Written By: Gina
As many of you know, my children have followed a wheat free, gluten free, sugar free diet since they were able to eat solid food. They have become very healthy kids and I thought I should seek the same help from our Holistic Dr. so I can stick around for a while.
I was addicted to the diet pill phentermine for 2 1/2 years. I was thin and had ample energy but I knew I was hurting my body and my heart rate was sometimes thought the roof. The weight fell off fast and I needed it to because I had gained a lot when I was pregnant with twins. Although I ate well, I was already heavy when I got pregnant so I ballooned- it was not pretty. In all my years of infertility, I told people I was not going to go on a diet because, "what was the point?" I would lose the weight after my pregnancy. That time never came so I kept the weight on for years while living in denial. After having my twins, I could not wait to shed the shame and the weight quickly- thus the addiction to diet pills. My regular family doctor prescribed the pills at first. Once I had lost 40 pounds, she refused to continue the prescription so I went to a weight loss facility to keep the weight loss going. I lost another 30 pounds and was thinner than I had been in over 10 years- I felt absolutely fantastic! Unfortunately, I knew I was hurting myself and putting my health and heart at risk.
Last October, I decided it was time to get real and face my weight loss head on. I have literally been on a diet since I was 26 and I was completely sick of the roller coaster ride. I have done every diet known to woman- Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Dexatrim, Soup & water based diets, Hydroxycut..I could go on and on. I ate only low-fat and fat-free foods- some of the worst things for your body. Dr. Cart (my Holistic Dr.) warned me it wasn't going to be easy to convert to such healthy eating. He suggested (strongly) that I cut out bread, sugar, alcohol and coffee. Surprisingly, the carbs and some of the sugars were the easiest to remove from my daily menu. I tried to give up coffee three times and heck no, it wouldn't go! I made it until 11:00 am one morning- the best I could do. I had to change my creamer, sugar substitutes, and someday I am going to have to give up my love affair with cheese and dairy. This hasn't been easy and it has honestly taken me some time to give up certain foods. It's so easy to be in denial and tell yourself that one piece of bread isn't going to hurt you! But now that I make healthy food choices, when I veer off my new menu even slightly, I feel it for an entire day after.
I have certainly evolved in this new way of eating. I can honestly say for the first time in years that I have successfully changed my lifestyle which was going to be the only way I was going to conquer this problem anyway. Now the weight is coming off so slowly- it's driving me absolutely nuts...but I know it's the healthiest way for me to lose the weight so it stays off permanently.
I do want to talk about my detox- it isn't pretty. One change in food program and yikes! Mood swings, dizziness, itching- it's crazy! The sugar roller coaster causes the worst crashes and if I have even one glass of wine now I can't sleep through the night. My legs itch like you wouldn't believe and I am so irritated by the smallest things. My point being that this has not been easy to do and I know why people put this sort of thing off but I do feel it has all been worth it. I can be honest with myself and my family knowing that I am doing what I have to do to stay healthy for my growing children.
I know I am doing what is right for my body so I can live my healthiest life. I don't want to sugar coat it- sometimes I miss a good juicy cheeseburger or ice cream, but for the most part I don't even notice what I am "missing" for the first time in years. I am starting to crave avocado and tomato- crazy, right? Now I have to work on my patience as it relates to a slow weight loss because that will be the ultimate payoff. I would be one happy camper. Then maybe the detox and sugar mood swings won't be so bad!!
Here's to good health!
Gina
Written by: Alicia
I am going to let some steam off today. I am so upset that yesterday my daughter's food allergy was ignored at school. All of my GF/CF Moms can most likely relate to this.
I picked my daughter up from pre-school and noticed she had some red stains on her shirt. A teacher's aide told me they gave them Popsicles that day. I felt my chest tighten up immediately with anger. I have explained over and over to the teacher and the aides that my daughter has a gluten allergy. I have specifically mentioned that most Popsicles contain gluten. I have also explained she is not allowed to have any red dye (she gets more agitated with this in her diet).
