Monday, August 18, 2008

That's inflammatory! Part 4

The Biblical Diet is the focus of Part 4 of this series.

Who would know better than our Creator what makes our bodies function properly, and give us overall well-being? Feeling whole in body creates a calm in our minds and souls and helps us in every area of life.

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Meat:
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Beef: on special occasions
Lamb: on special occasions
Pork: never
Shellfish: never
Domestic Fowl: chickens, geese, pigeons, partridges, duck and quail: more frequently
Fish: frequently
animal fat and blood: never

Some folks might think God was a vegetarian, Apparently not. We are instructed to eat red meat, such as beef or lamb, but *sparingly*, meaning on special occasions. Not daily, or even weekly. Just at feasts or festivals. We are instructed *not* to eat pork or shellfish *at all*. Maybe that's why Jesus fed the masses with loves and fishes, not loaves and ribs. When i asked my Jewish roommate why Jews did not eat pork or shellfish she said "It's because they eat garbage." OK! That's a good enough answer for me!

Animal fat and blood are where the toxins are stored. For me, the idea of eating either is so repulsive, I don't need a reason to not eat it, but if this is a delicacy for you, then know this is where the most toxic stuff is.
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Fats:
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eat only 30% of your calories from fat

Olive Oil (virgin or extra virgin only): 2 thumbs up
Canola Oil: 2 thumbs up
canola, safflower and sunflower: also good
butter: in moderation
margarine: avoid
cheese: in moderation

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Grains
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wheat- good if it's not refined
barley - ditto
millet- ditto
Spelt: highly recommended
legums (beans): strongly recommended (try not get to overprocessed salty canned beans)

Spelt has never become a mainstream grain, and so of all the grains, it is a rare one in that it is still in its original form. The spelt seeds of today are just like the spelt seeds of biblical times. Wheat has been manipulated and modified so many times that a large part of our population has become intolerant to wheat, in the forms of celian disease, gluten intolerance, and carbohydrate addiction.

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Fruits and Vegetables:
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Eat lots of these!

veggies: leeks, onions, garlic and cucumbers: yes!
Fruits: apples, figs, grapes, berries, apricots, melons and pomegranates, grapes, olives.

in the Bible, fruits were eaten fresh, dried, pressed into cakes, and squeezed for juice. But beware, fruit juice on the typical grocery store shelf can contain as little as 10% juice. It cna also contain a *lot* of pesticide. You want organic 100% juice, which you can either buy or make yourself.


Yes, it is more work and costs more to eat well. It takes more effort to find healthy food (in Harlem, you have to travel 45 minutes each way to buy a tomato!). But what good is it for modern medicine to keep up alive to 100+ years old if we are riddled with disease. The cure for many ills is to simply stop eating and drinking garbage. Granted, if I eat garbage, then I won't be kosher, and if I run across a kosher cannibal, they won't want to eat me. But even taking into account that one potential encounter, the odds are still pretty low that eating garbage will save my life.

However, my odds of inflammation are 100% if I eat garbage, and my odds of heart disease and obesity are quite high. When you survey people and ask them if they want to live to be 100, the answer is always "it depends.." on what? Most people are afraid they will be sickly. If you could guarantee they would have their health, then the answers would be quite different.

We are not victims. yes, some of us have more health problems than we deserve, while others *do* eat garbage and seem to never gain weight or have other consequences. But most of us *know* in our hearts that if we want peak performance from our bodies and minds, we should be fueling our bodies real food, not cartoonish boxes of "fun food."

It's tempting, but I will not purchase a box of "relacore" or whatever the latest fad diet pill is on TV (that will probably later prove to be the cause of many heart attacks), nor will i be getting liposuction (have you ever seen footage of this violent invasive procedure?), so that I can keep on eating whatever I please.

Eating real food also appeals to the rebel in me who wants to thumb their nose at the system and say "I'm not buying into your crap! You can't control me with your ads and your promises of something for nothing!"

So if you can't get motivated by doing what the Lord recommends, or by knowing you're taking back control of your health, then do it to get back at The Man.

2 comments:

Joys said...

Hi I have fibro and lupus too and I completely agree with everything you've talked about in your 'inflammatory series'. I've often considered writing a blog myself about coping and things like that but I just get too upset when I think about the coping part itself lol. Like the very idea that we have to learn these things through trial and error instead of from the medical community who's paid to 'care' for us. ROFL. Well that and that chemicals and industry who make them are still just spewing along as they please while our politicians make sell us out... See what I mean - I get flustered and it blocks me.

I noticed you said that your doctors can't 'see your fibro pain' as well as they can see the Lupus pain but with my doctors they can see it both scientifically and visibly.

They explained to me a long time ago that with a continuous SED/ESR Rate that is high above normal they KNOW that I have inflammation. They also can see the pressure in certain places on my body when I visit.

I didn't know this until one of them made a comment and I said 'but you never touch me or test anything'... He got really surprised and said "Wow Joyce - I can SEE it in how you sit - how swollen places are and even your pulse through the inflamed areas etc..." I got teary because I just thot he 'knew by being taught that overall systemic inflammation usually results in pain', I didn't know he could see where the pain was just by looking.

My chiropractor can see where the pain is, but I expect them to be able to see it. My rheumatologist can see it much like the internal medicine doctor can see it - and if she's not sure she'll cup her hands over the area and wait for 'heat'. If she gets heat back she knows that the area or joint is inflamed even without a blood test. Wow. So that makes me feel a little better.

To be obvious I am ANA-HLA-B27 Positive and have High CRP's and ESR so the writing is on the wall scientifically. Then I had a test performed in a study for the JAMA that proved that my illness was caused by petrol chemicals and work related. It was one that we kinda stumbled into. When I had to stop eating my healthy way and 'eat like a typical american' to prepare - I thought I'd die. So I have scientific proof of how much difference it makes. Go off it every now and then when you're travelling or visiting relatives who don't eat like you do - then take a blood test - then go back to your health and take it again... voila, you have it in writing.

I'm also very musical and want to write songs/lyrics for songs like Weird Al does parodies but my training is far above my ability anymore and I find that frustrating.

Do they know what caused your stroke? Take care,
J Austin

Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient said...

hey Joyce!
thanks for writing!
fortunately (or not) for me, I too have plenty of measurable tests that prove my problems are real, including the ANA, double stranded DNA, and very elevated sed rate, and also kidney problems which also show up in both blood and urine, and the low complement, whatever that means. But for me, because the lupus is so obvious, they just ignore the fibro, or lump it all together. I guess that's a better way of putting it.

Your docs sound very tuned in. that's really nice.
I've had some real a-holes, to say the least.
But my current guy is decent.

I do acupuncture- that's where I get my compassionate treatment.

and you really hit it on the head- these people who are supposed to be caring for us aren't taking the time (maybe they don't have the time because of all the BS they have to deal with from 1700 different insurance companies, but whatever) to learn about what REALLY causes disease, esp. chronic ones.

OTOH, frankly, most patients, even if they knew that eating crap food was what made them sick, they wouldn't want to stop eating the crap. so there's blame to go around. Ultimately, I just have to say screw what everyone else is doing, I have to save myself, and I'll tell anyone who will listen what worked for me.

people with lupus are 18 times more likely to have a stroke. i have a lot of inflammation, just getting over bronchitis at the time, and took a cold med that spiked my BP, whish was already elevated because of my kidney issues.

(BTW i'm all better from the stroke)
Carla