CHEESESLAVE

My mom (Babsie) and my friend Louisa (who lives in France) both tagged me on this meme.

Rules of “tag”:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. When I was 26, I developed arthritis and a host of other maladies including respiratory allergies, chronic sinus infections, thrush on my tongue and sores in my nose that wouldn’t heal. After doing a ton of research, I traced it to candida, which is an overgrowth of yeast in the digestive tract, due to an imbalance of gut flora. I reversed all my symptoms in 2 months with diet and probiotics, but it took 2 years to fully heal. I’m glad I made the effort, since arthritis is a degenerative disease.

2. I love stories about mermaids, witches, psychics — anything to do with the supernatural. However, I’m not a fan of horror — too upsetting!). When I was a little girl I had a book about mermaids that I loved so much, my mom had to buy it for me from the library (I think I said I lost it).

3. I am a published author. I wrote a cookbook, and even traveled around the country and did radio and TV interviews to promote it. I have also written one unpublished novel, and have two other novels in the works. However, I’m not sure if I will publish a novel next — or maybe another book about food.

4. I’m currently 20 to 25 lbs over my normal weight. This is the most I have ever weighed (other than when I was pregnant). Ever since I had the baby, I can’t seem to lose it. I’m sure this is a metabolic/hormonal thing. I think it is reversible. Still learning…

5. Having a baby has been far and away the best experience of my life. I also love Seth very much — I’m so extremely grateful to finally have a family (after all these years of being alone!). I am happier now than I have ever been.

6. I want a second home in Europe — either Great Britain or France. I also want some chickens and a cow. And I want to learn how to make wine and cheese.

7. I speak a little French, a tiny bit of Spanish, and even less Japanese. I want to brush up on all of these languages, so I’m going to teach my daughter and learn in the process. (I just ordered the Muzzy Spanish set!)

Here’s who I’m tagging:

Angelique
Riana
Fighting Windmills
Momma of Many

OK that’s not seven, I know — but a lot of the people I would tag have already been tagged. And I gotta go get my pallets now!

Seth was diagnosed with leaky gut a few months ago. He has had a number of symptoms including constant intestinal and digestive problems, an inability to lose weight, inability to concentrate, etc. etc.

Leaky gut is a condition in which your digestive tract is damaged and weakened by a lack of good bacteria.

Good bacteria in the gut kill off toxins. When you don’t have enough, you get an overgrowth of yeast, also known as candida albicans.

I had this condition 15 years ago, when I was in my mind-twenties. I figured it out by putting all the pieces of the puzzle together — since doctors had no idea what was going on with me.

My symptoms were:

Arthritis in my knees, spreading to my hands and elbows
Bad respiratory allergies (constant sneezing, itching, runny nose, watery eyes)
Brain fog, dizziness
Constant fatigue
Thrush (a white coating on the tongue)
Bloating and slight weight gain
Constant cravings for refined carbs, sugar, and alcohol
Sores that would not heal — including open sores inside my nose
Continual sinus infections and other illnesses due to a weakened immune system

I believe what caused the yeast overgrowth was a combination of things:

Repeated rounds of broad-spectrum antibiotics as a child
Repeated rounds of broad-spectrum antibiotics as an adult for my constant sinus infections (caused by the candida!)
Vaccines (I had a recent round when I went back to college)
Eating dead foods lacking in probiotics and enzymes (pasteurized milk and dairy products, no lacto-fermented foods, a lack of raw fruits and vegetables)
Eating meats and dairy full of antibiotics
The birth control pill (I was only on it for a short time in my early 20s but I think it added to the mix)

It took me a while and a lot of research to figure out that it was the candida causing all my symptoms. Western doctors advised me to take pain medication for my arthritis and allergy medication for my sinus problems. They were only interested in treating my symptoms.

I ended up going on a wheat-free sugar-free diet. I was taking anti-fungals like garlic supplements and I was taking high doses of pharmaceutical grade probiotics (prescribed by my chiropractor-nutritionist), as well as a variety of nutritional supplements like bovine adrenal gland and thymus gland to strengthen my immune system.

Within a matter of a few months, I was 90% better and symptom-free. I stayed on the diet and the supplements for a few years until I was completely better — and could eat whatever I wanted with no symptoms. Cake, candy, bread, ice cream — no problem.

It wasn’t until I got on the birth control pill again this summer (prescribed by my doctor after the baby was born) that I started experiencing symptoms again. The biggest clue were the open sores on the inside of my nose. One day I read that the birth control pill contributes to candida — I stopped taking it immediately. I guess I was on it for a few months. Weeks after I stopped taking it, I still had the sores. And my allergies were back!

I tried taking some probiotics I got at the health food store. I’ve also been drinking tons of raw milk and eating lots of lacto-fermented foods. But nothing was helping. Months went by and I still had the sores.

Three days ago I started taking ThreeLac, which I ordered on the internet. I had read about it in Jenny McCarthy’s book, Louder Than Words. It’s what she used to help reverse her son’s autism.

Three days and guess what? Allergies and sores — GONE.

Unbelievable, eh?

Meanwhile, Seth is going through a massive detox. For the past three days since we started the ThreeLac, he is suffering from major yeast die-off. Flu-like symptoms: sneezing, achey muscles, severe fatigue, chills, vomiting.

This happened to me the first time I got over candida — it lasted a couple of weeks.

We reduced his dosage — from 1 packet daily to 1/4 packet. Hopefully it will be a little easier for him.

I’ll keep you posted on our progress.