Heal your gut

For my first informative post this year I have decided to be more inclusive and so this post is likely to be beneficial to anyone and everyone who has a digestive system (about 99.9% of us I would reckon) and not just to those with a thyroid condition (which might only cover about 80-90% of the population (1))

 

The reason I am starting with gut health is because on my own healing journey it was the first thing I managed to do, before I took T3 medication, before I took liver tonic, before I took supplements, before I did anything else I took a huge step to mending my digestive system. And with good reason….

The state of your gastrointestinal tract (or GI tract) could well dictate the state of your health one way or another. They say that around 75% of your immune system resides in your intestine so it’s definitely an area worth looking after, not just if you suffer from an autoimmune thyroid condition where your immune system is impaired and can be tricked into attacking your gland. 

If you're still unsure it’s worth doing, think about this: if your gut aint working right, your body won’t be able to absorb and make use of nutrients quite so well from the food you eat and any supplements you ingest, so I think we can all now resolve to look after our gut in January and beyond.

It’s a two-step process

When you are trying to heal something you want give it nourishment to actively repair it and you also need to prevent any further damage being done. And luckily I can tell you how to do both of those things!

Nourishment: In order to actively repair the gut lining you should start consuming homemade bonebroth/stock/gelatin. (I will post a recipe soon). Make it part of your daily routine, drink a cup of broth before your meal, turn stock into a tasty soup for lunch, make a gelatinous sauce for dinner. There are so many benefits from consuming this stuff it should actually be given out at the doctors surgery to everyone who visits to help people get better.

Damage prevention: You’ve heard it before but I will say it again. A month off the grains will allow your gut to heal no end. Take 4 weeks without wheat, corn, rice, oats etc….instead eat potato latkes, roasted butternut squash, mince and tatties, homemade chips done in coconut oil even! Just lay off the grains and I assure you, your insides will heal noticeably. You will feel better.

Oh yeah – and another thing you should be aware of is legumes and pulses. They are fine in themselves but it’s just that the commercially prepared variety are not likely to have been properly prepared and will contain antinutrients which - as they sound - prevent you from absorbing nutrients! It would be of great benefit if you prepared your own properly. See here for details

Its as easy as that!! Get on it :)

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(1) I reached this conclusion going by increasing numbers of underdiagnosed hypothyroidism according to Dr Broda Barnes who had great success treating thyroid disorders and who wrote several books in the 1970's. I read, 'Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness'. Have a look through a copy if you get a chance!

A happy and healthy 2014 to you all!

I always find I am very reflective around the New Year and resolve to live better, be better, try harder etc etc. This year I have been reminding myself how far I have come on my recovery. I look at how tired I used to be, the constant fatigue I would feel from morning through to night. Waking up exhausted was part of normal life for me and I am incredibly relieved that I have moved on from there. 

I ponder where I might be had I not taken charge of my healthcare. Being in a position that I know many are currently in, where the levothyroxine was not working and the doctors were assuring me that my symptoms were not related to my thyroid I felt hopeless and lost in a life I no longer recognised as my own. When a dear friend talked to me about alternative treatments and methods of dealing with hypothyroidism I felt like I had been given a golden opportunity to recapture my life and I grabbed it with both hands. 

I am only too aware that it is very likely I may have experienced difficulties maintaining a pregnancy yet here I am, well into my second trimester and feeling as good as I can expect to with a 2 year old to run around after :). 

My point here is this: I was once unwell and now I am a lot better. Things are happening in my life that I could never have expected had I remained on my previous trajectory. It is true I have followed non mainstream diet and lifestyle advice but it has succeeded in turning my life around, contrary to the advice from my doctors but this has allowed me to take control of my illness and my life, I now trust my body and learn from its reactions daily. 

My wish for the New Year is that I am able to continue sharing my story and hope that it may help some of you on your road to good health. I believe it is possible – I hope you do too.

Grain grain go away...be prepared for another day

I thought it was about time I posted an update on what I've been eating because I always seem to be talking about it.

As I have mentioned before, the biggest change in my diet has been the elimination of wheat and for the most part gluten (gluten can be found in barley, rye and oats as well as wheat) which some think might be restrictive but really it is just about making little changes here and there until you get to where you want or need to be with it.

The reason I took wheat and gluten out of my diet was to stop my body attacking my thyroid gland as part of an autoimmune response. (For an excellent video explaining how this works please click HERE and watch to the end, I got lost a few times but persevere with it - it's worth it). Now, I have to say I believe that  even if you do not suffer with an autoimmune (AI) condition you would benefit from cutting out the wheat and gluten you consume but this is especially important for those who suffer from an AI condition....indeed any AI condition. Simply because gluten is seen as 'the enemy' by the immune system and it will trigger an attack.

As for the other grains that are still kicking around in my pantry like rice, oats and barley - well, I seem to be in a continuous cycle with them. I go from cutting them out of my diet altogether, to adding them in here and there, to them being in our weekly menu plan on a regular basis and then back to the beginning where I am cutting them all out again. BUT, I have been doing myself some learnin' and while I still go through this cycle, I no longer feel the guilt over eating the occasional grain.

This is all because fairly recently I attended a dedicated foodie/health type course - a first for me but I sincerely hope it's not the last. It's called NEWtritious Delicious and has the very accurate strapline; ‘Bridging the gap between food and medicine’. Now, I am lucky enough  to know some of the people involved in the course and we are all very much on the same page with regards to health and such things so I was really excited to go and find out more information on the things I already had an idea on and to get a heads up on other new and exciting health principles. And that I did....

For the duration of the course we were treated to samples of their amazingly tasty meals, cups of gorgeous green and white teas, rounded off  perfectly with some sumptuous desserts. And all the while being taught the health properties of each food, pointers on how to prepare dishes and guidance on what to absolutely avoid at all costs. All the recipes are in the handouts so you can get cooking as soon as you get home. The food was all carefully thought out and all very PRO THYROID!! There cannot be many, if any, food and nutrition courses who can lay that claim. It was pretty special.

So back to my grain guilt, one of the things we were taught about, is that proper preparation of food goes a long way in health terms. This is especially important when it comes to grains like that rice and those oats I have kicking about my pantry. And the reason I no longer feel bad about eating these on occasion is that I now know how prepare them properly before I eat them. I soak them. It helps break down the anti nutrients and phytic acid that lurks within them and therefore they are not quite such a burden for my healing body to process. So as a special treat, and as any good highlander should, I will share with you the best porridge recipe in the world (well, certainly in my world anyway) adapted, with very kind permission from the NEWtritious Delicious team.

Soak your oats (a good handful should do a serving) overnight in some milk (a little squeeze of lemon juice will help the 'breaking down of bad stuff' process)
In the morning heat the oats and bubble them for at least 3 minutes, up to 7 minutes but do not let it stick to the bottom of the pan..
Once cooked add a big lump of butter and/or coconut oil
Drizzle some raw honey and sprinkle cinnamon to serve.
Get stuck in.

So to conclude – I no longer feel so guilty about having a hearty bowl of porridge now and again or tucking into rice when the recipe calls for it because I have learned that preparation is the key to eating these foods. And preparation means a few minutes the night before breakfast to soak your oats or the morning before your evening meal to soak your rice.

P.S
If you ever have an opportunity to go on this course then take it, live in the Kent area? Book one! If you are planning a trip to London, try and squeeze this day course in.I'm not just saying that because I know the girls, I am saying it because it truly is a fabulous course. It takes healthcare and healthy eating to a whole new level. And so could you. Email  Admin@newtritiousdelicious.com

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