Twelve Foods a Human Should Never Eat

I just discovered Peter Glidden a naturopath who hates conventional, allopathic doctors. I love listening to his videos. He's very validating. I like knowing there are people out there who think just like me and detest the games of orange cones. He says things like, "The health care is in place to promote the sale of pharmaceuticals" and "If you are suffering, you don't have a bad gene, you have a bad doctor." His website is filled with vlogs on every subject imaginable and he's not shy about giving his opinion. His frankness provides many LOL moments. Under the tab "Learn" he talks about the Twelve Bad Foods. In summary here they are:

1.   Wheat (gluten)
2.   Barley (gluten)
3.   Rye (gluten)
4.   Oats (gluten)
5.   Oil in a Bottle
6.   Fried Food 
7.   Red Meat Cooked Well Done
8.   Potato Skins Baked/Cooked Well Done
9.   Carbonated Beverages with Meals
10. Soy
11. Corn

Most of his warnings have to do with carcinogens and he goes into great detail on how these individual items cause cancer. He has another video on the lunacy of conventional cancer treatments with some interesting facts on their lack of effectiveness along with the commission doctors get for prescribing them.

Love this guy!

Four Years of Willpower...Then Utter Failure

I did not eat, drink, or smell gluten for four years. How did I maintain such willpower of steel? Easy. I feared the repercussions and imagined the worst. "Nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels." It all paid off as I slowly regained my health and energy.

Last week I decided to repair parts of my fence - the fence that blew down last winter. It was going to be a sunny, warm day and I estimated it might take me a half hour at the most. Well, construction for me is never that simple nor that fast. After starts and stops, missing supplies and equipment, four hours later the job was done. I was exhausted. The heat didn't help and only exacerbated the paralyzing fatigue. I cleaned up the area and drove my borrowed super-power drill back to my construction worker adviser, stumbling incoherently along in my brain fog and weakness.

My construction adviser is a root beer float junkie. I often bring him gifts of Virgil's Root Beer which is fairly safe, gluten-free, but sugar loaded as any soft drink should be. Still, it's healthier than any product one could find in our local grocery store. I drove up to his house and he's sitting on the back of his pickup truck holding a root beer float. In my exhaustion, all willpower I might have had went right in the toilet.

"OH! I want one! I need one!" I begged, crawling toward him in my overheated and physically exhausted body. I knew better, but I didn't care. I was like a woman stranded in the desert for too long.

He told me it's the last of the root beer, but he just made it, and handed the glass to me. A gigantic milkshake glass filled with Virgil's Root Beer mixed just right with vanilla ice cream. It took me about ten minutes to drink it all down. It was heavenly. I moaned with every gulp. I could not have imagined anything better at that very moment.

The next day I awoke with exhaustion. Not the physical exhaustion from the day before (although at first I had hoped it was), but full body right down to my core exhaustion. As you can imagine, the ice cream was not a healthy brand and instead poisoned with various chemicals and "natural flavors" (or, GLUTEN) besides the sugar and dairy that are not on my diet. It's been a week and I'm still paying. My whole body hurts, too. They say it takes three weeks to six months before the gluten will stop triggering an autoimmune response. I am hoping because my body wasn't saturated with gluten that this one exposure will only take three weeks. Praying.

No, it wasn't worth it, but it did taste so good!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, or, Please Pass the Stupid Chicken

Do you trust the word organic? How do you know if it's truly organic? Or grass-fed? Or gluten-free? If the label says they don't use antibiotics or steroids, how does one really know if this is true?

A couple years ago while on my vacation road trip, I found a product clearly labeled gluten-free. I was excited. When eating on the road, selection is limited. I bought it, jumped in the van, and headed back out on the road. Lunchtime couldn't arrive soon enough and eager to eat a new gluten-free product I almost didn't bother looking at the tiny print. It was labeled as gluten-free because ONE ingredient was gluten-free. But what about that wheat flour on the ingredients list? I later found out if only ONE ingredient is gluten-free, the manufacturers can legally label it gluten-free. HOW IS THAT LEGAL?

