And so my dietary journey begins...

My dietary story in a nutshell. It's been a journey. It started with plant based, candida diet, then onto GAPS, then it was FODMAP, elemental, and Fast tract. I learned about different diets for different conditions throughout this journey. Check out another post, "Different diets for different ailments." where I go through an assortment of dietary guidelines for different conditions. 

 When I first became mysterioulsy-ill and going through tons and tons of diagnostic testing, I know that I felt guided to a plant-based vegetarian lifestyle. Like, I really felt that God had guided me to this way of plant-based eating and it felt in sync with the Word of Wisdom. The people who came into my life at that time, and also being drawn to vegetarian literature, I really felt like this would be best for me. Sugar and wheat really exacerbated my fatigue without a question. 

Fast-forward six months, there were still no conclusive answers. Not MS.  Not Lupus. Not Lyme disease. Not Hashimotos. I had some Herpes virus of sorts, (not STD variety) but that wasn't neccesarily known to cause the debilitating fatigue I was experiencing. However, despite the diagnosis, antiviral medication didn't help at all. 

Other than the  virus, nothing that could be pinpointed.  The best diagnosis I was given, was by an infectious disease doctor. "We will call this Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There's no known cause. There's no known cure. Take your vitamins and rest kid."  Talk about a depressing diagnosis!  I was 25 and my life was swept away from  me. No hope. No cause. No Cure. I had totally thought it was taking too many antibiotics. While I do think that contributed to my digestive woes, that ultimately wasn't the root cause of my lack of energy.  I was still bedridden with fatigue and wasn't able to leave my house much. If I did, it was in a wheel chair.  (And yes, I was on Iron and B-12, so the lack of energy wasn't contributed to the fact that I wasn't having too much animal protein incase any of you are wondering). 

Anyway, my church congregation and family fasted and prayed for me Aug 2011, that I would be able to get some answers, some guidance and some help. 

Help came all right, but in a very unexpected way.  

I thought my doctors would miraculously figure out what was wrong with me, give me a medicine, and ultimately find a cure. Or maybe I would see a naturopath person, and after taking IV vitamin infusions, I could get my life back. Or maybe, God would see fit to just deliver me out of my bedbound state, and I would be like one of those people you read about in the Bible and Book of Mormon, who, when Jesus blessed them, they would rise. In my case, after the fast, I thought I would miraculously have my energy back. ("Heck, if it happened back then," I thought to myself, "then why not to me? Why not now?"  I totally had the faith of a little child, if it was God's will to heal me, then healed I could be). 

Instead, none of the aforementioned healing ideas presented themselves.

Three times within that very week of the fast, I was sent a link to this book. 

My friends, all independent of one another, would say something like, "Bethany, I felt like I should share this with you." One emailed me on a Monday. The next day, another friend, independent of the first friend, wrote me on a Tuesday with the same link. Then again, Thursday or Friday of that week, I think my sister or sister-in-law sent me the exact same link to this book.

First time I looked at the book, I dismissed it right away. "Gut and Psychology syndrome. How to Heal your Digestive System Naturally. How to help mental health with food. Hmm.. Thanks, but no thanks. I have a fatiuge problem, not a digestive or a mental health problem." I thought to myself.

Friend #2, the next day, sends me the same link, to the same darn book.

I look into a little more. "Hmm....interesting, okay.  Chicken Broth.  Not typically what I would think of to heal fatigue. Plus, it wasn't plant-based at all. It was meat-based, specifically eating organ meats. Um yeah, NO thank you! And plus, being kind of closed-minded, I dismissed it again. 

Friend #3 (Not knowing that 2 other friends sent me the same thing the same week) sends me the same link.

Perhaps I should seriously consider the repeated messages?!

I swallow my pride, I seriously read all about it, I look into it, pray. 

I remember being in my knees and having a warm, unmistakable light feeling.

I'm thinking to myself: "What the heck, God?! I was wanting to just whip out of the wheel chair, lickedly-split, not have to eat this bone broth, saurkraut, and weird food!  And plus, I am not really seeing how this ia aligned with the word of wisdom!"

But, I started doing it.  It was my answer. Unmistakably so. 

So, I followed the steps and the diet to a T. 

Miraculously: my energy began to be restored. I was no longer enervated from unloading the dishwasher. I could drive to and get my family's groceries from Kroger, in one of those, "old-people-wheely-carts."  I wouldn't collapse afterwards.  And best of all, I could pick up my son from half-day kindergarten. (That was my goal all along. If I could just do that, I thought to myself, I would be so grateful).

Remember, I had already tried every supplement from A-Z from the health foods store.  I tried every medication the doctors gave me. But, to no avail. Nothing have my energy back. Until now. Doing this GAPS diet. It was nothing short of miraculous. (In hindsight, it was probably because I cut out anti-inflammatory foods and all Lectins). 

I was live and die by diet, however. I was super strict and didn't have any sugar. Nothing refined or out of a box. Only bone broth, well cooked veggies, and probiotic foods. Only berries for fruits. That was it.

At the time, I didn't know it, but I had SIBO and SIYO.  Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Small intestinal Yeast overgrowth. I was super sensitive to sugars, and the smallest amount would cause debilitating fatigue. (Guess what? GIs didn't help me at all with these conditions! It was the functional medicine that did. But, I digress.)

Fast Forward sometime.  I began to work with functional doctors who discovered the mold.   Light-bulb. Ahah! It all made sense!  There's a candida and mold connection! With further treatment, I wasn't as much, "live and die by diet," and I could slowly tolerate more foods and more fruit. (Hallelujah!)

Then I morphed out of GAPS around this time, and started learning about all other forms of diets for all sorts of conditions. Diet for SIBO. Diet for gasetroperesis. Fast-Tract Diet. Elemental Diet. Juicing Diets. Heart Disease Prevention. Cancer Diets. Neurodegenerative diseases. (MS, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Bipolarity, depression, etc.)

This is how my food journey began folks. I began to learn everything and anything I could about food, about nutrition, and about pesticides, toxins, and our current environmental dilemna. 

So without further ado, I invite you to read my next entry blog called, "Different diets for different ailments," where I go through several illnesses and introduce different dietary literature to educate and empower you in whatever condition you may (or may not) have.  Like I've said before, I'm totally not a doctor. Just sharing what I have learned!

Food is powerful.  Have you had any experiences with food affecting energy?

Are you using your foods and meals to help and to heal your body?