Infectiously Optimistic

What To Eat When You "Can't Cook Anything": Strategies For The Chronically Fatigued

2012-02-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

The room is spinning, your legs feel like jello, you've got an ice-pick headache and it feels like someone whacked you in the stomach with a ping pong paddle.

And it's time to make breakfast.

For me, there's no temptation anymore. The easiest thing to do would likely be to shove a piece of toast or a pop-tart into the toaster and lay back down on the couch, but I know that if I want tomorrow to be a better day, an inflammatory, glutenous, sugar-filled breakfast would not be the optimal choice. If I want a healthier tomorrow, I have to make wise choices today.

Radio Show host Sean Croxton recently interview Dr. Tom O'Bryan about the masked ramifications of gluten sensitivity. He states that "just a milligram of gluten per day keeps the healing away".

So, I dedicate each day to upholding a lifestyle that feeds my body, rather than one that breaks it down. My immune system has already launched into an all-out battle with chronic infection; I can't afford to the detriment of my immune system being provoked to attack itself too.

Yet, the debilitating symptoms of chronic illness pose a challenge in eating for health. Waking up each morning feeling feeble motivates one to reach for something convenient, but the unfortunate truth is that most "fast" and "convenient" food in our nation is highly toxic to our bodies. Filling our burdened symptoms with processed, allergen filled, sweetened products and expecting to feel "okay" is much like filling a car's gas tank with dirt and sand and then expecting it to run.

In order to break the vicious cycle, strategy and dedication is key. It takes a while to adapt and figure out how to maneuver such a comprehensive lifestyle change amidst the daily struggle with illness, but here are some tips:

Healthy Kitchen Tips for Those With Chronic Illness

1. Be sure to eat every 2-3 hours, and with each meal or snack include some protein and fat. Keeping your blood sugar stable helps facilitate general physical stability. Your stomach may not feel hungry, but 2 to 3 hours after eating, your blood glucose has dropped and your body is hungry. Low blood sugar levels can cause a significant increase in symptoms, including headaches, nausea, dizziness, and even seizure activity.

2. Keep a snack by your bed, in case you get "stuck" there for a while. Eden Foods Pumpkin Seeds are one of my bedside favorites. Another easy bedside snack fix is an avocado and a spoon.

3. Cook a big pot of a gluten free grain (brown rice, wild rice, millet or quinoa) and a large batch of lentils and store it in the fridge, so you can easily reheat a serving (in a small pot, with a little oil and water) if it's time to eat and you you're having trouble being on your feet.

4. Mornings are often hardest because that's often when blood sugar and hydration are low. It's difficult to get out of bed to eat and drink, but that's when a good meal matters most. For a quick and easy breakfast full of healthy protein and fat, I spread generous portions of unsweetened Almond Butter or Sunbutter on Whole Grain Wild Rice Cakes.

5. When all else fails, put a sweet potato in the oven to bake. Heat the oven to 425 degrees, and go lay back down for an hour and 15 minutes. When it's finished baking, open it up and fill it with a tablespoon of coconut oil, butter, or ghee. It's the nausea-friendliest meal I've discovered.

6. Ground meat and poultry is likely the easiest and quickest way to get your animal protein. It takes less than 7 minutes to pan fry in water or oil (put a chair next to the stove if you're woozy). Throw in some vegetables for a quick stir fry. If it's one of those "I really shouldn't be using anything sharp" kind of days, eat your organic ground meat over a bed of steamed and salted cabbage, kale, swiss chard, asparagus, or bok choy.

7. The blender is your friend. Talk to your doctor about an organic, clean, allergen-free protein powder, and blend it with fruit and/or an avocado. Avocado is a nice addition to smoothies because it creates a texture reminiscent of a "milkshake" without the dairy or sugar.

View your diet as part of your protocol; view it as though food is your medicine. Eventually, when remaining on a gluten free, allergen-free, unprocessed, anti-inflammatory diet you'll start to feel stronger. It involves patience, determination and dedication, but you will see better days. It may not fix everything, but it is a crucial piece to your health puzzle and without it, your puzzle is incomplete.

