Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are one of the most uncomfortable thing in the entire world to suffer through.  The pain has been compared to giving birth naturally.  I have had kidney stones three times and given birth naturally once.  I have to say, I think I would take giving birth over kidney stones.  Yes, it really is that bad! 

Every time I have had kidney stones I have asked the doctors why I get them.  Every time they ask me the same thing.  "Do you drink a lot of soda?"  I say, "No, I don't drink soda."  Then they say, "Then we have no idea."  However, after learning more about the adverse effects of certain foods, I can pinpoint every kidney stone episode to what I ate during that time. 

The function of the kidney is to cleanse the blood from waste products and to keep a constant salt and liquid balance.  Also the kidneys regulate how much vitamins and minerals (such as phosphorus, potassium, and sodium) are released back into the blood after it has been cleansed.  So diet can cause major problems for the kidneys if we put a lot of waste into our bodies that gets into the blood stream and also if we eat food that throws off the balance of certain vitamins and minerals that we need. 

The first time I had an episode with kidney stones was about 3 years ago.  At the time I had a flare up of the Epstein Barr virus and was taking copious amounts of vitamins and supplements to help my body recover from a relapse of Mono.  I was drinking more water than I had ever before in my life to help my body absorb the supplements and to flush out the waste so I'd fully recover.  (At least I thought that is what I was doing.)  However, because our body can't absorb or use much of the supplemental vitamins that we take, all I was really doing was creating a major burden on my kidneys.  And there is one thing that the body can't absorb at all from supplements and that is the gel capsule they are taken in.  So as my kidneys were working, they filtered out the extra vitamins and minerals my body didn't need and attempted to get rid of the waste from the capsules.  But in the end, kidney stones resulted.

The second time was right after I got pregnant about a year and a half ago.  I decided that I was going to try and stay off of dairy because it was making me sick so I switched everything to soy.  I drank soy milk, I cooked with soy milk, I completely substituted my original dairy with soy products.  Well soy has a very large amount of oxalates.  An oxalate is a compound that can bind with calcium, store in the kidney and cause kidney stones.  In an article titled, "Soy Can Lead to Kidney Stones" http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/10/27/soy-kidney-stones.aspx it explains that oxalates have no nutritional value and the body cannot metabolize it either.  It is only excreted through the urine.  So in this process of the kidney attempting to get rid of this terrible compound, it binds itself to calcium, forming a stone, and blocks of the whole urinary system. 


The third time I had kidney stones was about six months ago.  I had to stay off of dairy again for my baby's sake while I was nursing because she is allergic to dairy.  So when she stopped nursing I went straight back to dairy.  (Even though it made me feel crappy I still had it a lot because I loved it.)  Dairy contains a lot of phosphorus, one of the things that the kidneys have to filter out.  Because I had been off of dairy for so long and then went back on it full swing, my kidneys were overloaded with phosphorus and again the result was kidney stones. 

So now that I know what foods cause me the most problems for my kidneys (i.e. DAIRY, SOY, SUPPLEMENTS, and also other acidic food-meat, and citrus) I am doing my best to stay away from them so my kidneys will heal and I won't have to deal with that excruciating pain ever again.  If you have problems with your kidneys or kidney stones as well, please, take the suggestion from one who knows too well, stay away from these foods.  It will be a tremendous help!

The Miracles of Essential Oils

A couple of nights ago while I was making dinner with my husband, he sliced his hand open.  It was a very long and very deep cut across the base of the palm of his hand.  He was cutting an avocado when the knife slipped...I heard him gasp really loud and the knife dropped.  When I turned around I saw him holding his hand very tightly, but there was blood coming through his fingers, so I knew it was a very deep cut-deep enough to warrant stitches.  I ran for my oils and pulled out Yarrow.   He rinsed the blood off of his hand and I applied the oil directly on and into his cut.  It IMMEDIATELY coagulated the blood and it stopped in seconds.  Within a couple of minutes the skin was already beginning to fuse back together.  We were actually watching it happen. The next morning it looked as if Cam had just scraped his hand.  No one would have ever guessed how badly he had cut his hand and that it had just happened the night before.

This is the actual Yarrow flower.  The oil the comes from this plant is deep blue.  This happens during the distillation process.

I love essential oils!  I know they work, but it still amazes me how quickly things happen.  I use my oils for everything.  In the 9 or so months that I have started getting into them I have watched them heal everything from severe burns, cuts, insect bites, rashes, upset stomach and vomiting, to fever, muscle aches and pains, cramps, headaches, acne, and many other illnesses.  I don't know what I ever did without them.

I've made mine and you can make yours.

In the last few months as I have really started to change my lifestyle, I have had a lot of opposition in my life trying to make me feel not only bad about what I am doing, but also try and convince me that it is wrong.  It has been a struggle, much more than I ever thought it would be. 

