New Year, New Health

The new year always has me reflecting.

Thinking about the events from the past year,

be they happy, unexpected or downright unpleasant,

I know that they all serve a purpose in my life.
They are blessings because I choose to see them in that light.

Having had several health issues in the last year,

I decided that the focus for the beginning of 2014 needs to be my well-being.

Healthy habits have been a part of my life for a while now.

Regular exercise, scratch cooking and taking time for pleasurable pursuits

all help me to maintain a sense of balance.
It seemed as though my efforts were on track.

However, something's amiss in this world of hardiness.

Last year I suffered from two bouts of sinusitis,

a horrendous skin condition and most recently, a back injury.

Sometimes God has to get your attention in the worst way.

Even though I was participating in healthful measures,

it wasn't enough to keep me free from infirmity.

It feels like a change is in order.

I'm not the kind of person who runs to the doctor when things go awry.
Most times, they just want to push the meds,
but that doesn't solve the problem.

I tend to try to figure it out on my own

through research and experimentation.
I want to know why something is wrong
and what I can do to prevent it from recurring.

Only when I am stumped will I seek out medical intervention.

I'm stubborn that way.



I've been reading these two books over the past week,
trying to figure out what is causing my symptoms.


  

They're both filled with lots of great information.

I've known for years that what goes on in the gut

affects every other system in the body.

Lil' Guy has chronic issues that still have not been fully resolved,

despite many doctors, books and treatments.

When his gut is healthy, he is a totally different boy.

It's keeping it there that is the challenge.

So far, I've taken myself off of anything with white flour,

chocolate, sugar, even sucanat.

I noticed a difference in my skin after about a week of not eating bread.

The inflammation in my hands decreased.

I'm not sure I should share the pictures of just how bad they were.

Here's my plan for unraveling this mystery:

*Keep a food diary for at least a week.

*Avoid the possible suspects.

*Use homemade vegetable broth to aid in healing the gut.

(Look for the recipe tomorrow.)

*Introduce Bragg apple cider vinegar to my morning routine. 

I want to document the process here on the blog,

so that someone else may benefit

if they're having similar issues.

It's all a learning process.

If I don't care for myself, I can't help another soul.

I'll keep you posted!