Anyone who searches the web for fibroid information has probably seen ads for Vitalzym.
So I was interested when I found this link about how they were sued for false advertising and lost.
As for me, I'm getting my enzymes naturally by eating natto directly (see my prior post on this topic)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
soy
Some of you have asked me about soy, and here is the promised article on it.
Many people say that soy is good for you, because it acts as a weak estrogen that locks into the estrogen recepters on cells in the body, preventing the more powerful estrogen produced by the body from doing so. Here is a good summary of that argument. Thus it should be good for people who have fibroids, because we have too much estrogen in our system.
However, others have pointed out problems with soy. For me the first inkling that soy might not be the perfect wonder food it's made out to be in the media started with a reproductive endocrinologist I saw a couple of years back in my fibroid journey. She told me if nothing else I had to stop eating soy -- she had seen too many vegetarian patients where soy had set their hormones awry, with the problem resolving when they stopped eating the soy.
And indeed recently there is evidence that in our rush to add soy to everything, people are now getting too much. This article summarizes some of the problems with soy, and you can find more information in the book The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food
and in this article.
In my case, I am taking my own somewhat middle path.
First of all, I am avoiding soy milk, tofu, and anything made with isolated soy protein. As the article cited in the last paragraph puts it: "For American industry, the age-old Asian method of using the whole soybean and fermenting it to remove its toxins took too long and the end product was often dull and tasteless. To speedily process soy "waste" into soy protein products, U.S. soy producers washed beans with alkaline, heated and pressure-cooked them, combatting their naturally bitter taste with sugar and infusing them with additives to prevent spoiling." All the processing done to the various soy protein products commonly eaten in the U.S. (think soy hot dogs or all the soy in the average energy bar) takes the food pretty far away from its natural state.
Second, I am only eating whole soy fermented products, like natto, miso, and tempeh. As this article states, "Fermenting soy reduces the quantities of phytic acid (which can interfere with the absorption of minerals like calcium, iron and zinc) and renders the soy more digestible, in addition to providing beneficial microorganisms." Fermentation is the traditional Japanese way of eating soy, and they should know!
I'm also making sure not to eat too much soy. This article has a good discussion of this principle of moderation for soy. I just have it a couple of days a week, usually in the form of natto. As I've written elsewhere, natto contains enzymes that help dissolve fibrin, which is what fibroids are made of. It's also a good source of protein, and it's actually tasty if you drown it in barbecue sauce! If I had more time to cook, I would experiment more with tempeh, as actually it's pretty tasty as long as you can ignore its greyish color.
I am also being very careful to only eat organic soy, as soy is one of the most genetically-engineered products out there.
A final note, early on in my fibroid-fighting I was consuming a lot of soy. This was right after I read Healing Fibroids Naturally
, which recommends soy as a good protein source for women with fibroids. Taking out the dairy and meat from my diet, I didn't know what else to eat and soy was easy especially since it's served at so many restaurants and one can get soy milk practically everywhere now. Eating soy helped me be more "normal" when eating with other people -- heck I could even get something at Starbucks. However, I think it was going overboard -- I probably had soy milk every day. Telling my current acupuncturist about this now, she says "all that soy milk, it was probably too much phlegm." And indeed this site supports that idea -- soy milk is one of the things to avoid if you have phlegm. And from a Chinese medicine perspective, phlegm seems to be a big issue in my fibroids.
Here are links to two other articles I wrote on soy after this one: here and here.
Many people say that soy is good for you, because it acts as a weak estrogen that locks into the estrogen recepters on cells in the body, preventing the more powerful estrogen produced by the body from doing so. Here is a good summary of that argument. Thus it should be good for people who have fibroids, because we have too much estrogen in our system.
However, others have pointed out problems with soy. For me the first inkling that soy might not be the perfect wonder food it's made out to be in the media started with a reproductive endocrinologist I saw a couple of years back in my fibroid journey. She told me if nothing else I had to stop eating soy -- she had seen too many vegetarian patients where soy had set their hormones awry, with the problem resolving when they stopped eating the soy.
And indeed recently there is evidence that in our rush to add soy to everything, people are now getting too much. This article summarizes some of the problems with soy, and you can find more information in the book The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food
and in this article.In my case, I am taking my own somewhat middle path.
First of all, I am avoiding soy milk, tofu, and anything made with isolated soy protein. As the article cited in the last paragraph puts it: "For American industry, the age-old Asian method of using the whole soybean and fermenting it to remove its toxins took too long and the end product was often dull and tasteless. To speedily process soy "waste" into soy protein products, U.S. soy producers washed beans with alkaline, heated and pressure-cooked them, combatting their naturally bitter taste with sugar and infusing them with additives to prevent spoiling." All the processing done to the various soy protein products commonly eaten in the U.S. (think soy hot dogs or all the soy in the average energy bar) takes the food pretty far away from its natural state.
Second, I am only eating whole soy fermented products, like natto, miso, and tempeh. As this article states, "Fermenting soy reduces the quantities of phytic acid (which can interfere with the absorption of minerals like calcium, iron and zinc) and renders the soy more digestible, in addition to providing beneficial microorganisms." Fermentation is the traditional Japanese way of eating soy, and they should know!