At the same time however, it has caused me to look inside myself and do some more intense studying to discover what is really correct for me and my family.  It is always difficult to go against the grain, especially when very few people are going there with you.  But for me, it is worth it.  The more I learn and grow the better I feel and even though the very large and sometimes overwhelming majority of people think that what I am doing is wrong, too extreme, or just plain crazy, I am searching things out for myself and I know that the decisions I am making are the correct ones for me. 

Changing my lifestyle and the way I eat to fuel my body has changed dramatically and will continue to do so.  This decision that I made has blessed me in so many ways and I wish that everyone around me could see and understand the benefits.  As life goes on and people question me about why I do things the way I do, I will tell them and explain why confidently because I have searched for myself and understand completely why I am the way I am.  But I will not force my lifestyle choices on others.  It is not my place to make decisions for other people, nor do I want to.  I can help inform and educate, but only they can make the decisions on how they will live their life for themselves. 

Breast Cancer Awareness

Since it is breast cancer awareness month I thought this was very fitting. 

The section in The China Study that I read last night was all about breast cancer and how diet can help women avoid it.  Breast cancer is something I don't feel very informed on but I did learn a lot in my reading last night.  One thing that I found interesting is that breast cancer is most often occurring because of high amounts of excess estrogen in the body.  I thought that the main reason women got this cancer was because of a family history of it but, come to find out, only a very small percentage is actually due to genetics.  Some studies show even as low as 3%.  This shocked me!  One of the main drugs prescribed to help the prevention of this cancer is called tamoxifen.  This drug is considered an anti-estrogen drug.  One of the main ways doctors are trying to help prevent (other than screenings) is through lowering estrogen levels.  There is one problem though.  The long-term effects of this drug is unclear and in taking it a person runs the risk of stroke, uterine cancer, cataracts, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism.  I don't even know what some of that stuff is but it sure doesn't sound good.  I guess though if you are that concerned about getting breast cancer (and because it is such a rampant disease I can understand why so many women are) it might be worth it to take a medication like this and hope for the best. 

After explaining about this drug and the possible side effects of it and other drugs like it, Dr. Campbell makes an interesting and extremely valid point.  He says, "My question is quite simple: why don't we ask why estrogen is so high in the first place, and once we recognize its nutritional origin, why don't we then correct that cause?  We now have enough information to show that a diet low in animal-based protein, low in fat, and high in whole plant foods will reduce estrogen levels.  Instead of suggesting dietary change as a solution, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing and publicizing a drug that may or may not work and that almost certainly will have unintended side effects."  And I might add, will probably cost a fortune too, like almost all "good" drugs do.

It is fascinating that something so simple like changing our diet can make such a huge impact on our lives.  Not only physically, but emotionally and economically as well.  Notice I didn't say it was an easy change, but it is a simple one.  Over time I hope it continues to get easier. 

The China Study

I kind of mentioned this before, but I am going to mention it again.  I have a really hard time doing anything that goes against the grain unless I research it myself and can base my desicion off of my own judgement.  So I am doing a lot of reading and studying about diet and health right now.  I am currently reading a book called The China Study-Startling Implications For Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-term Health. It is fascinating!  It was written by a man named T. Colin Campbell.  I want to quote a part of the preface that describes him well.

"T. Colin Campbell, at his core, is still a farm boy from northern Virginia...from [this] background he went on to other careers.  It is for his other career accomplishments that I came to admire Colin.  He was involved in the discovery of a chemical later called dioxin, and he went on to direct one of the most important diet and health studies ever conducted, the China Study.  In between, he authored hundreds of scientific papers, sat on a numerous government expert panels and helped shape national and international diet and health organizations...As a scientist, he has played an instrumental role in how our country views diet and health."

This was enough info for me to feel like his studies were reputable. :.)  What he did and the results that he found are amazing!  He goes into great detail about protein (especially protein from cow's milk) and how it affects overall health as well as discussing obesity, diabetes (Types 1 and 2), cancer, and especially heart disease (which includes heart attacks and strokes) and how diet can help with or completely eliminate these "affluent diseases" as he calls them.  This book has opened my eyes to a lot of things and I feel like I am learning so much it is hard to take it all in at once.  I recommend this book to everyone.  And just and F.Y.I., I will probably be blogging about this book until I am through with it.  Yes, it is that amazing!

A new start with all of our meals

In eliminating dairy and also avoiding meat, I have been trying to adopt a vegan diet.  That has been a struggle at times because my husband, even though he is extremely supportive, is having a harder time adjusting to the new foods I am trying to make.  However, this past week I feel like my vegan meals have been very successful!

For breakfast we usually have an all fruit smoothie or cooked millet with fresh fruit.  This is wonderful!  I wasn't sure how I would like the millet, but I think it taste better than cream of wheat or oatmeal.  We do have agave nectar on hand just in case things need to be sweetened up a bit. 