I've had a lot of people tell me they can't tell the difference between organic food and conventional food. To them it all tastes the same. A few people have told me they think organic produce tastes better. Maybe. My problem is I feel lousy if I eat conventional food. I'll never forget the severe intestinal cramps I got from eating conventional watermelon. I thought my insides were imploding. Same with conventional raisins and Brussel sprouts. It makes me wonder if all these people who have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are just reacting to the pesticides and poisons? Dietary advice includes NOT eating most fresh fruits and vegetables. Hmmm...

So what am I supposed to think if my clearly labeled organic, natural, no artificial ingredients, raised without antibiotics chicken gives me unbearable migraines and nausea? I think most people would blame it on anything else, but I know better. So is this false advertising? How can I prove it?

I bought this chicken at another co-op, one not known for it's impeccable standards. My co-op doesn't sell this brand. It wasn't the first time I bought Stupid Chicken, and not the first time I had migraines and nausea right after eating it that lasted all night, but I was blinded by the sale price. So what does "air-chilled" mean? Is that code for gassed? Chemically-induced refrigeration? What am I missing? The labeling is misleading.

During the same visit to the co-op with questionable standards I also bought a small container of bulk Kalamata olives. The fact they tasted wonderful, better than my own co-op's olives, should have been a clue. I had nightmares and strange, vivid dreams all night. The ingredients include olives, water, salt, oil. Hmmm...what kind of oil? Crude oil? Pennzoil? Sometimes I'm just too trusting. Just because it's being sold in a co-op as a bulk product doesn't mean it's safe.

And then there is Simple Truth Grade B Maple Syrup. My co-op was closed on New Year's Day so I went to the local big-box grocery store. They had a bottle of this grade B maple syrup for sale in their "health" department. Ingredients: organic maple syrup. The label looked fine. I get it home, pour a little out. It's too light in texture and color to be real Grade B which is raw, unprocessed, organic maple syrup. This has the consistency of corn syrup. I stick my finger in it. It tastes like corn syrup! So what is this? Did they cut real Grade B maple syrup with something else? Can they claim it to be Grade B if only a small portion of it is Grade B? Or did they process it just a little and they are lying?

Aren't there labeling laws in our country? It irritates me to no end we can't trust money-hungry companies to tell the truth and their best practices include screwing over the customer for a few extra bucks. But organic is the new catch word. Like natural, it means nothing. For anyone who is chemically sensitive, it's a experiential learning process with dire consequences and lots of wasted money.

Chemical sensitivity is expensive!

Bad, Bad, Bad, and Very Bad...

I volunteered at the co-op today. They had an Ice Cream Social...free ice cream/frozen yogurt/gelato/goat milk ice cream/dairy-free ice cream/sorbet samples of every flavor the store carries. What was I thinking? Well, I was thinking I was being helpful.

Before it even started all the volunteers were eating the ice cream and laughing it was a job requirement to taste all of the various flavors so they would be informed. People kept handing me samples and saying, "Try this one. It's wonderful!" I kept asking to see the containers to check the labels. I read the labels very carefully although I was lax on the sugar (BAD) and the dairy (BAD) knowing there aren't many ice creamy-type desserts that don't have these ingredients. There were a few selections that were dairy and sugar-free, but most of those had chocolate.

I was in charge of giving samples of non-fat frozen yogurt: peach mango, honey, berry, and blueberry. Sounds pretty safe so I stuck to sampling those. I studied the labels and sampled the berry. Oh, so delicious!  The woman next to me had the full-fledged ice cream with a variety of chocolate flavors: Double Chocolate, Banana-Chocolate Swirl, and Chocolate Chip Mint. Oh, they looked tempting and evil! Then the manager brought her another called Sea Salt Caramel. After studying the label, I deemed it safe and had a taste. Oh, my, heavenly. I scooped up another little spoonful and in the scoop there was a dark bit. I asked her, "What is that? A nut?" She read the label. Cocoa. COCOA? (BAD) Am I blind? How did I miss that? I must have been looking for the word "chocolate" and glossed right over "cocoa". I threw that spoonful away as if it were poison.

