{"id":1014,"date":"2016-04-17T21:21:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-17T21:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therainbowsendblog.wordpress.com\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2018-08-07T09:21:22","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T09:21:22","slug":"the-life-saving-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vickygooden.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/17\/the-life-saving-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"THE LIFE SAVING DIET?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I got a cold. The sore throat started Thursday, intensified Friday and all weekend I\u2019ve been holed up downing echinacea tea with Manuka honey swirled into it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m feeling slightly sorry for myself ok? No sooner am I finally healing from the laparoscopic surgery last month, adjusting to my diagnosis of endometriosis both physically but mainly emotionally, it seems my cleaned, newly relaxed system was not ready for the London Underground. 3 days into commuting and the majority of my waking day spent inside an air conditioned office and I am germ ridden. This utterly frightens me as I picture my insides now trying to fight off a cold as well as trying to heal inside my pelvis and abdomen while newly formed endometriotic implants are probably deciding where to clamp down next.<\/span><\/p>\n

So yes. Poor. Me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Except, no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t accept the victim badge for any longer than 30 seconds, because I\u2019m not dying. I\u2019m simply a bit diseased<\/em>. But I can take control. \u00a0While there is no known medical cure for my body\u2019s malfunction, I have turned my head away from pills whose name I can\u2019t even pronounce let alone have any idea what they consist of, in favour of focusing on healing via nutrition, something a well-meaning GP just isn\u2019t equipped to advise on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter Dian Shepperson Mills (MA)<\/strong> and Michael Vernon (PhD, HCLD)<\/strong>, by way of the newest book <\/a>on my bookshelf; Endometriosis – A Key to Healing and Fertility Through Nutrition.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Excluding the References, Glossary and Appendices, the book is a hefty 340 page read and I am but 63 pages in. It has me gripped. It\u2019s written in a wholly accessible fashion, empowering the reader to take control and get what she needs from natural intervention. There are flashes of panic as I read lines like \u2018pregnancy is rare if the endometrium thickness is less than 7mm\u2019<\/em> as I wonder just how thick mine is and so far into the book we are mainly covering human biology. Which by the way, is bloody fascinating. Already though, I have started to scribble notes like \u2018Bye bye wheat\u2019 and \u2018welcome back Mackerel\u2019 as I try and get my diet plan in order to give my body the best shot possible at healing from or at least coping with endometriosis moving forward. And as the title suggests, \u2018life saving\u2019 it just might be. Some simple changes might save me from a life of chronic pain, embarrassment and malfunction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mackerel. Yes, I know. Said the woman on the brink of committing to a purely vegan diet. However, 63 pages in and I have read multiple times about the merits of fish oils. My decision is not set in stone just yet though. I have more research to conduct especially as in the back of my mind I have a high pitched alarm going off about the metal content contained within fish these days. Because we\u2019re basically ruining the planet. Yay.<\/span><\/p>\n

My immune system has always been a worry to me. I get cold sores, a touch of psoriasis, \u00a0asthma and now endometriosis. A real catch, some might say. But I have likely been further damaging it throughout my life by the food and drink I do and do not consume.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am proudly, 7 months clean from coffee. Last September I just decided to take a break from it as I questioned why I really drank it in the first place. I would order a ‘soya caramel latte\u2019 at any time of day, no question. There\u2019s something about a \u2018business woman\u2019 grabbing a coffee from a little indie coffee shop where the white takeout cups are stamped with the shops branding, as she, head held high powers into the office about to change the world. Or not(!) But you get the point I hope. Coffee, for me, became fashionable and formulaic more than anything else. Seeking out new coffee shops a real pleasure and the buzz of the caffeine whipping me into a short-lived superwoman welcomed. But after reading that caffeine may raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which suppresses the\u00a0immune system, I was done. I didn\u2019t have a set period of time for the coffee amnesty, but i\u2019ve got to a point where I am now too scared to drink it! So coffee free I remain.<\/span><\/p>\n

So as I sit here in need of blowing my nose – again<\/em> – and expertly developing a nice cough, I feel resolute in the next chapter of my nutrition focused treatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n