I'm also making sure not to eat too much soy. This article has a good discussion of this principle of moderation for soy. I just have it a couple of days a week, usually in the form of natto. As I've written elsewhere, natto contains enzymes that help dissolve fibrin, which is what fibroids are made of. It's also a good source of protein, and it's actually tasty if you drown it in barbecue sauce! If I had more time to cook, I would experiment more with tempeh, as actually it's pretty tasty as long as you can ignore its greyish color.
I am also being very careful to only eat organic soy, as soy is one of the most genetically-engineered products out there.
A final note, early on in my fibroid-fighting I was consuming a lot of soy. This was right after I read Healing Fibroids Naturally
, which recommends soy as a good protein source for women with fibroids. Taking out the dairy and meat from my diet, I didn't know what else to eat and soy was easy especially since it's served at so many restaurants and one can get soy milk practically everywhere now. Eating soy helped me be more "normal" when eating with other people -- heck I could even get something at Starbucks. However, I think it was going overboard -- I probably had soy milk every day. Telling my current acupuncturist about this now, she says "all that soy milk, it was probably too much phlegm." And indeed this site supports that idea -- soy milk is one of the things to avoid if you have phlegm. And from a Chinese medicine perspective, phlegm seems to be a big issue in my fibroids.Here are links to two other articles I wrote on soy after this one: here and here.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
U-O-Clear
In doing my online research I saw many places selling U-O-Clear but I didn't know much about it. Someone from the healing fibroids naturally yahoo group emailed me to recommend it (thanks!). so I took a closer look.
Here's an article on their site, which tells something about what's in it.
Sounds like it's a Chinese herbal medicine. The ingredients are familiar ones I've seen listed on various sites, and a couple overlap with things my acupuncturist has given me.
Here is my take on this kind of thing. I think that Chinese herbs are very powerful, and need to be matched to your invididual constitution and needs. So rather than ordering a generic product like this, I think it would be better to find a good acupuncturist and have them make an herbal formula tailored to you, which is what I am doing.
The only way in which I personally would recommend something like this is if you live in a remote area with no acupuncturists available, and are unable to travel somewhere where there is one. In that situation, it might be worth trying this. Just my opinion mind you.
Here's an article on their site, which tells something about what's in it.
Sounds like it's a Chinese herbal medicine. The ingredients are familiar ones I've seen listed on various sites, and a couple overlap with things my acupuncturist has given me.
Here is my take on this kind of thing. I think that Chinese herbs are very powerful, and need to be matched to your invididual constitution and needs. So rather than ordering a generic product like this, I think it would be better to find a good acupuncturist and have them make an herbal formula tailored to you, which is what I am doing.
The only way in which I personally would recommend something like this is if you live in a remote area with no acupuncturists available, and are unable to travel somewhere where there is one. In that situation, it might be worth trying this. Just my opinion mind you.
summary of what I'm doing
I needed to write a summary of what I am doing as my introduction to the healing fibroids naturally yahoo group, so thought I would post it here as I don't think I have put up this kind of overview previously.
- Radical diet change, eliminating meat, dairy, alcohol, gliuten, and sugar, and loading up on helpful foods like cruciferous vegetables, quinoa, goji berries, beets, tomato paste, seaweed and natto, and helpful spices like cinnamon and tumeric. Also taking blackstrap molasses 3 times per day. I slip and eat meat or poultry occasionally but then only hormone-free.
- Heavy-duty Chinese herbs 3x day, plus weekly acupuncture and abdominal massage sessions
- Castor oil packs on abdomen
- NAET therapy and homeopathy - was weekly for awhile now going to every 2 weeks as I'm making progress with it
- More exercise, especially targeted ones like Qi Gong, belly dancing, yoga and hula hooping
- Took a stress reduction class, listening to meditation tapes, working with a coach to help me get my life under control
- Trying to deal with personal issues that have been unresolved emotional burdens, such as having grown up with a severely handicapped sister
- Avoiding environmental toxins and using detox therapies
Healing for Fibroids Naturally Yahoo Group
I just discovered that there is a yahoo group listserv on healing for fibroids naturally.
Here is the address for their yahoo page to sign up: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/HealingForFibroidsNaturally/?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr1&sec=recg
I am just signing up now but it looks like it's right on target!
Here is the address for their yahoo page to sign up: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/HealingForFibroidsNaturally/?v=1&t=ipt&ch=email&pub=groups&slk=aftr1&sec=recg
I am just signing up now but it looks like it's right on target!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Forgiveness
Just spotted this interesting article on the health benefits of forgiving people
http://www.mercurynews.com//ci_8668610?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
Given that many people say fibroids are the result of pent-up anger, forgiveness sounds like a good thing to be working on.
If you live near Stanford University, there is a forgiveness class you can attend: http://www.stanfordhospital.com/clinicsmedservices/clinics/complementarymedicine/scimforegiveness
You can also watch a videoor read the
book by the same professor.
http://www.mercurynews.com//ci_8668610?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
Given that many people say fibroids are the result of pent-up anger, forgiveness sounds like a good thing to be working on.
If you live near Stanford University, there is a forgiveness class you can attend: http://www.stanfordhospital.com/clinicsmedservices/clinics/complementarymedicine/scimforegiveness
You can also watch a videoor read the
book by the same professor.