Then a few minutes later a customer came over and started reading the labels on my frozen yogurt containers. Out loud she said, "Natural flavors....hmmm...nope." She explained she can't have anything with "natural flavors" because that often means "corn" and she's allergic to corn. NATURAL FLAVORS!!! How did I miss that? That's often what they call gluten, too. GLUTEN??? (BAD) Oh, my god. I might have eaten gluten today. I was in shock.

I can only blame the heat. It was in the 90s today. This sort of heat is unusual in my neck of the woods even during the summer. There were a few times I thought I'd keel over from heat exhaust. I heard from others eating ice cream is a very effective way to cool down. I know that's not true but we as humans can rationalize anything. I guess I didn't eat enough sugar, dairy, chocolate and gluten to stay cool. Brain dead, for sure.

Still, I think I had a total of three tablespoons of frozen yogurt and ice cream combined so I don't expect a problem, but I'm kinda disappointed in myself. Other than my banana cream recipe, I hadn't had anything resembling ice cream for a long time. And it was GOOD!

I knew better. No willpower. I should have stayed away.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

One of the few advantages of being chemically sensitive is my immune system kicked into overdrive - I never get sick. No colds, no viruses, no flu, no sore throats. I can have sick people sneeze all over me and still I never get sick. When my first environmental medicine specialist explained my immune system was in overdrive, I remember thinking to myself how convenient, and then, that can't be good. Somewhere down the road I was going to pay for the extra energy my hyperactive body was expending to keep me well.

I was feeling tired anyway and assumed it was because I was under so much stress while working at the school that poisoned me. Some of the doctors I saw looked at my blood labs and told me I was fine. "But, but, what about that TSH thing? What is that and why is it high and out of range?" "Oh, no, you're fine," said the quacks still practicing medical theories from the 1950s. OK. I'll take that. I needed some good news.

A few years later I found someone on an online MCS support group with twelve years more seniority and experience dealing with chemical sensitivity. She had thyroid problems and was seeing Dr. William Rea, renowned environmental medicine specialist who is at the forefront of the latest treatments for MCS. She told me thyroid issues are common for the chemically sensitive. Chemicals mess with our hormone levels, in general, and we are more susceptible to these fluctuations. "Just wait!" she said. Great. Something to look forward to. This made me seriously question the competency of the doctors I had already seen who told me I was fine.

Tired of being tired, I eventually found a doctor who also questioned the TSH lab in conjunction with the complaints I had of not only fatigue, but exhaustion. Utter exhaustion. Exhaustion so profound there would be times I couldn't move even to raise my arm. She did the antibody testing for Hashimoto's.

I'd never heard of Hashimoto's. It's one of the most common autoimmune diseases and although said to run in families, no one in my family has this. My immune system is attacking my thyroid creating hypothyroidism or low functioning thyroid. Most people who have hypothyroidism are not diagnosed. They just continue their lives feeling tired, run down, depressed, and drinking lots of caffeine to keep going. Of those who ARE tested and diagnosed with hypothyroidism, most have Hashimoto's although few are tested or diagnosed for this. Why not? Most doctors believe the only treatment for Hashimoto's is thyroid medication and if the thyroid labs are already showing low function, why bother with the antibody test since it's the same treatment? In other words, doctors are lazy idiots who prefer to cut corners instead of find answers. Making patients well would affect their bottom line!

When I heard I had an autoimmune disease my first thought was, OK, this is it. This is what happens when your immune system becomes hyperactive. I wasn't surprised. I guess I was waiting for some indication my immune system was wacko. I was given thyroid drugs which did nothing except make me incredibly sick. I would have thought at least I'd lose weight or feel less tired as a benefit, but no, I was still tired and still chubby. I gave up the pills although I was told I had to be on medication because if my thyroid levels become too out of balanced, I could have a heart attack and die! Jeez. Nothing like a little fear to push you into a drug addiction.

I didn't buy into the drug therapy anyway. Hypothyroidism is a SYMPTOM of Hashimoto's, it's not the cause. WHY does everyone want to treat the symptom? Even naturopathic doctors want to give me thyroid drugs without addressing the cause of my autoimmune disease. Of course, I was already convinced chemicals were the cause of autoimmune diseases and I was already doing whatever possible to alleviate my chemical load and avoid exposures. There had to be more to this. Half-ass answers weren't going to help. Typical medical protocols weren't making sense. What's new?

