My diet & detox journal

Well…I had a nice experience yesterday at the Chiro…I have been seeing the doc since June and my car accident. For the first month I saw him 3 times a week and had a massage at least 2 times a week. The second month I went down to twice a week on the adjustment, and the massage once a week. Throughout that time I also had several other types of rehabilitation therapy for my back and neck to aide healing.

For the past month, however, this has all been out of pocket, as my insurance paid 80% until October. So, I asked the chiro when I would be getting my bill for the other 20%, and they said they are writing it off! He said he knew I didn’t get an attorny, and all, and that he didn’t want me to worry about it! I felt so honestly appreciative, as this is a real help considering everything! So, I still see him now once a month, and will continue to do so, especially since the therapy really helped me.

Tuesday, however, I am going to start seeing an acupunturist. I am thinking this may help with my digestive woes, and stress levels. I have been having low-level belly issues since what I assume is my gall bladder, flared up in October. Basically I have been sensitive to things I was not as sensitive too, and fats in particular upset my tummy. Mostly bloating, and yet I know things aren’t normal, so that is why I want to chat with the practitioner. Working in digestive care, I know that much can be affected by diet. However, since my accident my stress level has been so high, that it is affecting my digestion. I know it. I say that because I feel it at its worst when I get stressed. Then I even get shortness of breath and panic, and then nausea. WHen I calm down, miraculously, my belly feels that much better. Arg, IBS.

Considering I have never had acupuncture before, and the fact that I am afraid of needles, this is pretty well surprising that I have agreed to this. HOwever, knowing that accupressure works, based on my own experience with massage and reflexology, and the fact that I am not thrilled about endoscopies, or a HIDDA scan, where they inject radioactive dye and then stimulate your gall bladder to see how it is working, I will gladly have tiny needles tucked under my skin. I guess that makes sense, right?

I would love to say that eating raw food would help my belly feel better. TO the contrary, many uncooked veggies were NOT agreeing with me these days, and I know that too much fruit wasn’t good either. I have been subsisting on ezekial bread (sprouted grain & seed muffin things) plus apple juice, and apple sauce and the occasional smoothie, or beet-lemon-apple juice. (fresh homemade in juicer). TOday, however, I did a search online and found a great greens soup recipe. I found it here, and it is good. HEre is the recipe:

Green Soup Recipe

One bunch parsley 3 medium zucchini
½ lb. Green beans
5 stalks celery

Steam together for 8-10 minutes.
Or partially steam and boil in ½ cup water.
If you have a steamer, you retain more nutrients and flavor
with that method. Puré in a blender.

This soup is wonderful for relief from all sorts of gastric disturbances such as stomach pain, gas, and indigestion. I do not add any fat or salt to this recipe. It can be used anytime but is particularly useful as a three day fast with nothing else but water. It is both nourishing and easy to digest. You can alter the amounts to taste. More beans add more sweetness.

To be honest, I am usually good with bland things, so I wasn’t too worried about trying to consume a greens soup without salt or anything. To be honest, it was really good, even with NO spices or anything. Seems like it went through me pretty quick, and I did use two yellow summer squash in place of 2 of the zucchini. But it was warm and creamy, even with no cream. I chalk the flavor up to the celery and parsly. I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, I am still a bit ambivilant about the acupunture treatment, yet I really hope it helps me relax. WE shall see. I thought the comic here would put me at ease…

Well, I suppose I have made my point. This is shaping up to be a nice relaxing weekend, so I best go enjoy it.

Hasta.

Cassy

I have said it before, my mom is a 25+ year vet of the public system. When I took on the teaching position I currently hold, she shared with me that teaching is like performing. It is all about having the right bag of tricks. This means, that if what works once, may not work with the next guy, so you have to be prepared with options.

So, today, following a discussion with mom about my first rather challenging day in class, i was reminded that I am not a walking encyclopedia… I am not Cliff Claven (of Cheers fame, he was the guy that alway had the facts straight, even at though at times the trivia was useless in real life,) I am not perfect, and I don’t always suceed. I know that I know all of this, but when you are a perfectionist, remembering it can come hard. And, even knowing it, it doesn’t make it easy to accept when you don’t suceed at first.