Hoop Dance (hula hooping) -- perfect exercise for shrinking fibroids?
I have to give him credit for this one -- it was my boyfriend's idea. As I tried to describe to him about blood stasis and how I have to get my blood moving in my pelvis, and how belly dancing and qi gong would help with that, he suggested "Well, if you need to get your hips going, how about a hula hoop?"
He was half-joking, but when I looked into it I discovered that hula hoops are enjoying a resurgence, under the new moniker of "hoop dance."
I promptly bought a hoop last weekend and have been having fun with it ever since. I have not yet had a chance to buy an instructional DVDor go to a class, but even without those it's not hard to keep the hoop going around my hips.
This many rotations of the hips have just got to be good for increasing pelvic blood flow. Indeed, on the website of the manufacturer of my hoop, they talk directly how using the hoop is good for the reproductive organs, and the creators are a naturopath and an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. So my boyfriend's intuition seems to have been right on the mark!
Another benefit -- it's super convenient -- even on days when I don't have time for more exercise, I can grab ten minutes with the hoop and feel like I have done something both relaxing and useful. I have also discovered that it is possible to use it while talking on the phone, so this could be a good way of working some exercise into what otherwise would be a sedentary activity.
In order to hoop all you need is a hoop. However don't use the kid's kind, they are too small and light. I got mine at Elephant Pharm, a store near me -- I got the Therahoop and it's available to be ordered on this page.
A fibroid-fighting activity that is truly fun!
He was half-joking, but when I looked into it I discovered that hula hoops are enjoying a resurgence, under the new moniker of "hoop dance."
I promptly bought a hoop last weekend and have been having fun with it ever since. I have not yet had a chance to buy an instructional DVD
or go to a class, but even without those it's not hard to keep the hoop going around my hips.This many rotations of the hips have just got to be good for increasing pelvic blood flow. Indeed, on the website of the manufacturer of my hoop, they talk directly how using the hoop is good for the reproductive organs, and the creators are a naturopath and an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. So my boyfriend's intuition seems to have been right on the mark!
Another benefit -- it's super convenient -- even on days when I don't have time for more exercise, I can grab ten minutes with the hoop and feel like I have done something both relaxing and useful. I have also discovered that it is possible to use it while talking on the phone, so this could be a good way of working some exercise into what otherwise would be a sedentary activity.
In order to hoop all you need is a hoop. However don't use the kid's kind, they are too small and light. I got mine at Elephant Pharm, a store near me -- I got the Therahoop and it's available to be ordered on this page.
A fibroid-fighting activity that is truly fun!
Friday, March 21, 2008
beets, molasses, and fibroids
I just ran across a fascinating article on how Dominican healers treat fibroids -- through a combination of raw beet juice and blackstrap molasses. I have written about the molasses elsewhere in this blog. The power of beets is a new one. Beets have a lot of fiber and a lot of carotenoids which might be helpful for fibroids. They also have a lot of iron.
Here's a link to the article if you'd like more details: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8567997_Treatment_of_fibroids_The_use_of_beets_Beta_vulgaris_and_molasses_Saccharum_officinarum_as_an_herbal_therapy_by_Dominican_healers_in_New_York_City
As for me, I'm going to make sure I eat a lot of beets!
Here's a link to the article if you'd like more details: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8567997_Treatment_of_fibroids_The_use_of_beets_Beta_vulgaris_and_molasses_Saccharum_officinarum_as_an_herbal_therapy_by_Dominican_healers_in_New_York_City
As for me, I'm going to make sure I eat a lot of beets!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
a little humor
A few posts ago I wrote about the chakra clearing CD that I have been listening to. I like it and find it helpful, but I do have to admit that it is rather new-agey and some of the things on it sound a bit silly.
Evidently my boyfriend thinks so too. I was listening to it the other day -- I had gotten into bed first and turned it on, meanwhile he was getting undressed, doing situps, etc. so he was listening too, for the first time.
The CD was talking about releasing anything negative from the day that just ended. The narrator was saying something along the lines of "if there is anyone today who you have had a negative interaction with..." and at that point there was a pause, after which she continues with something like "release any connection to that experience." However this time after "if there is anyone todaywho you have had a negative interaction with..." my boyfriend (who had listened quietly until then) jumped into the pause and hissed "kill them!"
It was so funny and unexpected that I couldn't stop laughing. I decided that was even better therapy than the chakra clearing.
that I have been listening to. I like it and find it helpful, but I do have to admit that it is rather new-agey and some of the things on it sound a bit silly. Evidently my boyfriend thinks so too. I was listening to it the other day -- I had gotten into bed first and turned it on, meanwhile he was getting undressed, doing situps, etc. so he was listening too, for the first time.
The CD was talking about releasing anything negative from the day that just ended. The narrator was saying something along the lines of "if there is anyone today who you have had a negative interaction with..." and at that point there was a pause, after which she continues with something like "release any connection to that experience." However this time after "if there is anyone todaywho you have had a negative interaction with..." my boyfriend (who had listened quietly until then) jumped into the pause and hissed "kill them!"
It was so funny and unexpected that I couldn't stop laughing. I decided that was even better therapy than the chakra clearing.
