MY JUICING PROGRESS – June 2015 (30months on...)
Well, nobody is more
surprised than I….
I have continued
with my dietary changes and juicing regime, which I started in December 2012.
The drive for me, being that, I wanted, and want, to feel better.
I have previously
written articles about my ‘juicing epiphany’ and ‘juicing progress’, which were
published in Hot News and I posted on my blog, Click here.
Having lived with a
diffuse systemic sclerosis and Raynaud's diagnosis since 1997, along with years
of immunosuppressants, steroids and antibiotics, my GI system had almost gone
into lock down, accompanied with the constant lethargy and tiredness.
My body felt very
heavy, and clothes had to be baggy and loose, prompting a juicer purchase as a
desperate last resort.
Fast forward
30months…. I have reduced my acid attacks by avoiding certain trigger foods.
I have reduced my
constant bloated feeling by cutting out starch (bread / pasta / rice / potatoes
/ wheat / gluten), caffeine, milk, alcohol and meat.
At first this
dramatic alteration was quite difficult to get used to, but the desire to feel
better, kept me going.
A typical day for me
is: juice of half lemon with warm boiled water to start.
I then go and
indulge in my mermaid duties to moisturise my skin, warm my joints and kick
start my circulation.
I will then have a
bowl of unsweetened muesli with almond milk and half a banana.
At lunch time I will
juice ¼ grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 inch thick slice of pineapple and strawberries
or blackberries or blueberries, and then mix this juice with ½ banana and
organic natural yoghurt to make a smoothie.
I use the yoghurt to
neutralise the acid from the vitamin c packed juice as well as to control my
internal candida – a result of years of antibiotic consumption (since changing
my diet, I have only had one course of antibiotics).
Mid afternoon I will
juice pineapple, 2 golden and delicious apples (they are the juiciest),
cucumber, ½ lime, and then mix this juice with 1tspoon of spirulina, 1tspoon of
wheatgrass and a probiotic capsule.
Then later on for my
evening meal I will have salmon or a vegetarian option with steamed vegetables,
or a fresh salad, including avocado a few times a week.
Sugar is my biggest
challenge… cake / chocolate.
Not only have I
noticed a welcome increase in my energy, but an improvement in my skin elasticity
and an improvement in my pain management, also. I was hoping to be at the
recent EULAR world congress in Rome, but unfortunately my Raynaud’s symptoms
still remain a challenge.
However, I was
delighted to hear of the evidence based medicine which was presented on the
final day, confirming that patients with systemic sclerosis have a distinct
colonic microbiome that might contribute to clinical manifestations of the
disease - According to a new study, led by Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, from the
University of California at Los Angeles.
The timing of this
presentation coincided with a fellow patient, Kelli Schrag, based in Kansas
City, US, setting up the facebook page ‘Healing and Loving Scleroderma with
Real Food’ and inviting me to be her assistant, so that we could share our
personal experiences as to how our diet choice changes, have helped improve our
symptoms.
If you use facebook
– please ‘like’ our page! And as if by magic, this all happened on my 42nd
birthday, so I took it as perfect confirmation that my dietary changes of the
last 30months was the best present that I could have given, and continue to
give myself.
I hope my experience
can help anyone else who may be feeling as I did, before I turned my kitchen
into a mini pharmacy.
I have written ‘my
personal experience survival guide of living with systemic sclerosis and Raynauds’,
where I include more detail as to my day to day routine, and I posted on my
blog.
Read more, Click here
VITAMIN C SMOOTHIE
JUICE INSTRUCTIONS:
Ingredients : ½
pineapple, 1 big orange, 1/4 (quarter) red grapefruit, 100g strawberries, 100g
raspberries, ½ banana, 225g natural organic yogurt - rinse the pineapple /
strawberries / raspberries - peel the orange - peel the grapefruit quarter -
place the above in the juicer - mix the juice with the banana half, yogurt and
ice in the blender.
GREEN JUICE
INSTRUCTIONS:
Ingredients: ½
pineapple, ½ lime, 2 golden delicious (they’re the most juicy) apples, 1inch
thick cucumber, 1tsp spirulina, 1tsp wheatgrass powder. - rinse the pineapple,
cucumber and apples - peel the lime - add the above in the juicer - mix the
juice with wheatgrass, spirulina, and ice in the blender AND LOTS OF ICE IN
BOTH :)
18th June 2015
PLEASE DONATE to the ROYAL FREE CHARITY, to
help fund desperately needed MEDICAL RESEARCH at the SCLERODERMA UNIT, THE
ROYAL FREE NHS HOSPITAL.
#SclerodermaFreeWorld #RaynaudsFreeWorld #Research
#Autoimmune #RareDisease #LifeChanging