When you feel well enough, it's important to nourish your body with balanced and nutrient-filled meals. Here are some healthy, but easy-to-prepare gluten free, dairy free, soy free, refined sugar free, nightshade free, corn free recipes:

Easy To Prepare Recipes For The Chronically Fatigued

Real Sustenance's Squash Breakfast Porridge

(Since squash is a difficult vegetable to cut, most grocery stores

sell pre-cut butternut squash that is ready to steam or roast)

Gluten Free Dairy Free Sugar Free's Hot Amaranth Cereal

(For blood sugar regulation and anti-candida purposes,

I use 1 tablespoon ofcoconut oil instead of agave nectar.

You can make hot cereal out of virtually any gluten free grain.)

Ruth's Real Food's Turmeric Sweet Potatoes

(I recommend eliminating the onion or replacing it with

something like ginger if you have a sensitive digsestive system)

Casey Lorraine's Basil Avocado Pesto with Brown Rice Pasta

(with a bonus "green smoothie recipe"!

Brown Rice Pasta typically takes 15 minutes to boil. Rest while you wait.)

The Taste Space's Roasted Squash, Cucumber and Avocado Wrap

(roast pre-cut squash from the grocery store if the use of a knife is not an option)

Real Sustenance's Flax Tortillas

(pre-make, or have your family member pre-make, these tortillas

to have an easy lunch staple on hand. Fill with avocado, veggies, beans or lentils)

The Accidental Chef's Ground Lamb and Mashed Cauliflower

(For a sensitive stomach, replace the garlic and onion with

veggies like zucchini and spinach. In my mashed

cauliflower, I like butter, ghee or unrefined coconut oil

with a handful of parsley)

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free's Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

(this dish works well with pre-cooked millet and/or lentils as well,

and any leftover or easy-to-cook veggie you have hiding in your fridge)

Diet Dessert and Dog's Apple Pie Smoothie

(for my "meals in a glass", I like to use granny smith apples because

they abide by Body Ecology Diet guidelines. Canned coconut milk is

great for the "milk" component, but water works too!)

And at the end of the day, don't forget to acknowledge the time, energy and effort that you put into getting better. It certainly isn't an easy job, but in the end, it's worth it.

P.S.
All things considered, keep a fire extinguisher near the stove. "Just in case".

What To Eat When You Can't Eat Anything: Little Miss Sunbuttershine

2012-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm a big believer that whether or not you eat breakfast in the morning, and what you choose to eat, dictates the quality of your day.

When I was little, I knew it was going to be a good day when I got to be the one to open a brand new jar of peanut butter.

I lived for that moment where your butter knife first plunges into the creamy, untouched, golden brown peanut butter and adheres decadently to the clean blade. I loved the way it seeped into the nooks and crannies of my warm honey wheat english muffin as it melted and became one with the dough. It was breakfast bliss.

Now, starting my day this way would result in an inflammatory nightmare. A peanut buttery breakfast would be a fast track ticket to the E.R., complete with the use of an epi-pen, angry lungs, a radical rash, and an embarrassing explanation to an emergency room doc. I like to call it, "peanut butter annihilation".

Not only did chronic illness turn my life upside down, but it changed the way in which I live it. A significant change in diet is one of the many changes I was forced to make, a change that I surprisingly don't resent a bit. When I fell ill my immune system took a hit, and while parts of it were suppressed by infection, other parts went autoimmune. My struggle with autoimmunity lead to the development of inappropriate immune responses to certain foods, and I developed more food allergies and sensitivities than I could count on my fingers and toes. One of the most severe allergies was to peanuts.

Peanuts are the most common food allergen amongst the nation today, but it is also the food allergy that is most likely to produce a lethal allergic response. The rate of peanut allergies in children has rapidly increased over the past 15 years, and allergic responses continue to heighten in severity. Allergic children and adults alike now have the potential to react to as little as 1/2000th of a single peanut, making finding "safe" packaged food quite a challenge (1).

Even for those who have not developed a peanut allergy, peanut butter may not be a friendly food. Peanuts are naturally susceptable to mold growth in storage, and produce a carcinogen called aflatoxin (2). Aflatoxin is a type of cancer-causing mycotoxin that is found in many species of mold and fungus. Research has shown that the aflatoxin found in peanuts lead to liver cancer in rats, and that all 29 jars of peanut butter purchased at local grocery stores contained aflatoxins greater than 300 times the amount deemed "safe" (3, 4).