So now you ask, what happened? Well, today I was rudely reminded that even the best plans don’t alway come out perfect. And for the sake of privacy for those involved, I won’t share too much. But, I will say, that sometimes brute memorization isn’t all it is cracked up to be, and it doesn’t always lead to genuine understanding, nor practical application. (I learn differently from others, so if something works for me, I can’t always assume it will work for others, or is working for others.) Also, acronyms as a means to study for an exam, might grant you an A on the exam, but how likely are you to retain what you studied. AND, when asked a question about that material out of context, will you still recall it? And, isn’t that like TRANSLATING a language you hear in the moment, rather than fluency? (I remember the first dream I had entirely in Spanish. That was the day I knew I ‘had’ it nailed.)

Anyway, it makes sense to me. ANd I am reminded of my humility, and again why I enjoy teaching so much. For they say, if at first you don’t suceed, try, try again.

And I will.

Ok. Enough intellectualizing. oh-I am not sure how the picture I included here to the left applies, but it seemed interesting. (“How our children really learn, and why they need to play more and memorize less.”) I guess it was the statement of ‘memorizing’ that caught me.

Today my belly seemed to feel better. I am still watching what I eat. And I ate sprouts, which I normally don’t eat due to all the horror stories I have read about alfalfa spr0uts, and food poisoning, etc. But since I had no citris, I am feeling much better. I say hurrah! I did try to get the deli counter at publix to slice the organic cheddar I found in the dairy case. No such luck. Wierd, though, as I thought they were known for going out of the way to make things right for thier client. It is probably some health dept rule, or whatever. So I don’t fault the store. But I so love to buy the cheese sliced. Easier to measure, and easier to melt. I don’t wield a knife that well!

Well. Another day over. ANd tomorrow we do it all over again. Oh~did I say that we have yet another class starting in December? And this time it will have 13, not 5? Life’s a party.

Cassy

Today I felt the familiar feeling of a panic attack welling up. It is interesting how it works, isn’t it. For me, first you get the sensation that something is “off”. Whether that means a smell, or a taste, or a sensation. This triggers the adrenalin rush that flushes my face and chest…Then, there is desire to flee…This used to happen a lot to me. Especially when I was in college. Anytime I have a whole lot on my plate, either with work, or family, or health. It is typically the result of my failure to PRIORITIZE, and think things through. Other times, it comes with no warning. It sweeps through my body and I have little ability to recognise it until it is almost too late. My heart starts to flutter, my pulse races….

Over the years I have learned to recognise the early warning signs. It is not that I can stop it per say. It is just that I have learned to talk myself through it. It often came with drinking large volumes of water, and deep breathing. Exercise helps too, especially since the panic attack is just my body trying to relieve excess energy.

Today it was strange. MOstly because I was dealing with my gallbladder fears. Over the last few weeks, everytime I go through a few days of feeling better, I eat something again that sets it off. THis time it was a smoothie. I love Jamba Juice, but I think sometimes it is hard to know if the person taking your order gets it right, or adds things they shouldn’t. Yesterday morning was the second day I was waited on by a new employee at our local Jamba. I always have compassion on new employees everywhere, as they are still learning the ropes. Because of this, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer for my order, as they figure out what buttons to push, or count my change, etc. The problem comes when they mix up my order. Certainly it is understandable when people don’t get it right when they take the order. But there is no excuse to mixing the wrong ingredients. I hate to think that I am high maintenance, but when you pay close to $5 for a smoothie, it had better be the same one you ordered. That sounds harsh, but i have found out the hard way when allergenic ingredients, etc make it into the recipe, and I had requested them removed.

Typically I order the Mango -a -go -go, but I have them substitute frozen bananas for the sherbert. (it’s supposed to be healthy to drink a smoothie, but in my book, ice cream isn’t healthy… So I ordered this yesterday. Its a pretty steep caloric content…at almost 500 calories. This is often why I will have them hold half the juice, and add water instead. I am also sure that the juice they use for this particular menu item is NOT fresh, thereby pasturized, and also likely containing added sugar. I am trying to determine the juice ingredients via the net, but no luck so far. With the drink they give you a free additive. LIke fiber, or vitamins or something. I typically get the fiber, as it is oat fiber, which is something that typically my system can tolerate. I also asked for the Imunity boost, which is basically a bunch of antioxidants in a powder. The guy taking my order kept repeating back to me “energy boost.” I had to correct him twice, as that contains guaranna or caffiene or somthing. I was like NOOO. But the smoothie I got tasted different. And within a few minutes of starting to drink it my belly started to react. I had a sharp pain in my stomach, and acid indigestion. Then, I had TONs of bloating, and it was like I was being inflated by a helium tank. By 5 pm my gallbladder was spasming again.

