Is it really possible to cure Lupus with diet?

Recently, this naturally healthy grandma ordered a naturally healthy cure book for “her” Lupus. The book is by a doctor who has been Lupus free for 10 years. She used a raw vegan diet (tons of fresh fruit and veggies) (no processed foods allowed) combined with powerful green smoothies and a gallon of filtered water a day to rid her body of all signs of Lupus.

Now, this doctor was much sicker than I am now, which is saying a lot for her amazing recovery. I'm pretty freaking sick, you guys. However, her Lupus had escalated to the point where her kidneys were impacted. She had blood sugar issues and had also suffered several mini strokes. Right now I am on a journey to follow her lead and try to cure my Lupus with her “Goodbye Lupus” diet. I figure that if it worked for her issues, curing mine should be no problem.

So, is it possible?

Well, to be honest, I have no idea if this will lead to a permanent cure. There are no guarantees in life, after all. However, I am showing some improvement already after just a few short weeks. Also, to be fair, I have cheated on the raw thing a few times, so my results may not reflect hers until I become more disciplined and/or until more time has passed.

What kind of results am I seeing?

The main issues that have started resolving themselves at this point in my journey are digestive. Before I started this diet, I was, to put it bluntly, worshiping the porcelain god on a regular nightly basis. Most nights of the week would find me awake and suffering from extremely painful acid re-flux, unable to digest most of what I had eaten that day. To put it delicately, what won't go down has nowhere to go but back up.

Now the good news.

Since about a week after starting this diet I am no longer having those late night episodes. You have no idea how much of a relief that is. This week, I had one night where the acid re-flux reared it's ugly head for what I am hoping was the last hurrah. It was a very mild attack, though and not nearly as intense as it used to be. So at least where the digestive issues are concerned, I believe this diet is helping.

So, even if that's all the benefit I get from purchasing this book, it's certainly worth the time, money and effort. It's no fun feeling as if you have a horrendous case of food poisoning on a nightly basis for sure. I'm so thankful for the reprieve from that issue.

To what do I owe this relief?

Well, those green smoothies are an absolute powerhouse of nutrition. In addition to the dark leafy greens, they also contain organic powdered greens with added vitamins, chlorella and spirulina, which, among other things are wonderful for moving things along, if you know what I mean. And then there is that gallon of daily water. That certainly doesn't hurt the digestive process. It likely provides extra lubrication and also flushes a lot of toxins from the system. Not to mention the fact that banishing chemical ridden tap water from the diet is always a good plan.

So there you go. Cross your toes and fingers for me. This naturally healthy vegan grandma is taking things to a whole new even healthier level. I may just beat this Lupus thing, after all. And even if I don't, at least I will be getting some awesome nutrition to help me fight it and feel better doing so. Wish me luck!

Note: This is not a paid revue. The author of this post has no affiliation with the author of the book mentioned.

Just another crazy day in the life at Grandma's house

Let me take you through an average, awesomely crazy day for us here at Grandma's house. It was February and I believe, if my sensory perception is correct, it was at least 70 degrees out. But that's not all. Gary spent the day serving on a jury, which necessitated me giving him a ride back and forth. There was also the matter of getting Tia back and forth to work. Nope, that's not all either.

On the way to buy home-school workbooks, we brought “our” found cat to Pet Smart where they discovered she had a microchip. So, after a bunch of phone calls, etc. she's back with her new owners.

It was also spring poop-scoop day. Which generally occurs when it's been hot enough and dry enough to make it a more pleasant task, if you get my wind drift.

So, off I went to the backyard with rake, shovel and contractor bags in hand to start that fun as heck job. Meanwhile, I had mentioned to my oldest grand-daughter, Amber, that it might be fun to build a tiny fort for the younger two, which she started gathering scrap wood for.

The idea was that she and the littlest grand-daughter, Aja would build the little house while I spent the afternoon scooping poop. Fun times and a great plan, right? Turns out, though, they needed more than my not-so-technical advice.

So, before you know it, I was hammering away with them, having done only 1/3 of the yard. Surprise! Building a tiny play house is way more fun than scooping poop. Who knew?

Now, due to the fact that our nail gun was malfunctioning and we couldn't find the saw to cut the boards to size and a few other issues, like the umbrella nearly taking Amber off to sky-land, we had to settle for a really, really, tiny house play house (with a tarp roof instead of the cool umbrella roof we were going to make.)

In the process of all this, I heard my phone ringing in my pocket. Turns out that I had butt dialed my brother in NY. In fact, my sister-in-law called to inform me that my butt had called so many times in a row (her estimate was 20) that she took the phone off the hook, thinking it was a telemarketer. Yes, they still have an old house phone. And they do have caller ID, but for some reason my name didn't show up on it.

We had a great laugh over the whole thing, then my brother got on the phone. Now, anyone who knows my brother and I very well, knows what that means. We are the thinkers of the family, for sure. Some might even go so far as to use those two dirty words (conspiracy theorists) when referring to us. Really what we are though is just two compassionate people who are good at connecting the dots.

We don't think anyone is conspiring against us, not really, anyway. We don't believe aliens are trying to kidnap or poison us or anything all that crazy. We just basically think the planet is fucked and humans are responsible. Well, that's the short of it, anyway. If you want the long of it, you'll have to listen in sometime. Because this blog is too short for that.

In fact, I'm about at the end of my page. So, the rest of the day was filled with doing housework, picking up Gary and Tia, buying girl scout cookies, making spaghetti and watching re-runs of Stargate Atlantis, during which, Gary started snoring loudly, then sat up and declared he was going to bed. Yup. Just another day. And believe it or not, I left a lot of stuff out!

Setting a healthy example

Healthy and yummy! It's a win/win.

You know, the older I get, the more I realize the importance of passing on good, healthy habits to my kids and grand-kids. Doing so may save them from chronic illness or at least keep the symptoms of any inherited illnesses they may acquire down to a dull roar. And for me, that's doubly important.

The Lupus and Rheumatoid that I'm fighting are both prevalent in my family. I'm told that they come from my Dad's side. That means my kids and grand-kids may unfortunately inherit those Lupus and Rheumatoid tendencies from me, as I did from him.

But you know, that's not all. You see, even if I didn't have these chronic illnesses, I would want the healthiest future for them. Doesn't everyone want their descendants to live long, happy, healthy lives? And of course, the more we learn, the more we realize that healthy habits are vital for disease prevention.

I've even heard that lifestyle choices can impact the physical condition of the future gene pool. In other words, unhealthy people produce unhealthy people. Who knew? But even if this weren't true, there's something else to consider.

Monkey see, monkey do? We all know that kids whose parents smoke often pick up the habit themselves. And so it follows that people who have unhealthy habits are likely passing those on, not just through physical changes, but through example.

I always say it's the best teacher. Example, that is. I'm sure I could find a study that proves it, but I think it's fairly obvious, don't you? We've all seen whole families of athletes or whole families of couch potatoes, right? It's pretty common.

So, when I make these positive changes for my health and the health of the planet, I'm not just doing it for my own sake. I'm doing it for my kids and grand-kids too. So they don't ever have to go through what I do with these illnesses.

Because I know that focusing on my own good health isn't just good for me. It's good for them too. Plus, I'm not ready to say goodbye to them yet. We have a whole lot of good times to look forward to and a lot of moments to share. Throwing that all away for a lousy ice cream cone just feels selfish to me.

Stay healthy, my friends. If not for yourself, than for your loved ones. Because one of the best gifts you can give them is a healthy example to follow.