Ick.

After learning of my potential likelihood for a deadly response to my creamy jar of Skippy, combined with my new knowledge of the moldy nature of peanuts and peanut buttery spreads, it wasn't hard to give up the treat. Much like my commitment to consuming unprocessed foods and remaining gluten and refined sugar free, it was a lifestyle change that involved more physical benefit than sacrifice. But, it was a little difficult at first to find something to spice up my healthy daily breakfast and afternoon snacks.

That is, until Sunbutter saved the day.

My favorite ways to eat Sunbutter: Smothered on Lundberg Wild Rice Cakes, as a delicious dip for Granny Smith Apples, or smoothed into the crevice of Fresh Celery.

I'm convinced that Sunbutter's name says it all. The first time I tasted it, I declared that it was sunshine in a jar (a proclamation that may have been slightly influenced by nut butter deprivation). Sunbutter is an alternative to nut butter, made entirely of ground sunflower seeds. I opt for their Organic, Unsweetened Sunbutter because the only ingredient in the jar is "Organic Sunflower Seeds". That's it.

The fact that Sunbutter offers an organic spread with no added sugar, chemicals, preservatives, hydrogenated oil, fillers or mystery, is fantastic. But, what's arguably even more significant about the brand is that they manufacture their products in a gluten and peanut free facility. This means that the product is entirely safe for those who suffer from life threatening peanut allergies.

I like to think of my food as fuel. I could fill myself up with low grade fuel that'll likely cause performance problems, clog my filter, or slowly deteriorate the health of my engine. Or, I could fuel myself with premium fuel that aids me in my effort to get where I wish to go and keeps every mechanism of my body running as it should. Sunbutter is an optimal choice to fill up on because:

1. Sunflower Seeds contain more vitamin E than almost any other food. Vitamin E is an anti-inflammatory nutrient, and protects our cells from free radical damage and our body from oxidative stress. It aids in mediating digestive dysfunction and skin conditions, and protects us from developing cardiovascular and digestive disease (5,6).

2. Sunflower Seeds contain the highest amount of phytosterol when compared to other seeds and nuts. Phytosterol helps lower bad cholestorol while raising the good (5).

3. Sunflower Seeds are a vegan source for the essential vitamins B1, B5 and B6. They are also a strong source of folic acid, which is essential in maintaining neurological health, red blood cell formation and proper liver detoxification (5,6).

Thus, Sunbutter is the perfect way to start the day. It's creaminess and addictive taste also doesn't hurt.

Here's some great allergy-friendly, diet abiding Sunbutter recipe ideas from some fantastic gluten free bloggers that will help spice up breakfast, snacks and dessert:

Dairy Free Sunbutter Ice Cream

by Elana's Pantry

Crunchy Sunbutter Cups

by Diet Dessert and Dogs

Sunbutter Infused Rice Krispie Squares

by My Real Food Life

Sunbutter Fudge

by The Fit Cookie

Sunbutter Bars

by Sketch Free Vegan Eating

They say that "you are what you eat". Perhaps that makes me Little Miss Sunbuttershine. And, that's okay with me.

1. http://www.bookofjoe.com/2005/12/behindthemedspe_4.html
2. http://bodyecology.com/articles/healthiest_nuts.php
3. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/aflatoxins-or-another-reason-to-shun-peanuts/#axzz1k2obPfnL
4. www.danmurphydc.com/Aflatoxin.peanuts.pdf
5. http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57
6. http://www.healingfoodreference.com/sunflower_seeds.html

Sh#! Lyme Patients Say

2012-01-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

"Listen...Listen....Listen...no, Listen..."

Last Month, writers Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard posted a video to youtube entitled "Shit Girls say". Graydon Sheppard, clad in women's attire, ventured to enact the body language, expression and phrases used by of a good majority of the female population. The final result is a hilarious, arguably (and embarrassingly) accurate portrayal of the stereotypical American "white girl". Like, seriously.

