When the
symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome began to manifest in my body in early 2008, I
noticed what I thought was a consistency in the occurrences of weakness and
fatigue. As far as I could tell, I seemed to fall apart physically after I ate
bread of any kind, even though I had gone back to trying to avoid bread
altogether.
I was sure
it was a gluten intolerance. It would have to be…. Right?
So, after
doing a little research (of course! Isn’t it great what you can read online
these days?), I decided to try doing some baking with low carb flours. I tried
rice flour, and a low carb baking mix. Making the change did seem to help a little, but the change wasn’t enough to
explain what had been happening in my body.
(Also during this time, I was trying to change my diet completely, adapt
to injecting myself twice a day, and taking prescribed medications.
Things were
challenging during that season. I was also learning to check my blood sugar
three to four times a day. It took a while
to find healthy levels. At first, every time the numbers went under 270, I
would go sweaty, get the shakes, be unable to think, and feel dizzy. Sometimes,
I felt so ill I’d need to get a quick nap. (My brain was just used to the
levels being way too high, and the adjustment took place gradually.)
That was the
first principle God had for me to learn. Healing
is not an event. It is a process, and a journey. I had always believed that
to be true, but walking through these
lessons has taught me things I will never forget.
After a couple of months of avoiding breads, and trying to eat gluten free, I wasn’t
seeing any long-term changes. My reserves were still non-existent. I would go
to sleep at night exhausted, and wake up feeling the same way. And, although my glucose levels were beginning
to approach the 240 range on a regular basis (which I thought was really good,
by the way, considering…), the fatigue and weakness still plagued me.
So I went
back to the books. I began reading on the root causes for gluten intolerance,
and made a few discoveries which have helped me considerably.
Now, you
might remember me telling you about our oldest daughter going through a journey
with cancer, a blog or two back. Well, part of her recovery involved eating a
low/no iodine diet for 3-4 months after her surgeries. Then, after doing so,
she was given radioactive iodine. She
was radioactive for a few days (and no, she didn’t glow….) It was a learning
curve for all of us.
Anyway, the
treatment she experienced was based on the human thyroid’s need for iodine. Did
you know that in order to create hormones needed for thyroid production, the
thyroid depends on whatever iodine we take in in our daily diet? So, the
medical concept was to starve any cancerous thyroid cells still remaining in
her body from receiving any iodine
for 12-16 weeks. After that time, when radioactive
iodine was introduced into her body, any remaining thyroid cells would uptake
the radiated substance, thus killing any and all still-operational cancer
cells.
Thinking
about my condition at the time, I realized I needed more information than I had
on hand in order to fight through the condition in my body. I was still gaining
weight, even though I was limiting my diet to 1500 calories a day, and trying
to eat raw and/or low-carb mas much as possible. One afternoon, exhausted and “benched” once
more on the couch, I was researching online. I saw an article written by Dr. Joseph Mercola:
“Avoid This if you Want to Keep your Thyroid Healthy.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/thyroid-health_b_472953.html)
Basically, I
learned that the majority of industrially produced flours in our food industry
have an additive called Potassium Bromate. Bromate, once inside the body,
becomes bromide, which is highly toxic. Apparently, years ago, the “someones” who
made the decision to use bromate did so, because they thought it would be more
cost effective to use bromates to preserve stored grains, than it would be to
use Potassium Iodine. Additionally,
bromates are also used in pesticides and herbicides. They are added to plastics
and vinyls. Even more dangerous is the addition of bromate to some bottled
waters!
Simply put: here’s
the problem. The body needs iodine for many daily functions,
in addition to thyroid assimilation. But bromide “holds onto” the iodine in our
bodies, and prevents its absorption. Over the years, studies have confirmed the
increase in thyroid malfunction, fatigue, breast cancers, severe acne, rashes,
abdominal pain, and several other issues; not the least of which is
psychological paranoia.
I was
fascinated, and read further. Did you know that women in Japan, who eat mostly
seafood, and consume kelp (seaweed), ingest as much as 3 milligrams of iodine
or more each day? Subsequently, medical
studies show that Japanese women have a much smaller percentage of breast
cancer, than do women in the United States. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204293)
The Japanese
government has decided that 3 milligrams
of iodine a day is a healthy dosage for their citizens. In contrast, the
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for iodine in the United States is just 150 micrograms. I was amazed.
I made two lifestyle
changes that day.
First, I
stopped eating bromated products. By the way, when you read the ingredients on
most bread labels, “bromated enriched wheat flour” is a common ingredient. Pepperidge
Farm uses no bromide in any of their products. Panera Bread is another company
which has decided to bake bromide free.
