I really like Chris Kresser's work. He works with the founders of the SCDLifestyle.com website. I agree far more than I disagree with him. Here in the US, I'm able to buy mayo made with avocado oil and whole eggs. It's not as sweet but quite good. I only recently switched to a mustard that is labeled gluten free.
Due to our increased risk of colon cancer, I try to eat cabbage, broccoli, brussell sprouts, or cauliflower every day, mostly cooked. If there's one thing I learned from Steve and Jordan at SCDLifestyle, it's to steam or sauté vegetables thoroughly during an active flare, though I continued to eat lots of leafy greens once a day throughout my last flare. The rest of the time I eat a mix of cooked and some raw vegetables. If I'm on the run, and don't have time to eat, I'll grab a carrot and some nuts on my way out the door.
A former co-worker was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so I went in search for a book for her. My hope is that it will help her as much as it's enlightening me about my health.
The book, Radical Remission, by a researcher and psychotherapist who specializes in integrative oncology, asks an interesting question: What are the factors that led to cancer patient's remission? Intrigued, I bought a copy of the book for me too.
I believe in the power of diet and thoughtfully chosen nutritional supplements so was curious as to what she learned. In her review of 1,000 cases, and more than 100 interviews, she identified 75 factors. Of those 75 factors, 9 were utilized by all "radical remission" patients she interviewed. She dedicates one chapter to each factor, and supplements them with lots of patient stories:
Radically Changing Your Diet
Taking Control of Your Health
Following Your Intuition
Using Herbs and Supplements
Releasing Suppressed Emotions
Increasing Positive Emotions
Embracing Social Support
Deepening Your Spiritual Connection
Having Strong Reasons for Living
What surprised me as well as her was that only 2 of the 9 factors were based on
physical changes. I'm three-fifths through the book now, and am doing a lot of highlighting. One of the challenges of facilitating a diabetes group, is not allowing fear to overwhelm me, when, for example, I'm having a bad week, or members of our group are slow to get started, sometimes taking 6 months or longer to implement all the changes they need to make to get their blood glucose levels down.
What I'm learning from this book, is that overcoming fear through our thoughts and actions is critical to restoring health, and that that how we talk with ourselves and others as well as the quality of our supportive relationships play an important role. So if I've learned one thing, it's to support every member by what they're doing that's helping them rather than what I think they're doing wrong. I'm also learning that
I need a lot of work in this area. I'm a recoverying perfectionist...[giggle].
I really like the attitude and flexibility you've adapted about your diet.
A quote I read this morning reflects what you're describing:
"When we feel fear or stress, our hormones tell the cells in our bodies to either fight or flee. When we feel joy or love, our hormones tell our bodies to spend time repairing broken cells, digesting food, and healing infections. As we learned in chapter 5, these two modes are mutually exclusive--our bodies are either fighting/fleeing or healing, not both."
For those who have IBD or IBS, it's a long journey of trial and error to find the magic sequence of treatments and foods to heal our gut. I'm amazed by what you've accomplished.