The video caught fire. Thousands of comments rolled in from girls across the nation exclaiming, "that totally sounds like me", "omg so right!", and "nailed ittttt". Now, the video has over 10 million views. Over the following 4 weeks, parody after parody surfaced. We now have "Shit New Age Girls Say", "Shit Yogis Say", "Shit Gay Guys Say", "Shit Black Girls Say", "Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls" and even "Shit Nobody Says".

And I'm drinking the Kool-Aid.

As much as we'd like to deny it, Lyme Disease has almost become a culture of its own. Not only are patients required to alter their entire lifestyle when diagnosed, but they often choose to ban together and change their facebook photo to include a green awareness ribbon, post Lyme-related informational links perhaps one too many times per day, and construct quite creative status updates about their ailments and pains.

My facebook newsfeed looks like a lime green apocalypse.

Thus, I bring you...

Shit Lyme Patients Say

1. "iHerb is having a huge sale right now."

2.. "I heard yellow is going to be the 'it' color this spring. I'm considering painting my nails with what's left in my Mepron bottle."

3. "I.V. Vitamin C gave me the munchies this time around."

4. " I got a really cute paramedic this week."

5. "My pain level today? I'd say...six. Or actually, it's a seven. No wait....6.759."

6. "A list of my medications? Oh God."

7. "I slept great last night. Almost 4 hours.

8. "My nap was a lot shorter today. Only 4 hours."

9. "Antibiotics are cheaper in Mexico? Road trip!

10. "Are my feet supposed to be this color?"

11. "My phone number? Uh...I can't remember. But I can tell you my medical record number."

12. "What's my zip code?"

13. "I forget how to spell..."

14. "What's 52 plus 75?"

15. "Pre-existing conditions? I'll just spell them for you. P-O-S-T O-R-T-H-O...."

16. "No...let me just spell it. B-A-B-E-S-I..."

17. "Next friday? Let me look at my calender. Accupuncture at 9:00, Chiropractor at 1:00, Reiki at 4...."

18. "Does this look like a bug bite to you?'

19. "Oh my God, is that a tick? That's a tick. Yes it....wait, it's just lint."

20. "Is this gluten free?"

21. "Is there dairy in these?"

22. "I'm pretty sure that's a walnut."

23. "Is the sugar in this unrefined?"

24. "I don't have a gall bladder. Well actually, I do, but it's in a jar in my closet."

25. "Have you seen Jane's facebook lately? She doesn't look sick at all."

26. "...and then he was like, 'but you don't look sick', and I totally wanted to punch him."

27. "Is it hot in here?"

28. "Is it cold in here?"

29. "Does anyone else see black spots?"

30. "Where did I put my water bottle?"

31. "Am I having a heart attack?"

32. "It feels like someone kicked me in the kidney."

33. "I feel like someone sucker punched me in the gut."

34. "Where IS my water bottle?"

35. "You're going to want to draw blood from the other arm. Those veins aren't juicy."

36. "For Christmas I asked for an infrared sauna."

37. "I got a vitamix for my birthday."

38. "I ate quinoa patties for Thanksgiving dinner."

39. "Can you speak up? I can't hear you over the buzzing in my ears."

40. "Can you not talk so loud? My head is imploding."

41. "Can you turn the lights off? I can't see."

42. "Can you turn the lights on? I can't see."

43. "I think my insides want to be on my outside."

44. I seriously have no idea where I put my water bottle.

45. "I'm not sure if I actually took one of these pills, or if I just thought about taking one of these pills."

46. "Can you call back later? I'm rifing."

47. "Can I get you something to drink? We have reverse osmosis water, distilled water, mineral water, smart water, seltzer water..."

48. "I'm brewing coffee right now. Oh, no, not for that..."

49. "Yesterday, I forgot to put the lid on my blender."

50. "Today, I found my notebook in the freezer."

51. "Damnit, I'm still wearing my slippers."

52. "It's possible that I'm having a stroke."

53. "Is this what a brain aneurism feels like?"

54. "Did I die? Oh no...wait...I have a pulse."

55. "Wow, shorter protocol this month. Only 22 pills with breakfast."

56. "Was I supposed to take 24 chlorella or 42? We'll go with 42."

57. This supplement sort of tastes like socks."

58. That pill bottle kind of smells like cheese.

59. "Can you take a picture of my rash? For my doctor...and facebook."

60. "Where the hell is my wa-...oh. It's in my hand."