So, what do they do? They ignore my request and gave her a RED Popsicle. I asked the teacher, "Why did you do that? You know she has an allergy. You should have told me and I would have brought in a treat for her." The teacher said, "We weren't going to give it to her but she looked so sad when she couldn't have one." What kind of answer is this? If she had a peanut allergy, would you have done the same? Why is a GF/CF diet not taken seriously?
I wanted to lose it but I know myself well enough to hold back and relax before I go off. It took me about 7 hours before I could send this "nice" email off to the teacher:
Dear "Teacher:"
I am writing to let you know I am concerned that my daughter's diet was not followed today.
I understand it is hard to not give her the same sweets most kids can eat. I wish she could eat anything she wants...but she can't. She has a severe allergy to gluten. It is not like a peanut allergy and you most likely won't see an instant reaction but damage is occurring internally.
Celiac is a disease that runs in my family. If you have an allergy to gluten and you eat gluten it will travel to your small intestines and cause damage. Let me briefly explain so you will have a clearer understanding of this disease. We all have villi in our intestines. When food passes over them, they absorb the nutrients from that food. However, if you have a gluten allergy and then eat gluten it will travel to your intestines and flatten the villi. This means none of the nutrients from the food you eat will get absorb. This is why she is shorter than her triplet siblings. She was not getting the right nutrition for over one year.
Madelyn also has another reaction to gluten. If gluten and casein (a protein in milk) gets into her blood stream, it can have an opiate-like effect on her. Basically, we lose her to a drugged out stare. Celiac disease has been linked to some psychological disorders (OCD being one of them; which she has on a gluten diet). Gluten can cause malfunctions of the brain and neural networks for people with this allergy. Taking this out of her diet is the sole reason why she is no longer considered autistic. It is very important for her to not eat gluten.
In the beginning stages of this diet change we slipped up a few times. These slip ups took one to two days for her body to correct itself. During that time she had more tantrums (including pulling her hair out), got rashes on her bottom, OCD behaviors returned, woke frequently during the night and was just more agitated.
It is hard with her on the diet because a lot of people don't understand it. Some people think it is a diet strictly for autistic kids (and some do not take it very seriously). But, for many members of my family this is a serious issue. This allergy is a true disease. My dad has been suffering for years. His body took major hits from not absorbing nutrients for years and years. Some of his organs were badly affected.
Although a few slip ups here and there will not cause any long term damage it does cause brief damage. I really need her diet restrictions to be followed. Lets please go back to our original plan of her not eating any food unless I give it to you.
I have to admit I am a little concerned now to have her attend school. Can you assure me her diet will be followed 100% of the time? She cannot have any gluten or red dye #40.
Sincerely,
Alicia
I have not heard anything back yet. You know what hurts the most? It is that I have repetitively told the staff of her food allergy. I bring in food and drinks that Madelyn can consume. What more can I do; besides pull her out of school which I don't want to do. I feel like they disrespected my little girl. They did not take her allergy as a true issue. This was NOT their decision to make. I had to deal with OCD behaviors yesterday. She had one blow up at the pool yesterday because she didn't like how I put the toys into the pool (I haven't seen this type of behavior since the last slip up).
What more can we, GF/CF Moms, do to be taken seriously? My husband was so upset that he wants to pull our daughter out of school. I said we can't do this because she needs the social interaction to help her Selective Mustim. I feel that the teacher cares for my daughter and am still in shock over her poor judgement.
I'm going to go cool off again. Have a good weekend everyone! - Alicia
http://friendinreach.blogspot.com/
Written By: Gina
I am excited and amazed at how "Green" everything is becoming! I have never been a self-professed "greeney" but I have certainly made some changes in behavior over the last couple of years. I feel it is my responsibility- as I educate myself about this subject, I know I can make better choices for the environment and for my family. If I know I have been wasteful in the past in my use of some things, and I now cannot ignore better ways of doing things.
As you know, Alicia and I have written a book about possible causes of Infertility. We discovered how a lot of the personal care and cleaning products you might use and have in your home can help prevent pregnancy. I was never a holistic or environmental person until having kids. I thought the world revolved around me and if I used a box of tissues a day, it was my choice and business to do so. When my household went from 2 to 4 individuals, it was hard not to notice how wasteful I had been!
