Two years ago, we went to see a specialist regarding our son's sensitive and intense personality. The medical doctor gave no credence to any physical problems just referred us to an occupational therapist to help integrate his senses. So right after that I took him to a chinese medicine doctor/chiropractor/accuuncturist who gave us a list of his allergies: gluten, dairy, sugar, eggs, apples and even the sun! Autoimmune issues. We stopped all of those foods and started vitamin and mineral supplements and he was better in a week. In a month even better. In six months it was like the fog had been lifted and we had our child back. Then I cut out artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives. I put our younger son on the healthy regime too. I got a lot of resistance from people on this but my answer was always, "why would I feed one child fresh organic food and the other child processed, canned and junk food ?" Of course at the time my husband and I had not conformed to this diet so we were sneaking off into the corners and eating bread and cheese.
After a little over a year I started to sense that rice could be an issue for him because I had read that grains are irritating to the gut. We had him tested and sure enough, he is sensitive to rice. What are we going to feed him now? I was having a conversation with a woman about this and she literally handed me the "GAPS" book. I had heard of it before but was too overwhelmed at the prospects of a grain free life. But when she placed it in my hands, I knew it was a sign. So I read it and it had our family's health profile written all over it. We all had different symptoms of the same problem. I knew our whole family had to embrace this path. My husband agreed. We got rid of all the "junk" and started our "GAPS" journey.
GAPS is an acronym for Gut And Pshychology Syndrome. http://www.gaps.me/ Everything starts in the gut. You can heal depression, anxiety, ADD, skin disorders, etc. Check out this link for more information.
Several months into this diet I noticed that I didn't have any headaches. My neck wasn't hurting (I had chronic neck and joint issues which I attributed to aging). I was calmer and much more content. I was so calm and light and sensitive that I actually felt like I had taken valium. I was feeling so good that I started to "cheat". A little piece of bread and cheese. A few croutons on my salad. Then I had done something that I didn't even tell my husband...I ate churros at the mall. A moment of weakness overcame me. The next day my neck was in spasm and my knees ached. Then my wrist. Then I started feeling tired and a little down and the anxiety started creeping back in and the headaches. I was also getting more irritated with the kids!!
It is amazing how our food can affect us. I was thinking my aches and pains were from age. That my lack of patience was from the never stop running around with two energetic boys. I'm glad I cheated a little. I got to experience for myself how food affects my personal psychology and can affect my outlook on life. There has been a study that showed that women who take a probiotic (gut health) have less depression and anxiety. I don't have the reference for this article but you can google it.
I have several friends here who are on the same path and it has been great sharing our stories with each other. It's a choice that needs support. I have discovered so many websites with great recipes and we are embracing and enjoying a chemical free and natural life. It is beautiful to teach this to our children. We use herbs, essential oils, tea and food to heal and the results are remarkable.
I will share more in my next post of how we have eliminated chemicals. But below is a journaling moment.
As I had mentioned in my last post, my six year old son has been really into Star Wars. We have all the episodes and we have the little action figures and he knows all the names and who has which color light saber, etc. He's also interested in the concept of good and bad, light and dark. He wants to know if someone is hard to beat. This is now going to split in several directions so bare with me.
1. Last week in the mall waiting for a movie, there is a play gym. We are in Costa Rica so not a lot of rules and regulations. Plus the mall is an hour away so a movie and play gym is a huge treat. The kids were being rowdy on the long slide and one boy was especially aggressive. Well, he was getting a little rough with Oliver and Oliver ended up on the ground. Next thing Oliver popped up like a Jedi Knight in Star Wars and was ready for battle. I stepped in at this moment (still no sign of the other boys parents) but I asked the boy to be "suave", then he took off. I told Oliver that I saw how he made his own energy strong and didn't let the other boy push him around. I explained that standing up for yourself is to make your energy strong and he said, "Yeah, I'm really hard to beat!".
In the theatre he ended up sitting right next to this boy and they laughed and giggled the whole time.
2. The other day, I was slicing zucchini on a "mandolin" type slicer but without the safety thing that prevents you from slicing your fingers. In a rush, I sliced a chunk of my pinkie off. I was really upset because there was not a flap of skin to cover the wound and there was a lot of blood so I had to hold pressure for a long time. Anyway, Oliver was very concerned about the blood and me losing my blood and knowing that if I lose all of my blood I will die. This goes along with Star Wars because the topic of death and dying are throughout the series. I explained that I'm going to live a very long time and not to worry, etc. I told him that he was right. Blood is our life force and we need it to live and carry oxygen to our cells. He kept saying that if I lose all my blood I will die so I asked him if he was worried about me dying. He said, "no, it's ok because then I'll go stay with your sister".
