Since we are always hearing about the ways our diets can influence our health negatively, I thought it might be helpful to share with you an example of how a diet full of real, whole, nutrient dense food has the power to change our health circumstances – for the better.
For all of you who know me personally or have read my story in the about section of this site, you know my journey to better health began after being diagnosed with a no-cure, connective-tissue auto-immune disease.
UPDATE: As of April 2021, I am excited to tell you all that exactly one month after posting this, my specialist told me I am in remission!
Like many of you, when I thought about dieting, it was in the context of trying to lose weight simply to look better or to be able to fit into the kinds of cute clothes that my friends were wearing. The word “diet” had nothing to do with making better choices for health reasons. But, when faced with a frightening diagnosis, I knew I had to do something about my way of eating because I NEEDED to!
Life in bed wasn’t working for this type-A!
Because I was dealing with some really tough symptoms that left me unable to function, I began taking several prescribed medications. One of these medications is considered “high-risk” because it can lead to retina damage, which could then cause blindness.
As you might imagine, this does not sit well with me – at all! So, I decided at the very beginning of this protocol that one of my immediate goals would be to get off this medication as quickly as humanly possible. While I haven’t been able to discontinue it altogether, I have made huge strides in having my dose reduced, and rather drastically.
**UPDATE: This medication is no longer necessary as of April 2021!
While I wait for my body to catch up to my wishes (it finally did in April 2021!), I have to undergo some intense, in-depth examinations of my retinas (my last appointment took 4 hours). The only place that has the necessary equipment for this thorough analysis is at a specialty eye hospital. This hospital is affiliated with a major university, so it’s a teaching hospital.
Being a teaching hospital means they routinely have doctors-in-training, or residents, see patients first, before the supervising doctor comes in. The residents are responsible for reviewing case details, asking relevant questions, and reporting back their observations and impressions to the supervising physician.
Typically, the residents are much younger than their supervisors. This is notable because this is the point in the story where things get really, really interesting.
Recently, I had my screenings done. As usual, the resident comes in, file in hand, hurriedly plops down on the stool, rolls himself over to me even quicker than when he first plopped down on it, and begins asking the customary questions.
Part of this interaction involves a review of my current medications. All is going very routinely, until…the resident notices that over the course of my therapy on this highly toxic medication, my dosages have tapered down significantly.
He says to me, and I quote:
“Hmm, how have you been able to reduce your dosages? I’m asking because we don’t usually see this. We see the opposite. You know, folks end up needing more of the medication as time goes by to continue getting its therapeutic benefit.”
Now, as much as I wanted to challenge his use of the word “therapeutic”… like for crying out loud, how can you call a drug “therapeutic” when its use can cause blindness?? I didn’t.
I simply responded, “I changed my diet.”
I genuinely thought that would be the end of it. And that’s because I’ve had other doctors throughout the course of my monitoring ask me roughly the same thing. And, even though they asked, there’s never been any interest to dig deeper. All I’ve ever gotten was a shoulder shrug and a bewildered look.
But, I was wrong.
Then this happened…
This resident doc changed his manner. He became more relaxed and quite inquisitive. He pulled his stool in closer, looked me dead in the eyes, and said, “Tell me more about that.”
So, I did.
I told about the circumstances surrounding my illness and about all the symptoms that left me unable to function, and for how long. I also mentioned that despite all the medication I had been prescribed, nothing was changing. Then, I paused to check to see if he was still genuinely listening.
He was.
So, I went on and explained how I changed the way I eat. I explained how I ditched all highly-processed crap, began limiting sugar and flour, and how I began to eat a diet full of real, whole, nutrient-dense foods. I also explained the results of that decision, namely, a loss of a huge amount of weight, and a loss of debilitating disease symptoms, which led to several medications being stopped. And, because docs love data, I also mentioned how certain disease markers – as evidenced by my blood work – had improved, and continue to do so.
Can you guess what he said?
It might not be what you’re thinking!
He said, “That’s amazing. You inspire me!”
I have to say, I was shocked by that!
Not surprisingly, however, when the older supervising doc came in, nothing beyond, “All your tests are within normal parameters” was said.
While this is great news for my vision, and it relieves me of some of my anxiety, it still shows there’s work to be done.
Drugs don’t always have to be the long-term answer – especially ones that have such horrendous side effects.
Regardless, I am encouraged that a new generation of up-and-coming doctors seems to be more open to the idea that real food can heal.
I’m calling this one a win!
Stay optimistic, fellow health seekers!
Looks like things are beginning to change.