Second, I
began taking supplemental iodine. I found a 5% solution of liquid iodine I
could take by eyedropper, adding it to my morning lemon water. (Incidentally,
lemon water is a great liver cleanse, and works as a metabolism wake-up, if you
can do it first thing in the morning.) I
have to say that I did try taking tablets of potassium iodide first, but
the “gag and choke” reflex was still no fun. Besides, to this day, my kids
still giggle if I’m “doing the healthy” and “have a reaction.”
Within days
of trying the addition of iodine to my diet, I experienced the first building
block towards bringing my body back to a healthy state. I noticed I was encountering
consistent “spurts” of longer-lasting energy after taking liquid iodine in the morning.
But I knew I needed to maintain the level I was using.
After all,
more is not always better. Most of the time, more is just more. That can become
too much.
Did that
mean the problem had been my thyroid all along?
I’ve discovered it was only part of the issue. And that other areas of
my endocrine system needed attention as well.
Then, it occurred to me; if my thyroid was deficient, then my entire endocrine system was probably out
of whack. And, logically, it just followed that if one system in my body was
out of balance, other systems had followed suit.
Just like
living a life in the Spirit, gaining physical alignment, would take time. I
made a decision that that point to intentionally discover what the rest of my
body’s systems needed in order to become healthy as well.
I also made
a realization. I was tired of not feeling good. Sure I had gained weight, and
would like to lose it all again. I had thought I was chasing “healthy,” but
somehow, I had chased “skinny” instead. Over those past few months, my goal had
become “getting healthy.” I couldn’t
focus on “skinny.” I had discovered a flaw in my thinking. This time it couldn’t
be image based. It had to be about longevity. After all, hadn’t He told me: “Eat
what I made?”
I began
making protein smoothies each morning.
Here is my first recipe.
BERRY PROTEIN
SUPER SMOOTHIE
1 scoop strawberry
Un-jury protein (Unjury.com)
8 ounces
unsweetened vanilla almond milk
¼ cup of fresh
raspberries or blackberries
1 scoop Vitamin
Shoppe powdered vitamins w/ minerals
1 scoop Amazing
Grass, Green Superfoods, acai/berry flavor
1 Tablespoon
from seed mix (I made a Ziploc bag mix of black sesame, flax & chia seeds) ¾
c ice
Pulse in blender. Then puree on high for 3 minutes. This yields about 12 oz. If its too thick,
add a little water. Enjoy!
I also set
the alarm on my cell phone for every two hours.
I would eat protein and a little fruit when the alarm went off.
If you are
following these lifestyle changes, please just do one thing at a time. Try to
keep it natural. Remember, the idea is
to modify your appetites, and work with your own body where your own systems
are already working hard to help you heal.
If you’re like me, my system responded to sugar like it was a drug. I
would experience a type of “high,” and then crash. And by crash, I mean ugly.
Believe me,
trying to climb out of the pit from that crash was very, very difficult. I
remember one day in particular when I went through the drive-through at a local
Arby’s. I ordered cheese sticks, a wrap, and a diet drink. Sad to say, I can’t always tell the
difference between diet and “not-diet.” The drink they gave me was “not-diet.” It was three-fourths gone when one of our
daughters tasted it, and told me it was the wrong drink. Needless to say, I had
a great afternoon that day, but then crashed later in the evening. I remember
having the shakes. It was difficult to work up the willpower, to even get up to
walk to the restroom! I felt hot all over, and just wanted to crawl into a ball
until the symptoms went away! The next
day was spent sleeping, trying to figure out what I could have done
differently.
During those
months, I did try to do exercise. I was sure if I could just get my body used
to it, I would build up a resistance, and reclaim my inner reserve. I tried
walking. I was part of a “Curves” near our home. When I did exercise, which was
at usually twice a week with cardio, I came home and had to take a nap before I
could continue with my day. I’ve since learned that many people relate to my
situation then. I came to the decision
that five minutes a day was better than no minutes. And, even now, I can only physically do what
my energy levels will allow me to do without exhaustion.
So, dear
reader, if you are on a healing journey of your own, like mine, please be kind
with yourself. Don’t push, expecting perfection. Accept the Gift of Limitations. God made you human for a reason, you know. When
we allow a desired image (like “skinny”) to push us, we lose sight of the
desired goal our Creator has for us (like “healthy”).
Next up: How
to juice for health when you’re diabetic
©2016 Debbye
Graafsma/Awakened to grow. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without permission.
Disclaimer: Although I am a counselor, and hold
my doctorate, I am not a medical doctor. So, the views and suggestions
which have helped me in my own healing journey may or may not work for you.
While I hope that my stories and suggestions will help and encourage you,
nothing I post here should be taken as a diagnosis or medical opinion. If you
are concerned about your health, please seek the advice of a professional.
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