My Real Food Testimonial

Thanks to the wonderful Real Food Media Blog Network for inspiring me to write this blog entry for Real Food Wednesday!

I really have to thank all the wonderful food I've been eating! In January of 2006, my wonderful naturopath told me I needed to cut soy, wheat, dairy, and corn out of my diet. Needless to say, I had to redefine what food was for me, and I learned the beginnings of cooking and eating healthier. Within three weeks, I was able to stop taking medication for high blood pressure and diabetes -- something that I did not think was possible, given that I have been taking medication since I graduated high school (too many years to count! LOL). Eating real foods gave me hope.

This hope led me to studying holistic nutrition, which then led me to Nourishing Traditions and the Weston A. Price Foundation, all within the past 6 months. I am amazed at all the various things I've learned about bad, bad soy (I ate soy before I was born!), enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, pasteurization, pesticides, food additives, etc. It is scary to think about what we as a society have learned is acceptable as food.

Real foods have helped DH and me eliminate leaky gut syndrome and upset GI tract symptoms. They have also helped me to reduce the effects of candida (with probiotics and cutting sugar out completely). Real food tastes better, plus there is a huge LOVE factor that goes into real food that you won't find in mechanically processed foods. I feel this is an extremely important intangible factor that we are missing if we aren't eating real food.

Today, I still struggle to get my blood sugars to a "normal" range, but I am learning to trust myself. I realize now that I am my best healer. I do not want to get back onto medication! Working with my OMD, I am taking herbs and botanicals and eating fermented, probiotic, and homecooked foods to nourish and strengthen all my body systems. I am still in the process of eliminating foods that don't work for me. And I still make mistakes in eating "bad" food every once in a while (especially when forced to eat out). It's a slow but good learning process. And I'm not willing to turn back on all that I've learned!