My labs were never outlandish. Most people I read about have labs in the double, triple, or even quadruple digits. My cholesterol was higher than normal as I'd always had low cholesterol. I found out this is another indication of hypothyroidism along with depression, weight gain, skin dryness, constipation, forgetfulness, hair thinning and loss, gravelly voice, and increase infection. Thankfully, I only had the fatigue and high cholesterol. (Later, I also found out slow heartbeat, lack of perspiration and cracked heels are also symptoms, which I had.) More importantly, the paralyzing episodes of exhaustion were a concern. I began researching online and read every book on Hashimoto's and hyperthyroidism I could get my hands on. Not very many had any answers. Same old theories from decades ago. I tried that drug. And that one. And that one. I needed something new, some out-of-the-box-thinking.

Then a friend of mine told me about Dr. Datis Kharrazian's book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal. She has been on for thyroid drugs for years constantly in search of answers and she thought it might give me some answers as well. I found his website and blog www.thyroidbook.com or www.drknews.com discussing his diet protocols and various theories and other private websites with bloggers writing about their dietary changes and experiences. DIET. OK, I can do a diet. This addresses CAUSE, not just SYMPTOM. I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.

His theory is gluten is the culprit. I had the gliadin tests which showed negative. I didn't have a gluten sensitivity. According to Dr. Kharrazian, it doesn't matter. Gluten is evil and most people can't digest it efficiently. In response, the immune system registers undigested gluten and goes crazy trying to get rid of the poison. It also thinks thyroid tissue is gluten because of their similar structure. More importantly, an immune response to gluten can last up to six months AND any little amount of gluten that is eaten can start the process all over again with a three week guarantee of a reaction, minimum. Although I had considered myself gluten-free for the last year, I cheated a lot. With each cheat, I was put right back at the beginning and getting no results. Most people eat gluten daily.

The Gluten Monster

In addition, other foods create health issues that put stress and strain on the thyroid by creating inflammation or blood sugar issues such as hypoglycemia or insulin resistance. These include sweeteners of any kind, other grains, dairy products, saturated oils, legumes (dried beans, carob, soy and peanuts), lectins (potatoes, mushrooms, and tomatoes), highly-contaminated meats (shellfish, and pork), and high glycemic foods such as bananas, watermelons, mangoes or dried fruits. Chocolate, although on the forbidden list because it's processed and is usually made with sugar, is also a gluten cross-reactor. Some foods trigger autoimmune responses because they act like gluten in your digestive tract. (Chocolate is evil!)

Every food item should be as wholesome, fresh and chemically-free as possible. Iodine-rich foods and supplements (like kelp) which are a common holistic treatment for hypothyroidism excite the thyroid gland and trigger an autoimmune response. I also found out most thyroid medications have iodine added. Just for that extra kick. No wonder why the drugs were making me feel worse! And although these drugs are known for weight loss, they can also make a chemically sensitive person gain weight. I love what doctors don't tell you...or don't know.

Unfortunately, all those forbidden foods were part of my normal diet. What the HELL was I going to eat?

I didn't care. It was hope. I'd much rather control my food than take useless drugs that would rob my bank account and not work. I'd give it six months and see what happens....

...To Be Continued....

Chocolate is Evil

Right around any holiday the chocolate companies start advertising the health benefits of chocolate. For anyone who is addicted this well-planned propaganda seems heaven-sent giving us just one more rational justification for caving to the craving. I've heard chocolate decreases heart disease, improves mood, raises energy, reduces blood pressure, can provide relief from asthma by relaxing bronchial muscles and, last but not least, has an ingredient (phenethylamine) that mimics the feeling of falling in love. Who wouldn't want to feel like they are falling in love? Who needs a high-maintenance man for Valentine's Day when we can have chocolate? I'm sold! As I'm pulling my hair and screaming, "GIVE ME CHOCOLATE," in the back of my rational mind I ask, "Who paid for this so-called research? Mars? Hershey? Nestlé?" $ Cha-ching $ Cha-ching $

What they don't tell you is chocolate may cause headaches, migraines, fatigue, nervous system overstimulation, depression, mood swings, irritability, hyperactivity, feelings of rage, weight gain, premenstrual insanity, autoimmune attacks, heart palpitations, insomnia, heartburn, allergic reactions, acid reflux, sex drive reduction, diabetes, and cancer. It makes you feel in love, but reduces your sex drive? It improves mood, but makes you depressed...at the same time? Am I the only one who sees the contradiction?