National Uterine Fibroids Foundation
It hadn't occured to me to look for it before, but I happened to run across the web page of the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation.
Four interesting things:
1. They have a whole section on research. I have not delved into yet, but looks like it could be good.
2. Another thing that never occured to me, evidently Meetup has meetings for people with fibroids in various cities. If there is not one in your area you can volunteer to organize one, or put your name down as wanting to join one if someone else decides to start it. Link for this is in the left margin of the page I linked to above.
3. They have a yahoo groups for uterine fibroids, I just signed up for this, which means I will get emails from this listserv.
4. They have an interesting section about writing letters to your doctor, with some samples. Once I get my fibroids linked I may write a letter to my old gyn who had no clue about fibroids, or about hormones for that matter.
So worth checking out!
Four interesting things:
1. They have a whole section on research. I have not delved into yet, but looks like it could be good.
2. Another thing that never occured to me, evidently Meetup has meetings for people with fibroids in various cities. If there is not one in your area you can volunteer to organize one, or put your name down as wanting to join one if someone else decides to start it. Link for this is in the left margin of the page I linked to above.
3. They have a yahoo groups for uterine fibroids, I just signed up for this, which means I will get emails from this listserv.
4. They have an interesting section about writing letters to your doctor, with some samples. Once I get my fibroids linked I may write a letter to my old gyn who had no clue about fibroids, or about hormones for that matter.
So worth checking out!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
getting some cooking help
Ugh, I am going crazy with my food restrictions. It wouldn't be so bad if I had all the time in the world to look at recipe books and learn how to cook a completely new repetoire of dishes. But I have an incredibly busy job which doesn't leave a lot of time for leisure cooking. I used to get a lot of carry-out food but that's not so easy either with my new restrictions, and as a result I am bored with the few pre-made things from Whole Foods I can eat. And going to a restaurant (although I still do a lot with my boyfriend) is not so much fun when almost nothing on the menu fits your diet.
I did some research and found that there are three types of help one can get with cooking:
1. Personal chef who comes to your place and makes meals just for you, very personalized
2. Meal ordering service that offers a weekly menu that you choose the items you want from, according to the sites there is some personalization/taking into account dietary needs possible
3. Meal prep kitchens where you go and assemble the ingredients for a meal that is easy to make at home
These are in descending order price of course.
Some comments on each:
Personal chefs -- this is the best for finding someone who will cater to your exact dietary restrictions. But pricey!
Meal ordering service -- hard to find one that uses hormone-free meat and poultry, and in each week's menus it might be hard to find enough dishes that match the fibroid-shrinking diet
Meal prep kitches -- many of these focus on meat-and-potatoes kinds of meals and do not have hormone-free meat and poultry. But there is an organic -oriented one in Chicago that I have seen advertised, and some of the more gourmet ones may be ok. This website allows you to search in your area for all such meal prep places: http://www.easymealprep.com/main/zipcode1.php
I found a personal chef person who is a vegan (so presumably knows lots of vegetable recipes) and she doesn't have a website or even a company name, and as a result she is much less expensive than the standard services so I am going to give her a try, will have her make 5 meals for two -- some will eat with my boyfriend and some will be two meals for me.
I found her when a business associate posted something on a listserv for gourmets. It's the kind of thing where one has to ask around especially if you want a less costly person. Someone like a cooking school student might also be a good candidate.
Also I have a message in to one of the meal prep places near me to see if their stuff is hormone free. It sounds like it could be kind of fun to do the meal assembly.
Between the two of them that should help me get some variety in!
In working with the chef, I needed to give her a description of my diet. Since I'm writing it down, thought I'd share with you what I just sent to her. This is based on what my acupuncturist told me (cross-checked with what is recommended in the various books on fibroids -- he was consistent with them), combined with the diet for ABs in Eat Right for Your Typewhich my acupuncturist asked me to also follow. The parts that are only from my Eat Right for Your type I put in italics, and everything else is good general practice for fibroid shrinkers. In future posts I will write more detail on all of these.
*****
FOODS CANNOT EAT
Dairy
Meat and poultry
Grains with gluten
Fried foods, anything oily
Tuna and other fish with high mercury levels
Farm-raised salmon and other farm-raised fish
Tofu, soy milk, soy protein products
Seitan
Garbanzo beans and kidney beans
Shrimp and shellfish
sugar
FOODS OK TO HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT BUT NOT LARGE QUANTITIES
Nuts
seeds
citrus
corn
coconut products
FOODS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY GOOD
Vegetables
Fruits
Lentils and other beans esp. navy, pinto and red lentil
Brown rice
Seaweeds /sea vegetables
Tempeh
Miso
(It’s ok for me to eat small quantities of hormone free beef and poultry, wild salmon and wild white fishes that don’t have high mercury, and 3-4 eggs a week. But I can make food with those myself, and would prefer your help to get some different dishes into my diet as I am currently dying of boredom in my food!)
As you can see it’s rather restrictive, which is why I am getting so frustrated with cooking and need some support in this area!
This is a specific diet designed by my acupuncturist, am trying to heal a health issue the natural way so am following the diet exactly (seems to be helping so want to keep it up!)
It’s similar to vegan except a lot of vegan food is heavy on tofu and nuts which is not good for me.
