Newbie with an intro...

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone! Im so glad to have found this group! I just knew there

had to be others doing gf/vegan out there somewhere! I found

out I had celiac 3 yrs ago and was really sick from it a long time

before. 6 months later we had our 6 kids tested and most of them

have it and those who dont are allergic to wheat,rye,oats,barley

anyways so all 6 are gluten free.They also have varying allergies

too, dairy,soy,beef,fish,berries,citrus,eggs,chicken,corn and latex

are the biggies.

Once I went gluten free, I developed worsening allergies and

mcs,and a host of autoimmune diseases. Ive been bounced from dr. to

dr. to the mayo. My liver,spleen,pancreas are all enlarged and I

have Hashis as well as restless leg syndrome,degenerative

osteoarthritis(I shrunk an inch last yr and Im 39) sjogrens and a

few others. I also have skin sores which puzzled the drs too.

Recently I had surgery on my neck to remove enlarged lymphnodes,Ive

had recent bone marrow,liver,and skin biopsies done. On the PET

scans,the suv's were all 7 which is indicative of cancer,yet

biopsies showed none. Drs are puzzled again and I kinda quit them

since they couldnt explain anything but tell me it must be

environmental. I moved a yr ago to a more isolated area, on 5 acres

and am much better wihout neighbors' smells. I can breathe better

and not reacting like before.

I went on fruit and veggies 2 weeks ago and for the first time and

not getting sick to my stomach, except when I add brown rice. Thats

the only grain Ive had.Im avoiding all corn too since some of the

kids are allergic to it. Im staying away from potatoes & mushrooms too

since Im really allergic to mold. Im hoping to prove the drs wrong

that these diseases can be reversed. I also need to lose weight and

have lost 20 so far. Im not hungry,havent had the hypoglycemia I

normally get between meals,no shakes,no slurring, no muscle cramps

in legs during the night so Im pretty excited about this. I do have

some sunflower seeds and few nuts or raisins for snacks and cant eat

fish either. Im allergic to shellfish bigtime,anaphlyactic to the

smell even.

Im hoping someone else out there can help me understand why this is

working so well, if this is really the right thing to do,staying

away from grains too, and if this can really help reverse some of

these autoimmune diseases and perhaps even allergies. Im pretty

much sticking to just whole foods,nothing in a box,except

raising,everything with just the pure ingredient only,no cans

either.

I have a Vita Mix and did make my own flours from beans,rice,tapioca

and bake all sorts of goodies and muffins like zucchini

muffins/pumpkin which all kids love. My oven died, so everything

needs to be crockpot,skillet or raw! I do make rice milk for the

kids and use in place of any dairy called for in recipes.

I would like to hear back from others and appreciate any thoughts

and advice. Thank you so much for letting me be here. Take care

everyone. Lynne

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynne:

 

>Im hoping someone else out there can help me understand why this is

>working so well, if this is really the right thing to do...

 

Wow, you've had quite a time of it! I'm very glad to hear that things are

looking up for you!

 

I eat gluten-free grains myself now, but years ago, when I first improved my

life by changing my diet, we ate an all-raw fruit and veggie diet for about 2

years... no grains. We ate some nuts and seeds too, legumes by sprouting them

and using them on salads. My health improved dramatically.

 

After the 2 years, I could comfortably tolerate the gluten-free grains like

rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranthe, teff, sorghum, etc. I still avoid

dried corn products and peanuts though. Dried corn bothers me much more than

fresh but I need to be very careful even with fresh corn. I can eat a cob once

a week or so during corn season, which is a nice treat.

 

Since you need to avoid potatoes, how are you with squash, sweet potatoes and

yams? I find they help add needed stomach filling calories when avoiding all

grains.

 

Wishing you all the best...

 

Deborah

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

Very interesting reactions. I don't understand it all. But I have to

say that a diet of fruits and veggies with a few nuts is one of the

best there is. Have you seen the book " Eat to Live " yet? I consider

it a " must read " for people who really care about their health. It has

a list of the most nutrient dense foods per calorie. It is an

excellent book with information about improving all kinds of health

problems with what you eat or don't eat, and why what you are eating

may not be bringing you good health. I have been free of gluten since

November. And just last month had surprising candida reactions appear.

Most people would say I was already eating an excellent diet. But in

the last three weeks it has changed to mostly raw, live, nutrient dense

foods. Leafy greens, especially romaine lettuce tops the list. Grains

are way down on the nutrient list. Meat is even lower. Could it be

that grains and meat aren't as important for good health as they have

been made out to be? Romaine has as much protein as pork does, per

calorie. I haven't minded romaine lettuce, but I can't say that I have

ever eaten it like I am eating it now. And I didn't know that salad

could give me energy. It doesn't when it is made with iceberg. I now

eat huge salads for lunch and dinner with nuts added and sometimes some

garbonzos or kidney beans or something. And I put in as many other

raw vegetables in as I can manage to wash and cut up. They really are

interesting salads. Breakfast is juiced carrots, celery and barley

green (supposed to not contain gluten). I eat some blueberries and

grapefruit, but little other sweet stuff. (These two fruits have the

lowest sugar content for fighting candida. Once the candida is over,

I'll eat more fruit, maybe one fruit meal a day.) My point of all of

this is that I can believe how good I feel with my huge salads. It

really is full of nutrition and energy. I varied from this last week

and ate more cooked food, a little more sweet food, and the results

weren't good for the candida. But this really is a great diet. And is

proving to me that one can eat a very simple diet and be healthy. The

surprising thing is that my two kids and husband are starting to join

me in the salad eating on their own. I haven't forced them at all, but

have tried to always be sure there was something else for them to eat.

