Greetings, fellow health-nuts. My thanks radiates at your continued attention to these little drops in the bucket of what it means to be a human in today's world.
If you read my last post, you know how deeply troubling my last 12 months was. I appreciate you being witness to it. A few of you have reached out and it means a great deal to know that you keep me in your thoughts. I akin this to prayer, and prayer is the deepest form of love we can offer.
It has been a full week since my trip to the ER. Many mental recalibrations have occurred in that space of time, and I have tried many things that I have been avoiding without question--and seem no worse for it.
A few years back (I cannot remember on what platform, so most likely, the evidence for this claim no longer exists) I shared about a time that I had run out of cottage cheese and nearly fallen apart. At the time, cottage cheese was one of my self-termed "Safety Foods"--foods without which my nervous system cannot function optimally. They finally restocked it, and my overwhelming feeling of danger subsided.
In general, dairy is a safety category--it has always been there for me, filling the hungry gaps and keeping me strong. I'd like to dive a little deeper, here, so strap in.
When my first-born was quite small, and I was young in my research on health and nutrition, I was fortunate to come across the work of Weston A. Price (fabulous story--you really should take some time). He was a huge proponent for raw, grassfed dairy. To my great joy, there was such a dairy just 45 minutes from my home. Every two weeks, I would load up my jars and claim my share of the week's milk. It was delicious. It was versatile. It. Was. Safety. I was a loyal customer for eight years. And then they announced that as of Halloween 2023, they were done. Safety gone.
Now, I had tried milk from other dairies during that 8 years and knew what was available. Nobody cooled their milk the same, so it spoiled in 3-5 days (instead of 2-3 weeks). Most weren't keeping Jersey cows, and for whatever reason, I can not only taste but feel the difference of Holstein milk... not nearly as digestible. And for the rest, they were not 100% grassfed, and that did not agree with me either. And so, without much other choice, I went milk-less.
My digestive problems kicked up within a month.
Now, understand, I am not claiming that my lack of milk caused my digestive issues. Not at all. Let's look at my other stressors.
- Mother of three. Two under 4. Only one in school.
- Small business owner. Sole Employee of said business.
- Spotty childcare. Taking two small children to work nearly every day.
- Business not taking off as fast as expected.
- MTHFR gene variation causing intolerance to many foods.
- Limited food options at place of business.
- Prior anti-biotic use, subsequent digestive damage.
- Husband with very demanding full-time job, working 55+ hours/week.
So, add on the loss of what had been a very consistent safety food. My already struggling nervous system was dealt a blow, and the food that had probably been holding me together was gone.
So, let's fast-forward.
My milk was gone, and with it, my morning routine of warming up my good milk for a mushroom hot chocolate or a yolky homemade latte. Further fracture for me (taureans love routine). I immediately developed a cavity in one of my molars (seriously--read Weston Price!). I fell hard on coffee, and quickly became obsessed with lattes, then capuccinos. I was trying to find warm and fuzzy, but it just kept making me worse. I had to get through to the end of my lease, and so just dealt with the pain (and the lump--read last blog post).
Finally, it all fell apart and I closed the store. I was stripped. There was nothing to hustle for. No need for stimulants. No excuse to keep living in my pain. And so I went on the AIP (Auto-Immune Protocol). No dairy. No coffee. No chocolate. The remains of my morning routine were shattered and I was starting over.
Safety, as a feeling, can be built, brick by brick. First, I had to allow myself to do the hard work to be fed. I cooked three meals a day. I slept and walked the dog, and took long baths in between. I avoided stimulation. I didn't watch TV. I didn't use my phone. I just existed. My system began to settle. And I could eat corn. I could eat rice. I learned a new way of cooking. And then, as I improved, nuggets started falling into my lap.
- Homeopathics and Flower Essences. I signed up for a program in the fall, Feminine Waters, a mentorship for restoring the Female Fluid bodies. Among many things she had us incorporating, there were also detox protocols that were unlike anything else I had seen--no harsh stimulants, no binders (things I don't tolerate anyway), instead, simple medicines that work through energetic signature instead of chemical action. I am nearly to the last phase of one of these detoxes, and it has been more effective than anything I did in the six months with the functional medicine doctor. I intend to study these medicines in much more depth next year. The full protocol is proprietary, and so I cannot share it, but do not despair of this. There is more.
- L-Lysine. I used to just take this amino acid when I felt a cold sore coming on, but finally started incorporating it on the daily. Not only has my immune function been better overall, but I've seen some wonderful improvements in my skin, and it seems to be helping with that cavity.... topics for another installment.
- L-Glutamine. Another amino acid. I am taking large doses of this (6g daily) in a complex with some soothing herbs. It has really helped further calm my gut inflammation. Vital Gut Renew is the name of the supp.
- Ion* Gut Support. Essentially Fulvic Minerals. An actual game changer. Scientifically proven to repair tight junctions (like your gut lining) in REALLY short amounts of time. I had actually been given a sample of this by a friend over a year ago, but didn't have the capacity to explore using it properly. Don't let the price tag scare you--it is worth its weight in gold, and now I can eat chocolate.
- Tudca (Tauroursodeoxycholic acid). Stopped my gall-bladder inflammation in a few short days. A half-dose is enough for me. I take as-needed.
- Biome Protect from Adapt Naturals. A Pre/Pro/Postbiotic with polyphenols. I started this before everything else, but it was already doing some pretty incredible work in me.
Items 1-5 are available at our local health food store. Biome Protect is available online. Discounts for subscriptions available.
Sales pitch over. Back to our original line of thought.
These supplements were doing amazing things for me, but I was still struggling. Until last Monday. Knowing that the ultimate scary thing is NOT what I am dealing with has removed an incredible energetic block for me.
Saturday I had a chai from my favorite local coffee shop. With cow's milk. The first dairy I have had since Halloween.
I did not react.
Safety re-established.
Until next time... Elyssa