It’s also similar to macrobiotic but does not use as much tofu
For this reason it is not easily classified and thus I can’t buy just one cookbook, it’s a recipe here and there from each cookbook…
(probably the closest thing I have found that matches this is diet for Kaphas under Ayurvedic theory, I also can eat almost anything from Ethiopian food)
*****
I will be very interested to see how this chef does! Will let you know how this experiment goes...
I did some research and found that there are three types of help one can get with cooking:
1. Personal chef who comes to your place and makes meals just for you, very personalized
2. Meal ordering service that offers a weekly menu that you choose the items you want from, according to the sites there is some personalization/taking into account dietary needs possible
3. Meal prep kitchens where you go and assemble the ingredients for a meal that is easy to make at home
These are in descending order price of course.
Some comments on each:
Personal chefs -- this is the best for finding someone who will cater to your exact dietary restrictions. But pricey!
Meal ordering service -- hard to find one that uses hormone-free meat and poultry, and in each week's menus it might be hard to find enough dishes that match the fibroid-shrinking diet
Meal prep kitches -- many of these focus on meat-and-potatoes kinds of meals and do not have hormone-free meat and poultry. But there is an organic -oriented one in Chicago that I have seen advertised, and some of the more gourmet ones may be ok. This website allows you to search in your area for all such meal prep places: http://www.easymealprep.com/main/zipcode1.php
I found a personal chef person who is a vegan (so presumably knows lots of vegetable recipes) and she doesn't have a website or even a company name, and as a result she is much less expensive than the standard services so I am going to give her a try, will have her make 5 meals for two -- some will eat with my boyfriend and some will be two meals for me.
I found her when a business associate posted something on a listserv for gourmets. It's the kind of thing where one has to ask around especially if you want a less costly person. Someone like a cooking school student might also be a good candidate.
Also I have a message in to one of the meal prep places near me to see if their stuff is hormone free. It sounds like it could be kind of fun to do the meal assembly.
Between the two of them that should help me get some variety in!
In working with the chef, I needed to give her a description of my diet. Since I'm writing it down, thought I'd share with you what I just sent to her. This is based on what my acupuncturist told me (cross-checked with what is recommended in the various books on fibroids -- he was consistent with them), combined with the diet for ABs in Eat Right for Your Type
which my acupuncturist asked me to also follow. The parts that are only from my Eat Right for Your type I put in italics, and everything else is good general practice for fibroid shrinkers. In future posts I will write more detail on all of these.*****
FOODS CANNOT EAT
Dairy
Meat and poultry
Grains with gluten
Fried foods, anything oily
Tuna and other fish with high mercury levels
Farm-raised salmon and other farm-raised fish
Tofu, soy milk, soy protein products
Seitan
Garbanzo beans and kidney beans
Shrimp and shellfish
sugar
FOODS OK TO HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT BUT NOT LARGE QUANTITIES
Nuts
seeds
citrus
corn
coconut products
FOODS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY GOOD
Vegetables
Fruits
Lentils and other beans esp. navy, pinto and red lentil
Brown rice
Seaweeds /sea vegetables
Tempeh
Miso
(It’s ok for me to eat small quantities of hormone free beef and poultry, wild salmon and wild white fishes that don’t have high mercury, and 3-4 eggs a week. But I can make food with those myself, and would prefer your help to get some different dishes into my diet as I am currently dying of boredom in my food!)
As you can see it’s rather restrictive, which is why I am getting so frustrated with cooking and need some support in this area!
This is a specific diet designed by my acupuncturist, am trying to heal a health issue the natural way so am following the diet exactly (seems to be helping so want to keep it up!)
It’s similar to vegan except a lot of vegan food is heavy on tofu and nuts which is not good for me.
It’s also similar to macrobiotic but does not use as much tofu
For this reason it is not easily classified and thus I can’t buy just one cookbook, it’s a recipe here and there from each cookbook…
(probably the closest thing I have found that matches this is diet for Kaphas under Ayurvedic theory, I also can eat almost anything from Ethiopian food)
*****
I will be very interested to see how this chef does! Will let you know how this experiment goes...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
yet another reason to use a water filter
We fibroid shrinkers need lots of water to help us flush toxins out of our systems. But the contaminants in regular tap water don't help when we are trying to purify ourselves. And bottled water is not necessarily the best alternative -- water in plastic bottles can have plastic leached into it if the bottles have been allowed to get warm. I can often taste the plastic when drinking bottled water, which means there is something in there that I don't need.
For that reason, as part of my fibroid battle plan, I got a reverse osmosis water filter. My research indicates that this is the best kind of filter. You can get one to do all the water in your house, or one to fit on a individual tap. There are a variety of reverse osmosis filters available. You can really taste the difference -- water filtered this way is delicious!
And now just out is more news about why filtering your tap water is important -- evidently one of the things contaminating tap water is pharmaceuticals, including sex hormones. That certainly can't be good for the fibroids! More info here: http://www.ewg.org/node/26128
For that reason, as part of my fibroid battle plan, I got a reverse osmosis water filter. My research indicates that this is the best kind of filter. You can get one to do all the water in your house, or one to fit on a individual tap. There are a variety of reverse osmosis filters
available. You can really taste the difference -- water filtered this way is delicious!And now just out is more news about why filtering your tap water is important -- evidently one of the things contaminating tap water is pharmaceuticals, including sex hormones. That certainly can't be good for the fibroids! More info here: http://www.ewg.org/node/26128
Friday, March 7, 2008
detoxing through your feet
I've been working on detoxing. As discussed in other posts, detoxing is important for fibroid shrinkers -- especially if like me you have heavy metal buildup. I have been experimenting with doing so through my feet. Here are three things I have been trying.