Luckily, I spent three hours with the heating pad, and resting on the couch watching a documentary about the making of Star Wars, with my hubby, which took my mind off it. BY this am, I was feeling better, but I was PARANOID and fearful of everything I was to eat. THis made me horribly self concious and “hyper-aware” which for me is NOT a healthy place to be, and will often bring on a panic attack. Sooooooo….needless to say, I am still blaming it on the smoothie. I have never had an issue with the Mango a go go before, but there is always a first. Also, back in 1996 when I had my first issue with my gallbladder, as I recall I had drank about 32 oz of fresh sqeezed oj that day. THat was initially why the doctor had thought it was an ulcer. But citris is an allergenic food, and can start off the spasms from what I have read. So I think they used something else in the “boost” they put in the smoothie. Either that, or my body is becoming more sensitive.

Anyway, I said all that to say that I am SOOOOOO glad that I have a supportive boss. She was able to see that I was a bit out of sorts this afternoon, and offered to help me prioritize my goals and obligations. So, tomorrow sometime she and I are going to work on that.

I knew I needed to relax and unwind, so I spent some time looking a lovely pictures, and imaging the day whenmy next vacation when I will get to spend hours back in the open air, appreciating the view, feeling the sun on my back, etc, rather than working inside at a desk. (mind you, I love my job, but working hard does allow one to take a break and vacation in lovely tropical places, etc…)

Meanwhile, I came home and did some research on stress, just to remind myself of how and why I feel this way. I know all of this, as I have looked at lots of studies about stress over the years. But a good refresher course can’t hurt anyone. I have included some great points below. Till later, Cassy

This information is taken from IUHC, and you can find thier resources on the web HERE.
What is Stress?
Stress is simply the body’s non-specific response to any demand made on it. Stress is not by definition synonymous with nervous tension or anxiety. Stress provides the means to express talents and energies and pursue happiness; it can also cause exhaustion and illness, either physical or psychological; heart attacks and accidents. The important thing to remember about stress is that certain forms are normal and essential.

As the body responds to various forms of physical or psychological stress, certain predictable changes occur. These include increased heart rate, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and secretions of stimulatory hormones. These responses to stress will occur whether the stress is positive or negative in nature. In lay terms, it is known as the “fight or flight” mechanism. Continual exposure lowers the body’s ability to cope with additional forms of psychological or physiological stress.

The results of continuing stress may cause disruption in one or more of the following areas of health: physical, emotional, spiritual and/or social.

Recognizing Stress
The following are indicators that you may be experiencing

• General irritability
• Elevated heart rate
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased accident proneness
• Floating anxiety-anxious feeling for no specific reason
• Trembling
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Indigestion
• Pain in neck and/or lower back
• Changes in appetite or sleep pattern

Stress is a process that builds. It’s more effective to intervene early in the process rather than later. Try to become aware of the signs that suggest the process has begun.

Stress Management Strategies
The following are tips on how to maintain a healthier lifestyle and to prepare you to cope with the stress of everyday living.

1. Structure each day to include a minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic exercise.
2. Eat well balanced meals, more whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Substitute fruits for desserts.
3. Avoid caffeine. The substance may aggravate anxiety, insomnia, nervousness and trembling.
4. Reduce refined sugars. Excess sugars cause frequent fluctuation in blood glucose levels, adding stress to the body’s physiological functioning.
5. Reduce alcohol and drugs. These substances may add to headaches and swelling, decrease coping mechanisms and add to depression.
6. Get a least 7 hours of sleep nightly.
7. Spend time each day with at least one relaxation technique - imagery, daydreaming, prayer, yoga or meditation.
8. Take a warm bath or shower.
9. Go for a walk.
10. Get in touch! Hug someone, hold hands, or stroke a pet. Physical contact is a great way to relieve stress.

*credit for the stress comic here.