The reason I am so excited is because I am used to doing my shopping for food and household products at about 5 different stores a week, plus certain items have to be ordered on-line. This is time consuming and inconvenient to say the least. This is soon going to change! I am noticing more and more eco-friendly products being sold at major retailers. It is only a matter of time before I can do one-stop (OK- maybe two-stop) shopping!
I opened up my Sunday paper to discover a "Green" section in my Target catalog. I actually got tingles! Target now carries eco-friendly personal care products and water filters. Organic sheets and laundry detergent. I used to spend a lot on shipping fees alone through on-line shopping and now I can run to Target to get the products I use. They even now carry Dr. Bronner's! The thrill!
For now, I still go to specialty grocery stores. However, my neighborhood grocery store chain has now set up an entire organics section. Even Wal-Mart has dedicated itself to providing organic options, while listing Gluten, sugar and dairy free options as well as low-fat and kosher items on their website.
When purchasing Organic products, you should know what to look for. If you do not see the USDA Certified Organic Seal on a product, the word “organic” doesn’t mean a thing!
100% Organic- USDA Organic labeled foods are under stricter standards than other foods and may contain only organically produced ingredients. This means that the foods are processed in an organic environment, not touching or being packaged on a surface with non-organic foods and packaged in their original, organic form.
Organic- 95% of these ingredients must be organically grown. The remaining 5% of ingredients must be from an approved National list of non-organic approved foods. These products can also display the USDA Organic seal on the product or a certified logo. (An example of a state certified logo for CA).
Made With Organic Ingredients- At least 70% of the ingredients must be organic and they must be listed on the package. The remaining 30% of ingredients must be from the National approved list. These products may display a certifier’s logo but not a USDA Organic Seal.
When purchasing Green products, read the labels to make sure the following toxins are not listed on the labels:
DEA; Diethanolamine, Cocamide DEA, Cocamide MEA, DEA-Cetyl Phosphate, DEA- Oleth-3 Phosphate, Lauramide DEA, monoethanolamine MEA, Myristamide DEA, Oleamide DEA, Stearamide MEA, TEA- Lauryl Sulfate, Triethanolamine: Used as emulsifiers and foaming agents. Repeated use and absorbtion into skin can cause a major increase of liver and kidney cancers as found in mice and rats. It can also accumulate in the brain and produce toxic effects.
Phthalates, DEP- Diethyl Phthalate (MEP- derived from DEP): used as plasticizing ingredients which have been linked to birth defects in the reproductive system of boys and can cause lower sperm mobility in adult males
TEA; Triethanolamine: Can cause allergic reactions.
TCC- triclocarban; TCC 3 or 4, trichlorocarbanilide’s: cause endocrine disruption (increase the levels of hormones to a dangerous level).
PEG, Propylene Glycol, Ethylene Glycol, Polyethelylene Glycol: Used as an emulsifier and keeps products moist. Petroleum derivative used in anti-freeze and hydraulic brake fluid. Alters cell membranes and can cause cardiac arrest. Shown to cause dermatitis, kidney or liver abnormalities and skin irritation.
PVP; Polyvinyl pyrrolodene, Copolymer: Petroleum derived. Suspected human carcinogen.
Formaldehyde: used as a preservative and disinfectant. Can cause eye, nose and throat irritations including coughing, asthma attacks, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, nose bleeds, headaches and dizziness. Known to cause weakening of the immune system.
Butylated hydroxianisole (BHA)/Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Contains Toulene. BHT is a suspected human carcinogen and is made from coal tar. Can cause metabolic stress, depression of growth rate, weight loss, damage to liver and/or kidneys, baldness and fetal abnormalities, anemia and lower blood cell counts. BHA & BHT cause allergic contact dermatitis. Both substances slowly corrode metal and up to 13% of BHT is absorbed through the skin.
Some important links:
http://www.traderjoes.com/
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_iw_r_1_0_2_2/?node=357202011
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Sustainability.aspx?povid=cat14503-env172199-module032709-lLink1_DDM2
http://www.ralphs.com/healthy_living/Pages/earth_day.aspx
Happy shopping!
Gina