1. Detox foot bath. This is full of essential oils, you mix it with hot water and use your own tub. Smells nice and is relaxing. http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/footbath.html
2. Ionic detox foot bath. This is a tub that you buy that has an ionizing system in it. The idea is that the ions draw out toxins from your body. It's kind of a pain to use and is messy, so to be honest I don't use it that frequently. But when I do it seems to make me feel better somehow. The gunk that bubbles up makes you feel like it's working anyway! I bought this one.
3. Detox foot pads. These pads area huge thing in Japan, but even though I read Japanese the Japanese packaging never really made clear how they were supposed to work. Then a friend here mentioned something to me about seeing a fascinating infomerical on them, which let me to do a web search and I found Body Pure, http://www.bodypurenow.com/. The explanation on the site is convincing, and they are certainly easy to use. I bought three boxes because then you get a free lab test of your pad, which I find fascinating.
My acupuncturist thinks that I may be done detoxing the heavy metals, and indeed I am feeling a lot better. I am going to do another heavy metal test next week so we will see!
1. Detox foot bath. This is full of essential oils, you mix it with hot water and use your own tub. Smells nice and is relaxing. http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/footbath.html
2. Ionic detox foot bath. This is a tub that you buy that has an ionizing system in it. The idea is that the ions draw out toxins from your body. It's kind of a pain to use and is messy, so to be honest I don't use it that frequently. But when I do it seems to make me feel better somehow. The gunk that bubbles up makes you feel like it's working anyway! I bought this one.
3. Detox foot pads. These pads area huge thing in Japan, but even though I read Japanese the Japanese packaging never really made clear how they were supposed to work. Then a friend here mentioned something to me about seeing a fascinating infomerical on them, which let me to do a web search and I found Body Pure, http://www.bodypurenow.com/. The explanation on the site is convincing, and they are certainly easy to use. I bought three boxes because then you get a free lab test of your pad, which I find fascinating.
My acupuncturist thinks that I may be done detoxing the heavy metals, and indeed I am feeling a lot better. I am going to do another heavy metal test next week so we will see!
avoiding coffee and tea
There are several reasons for fibroid shrinkers to avoid coffee and black tea. First is the caffeine, which is a burden on the liver. Second, they contain compounds called methyl-xanthines which promote fibroid growth (these compounds are in chocolate and colas too, so they need to be avoided also!). Also, drinking tea with a meal can interfere with iron absorption, and we fibroid shrinkers need our iron.
As I've written about elsewhere in this blog, as a substitute for coffee and black tea I have been drinking herb teas such as chrysanthemum, pau d'arco and dandelion root. However, sometimes I want something that tastes more, shall I say, fun.
So I picked up one of my old favorites, Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut Dessert Tea. The two main ingredients are roasted carob and roasted chicory, which effectively emulate the coffee/black tea flavor. Then ingredient number 3 is milk thistle, which is often listed as an herbal remedy for fibroids due to its tonic effect on the liver. So this tea is a way to work in some milk thistle in a delicious form. There is also a little cinnamon, which as mentioned in a precious post is a good herb for fibroids.
This tea isn't completely perfect. On the downside, this tea does contain a bit of gluten (due to roasted barley which is the 4th ingredient), a bit of soy lecithin in the natural flavors, and licorice and anise seed which are both estrogenic however they are on the last line of the ingredients and the tea does not taste of them strongly. But for me at least I think that having a tea I enjoy drinking as a treat that also contains some milk thistle and cinnamon overall comes out on the plus side. I'm not going to drink huge quantities every day, but it does satisfy that craving for me...
As I've written about elsewhere in this blog, as a substitute for coffee and black tea I have been drinking herb teas such as chrysanthemum, pau d'arco and dandelion root. However, sometimes I want something that tastes more, shall I say, fun.
So I picked up one of my old favorites, Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut Dessert Tea
. The two main ingredients are roasted carob and roasted chicory, which effectively emulate the coffee/black tea flavor. Then ingredient number 3 is milk thistle, which is often listed as an herbal remedy for fibroids due to its tonic effect on the liver. So this tea is a way to work in some milk thistle in a delicious form. There is also a little cinnamon, which as mentioned in a precious post is a good herb for fibroids.This tea isn't completely perfect. On the downside, this tea does contain a bit of gluten (due to roasted barley which is the 4th ingredient), a bit of soy lecithin in the natural flavors, and licorice and anise seed which are both estrogenic however they are on the last line of the ingredients and the tea does not taste of them strongly. But for me at least I think that having a tea I enjoy drinking as a treat that also contains some milk thistle and cinnamon overall comes out on the plus side. I'm not going to drink huge quantities every day, but it does satisfy that craving for me...
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Eat Right for Your Type
My acupuncturist advised me to follow the diet in Eat Right for Your Type, the best-selling diet book of a few years ago. Well, to follow this diet in conjunction with his other recommendations.