It was so cute. Him trying to understand where he fits into this world and how he would be cared for if something should happen to his care givers. My little son just wants to touch my finger. He promises to be gentle and he is so gentle with me. He talks softly to my finger and kisses my hand. So precious.
After a little over a year I started to sense that rice could be an issue for him because I had read that grains are irritating to the gut. We had him tested and sure enough, he is sensitive to rice. What are we going to feed him now? I was having a conversation with a woman about this and she literally handed me the "GAPS" book. I had heard of it before but was too overwhelmed at the prospects of a grain free life. But when she placed it in my hands, I knew it was a sign. So I read it and it had our family's health profile written all over it. We all had different symptoms of the same problem. I knew our whole family had to embrace this path. My husband agreed. We got rid of all the "junk" and started our "GAPS" journey.
GAPS is an acronym for Gut And Pshychology Syndrome. http://www.gaps.me/ Everything starts in the gut. You can heal depression, anxiety, ADD, skin disorders, etc. Check out this link for more information.
Several months into this diet I noticed that I didn't have any headaches. My neck wasn't hurting (I had chronic neck and joint issues which I attributed to aging). I was calmer and much more content. I was so calm and light and sensitive that I actually felt like I had taken valium. I was feeling so good that I started to "cheat". A little piece of bread and cheese. A few croutons on my salad. Then I had done something that I didn't even tell my husband...I ate churros at the mall. A moment of weakness overcame me. The next day my neck was in spasm and my knees ached. Then my wrist. Then I started feeling tired and a little down and the anxiety started creeping back in and the headaches. I was also getting more irritated with the kids!!
It is amazing how our food can affect us. I was thinking my aches and pains were from age. That my lack of patience was from the never stop running around with two energetic boys. I'm glad I cheated a little. I got to experience for myself how food affects my personal psychology and can affect my outlook on life. There has been a study that showed that women who take a probiotic (gut health) have less depression and anxiety. I don't have the reference for this article but you can google it.
I have several friends here who are on the same path and it has been great sharing our stories with each other. It's a choice that needs support. I have discovered so many websites with great recipes and we are embracing and enjoying a chemical free and natural life. It is beautiful to teach this to our children. We use herbs, essential oils, tea and food to heal and the results are remarkable.
I will share more in my next post of how we have eliminated chemicals. But below is a journaling moment.
As I had mentioned in my last post, my six year old son has been really into Star Wars. We have all the episodes and we have the little action figures and he knows all the names and who has which color light saber, etc. He's also interested in the concept of good and bad, light and dark. He wants to know if someone is hard to beat. This is now going to split in several directions so bare with me.
1. Last week in the mall waiting for a movie, there is a play gym. We are in Costa Rica so not a lot of rules and regulations. Plus the mall is an hour away so a movie and play gym is a huge treat. The kids were being rowdy on the long slide and one boy was especially aggressive. Well, he was getting a little rough with Oliver and Oliver ended up on the ground. Next thing Oliver popped up like a Jedi Knight in Star Wars and was ready for battle. I stepped in at this moment (still no sign of the other boys parents) but I asked the boy to be "suave", then he took off. I told Oliver that I saw how he made his own energy strong and didn't let the other boy push him around. I explained that standing up for yourself is to make your energy strong and he said, "Yeah, I'm really hard to beat!".
In the theatre he ended up sitting right next to this boy and they laughed and giggled the whole time.
2. The other day, I was slicing zucchini on a "mandolin" type slicer but without the safety thing that prevents you from slicing your fingers. In a rush, I sliced a chunk of my pinkie off. I was really upset because there was not a flap of skin to cover the wound and there was a lot of blood so I had to hold pressure for a long time. Anyway, Oliver was very concerned about the blood and me losing my blood and knowing that if I lose all of my blood I will die. This goes along with Star Wars because the topic of death and dying are throughout the series. I explained that I'm going to live a very long time and not to worry, etc. I told him that he was right. Blood is our life force and we need it to live and carry oxygen to our cells. He kept saying that if I lose all my blood I will die so I asked him if he was worried about me dying. He said, "no, it's ok because then I'll go stay with your sister".
It was so cute. Him trying to understand where he fits into this world and how he would be cared for if something should happen to his care givers. My little son just wants to touch my finger. He promises to be gentle and he is so gentle with me. He talks softly to my finger and kisses my hand. So precious.