Good News, Bad News and Worse News - But Progress Towards Solving the Adrenal Mystery

So I got my IGG Allergy tests (including Candida) back from the Naturopath. I had an awesome recipe to share today for Baked Enchilada's but it will have to wait until next week. Today I'm just going to talk about my adrenal journey. If this is where your eye's glaze over feel free to come back another day when I'm back in recipe mode. 

But today its all about solving my adrenal fatigue mystery. I have fairly severe adrenal fatigue and don't want to be on adrenal support for the rest of my life so I'm pretty determined to figure this out.

As you might know, I have a pretty much lifelong history of stomach aches (self-diagnosed IBS), insomnia, severe sugar cravings and poor immunity. And probably a relatively high-stress lifestyle - I tended to push myself to the limit at times and am a bit of a high anxiety person. Okay - that's probably a bit of an understatement. I am high anxiety.

Anyway, in 2010/2011 I went through some REALLY stressful times. Had one of those years where I just had it piled on me and it finally broke me. Living off adrenaline and coffee just didn't fuel me anymore like it used to........I burned out. I felt terrible. So on top of my lifelong friends noted above, I also went through some pretty severe anxiety, panic attacks, brain fog, memory issues and extreme fatigue. Oh yeah, and anger and shoulder/neck/throat tension that got so bad I was in excruciating pain for 18 months. Fun times.

It took a while but I eventually ended up at a Naturopath. I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. I got B12 injections, took adrenal support, made some lifestyle changes (more childcare, earlier to bed) and got relatively better. Or at least well enough to try for baby number three. 

At that time I also got IGG food sensitivity testing done. These IGG allergy reports are done based on a blood sample and basically identify foods that are reacting to cause an immune response in your body. I'm not going to get into the details but that's not a good thing. 

The test I did included the top 90 foods. They are split into dairy, fish, fruit, meat, nuts/grains, vegetables and miscellaneous. When those test results came back I was reacting to all sorts of things across the board. Dairy - 3 foods of the 8 tested. Fish - 8 of the 11 tested. Fruit - 11 of the 16 tested. You get the picture. My body was having an immune response to almost everything. 

Lot of the reactions were low but I was still having a reaction. The problem was that it made it near impossible to identify what my actual food sensitivity was. I wasn't about to cut out all those foods.

What was apparent was that I had severe "leaky gut" syndrome. My stomach lining wasn't working probably so all sorts of foods were passing through to my blood stream but we weren't able to pin point what the trigger might be. And frankly, I wasn't fully into the whole "you are what you eat" mentality yet. Like I said, I got better "enough" based on my old standards and didn't really end up doing much with this information.

Fast forward to 2012. Another baby. Gave up caffeine during my pregnancy and started sleeping better for the first time in my life. After baby was born I had lots of weight to lose.  And through fate, luck and lots of reading I ended up going down the gluten free, low-carbohydrate eating path. It started off as a means to lose weight (and it worked) but I started feeling incredible. More energetic than I have probably felt my whole life. And that was the catalyst for me to completely overhaul my entire diet and go "clean". 

So I was (and am) sleeping much better, my digestion is working properly (when I am faithful to my diet guidelines), my immune system is working better (almost no colds or flu's this year) and I had lots of energy. Great. 

Except something was still not right. I started getting anxiety again. My sugar cravings are ridiculous. I get really hungry and I get moody. I'm not a moody person - I don't like it. That sounded moody - darn. So back I go to the Naturopath. Diagnosis - ADRENAL FATIGUE. Again.

But that doesn't really make sense. I'm not stressed out at all this year. I am having an awesome year. I am loving every single minute of maternity leave. I am eating clean. I am exercising. I am sleeping (okay - baby is a pathetic sleeper but I get enough sleep that I generally don't feel tired). I find it really odd that a person would have adrenal fatigue when they aren't stressed in the least and they have lots of energy.

Ahhh, but other things can stress the adrenals. Namely, sleep and digestive issues. So what is going on. I don't want to feel like shit anymore. I want to have patience with my kids. I want this figured out. 

First, I went back on adrenal support and I tell you those pills work for anxiety. They are natural and awesome. But I don't want to stay on them forever..........in my dream world I wouldn't be on any supplements except maybe Vitamin D. 

Next, we got tons of blood work done. Result - anemic. Dangerously low iron levels and lowish B 12. That explained why I was starting to get severely fatigued and dizzy. 

Then I did the stomach acid test. Result - very low stomach acid. Okay - makes sense that I'm getting anemic and low B 12 if my stomach is not absorbing anything. 