The idea behind this book is that depending on your blood type, a different mix of foods is suitable to you. If you eat a food that is good for your blood type, good lectins (a substance in your blood) are created, and if you eat a food that is bad for your blood type, bad lectins are created. The more good lectins and the fewer bad lectins you have, the better you will feel. So the idea of following this diet for fibroid shrinkers is that it will help your body to operate more efficiently overall, which should indirectly promote fibroid shrinkage. In other words, this diet is helpful but just this alone is not likely to be enough. But it's a nice addition to the arsenal. As my acupuncturist put it, his patients just seem to do better if they follow it.
It says in the book that ABs are particularly prone to cancer. I wonder if blood type might be related to fibroids?
, the best-selling diet book of a few years ago. Well, to follow this diet in conjunction with his other recommendations.The idea behind this book is that depending on your blood type, a different mix of foods is suitable to you. If you eat a food that is good for your blood type, good lectins (a substance in your blood) are created, and if you eat a food that is bad for your blood type, bad lectins are created. The more good lectins and the fewer bad lectins you have, the better you will feel. So the idea of following this diet for fibroid shrinkers is that it will help your body to operate more efficiently overall, which should indirectly promote fibroid shrinkage. In other words, this diet is helpful but just this alone is not likely to be enough. But it's a nice addition to the arsenal. As my acupuncturist put it, his patients just seem to do better if they follow it.
The information on lectins and their power was quite convincing, I have to admit. And there must be a reason why this book was such a big best-seller.
The book contains detailed lists of what to eat and not eat. I'm an AB, which means I have a particularly tricky diet with lots of things I'm supposed to be avoiding...It says in the book that ABs are particularly prone to cancer. I wonder if blood type might be related to fibroids?
chakra clearing
Trying to learn as much as I can about energy and healing, I picked up a book on chakra clearing. I had read some things previously on chakras, but this one is the simplest and easiest to understand by far.
I saw somewhere that fibroids are a first and second chakra problem. The first chakra is evidently about feelings of security and rootedness, so any worries about things like your home, your finances, your possessions or your physical/security needs can mess it up. As soon as I read this portion I vowed to stop obsessing about how I'll ever be able to buy a home in the expensive area I live in! The second chakra relates to thoughts and feelings about health and physical issues. I'm sure worrying about the fibroids doesn't help this chakra. And I think my past issues (thankfully now resolved) of not being in a stable relationship for a long period of time didn't help either of these chakras.
The book comes with a CD that has a morning guided meditation and an evening guided meditation, in which you visualize the chakras clear and happy. The latter I find also is great for helping me relax before going to sleep.
I have been planning to try reiki to help with the fibroids, but am so busy with my regimen of acupuncture, abdominal massage, and NAET that I don't have the time. I feel like this CD is a good way to do some reiki-like stuff on myself.
I told my coach about this CD and she heartily approved. She also suggested an enhancement. I told her that in the meditation you are told to visualize a white light in your abdomen. She suggested also visualizing that light wrapping around and healing the fibroids.
Here is a link that has a nice discussion of fibroids and the second chakra: http://books.google.com/books?id=pJ3w7NhiXbwC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=fibroids+chakra&source=web&ots=jXVuSwbZTM&sig=unJ-SL41NYceiHsup3ilEZ0WgOo&hl=en
. I had read some things previously on chakras, but this one is the simplest and easiest to understand by far. I saw somewhere that fibroids are a first and second chakra problem. The first chakra is evidently about feelings of security and rootedness, so any worries about things like your home, your finances, your possessions or your physical/security needs can mess it up. As soon as I read this portion I vowed to stop obsessing about how I'll ever be able to buy a home in the expensive area I live in! The second chakra relates to thoughts and feelings about health and physical issues. I'm sure worrying about the fibroids doesn't help this chakra. And I think my past issues (thankfully now resolved) of not being in a stable relationship for a long period of time didn't help either of these chakras.
The book comes with a CD that has a morning guided meditation and an evening guided meditation, in which you visualize the chakras clear and happy. The latter I find also is great for helping me relax before going to sleep.
I have been planning to try reiki to help with the fibroids, but am so busy with my regimen of acupuncture, abdominal massage, and NAET that I don't have the time. I feel like this CD is a good way to do some reiki-like stuff on myself.
I told my coach about this CD and she heartily approved. She also suggested an enhancement. I told her that in the meditation you are told to visualize a white light in your abdomen. She suggested also visualizing that light wrapping around and healing the fibroids.
Here is a link that has a nice discussion of fibroids and the second chakra: http://books.google.com/books?id=pJ3w7NhiXbwC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=fibroids+chakra&source=web&ots=jXVuSwbZTM&sig=unJ-SL41NYceiHsup3ilEZ0WgOo&hl=en
Monday, March 3, 2008
another nice page on Chinese medicine
This page has a good overview of the way Chinese medicine looks at fibroids, plus an encouraging case study! http://www.tcmpage.com/hp_uterine_fibroid.html
Cross-referencing this with whay my acupuncturist is giving me herb-wise, looks like I have liver chi stagnation and spleen deficiency with a bit of chi stagnation and blood stasis...