There were baked potatoes available today. I noticed today that my 6

year old boy who says he doesn't like salad, just played with his

potato, and ate lots of salad without one complaint. And a few days

ago, my husband came to me sad that there wasn't any salad let that he

could take to work for his lunch. I quickly made him one, and he was

happy. We are putting homemade humus or guacamole or homemade olive

oil and lemon juice dressing on our salads.

 

When I first learned that being gluten free was going to have to be a

way of life for my two kids and myself, I wasn't too happy about the

change. But now, I think it could bring about a lifetime of good

health for us all. I have watched for a long time what everyone else

in America is eating, and I don't like the results that I am seeing in

their life. I really don't want to follow in the average American's

footsteps toward poor health. I hope that the changes that are

happening in our lifestyle are really going to bring about a positive

change.

 

I hope that you can figure out what is going on with your health too.

You might want to find the book " Optimal Wellness " by a Dr. Golan. It

has checklists and questionnaires for people who want good health buy

aren't finding it in the doctor's office. It was what helped me

diagnose my systemic candida problem, and I have since confirmed my

conclusion with another source too. I agree that most doctors don't

know how to help people to good health, though they are very good and

prescribing a quick fix that adds more toxins or stress-ors to the

system. You may want to research the liver and consider some kind of

liver cleaning. A toxic liver can cause all kinds of problems. I am

finding that liver cleansing is helping me tremendously.

 

I wish you the best.

 

Barbara in WA

 

 

 

On Apr 29, 2006, at 9:03 AM, Lynne wrote:

 

> Hi everyone! Im so glad to have found this group! I just knew there

> had to be others doing gf/vegan out there somewhere!  I found

> out I had celiac 3 yrs ago and was really sick from it a long time

> before. 6 months later we had our 6 kids tested and most of them

> have it and those who dont are allergic to wheat,rye,oats,barley

> anyways so all 6 are gluten free.They also have varying allergies

> too, dairy,soy,beef,fish,berries,citrus,eggs,chicken,corn and latex

> are the biggies.

>   Once I went gluten free, I developed worsening allergies and

> mcs,and a host of autoimmune diseases. Ive been bounced from dr. to

> dr. to the mayo. My liver,spleen,pancreas are all enlarged and I

> have Hashis as well as restless leg syndrome,degenerative

> osteoarthritis(I shrunk an inch last yr and Im 39) sjogrens and a

> few others. I also have skin sores which puzzled the drs too.

> Recently I had surgery on my neck to remove enlarged lymphnodes,Ive

> had recent bone marrow,liver,and skin biopsies done. On the PET

> scans,the suv's were all 7 which is indicative of cancer,yet

> biopsies showed none. Drs are puzzled again and I kinda quit them

> since they couldnt explain anything but tell me it must be

> environmental. I moved a yr ago to a more isolated area, on 5 acres

> and am much better wihout neighbors' smells. I can breathe better

> and not reacting like before.

> I went on fruit and veggies 2 weeks ago and for the first time and

> not getting sick to my stomach, except when I add brown rice. Thats

> the only grain Ive had.Im avoiding all corn too since some of the

> kids are allergic to it. Im staying away from potatoes & mushrooms too

> since Im really allergic to mold. Im hoping to prove the drs wrong

> that these diseases can be reversed. I also need to lose weight and

> have lost 20 so far. Im not hungry,havent had the hypoglycemia I

> normally get between meals,no shakes,no slurring, no muscle cramps

> in legs during the night so Im pretty excited about this. I do have

> some sunflower seeds and few nuts or raisins for snacks and cant eat

> fish either. Im allergic to shellfish bigtime,anaphlyactic to the

> smell even.

> Im hoping someone else out there can help me understand why this is

> working so well, if this is really the right thing to do,staying

> away from grains too, and if this can really help reverse some of

> these autoimmune diseases and perhaps even allergies.  Im pretty

> much sticking to just whole foods,nothing in a box,except

> raising,everything with just the pure ingredient only,no cans

> either.

> I have a Vita Mix and did make my own flours from beans,rice,tapioca

> and bake all sorts of goodies and muffins like zucchini

> muffins/pumpkin which all kids love.  My oven died, so everything

> needs to be crockpot,skillet or raw!  I do make rice milk for the

> kids and use in place of any dairy called for in recipes.

> I would like to hear back from others and appreciate any thoughts

> and advice. Thank you so much for letting me be here. Take care

> everyone.   Lynne

>

Our vegan and gluten free recipes are available in the archives

> for this group or at the following URL (***Recipes Posted to VGF***):

>

>

>

> Check out these affiliated vegan lists ~

>

> http://www.Christian-Vegan-Cooking

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Have you seen the book " Eat to Live " yet? I consider

> it a " must read " for people who really care about their

> health. It has

> a list of the most nutrient dense foods per calorie.

 

I agree that Eat To Live is a fantastic book. This book is very " vegan and

gluten free " friendly in the recipes as well as well as in philosophy. The diet

is based on vegetables, beans, fruit, nuts/seeds/avocado (grains if desired). I

suffered from autoimmune arthritis and now recovered my health through the

priniciples in the book...which is that you health is equal to number of

nutrients per calorie that you ingest.

 

Good luck and definetely check out the reviews on this book. Dr Joel Fuhrman is

an incredible doctor and considered the best in his field by many experts. For

those interested his website is:

 

www.drfuhrman.com

 

Shelly