Dear Mrs. Rev. Benson

Please scroll down and read my other post; it's much more "me" today.

I'm taking a break in my blogging practices to respond to Mrs. Rev. Benson. She asked why Natasha and I make the food choices we do. I'll answer that in a second. Check this out periodically for some of our ideas.

Kristi, our lifestyle changed over a year ago before we began understanding what was wrong with Natasha's health. She had gone into the hospital with more pain than ever and strange rashes. She had already tried eliminating some wheat and dairy, but it seemed as though not much was helping. The doctors had no answers, but they gave her Tylenol 3. BIG mistake. She had an allergic reaction before I went to work one morning that resulted in her passing out, turning gray, and remaining unconscious for over 1 minute!

Once that was under control, we started looking into many more options. We came across a naturopath who helped us understand the origin of several of Natasha's pains. It turns out that many of us are putting garbage into our systems that ultimately result in problems. The "garbage" isn't necessarily junk food (though that's a large culprit). It's actually a combination of many chemicals and food combinations that aren't good. Add to that the human body's need for enzymes - a naturally produced digestive chemical in the body. Humans have a storehouse of enzymes, which many of us in North America use up over time. Enzymes are found naturally in vegetables and raw meat. Who eats raw meat - aside from sushi? How many of us eat vegetables (NOT potatoes, corn, etc., which are all STARCHES!!!) - especially the dark, leafy green ones? So, here we are - people who like to eat lots of chemicals (MSG), junk food, weird food combinations (proteins and starches, for example - very bad - down with steak and potatoes!!!), and heavy doses of starches (pasta, bread, potatoes, corn, etc.) without supplementing our bodies with enzymes to break it all down.

That sounded nerdy, and it was. The result of what I just wrote about, though, is body malfunction. For some people it means acid reflux (which Natasha used to have). It can be as extreme as something like fibromyalgia (which she also had). It's also common for people to have irritable bowel syndrome, excessive gassiness, and nausea symptoms (these are much more common).

The point? The naturopath listened to Natasha spill about her body for over two hours. Then he empowered us. It turns out that he and his wife had prayed for a solution to his wife's fibromyalgia and stumbled across dietary issues. He was a doctor, and doctors (at least in Canada) are strongly encouraged NOT to follow naturopathy because it hurts the pharmaceutical companies (who are giving chemicals with side-effects that they'll have to prescribe other medicine to cure, all to the result of a crazy pharmaceutical cycle). He did not continue practicing as a licensed doctor so that he could actually help people. He does reflexology and hydrocolonics, but we have benefitted as a family from his advice in dietary lifestyle. It's not a cure, but getting one's eating lifestyle back on track is important for all of us.

At first, we were hardcore. We did NO wheat (or anything glutenous), NO sugar, NO dairy, and NO red meat. As Natasha's body came around we began introducing grains, raw honey, 100% pure maple syrup, yogurt (and similar mild dairy), and the like. We still eat red meat sparsely; it's difficult to digest. We also avoid regular wheat products. We don't eat much sugar (not counting what we ate at Rev. Benson's and Mrs. Rev. Benson's ordination shindig). We choose things that have few ingredients. If we can't identify several things in an ingredient list, we know it didn't grow that way, so we avoid it.

We came to the point over time in which we realized that the Lord was answering a prayer we had prayed for years. We wanted Natasha's health under control, but He wasn't giving a huge sign from the sky. Instead, He empowered us with a lifestyle that had shown remarkable improvement in Natasha's health, and I couldn't believe how much better I felt! Instead of a flash healing, He empowered us with a gradual solution that we'll keep over time. Without what we know now, a miraculous healing would have been undone with poor habits in another 20 years, right?

So, now you know (if you read this whole thing). It seems impossible, but we love to eat and love cooking. Start with chicken, fish, fruit, and vegetables, and see where that takes you. If you want to know more, you know where we are.