But why. 

So I decided it was time to get my food panels re-done. And I got my results..........................I haven't discussed with my doctor so this is just my interpretation but here goes.

THE GOOD NEWS

This is one section of the report which shows how I am reacting to fruits. 

The number of foods I am reacting to has been reduced significantly. Seriously.  In 2011, I was showing some sort of reaction to about 62 of the 90 foods tested. This time I was only reacting to 21 of the 90 foods. And most of these reactions were very low. This leads me to believe that my clean eating has significantly helped with my general leaky gut problem. Yay - happy dance. That's awesome. I've worked hard on my diet so I'm really glad it is doing something to help me with these problems. Yes - I am proud of myself. Big pat on the back.

And given now we can clearly see what I have sensitivities to now, there is a chance that cutting out these foods could cure me? Cure stomach issues I have had since childhood. I'm hopeful. Maybe. That would be so cool.

THE BAD NEWS

The bad news was that what I am having moderate/high reactions to are the following:

• Whey 
• Yogurt
• Yeast
• Banana's
• Pineapple
• Mushrooms

Okay - I can deal with that.............except the yogurt and banana's. Most people would freak out about the yeast but I don't give a crap. I gave up donuts and bread months ago and I can live without it. And I love mushrooms but I can live without them. There are lots of options for whey protein so other than $100 worth of protein powder in my basement that needs to be eating (drank) that's okay. 

But banana's - I LOVE banana's. They are awesome in banana bread. They are awesome in a smoothie. They are portable. They make an awesome topping on my Chia porridge. 

And yogurt. Really. Don't take away my yogurt. Please.  OMG - I will never eat yogurt topped with banana's again.

And this time its pretty apparent that these are my food sensitivities. These results aren't hard to interpret. My leaky gut is not making the results hard to read. My body does not like banana's and it does not like yogurt. I'm going to have to ELIMINATE them from my diet. I want to cry but I will do it. Because it will be worth it if it solves the adrenal mystery. 

THE WORSE NEWS

The whole banana ordeal is really a mute point. I can't eat banana's anymore anyway.........I can't eat any fruit. I don't know what the heck I'm going to eat. I have a seriously high Candida overgrowth.

I don't swear much but I want to swear. A string of swears.

That sucks. Those buggers love sugar. You get rid of them by eliminating sugar. Including fruit. Including everything. The Candida diet is RESTRICTIVE.

If you know the kind of diet I have been eating, most people would find it restrictive. Ha, its a walk in the park compared to the Candida diet. No dairy, no coffee, no sugar (except Stevia), no fruit. No sweet potatoes, beets. The list goes on.........and on.

I suspected that I might have had this. But I was tested for it in 2011 and only showed a moderate reaction. I'm so much healthier now and eat so much better that I thought, prayed, hoped that my suspicion wasn't correct. But I was right.

So my "mama's pantry" is going to have to change yet again. And my recipes are probably going to start looking different again. No more apple butter sauces. No more Greek yogurt in everything. No more chocolate everything. No more maple syrup or agave.

If this sounds like a pity party, it is.

Buts its only because I know that I'm going to do what I have to do to fight this beast. This sugar crazed beast called Candida.

But if it means I can get better, fully better and be the best version of myself at some point then I will do it. And if my sugar cravings don't consume my thoughts and I'm not hungry all the time that would be just fabulous.

If this seems like a lot of information. It is. I'm just working things out for myself. And I'm sharing along the way. I used to be too proud to show my weaknesses - I liked being known as an efficient little Type a machine. Well, look where it got me. Burn out. So I'm sharing my journey and maybe it will help someone out there. If you don't feel great or your moods are all over the place there are people and tests that can help you figure things out. You don't necessarily need pharmaceuticals. You might just need to give up banana's. Hey Mom? She doesn't read my blog so she won't see this but I think she should.

I am blessed to have the resources to get these tests run. They aren't cheap. But they are definitely something to think about. So wish me luck and say a prayer that I can find the willpower to do what I need to do.

Have a great weekend!

Toxin Tuesday - Rebalancing your PH - Acidic versus Alkaline Foods

I find the inner workings of the digestive system and basically the human body extremely confusing. I am no doctor or health professional of any kind - just an accountant on maternity leave trying to learn how to heal my stomach and adrenal fatigue so I can feel my best and enjoy my family.