Cross-referencing this with whay my acupuncturist is giving me herb-wise, looks like I have liver chi stagnation and spleen deficiency with a bit of chi stagnation and blood stasis...
Pau D'Arco and Dandelion Root teas
Since I'm no longer drinking the raspberry leaf tea, I need to figure out another tea to carry around with me as teabags in my purse. I decided to pick up some pau d'arco, which is mentioned as an ingredient in some fibroid-reducing formulas.
I just did an internet scan on this herb (well, actually it's the bark from a rainforest tree), its primary positives for fibroid shrinkers are that it supports the liver and that it's a good source of iron. And since it's supposedly good for cancer, it seems that some make the leap that it's good for all types of tumors, but I didn't see any real evidence of this.
I would not make this a mainstay of my fibroid-shrinking efforts, but I hate missing a "dosing opportunity" when I am out and about (and thus not drinking my Chinese herbs, which are not portable). So rather than a cup of plain hot water or some herbal tea that doesn't do anything particularly special for fibroids, thought I would try this.
I bought the Traditional Medicinals bags, I had tried one at a friend's and thought the taste was agreeable.
It says that you need to take a break after using this herb for awhile, so I am thinking to alternate one month with this as my purse tea bag, and then the next month with dandelion root., which is another liver supporting herb mentioned often as being helpful for fibroid shrinkers. This is also available from Traditional Medicinals.
Just for the record, I also bought fill-yourself empty tea bags to use with my chrysanthemum tea, but am not sure how portable they will be...
I just did an internet scan on this herb (well, actually it's the bark from a rainforest tree), its primary positives for fibroid shrinkers are that it supports the liver and that it's a good source of iron. And since it's supposedly good for cancer, it seems that some make the leap that it's good for all types of tumors, but I didn't see any real evidence of this.
I would not make this a mainstay of my fibroid-shrinking efforts, but I hate missing a "dosing opportunity" when I am out and about (and thus not drinking my Chinese herbs, which are not portable). So rather than a cup of plain hot water or some herbal tea that doesn't do anything particularly special for fibroids, thought I would try this.
I bought the Traditional Medicinals bags, I had tried one at a friend's and thought the taste was agreeable.
It says that you need to take a break after using this herb for awhile, so I am thinking to alternate one month with this as my purse tea bag, and then the next month with dandelion root., which is another liver supporting herb mentioned often as being helpful for fibroid shrinkers. This is also available from Traditional Medicinals
.Just for the record, I also bought fill-yourself empty tea bags to use with my chrysanthemum tea, but am not sure how portable they will be...
progress indicator
It's hard to tell if my fibroid shrinking is succeeding. I asked my acupuncturist to feel around on my stomach, and he says he can hardly feel anything, but that was the case the first day I visited him in December. He says that due to their depth and angle, fibroids can be hard to feel from outside. So I won't know for sure what is going on until my ultrasound in April. How frustrating.
But for the time being, one postive: I have lost 5 pounds. Still ten to 15 more to go to be in my ideal range, but it's a start!
But for the time being, one postive: I have lost 5 pounds. Still ten to 15 more to go to be in my ideal range, but it's a start!
open for comments!
Hello everyone, I just discovered that the blog settings were defaulted on being restricted, which probably kept people from commenting. I have revised so now it should be no problem to leave comments. So comment away -- would love to hear from you!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
another quinoa recipe
Yesterday I was prepating quinoa cooked with tomato paste (a fibroid-fighting favorite of mine, high protein, and lots of lycopene, plus easy and quick to make). I decided it needed a twist, and added up some sliced green olives. All of a sudden, it's Quinoa Veracruz! Delicious!
Liberty Farms duck
Out to dinner last night, there was Liberty Farms duck on the menu and I wanted to see if it was hormone-free. I can't find a site for the company itself, but poking around showed me that indeed their stuff is antibiotic and hormone-free. It's in Sonoma, and their duck products appear to be a favorite of foodies. Something you can keep an eye out for on menus.
The duck was good, although I employed a frequent eating out strategy, and loaded up on veggie side dishes (cauliflower, swiss chard, and beets) and let my boyfriend eat most of the duck. So I didn't consume much duck, but what I did I knew didn't have hormones.
The duck was good, although I employed a frequent eating out strategy, and loaded up on veggie side dishes (cauliflower, swiss chard, and beets) and let my boyfriend eat most of the duck. So I didn't consume much duck, but what I did I knew didn't have hormones.
Ethicurean blog
Ran across an interesting blog, http://www.ethicurian.com/. Here in their own words is what an "ethicurean" is.
eth•i•cu•re•an n. (also adj.) Someone who seeks out tasty things that are also sustainable, organic, local, and/or ethical — SOLE food, for short.
As a result of having to modify my eating habits as part of my fibroid-shrinking campaign, I've become more aware of food issues. This blog has all sorts of interesting stuff in it, useful if you are trying to have a more healthy diet.
eth•i•cu•re•an n. (also adj.) Someone who seeks out tasty things that are also sustainable, organic, local, and/or ethical — SOLE food, for short.
As a result of having to modify my eating habits as part of my fibroid-shrinking campaign, I've become more aware of food issues. This blog has all sorts of interesting stuff in it, useful if you are trying to have a more healthy diet.
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