To explain, ever since I became pregnant with Max I've kind of been on a kick to try to "be healthier", for the sake of pregnancy. Then, when Max was diagnosed with eczema, I delved in and tried my best to educate myself on true health and nutrition, not just what we call conventional medical thought. I've learned so much!
The biggest thing I've learned is this:
All disease is caused by:
1. Overload of toxins (too much bad)
2. Nutritional deficiency (not enough good), or, as in most cases,
3. Both.
That, to me, is health in a nutshell. Out with the bad, in with the good. God gave us amazing bodies and He gave us everything we need to be in good health. Sadly, we just don't know this anymore! We think that we are supposed to start falling apart by our forties. Why? There are uncivilized tribes still in existence who know of no cancer, heart disease, or diabetes (not to mention the myriad of other diseases) whatsoever. Until..... a modern, processed diet is introduced and within one generation (!) their breeding stock has been compromised. Amazing.
Anyway, in this quest to learn more about health, I have tried a plethora of nutritional supplements, methods, and resources and I have formed various opinions about them. For those who are interested, I'm going to share what has worked for me and what hasn't. This is only intended to be an aid to others; I'm no doctor and everyone's different and all that other disclaimer stuff.
So let's get started. These generally are in no particular order.
My Favorites!
1. Kefir
Basically, this is a specially fermented milk drink, similar to yogurt but more beneficial. You can read more about kefir here. It has protein, probiotics, enzymes, calcium, and it tastes great! This is a wonderful drink for pregnancy, because of the high protein content and calcium. My favorite flavor is Pomegranate. Try it sometime, they carry it at HEB. You can also make your own. I can't stress this enough: this is one of the healthiest things you could consume, and it is to your benefit to consume this regularly.2. Enzymes
I only recently learned about enzymes, but they are amazing. Get this: enzymes are essential to life; in fact, the definition of death is a complete lack of enzyme activity. There are thousands of enzymes out there. Enzymes are necessary to assimilate our food and to use the nutrients available from that food. Raw foods contain enzymes, but only enough to digest that food. Our bodies produce the enzymes needed for cooked food, but since we eat waaaay more cooked food than raw (in most cases) our bodies are taxed to produce all these enzymes necessary for digestion. Raw meat, and raw eggs also contain enzymes.
Anyway, I had the problem that after eating a heavy meal, my food would sit like a brick in my stomach and I hardly had the energy to move! I started taking digestive enzymes and that put a stop to it; I wish I had known about these years ago. This takes such a strain off of my body.
Also, at Max's 18-mo. check-up, the doctor explained that he was falling off the chart in the weight category and we'd need to keep an eye on his weight. Well, I was puzzled. Max ate adult sized portions, pooped adult sized portions (sorry), and was always hungry. I knew something was up, and so I started giving him digestive enzymes like the ones you see in the picture. The results amazed me. Within less than six weeks, Max had gained two and a half pounds, more than he had gained since he turned one year old. If any of you have a toddler who can't seem to hang on to their food, you might want to try digestive enzymes.
You can learn more about enzymes, and even take an online course, at: www.enzymedica.com.
Well, I can hear Max crying in the next room so I will end here and pick up sometime later. xoxo
Anyway, I had the problem that after eating a heavy meal, my food would sit like a brick in my stomach and I hardly had the energy to move! I started taking digestive enzymes and that put a stop to it; I wish I had known about these years ago. This takes such a strain off of my body.
Also, at Max's 18-mo. check-up, the doctor explained that he was falling off the chart in the weight category and we'd need to keep an eye on his weight. Well, I was puzzled. Max ate adult sized portions, pooped adult sized portions (sorry), and was always hungry. I knew something was up, and so I started giving him digestive enzymes like the ones you see in the picture. The results amazed me. Within less than six weeks, Max had gained two and a half pounds, more than he had gained since he turned one year old. If any of you have a toddler who can't seem to hang on to their food, you might want to try digestive enzymes.
You can learn more about enzymes, and even take an online course, at: www.enzymedica.com.
Well, I can hear Max crying in the next room so I will end here and pick up sometime later. xoxo
2 comments:
Loved the reviews!
Quick question: Do you culture your kefir or buy it. I've had terrible luck culturing my own and wonder if you've had better luck than me. I've only tried it with kefir grains and recently bought the freeze-dried starter at the health food store. I'll be trying it this week. The other gets so expensive. Any tips are welcome!
Erin, I just this week bought a quart of milk to try and culture my own. I've always bought Kefir from the bottle. I've got the starter culture - and I'll let you know how it goes.
But! I have used the starter culture to make young coconut kefir. You drain the coconut water from young green coconuts and then culture it. DELICIOUS! It tastes like champagne. Here's the recipe I used, it's a little involved but it is fun to make and is great for a non-dairy diet.
http://www.bodyecology.com/mcoconutkefir.php
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