But given no one is able to tell me exactly what is wrong with my stomach I am having to learn and read way more about digestive health than I would have ever imagined. I am trying to pinpoint exactly what the problem is. What I do know is that I have food sensitivities (for which I am currently being re-tested and will have results this month - really hoping banana's aren't still an issue), I possibly have candida overgrowth (also being retested), I have low stomach acid (based on a test I just did) and I have pretty severe adrenal fatigue and anemia. So I am trying hard to avoid the foods that came back as troublesome on my original food sensitivity test in 2010. I'm avoiding sugar and carbs and upping my protein as much as I can to battle the candida and adrenal problems. I'm drinking lemon water and taking digestive tablets before meals to combat the low stomach acid. And I'm taking adrenal support and iron to battle my adrenal fatigue and anemia. Its bloody confusing but I have come up with a pretty good system of clean food guidelines that are tailored to my issues.

Because of my particular situation I need a fair amount of protein and it can't come from a high-carbohydrate source. That rules out a lot of plant based proteins so I end up eating a fair amount of meat. But meat tends to be on the acidic side and we want our bodies to be slightly alkaline (a ph of between 7.3 and 7.5). Except for our stomachs which need to have a certain amount of acid, but that's a different issue (yes - confusing, I know). If our bodies are acidic, basically less than a ph of 7, then we become a potential breading ground for cancer and disease.

Our internal acidity is determined by the foods we eat, stress, toxins, immune system reactions and acid by-products produced by our metabolic system. We can't control all of these things but we can make sure that our foods contain buffering minerals via alkaline foods that can offset this naturally acidic state. Everyone can benefit from eating more alkaline foods (Don't leave this page just because you don't eat meat or don't have the slew of problems I'm dealing with). But especially someone like me since I have a history of high stress, immune system problems and a meat-heavy diet.

So one of the things I have been reading up on is what foods are alkaline versus acidic. There are lots of good charts on Pinterest (go to my Detox Board for a few good ones). But I decided to just jot down a few of the highlights based on my typical diet as a reminder to myself of which ones I should be adding to my diet (or patting myself on the back if I'm already eating them) and which ones I should be limiting or avoiding. Some of these are just a good reminder of why I gave them up in the first place and motivation to keep it clean.

Acid Forming Foods - Avoid, Limit or Offset with Alkaline foods if necessary

• MSG, aspartame, table salt
• Black tea, coffee, beer (okay - that's it - I'm down to one cup of decaf coffee starting tomorrow)
• Sugar, cocoa (damn - that will have to be an offset - can't give it up)
• Balsamic and red wine vinegar
• All processed dairy is somewhat acidic
• Soy milk
• Eggs, Fish and Meat - Beef is the worst but they are all acidic except shellfish
• Grains and flour - most are acidic except quinoa and oat but I don't eat grains so just an FYI
• Nuts - Brazil, walnut, pistachio, pecan, peanut
• Vegetables and legumes - soybean,  green pea, most beans and green beans
• Fruit - cranberry, tomato
• Yeast and processed foods. 

Alkaline - Add to diet, Start eating more or Keep up the good work mama

• Sea salt (if you were wondering why I always say sea salt in all my recipes - there you have it)
• Kambucha, green or ginger tea (I have to stay away from Kambucha but will be replacing some coffee with green and ginger tea)
• Soy sauce, white vinegar and apple cider vinegar
• Nuts - pumkin seeds, almond, hazelnut, cashew (big pat on the back here)
• Vegetables - onion, garlic, sweet potato, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, beets, celery - I already eat lots of these but when in doubt eat more veggies
• Citrus fruits - lime and lemons are great for salad dressings and as flavour in recipes
• Fruit - most of the standards are alkaline except as noted above
• Olive Oil
• Chia Seeds - yay - I would be in trouble if they weren't

So there is a quick and dirty list. I have already incorporated a lot of this into my diet but I need to get even more veggies (maybe start juicing? my sister will have to teach me how) and cut back on the coffee. Its tricky business eating clean................good luck and I encourage you to look at your own diet and see if there are some opportunities to make your diet less acidic!!! 

Toxin Tuesday - Dig In Manitoba Challenge

Weird, usually I know exactly what I'm going to blog about all day and can't wait to get to the computer to write. Today - blank. I actually have ideas and recipes to share but I said Tuesdays would be all about toxins (and I'm so literal & Type A that I can't veer off course too far). They aren't toxic recipes they are squeaky clean so I will save them for another day.

Maybe I am liking PINTEREST too much. Are you on PINTEREST? Get on there and follow me (see upper left hand corner). Its fun. And it really is quite addicting. I actually just want to look at modern white kitchens (drool) all evening. I have a modern white kitchen that I just redid that I love - why am I still obsessed with kitchens. Oh - maybe its because I am obsessed with food.  And I am a bit obsessed with making my food clean and non-toxic. Okay - I'm getting back on track here.