I knew someone who was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, suffering greatly with episodes of fatigue and general misery. I kept telling him, "Give up the fancy chocolate, damn it!" AS A TEST He refused citing his entitlement to just one low-cost luxury. The addiction had him by the balls. After two years of treatments and thousands of dollars in medical bills, his liver failed due to all the antibiotics. Unable to function, he was forced to convalesce on the couch and eat very little which involved giving up his gourmet chocolate. His health improved miraculously.  Soon after recovery, he attempted to go back to eating chocolate - all his symptoms and suffering returned. It wasn't Lyme Disease, it was chocolate! Chocolate is evil.

Another friend had bouts of severe depression with thoughts of suicide. After losing her insurance benefits which paid for her very expensive anti-depressants, she desperately asked my advice. Too young to die, she thought, she was willing to give up chocolate and coffee AS A TEST. She made it clear it was only a test. The depression lifted. After a few weeks, the mocha lattes called to her - LOUDLY. She couldn't resist. Within the hour she was ranting, crying, and screaming at her boyfriend for absolute no rational reason. Chocolate is evil.

I'm fairly certain my ten-year old neighbor who suffered from migraines was reacting to chocolate. His mother said the pain was so bad he would hold his head and whimper because crying made it worse. Doctors had no idea why which always sends up red flags for me. As I stood staring at the enormous, half-eaten dark chocolate cake on the counter, I told her my theory and suggested eliminating chocolate from his diet. AS A TEST. She laughed like a maniac and said dripping with addiction, "Oh, he's not going to give up chocolate! He loves it too much!" Who is the parent here? If your child was suffering so greatly wouldn't you try anything? I had a bad feeling about this, but hey, I hardly knew the woman and I wasn't his parent. I couldn't accuse her of child abuse, although I was tempted. Chocolate is evil.

Notice in every story I'm emphasizing AS A TEST. Suggesting anyone to give up chocolate is dangerous. They become hostile.  I usually find myself repeating over and over AS A TEST, JUST A TEST, ONLY A SHORT TEST. Slowly back away.

What I was surprised to find out is chocolate is a cross-reactor to gluten, in other words, it acts like gluten in your system. If you suffer from any kind of gluten sensitivity, celiac disease or autoimmune disease, chocolate will incite an attack and contribute to any of the above mentioned miseries. It is said most people are gluten sensitive in some way.

If health issues aren't convincing enough, I remember years ago some study that came out about the percentage of rat feces and cockroach anatomy found in chocolate bars due to the vermin dancing on top of the wonderful smelling vats and, oops!, falling in. Eeeww! And of course, if it's not "fair trade" then do remember those little cocoa beans were harvested by un-fairly treated children and slaves. Oh yeah! It kills pets, too. That's got to be a clue.

Face it, chocolate is evil. Personified, it would be the devil of food stuffs. It tempts and entices. Few can resist. If you do manage to fight the craving, it calls to you like any drug addiction because IT IS a drug and has been used as such since the beginning of time. The capitalistic money-making machine saw fit to making it into a dessert. Addictions sell.

Kicking the habit is torture. Even knowing all these horrible things, the smell of chocolate can still make me swoon and forget about the rat shit. If you do see the light and are so inclined to give it up AS A TEST, it takes time.  Be patient and strong.  For me it was three weeks of pure hell. After that you will fight the urge for the rest of your life. It never stops calling to you, sweetly and seductively. Your willpower will come from feeling better without it.

I change my mind - maybe a man is less high-maintenance than a chocolate addiction?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Do you eat chocolate? Suffer from any of the above symptoms? Are you willing to give up? Why not?