wrote Breaking the Vicious Cycle).  The premise is that a single molecule structure is easier for the intestinal lining to absorb.  Gluten, grains, starches and sugars are not easily digested, causing inflammation.  I did that for about four months, and then eliminated all sugars and dairy.  That is when I saw the most improvement.  I love what I eat, I am always satisfied and I just look at it like I am ordering different things off the menu.  I mentioned in a previous post that going just “gluten free” wasn’t enough to heal completely. I think I need to take my body to a different place to heal completely.  I think that Celiacs and Hashimotos are reversible and this is my experiment.  I don’t think of it as will power - I think about the healing that I am doing. The bigger picture is that Autoimmune disease is related to the health of your gut and what you are eating. If your physician doesn’t think there is a link between food and health - tell them about he 60minutes episode last week linking Sugar to Cancer rates and Heart disease. 

So - to be more clear, I have eliminated: sugars (including honey, maple syrup etc), grains (rice etc.) starches (all potatoes and most beans), gluten, dairy (except butter), fruit and soy. It’s very close to the Paleo diet (but no fruit). 

I have also switched to Pasture Raised Eggs (they have lower cholesterol and have higher Omega 3’s) and eat organic Chicken and Grass Fed beef.  If you have access to a CSA (community supported agriculture box) - I highly recommend it. (see pic below of my typical weekly delivery. I get pasture eggs with that).  www.farmfreshtoyou.com 

BREAKFAST (this doesn’t usually deviate)

Scrambled eggs (I cook with coconut oil or butter) and will sometimes saute half of an onion or a few slices of Applegate Organic Oven Roasted Chicken (whole foods deli) - it has a touch of honey in it, but the % is VERY small. 

LUNCH: I bring my lunch to work almost every day.  Leftovers from the night before, or I bring the components for a salad. 

Salad - arugula, avocado, sliced chicken, red peppers with lemon juice and olive oil

Salad - grilled chicken with brussel sprouts, dijon mustard, olive oil and bacon (organic applegate farms, and has less than 2% sugar).  

Soup - see my “recipes” tab above. I have shared my go-to soup recipe. I make a big batch on Sunday and eat it for lunch/dinner. 

DINNER: 

Asian Chicken Salad - shredded cabbages with grilled chicken and blanched sliced almonds (mint/cilantro) - I put an amazing sauce of lime, toasted sesame seed oil and coconut aminos on it - YUM! (see pic below) 

Roasted beets with Swiss Chard (see pic below)

Frittata - last night! Made in my new Chamba pot - sauteed leeks, spinach, green onions and asparagus with 8 pasture eggs. Seasoned with kosher salt, pepper, cinnamon and smoked paprika.  It was amazing. (see pic below)

Soup - same recipe as lunch. I keep quarts frozen that I can easily de-thaw and eat for dinner. 

Greek salad - cucumbers, mint, avocado, red onion, olives, cherry tomatoes with toasted sesame seed oil and lemon juice. (see pic below)

Pressure cooker - I use it a lot. See my recipes tab for my basic pressure cooker recipes. I keep organic chicken and vegetables in my freezer. You can throw just about anything in the pressure cooker and it’s an amazing meal in 20min. 

• Tags
• SCD
• specific carbohydrate diet
• hashimotos
• celiacs
• breaking the vicious cycle
• elaine gottschall
• autoimmune disease

Something I haven’t spoken about as much is what my Hashimoto’s and Celiacs has taught me this past year from a spiritual perspective. When you take a step back and look at what disease (any disease) brings forward you start to see the many blessings.  Illness isn’t just doom and gloom. It’s an opportunity.  

How can we learn if we don’t experience?  Illness offers us a chance to express againstness. How I choose to relate to the disease is the issue and the againstness against myself.  How could I have caused it, what did I do wrong, why do I have it? Why am I so unhappy with my body? Why doesn’t it work like it used to?  I could go on and on and on. 

There is a key to freedom here - to love myself no matter what. What does loving myself look like? For me it looks some days like this: 

1. cook myself anti-inflammatory food that nourishes and tastes good

2. getting rest when I need it

3. love my good days and being kind to myself during the bad days

4. forgive myself for judging my impatience that I haven’t healed overnight

5. judging that it took me 4 doctors to find the right one - and who knows I may change again! 

6. doing research on everything I have learned so I can question everything the doctors say or give me (yay!)

7. trusting my journey. I created this experience for myself. Maybe it was to learn how to love myself more, maybe it was to heal my system so I could someday have children, maybe it was to help me learn that you can’t rush patience - or all of the above?

8. Acceptance, Cooperation & Enthusiasm - live them, breathe them and understand them

9. take care of myself so I can take care of others - there will be a day I need this body and my health is part of that. I want to fill my cup up and give from my overflow…

I am so thankful for all those that are in my life that have helped me remember all that I have forgotten. I am grateful for your loving repetition. I am healthy now, then and forever.