So I found a website called Dig In Manitoba that has a Dig In Challenge going on right now. I'm going to challenge all of my readers (ha, ha - hopefully there is more than one of you) to take a look at the pledge activities. You don't need to sign up but there are lots of great ideas on things you can do to eat closer to home, learn new food skills and take action for fair food. You don't need to do all of these but  its a great way to get yourself thinking about where you want to make changes in the way your family shops and eats. I plan to go back there once a week or so to try to keep some of these ideas top of mind.

I'm especially interested in the section on learning new food skills. Fresh veggies and fruit have obviously taken a much more prominent place in our weekly shopping list so I've all the sudden developed a strong desire to plant a garden and preserve food for the winter (all non-toxic and organic of course). I'm also really keen on learning how to properly compost. So with spring approaching this is the time for me to start really putting "legs on my dreams" and figuring out how and if I am actually going to do this. It might not logistically be possible to plant any significant garden in my yard, but there are other ideas like joining a community garden, regularly getting to a farmers market, buying local at the grocery store or taking part in a fruit share. The options are there I just need to take action. I'll be sure to let you know how I do.

So you don't have to take the challenge but you can read through the list of pledge activities and really think about whether there is something that interests you. A way to make your food choices less harmful to the environment (by eating local and organic) and less toxic to your body. And for those of you that live in Manitoba there are lots of links to helpful resources close to home for some of the activities you might be interested in.

Finally, I've had a few people (okay - I know I have more than one faithful reader - thanks for tuning in) wondering how my local meat purchase went. The payment went through on my credit card properly, I met the unmarked van in the parking lot of a local community center (I felt like such a bad ass) and I got my meat. It was all nicely packaged and ready to go. After months of thinking about ordering local grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free meat I actually did it. It wasn't difficult. Just an example of the changes we can make if we take action. It can be hard to change habits that are ingrained in us from years of doing things a certain way (i.e. buying meat at Safeway) but it can be done. I haven't tried anything yet but I will be sure update you on the taste aspect of the transaction.

So I challenge you to take action.................you will be happy you did! And I will be doing a lot less blogging if I end up a gardener this summer. Just an FYI!

Toxin Tuesdays - A little off topic - Low Iron and B12

So if you just come here for recipes - see my mama's recipe page or come back tomorrow - we had an awesome Low-carb Shepherds Pie for supper I will be sharing. Or if you want to hear me rant/journal about my health then feel free to stay....

So I don't have the flu. If you haven't been following my blog, since going

clean,  my energy levels had been amazing for someone with a poorly

sleeping baby. But I started to get some symptoms of adrenal fatigue popping

back up - mainly anxiety and night sweats. And my energy levels started

dropping slowly over the past month. I've been taking herbal adrenal

support which helped significantly with the anxiety but even a B12 shot and

literally eating pounds of Chia seeds wasn't helping my energy. And this

past weekend I started feeling dizzy (all day) and really tired. Oh boy -

I've felt like this before. What a piss off - I am being such

a good girl - eating clean, exercising, detoxing - why oh why am I still

being punished. Well I got my blood work back today and I have seriously

low iron and B12 levels. So I've got some highly absorb able iron to add to

my supplement list (which is getting way longer than I like) and will be

going for weekly B12 shots until my levels get better. If you think you have absorption problems like me, pay attention to whether any supplements you are given will help (can you absorb them?) or whether you might need an injection. 

So pretty treatable problems but still no answers on what the cause is. I'm thinking either breastfeeding/sleep deprivation is sucking the life out of me or food sensitivities/poor absorption/low stomach acid isn't allowing me to absorb

all the clean goodness I'm eating. Or maybe some combination of all of them is

doing it. So I'm going to go ahead and spend the $300 to get my food panel

redone to figure out if I've still got major food sensitivities and where

my candida levels are at. And I'm also going to do a stomach acid test. 

Good news was that my liver, thyroid, blood sugar and kidneys were happy.

The high protein diet is agreeing with my kidneys which was a concern I

had (and something you should be mindful of if you go on a high protein diet). Doesn't hurt to have a doctor checking on these things when you change your diet - especially one that's pretty far from the recommended Canada Food Guide.