Another meal that is better for lunch time that I have really enjoyed are lettuce wraps.  All you do is cut up whatever veggies you want to have and wrap them up in a large piece of lettuce.  They are wonderful and so easy.  The only downside is if the lettuce is really crispy then it kind of falls apart. :.) But what can you do?

The meals I have made this past week for dinner have been:

Kale, Apples, and Potatoes

1 bunch of kale-rinsed off, destemmed, and chopped

2-3 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced

2-3 apples peeled, cored, and sliced

Half an onion

Juice of one lemon

Season with lemon pepper, garlic pepper and black pepper

Combine apples, potatoes, and onions in a large pan with some olive oil and the juice of one lemon.  Cook until almost done.  Then add the kale and rest of seasonings and cover.  Let the kale cook until wilted and soft.

I loved this dish!!!

Garden Vegetable Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cups Yellow Squash, chopped
1 cup Red Onion, chopped
2 cups Eggplant, peeled, cubed, salted, placed in colander for 20 minutes, and rinsed
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Fennel Seed, crushed
1 cup Tomato, chopped
1 (28 ounces) can Crushed Tomatoes in Puree
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Cooked pasta, rice or couscous   Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add yellow squash and red onion. Sauté 5 minutes.

3. Add eggplant and sauté 3 minutes.

4. Add minced garlic and fennel seed. Sauté 3 minutes.

5. Add chopped tomatoes, crushed tomatoes with liquid, and balsamic vinegar.

6. Stir well and simmer over low until heated through.

7. Serve over hot pasta, rice, or couscous. 

We actually ate this over quinoa and it was great.  

Acorn Squash and Baked Apple Soup

1 acorn squash
2 apples
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove of minced garlic
2 tsp. minced ginger
3-4 c. vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Half and core the squash and apples, but to not remove the skin. Bake the squash and apples upside down in a pan with 1/4 inch of water and bake for 35-40 min. at 400 degrees. When they are fully cooked and cooled remove from the skins and put in to blender.  Saute the onion in a little olive oil and then add to the blender as well.  Blend adding vegetable broth until you have reached desired consistency. Then put into a pot and bring to a boil adding more vegetable broth if needed as well as the garlic and ginger.

When I made this I ended up adding some cooked carrots and sweet red peppers.  We also topped it with fresh parsley and added some cubed avocado.  Mmmmmm! It turned out great and is one of my husbands favorite things I have made so far.

I love trying new healthy recipes, especially when turn out the way I want them to.  It is a hard thing to go from eating dairy, meat, lots of fat and sugar to having none of those and eating mainly fruits and vegetables with some grains, seeds, and nuts thrown in here and there.  My body has had to adjust to the new palette of flavors, but I am really learning to love them.  And I feel great compared to how I used to feel. Like I said before, I still crave these things and I am sure it is going to take several more months before the cravings subside, but one step at a time I know I can do it!

One step at a time

Ever since I was a little girl I have LOVED milk!  I usually drank two to three large glasses of milk with every meal.  My normal breakfast for the day was a bowl of cold cereal and when it was something else, it was always accompanied by a big glass of wonderful milk.  But it wasn't just milk, it was basically all dairy.  I loved cheese, sour cream, and most of all ice cream.  I couldn't get enough of it!  I normally ate a heaping bowl of ice cream almost every night before I went to bed.  Every once in a while I would hear someone say how bad milk was for you, but I just let it go in one ear and out the other.  My whole life I have been told that milk was good for you and an excellent source or calcium.  I am sure that everyone recognizes the phrases "Milk, it does the body good" and "Got milk?" 

It is very hard to change your mental thinking when all your life you have been told one thing and then suddenly you found out that it wasn't correct. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to accept that milk and all dairy was completely terrible for our bodies when I found out the truth. This realization began when a few friends kept telling me the terrible things that milk does for your body.  I was in denial for a while (and you probably understand why) but then I decided to figure out the truth for myself.  Thus my journey began on finding the truth about milk and dairy.  The thing that ended pushing me over the edge and helping me decide that I didn't want to consume dairy anymore, but most of all, I didn't want my daughter to have it either (I am still working on this one since she is addicted to formula.  We are trying to get her off of it and to eat and drink other things.) was The Milk Letter by Robert M. Kradjian, MD who was (and might still be, I'm not sure) a chief surgeon in the field of breast cancer.  http://notmilk.com/kradjian.html After reading this article that he wrote I was so disgusted and horrified that I told my husband about it and we immediately dumped out all of our milk down the drain and I have refused to buy any ever since.  I also do not buy cheese, creams, or any other form of dairy. 

I can't say that I am perfect with this yet, and I probably never will be.  I still crave ice cream, and other dishes that are made with lots of butter, cheese, and other dairy products, but I am trying my best.  I want to help not only myself, but also my family stay as healthy as possible so we might be able to live our lives to the fullest! 

And if you think that I am crazy, that is perfectly fine.  I thought that this was all crazy too until I researched it.  Please, read the milk letter.  If nothing else it will enlighten your mind and give you something to think about.