Monday, February 21, 2011

Does This Mean Anything?

Is this a coincidence or is it real?  For the last week, that is except for today and yesterday, I have been having raw green smoothies for breakfast.  I am used to eating some sort of carb for breakfast, but I had been trying to starrt my day off right so that maybe I would make better choices for the rest of the day.  Prior to making this change in my diet, I had been having pretty rough sinus type headaches.  Once I started having the raw green smoothies, I noticed I was no longer waking up with a headache.  I was getting over a cold, so I was not sure if my diet change had anything to do with not having anymoer headaches or if I was finally over my cold.  I haven't had a headache since, that is until today.  I have had a slight headache off and on all day.  It's not the piercing headache that I was having before, but none the less an anoying headache.  The funny thing is, yesterday and today I did not have my raw green smoothie for breakfast.  I did have 2 glasses last night before bed and then a 1/2 glass after my pancakes this morning.  Yesterday I had french toast.  I find it interesting that now that I started my day off with starchy carbs, my headache is back.  It's probably just a coincidence, but just in case,  I am back to my raw green smoothie for breakfast tomorrow and nothing else.  No more carbs in the morning.  Ok, no more gluten or wheat or any of the other grains that i shouldn't be eating, in the morning.  Actually no more of the grans that I shouldn't be eating ever.  I think the headache today made me realize that I really need to do something with my diet, never mind that I have lost about 6 pounds without dieting, just making lifestyle changes!

I am still researching and enjoying reading others blogs.  I love how many people out there are dealing with food issues and that they are sharing their struggles and what has helped them.  After seeing how much of a role dairy played in my older son's breathing difficulty, I am more aware of how food affects people.  I almost pushed for my son to have surgery, tonsillectomy and maybe even an adenoidectomy, and all I had to do was eliminate milk from his diet to notice a very noticable improvement to his breathing.  The best part is, others have noticed it too, so I know that it is not just me wanting to believe that there has been a change!  I am also wondering if citrus may be another trigger for my kids since they have recently been eating a ton of oranges and are again having diaper rashes.  I know we need to have them offically tested for allergies, but my anecdoctal information says that they are having issues with certain foods.  Now, I just need to maintain our dairy free diet and add a gluten free, citrus free, probably sugar free diet to what we eat.  I am really interested to see what role more diet changes play in our lives!  If anyone has good blogs regarding healthy eating, please pass them on. 

I have a little more information on my mom's cancer diagnosis.  At this time, she has stage 1 grade 2 breast cancer.  This means that the tumor was small, only about 0.9cm (about 3/4 in) and that it is semi-aggressive in nature.  It is an invasive form of cancer, so she will be having an MRI to see if the cancer has spread any where else in her body.  After that, she needs to have a lymph node biopsy, which will help to determine what type of treatment she has.  Then after that, she will have the BRCA test to see if she carries the gene for breast cancer.  This is actually pretty scary for me since I know that my great grandmother, my grandmother and her twin, and now my mom have all had breast cancer.  If she does not have the gene I will be very surprised (no one else in my grandmother's family had breast cancer except for her twin sister), but you never know.  This diagnosis has also made me re-evaluate my eating habits.  I still don't always make the best choices, but I know that whatever changes I make are going to be lifestyle changes, not just momentary changes.  I will be 38 this summer and I have 3 small children.  Thankfully, it seems as if breast cancer tends to hit after menopause in my family, but the time is now to make the changes, not wait until something happens.  Right now, I'm all about prevention.  Any suggestions on cancer preventing diets is always helpful and very much appreciated!

Here's to making lifestyle changes that will help me be a healthier happier person and making them stick!
Amy

2 comments:

  1. My kids also tend to get diaper rash when they eat a lot of fruit but I don't think it means they have an allergy. I think its just a result of the acid in the food and the poop on their skin. Once they are out of diapers, it should be a non-issue.

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  2. If my kids only issue were diaper rash, then I wouldn't be as concerned. Michael has had so many improvements. He was having issues with sleep apnea, itchy skin to the point of bleeding and scabs, poor food intake, not sleeping through the night, along with diaper rashes and raspy breathing during the day. These issues have greatly improved. Oh, and his social skills have improved. It's amazing how many people have noticed. And, i'm sleeping through the night, because Michael is! I love how much better he is!

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