Why am I telling you all this. Because I've been through this before and

let myself suffer for over a year with these symptoms before I went to a

naturopath. And I don't want other people to suffer when they don't have to

or think they are going crazy. Last time this happened, I spent a good part

of a year thinking I was a bad mom, dying of some disease and/or going

crazy. You have to advocate for your own health - push your doctor for

tests/diagnosis if they aren't sure what is causing your symptoms or look to alternative forms of medicine. But either way you have to take an active role in managing your health - do your research, push for answers, look outside the box. Its not okay to feel tired all the time, you probably aren't crazy, and pills and anti-depressants are not always the cure.  Surprisingly, all sorts of problems start with poor digestion but lots of people and doctors don't consider looking there first. 

I have digestive problems that have wreaked havoc on my whole system and

give me some weird symptoms that seem totally unrelated to digestion - like

dizziness and anxiety.  And I truly believe that for

me, putting more toxins (prescription drugs) into my system is not the

answer. Not for this anyway.

So on Tuesdays I said I would do a post about non-food related toxins - my side project to clean eating. And this is a little off topic but what the hell - maybe it will help someone out there who is feeling lousy and doesn't know where to start looking for answers. Or maybe I am a little crazy some days............. 

Toxin Tuesdays - 3 Ways to Detox on a Dime when you don't have much Time

I'm pretty strapped for time with three wee ones but I make time for these three detox methods every day - a glass of warm fresh squeezed lemon water, dry brushing with a sisal brush and a hot Epsom bath. 

There are unfortunately toxins everywhere. I'm trying not to get fanatic
about it but I am taking steps to reduce the toxins I am exposing us to as
much as I can. My first focus was reducing the toxins we eat in the form of
wheat (sorry farmers), sugar and processed foods. I'm also working on going
organic and hormone/antibiotic free on the foods we do eat.

As a side project, I'm also reading up on the forms of toxins we get
exposed to other ways - our personal hygiene products, household cleaners,
the air we breathe and the water we drink. I'll slowly incorporate
changes in these areas as time and money allow and as I educate myself. And
we already have a ton of toxins in our body. We can try and kick them out by internal cleansing and detoxification. I've decided Toxin Tuesdays will be the day I will blog about progress I'm making on my side project.

Given I'm eating clean, exercising and I'm not stressed I'm a little miffed
that I'm still experiencing symptoms of adrenal fatigue. If you don't know
what that is - congratulations - I envy you. I had severe adrenal fatigue
(ie. Burn out) two years ago. My symptoms now are mild compared to then but
my anxiety, night sweats and blood sugar swings are sure signs something is
still "stressing" my adrenals.

So I have started a few quick and easy internal cleansing and
detoxification methods to see if that can help. I'm still nursing so a hard
core cleanse isn't in the cards right now (and I'm not sure I would do one
anyway). But I've started these three things because I can fit them in my
day and they are cheap.

1) Lemons. If life gives you lemons make lemonade..... Or if life gives you
adrenal fatigue and/or toxins have the  juice squeezed from half a lemon in
a half cup of warm water when you wake up in the morning.

I do this every morning before I eat or drink anything and then take my
pro-biotics. Why. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is alkalizing to the body
(which is what we want), stimulates bile production and is cleansing for
the kidneys. And who doesn't want clean kidneys. The adrenals sit on the
kidneys - they are friends. So I think I should take care of them. Plus my
high protein diet probably gives my kidneys a bit of a work-out so I'm just
giving back.

Plus they are pretty cheap - about $.30 to $.60 a lemon so a detox for as
little as $.15 a day. And frankly, there is an interior design
motive as well - a bowl of fresh lemons on the counter looks amazing. Am I wrong?





2) Dry brushing. All this entails is brushing the skin with a natural
bristle brush before showering or bathing toward the heart, gently but
vigorously in long firm strokes. I start with my legs, torso, neck, shoulders and end with my arms (from fingers to armpits). It literally takes a couple minutes - I can make time for this. I bought a $4 sisal brush from Walmart. Cheap.

Dry brushing stimulates lymph flow (which is directy related to your immune
and detoxification systems) and it good for skin tone. Hey - and it feels
good, invigorating!

3) Epsom salt bath. I love taking baths so this is no hardship. I am
terrible at relaxing or sitting still EXCEPT my half hour super hot bath
each night. This is another cheap detox (except that my husband says I put
a real drain on our hot water tank). I got 4kg's of Epsom salts at Walmart
for $10. I've also tried apple cider vinegar and plan to try a fresh ginger
bath soon. The epsom bath is a good detox because it contains magnesium to
relax muscles and sulfur to aid in detoxification and it helps increase blood
supply to the skin.

So there are three ways you can quickly and cheaply do a daily
detox......but I gotta run - time for my bath.