Pulling My Hair Out- Literally

I mentioned my concern about my teeth a few weeks ago.  I have another concern now that I'm researching:  My hair is falling out! 

I have thick, coarse hair, and always tend to comb out some after showering.  One of the questions they asked me at my naturopath doctor visit was if I was losing more hair than normal.  I said possibly, because it seemed like a little more.

But now when I'm showering, I'm taking away GOBS of hair.  It's really gross.  I should take a picture and show you how much comes out after one shower.  Not normal.

I did a bit of research online, and found that you definitely can lose hair when you have rapid weight loss, usually when it's over 20 lbs- yep, that's me.  I've now lost 25 pounds in three months.  Some things I read leaned toward a B vitamin imbalance.  Others mention magnesium.

I just read another possibility that is alarming to me (taken from this link):

1. Tooth discoloration and hair loss seem to be common trends in GAPS patients?

Tooth discoloration and hair loss are very rare in GAPS patients, and usually happen in very toxic people, particularly people with metal toxicity. Hair and teeth are those places where the body often stores toxins in. Many things happen in the body, as the GAPS programme is initiated. We don’t know what happens exactly, but it is possible that the hair, full of toxins, get dropped by the body to allow new “clean” hair to grow. With teeth: I have seen autistic children who had their permanent teeth growing with black spots embedded in them. One particular boy displayed noticeable improvements in his autism in the weeks following the removal of the black spot by the dentist. It is possible that his body has stored mercury from vaccinations or some other toxins in the growing tooth. We don’t know what happens exactly, but it is likely that the detoxification initiated by the GAPS Nutritional Protocol starts shifting the toxins around, which may be the cause of tooth discoloration in the initial stages. In the long run, however, your child is likely to grow beautiful white teeth, as I have seen in so many GAPS children.

Another link to teeth!?  Hmmmm.  I've been toying with the idea of going to a holistic dentist to remove my amalgam fillings, but it's expensive, and I don't have dental insurance.  Time for more research to see if it can wait, or if that is something I truly need to address in order to overcome my candida problems.  Things I've read from the very start mentioned getting rid of amalgam fillings.  I've got a bunch.  Bother.

I would LOVE to hear any advice or experience you've had with hair loss while losing weight, or amalgam fillings.  If you've had any removed, did you notice any differences?

*This post is linked to the Healthy Home Economist Monday Mania.  Check it out!

Intro to GAPS diet- Day 5

This afternoon I had a bit of a GAPS Intro melt down.  I got REALLY anxious, which is something I haven't felt since the first few weeks that I cut out sugar, back in early August.  I was serving Bekah an almond power bar that I made yesterday for the family, and I suddenly lost it.  I HAD to have it, and decided that it was okay since everything in the bar was still in the regular GAPS diet.  I didn't stop myself.  I wasn't sure if I'd have a reaction or anything, but it really calmed me down. 

Now to figure out why I was feeling like that.  I think it is because I ran 6 miles this morning, and then for breakfast I had onion soup, and for lunch I had carrot/cauliflower/onion soup.  Maybe not enough calories & my body suddenly freaked out?

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the author of GAPS, wrote an excellent article titled One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison, and I strongly recommend that you read it!  Here are a few excerpts that make me think of what happened to me today:

Depending on what your body is doing at the time, depending on the season of the year, on the weather and the level of stress you are under, your body can switch between different ways of energy production: using glucose for example or using fats. Only your body knows what is appropriate at any particular moment of your existence, and it requires very different nutrients for different patterns of energy production.

***

No matter how clever we think we are, we cannot calculate how much salt or water we should consume at any given time: only your body knows that, and it has excellent ways of telling you what it needs – thirst for water, desire for salt or any particular food, which may have the right mineral composition. Make no mistake, your body knows the nutrient composition of foods on this planet.

These are just a few factors to demonstrate to you that no laboratory, no clever doctor or scientist and no clever book can calculate for you what you should be eating at 8am, or 1pm, or 6pm or in between. Only your body has the unsurpassed intelligence to figure out what it needs at any given moment of your life, as your nutritional needs change all the time: every minute, every hour and every day.

***

So rather than feeling guilty for eating outside of my GAPS Intro diet, I'm going to trust my body, and know that what I did was okay.  I love that I'm getting in tune enough with what I'm eating that I can know that what my body is craving is okay, not just an addiction to sugar or wheat and craving a bunch of garbage.  (BTW- The only reaction I had after eating the almond bar was the backs of my knees itching a bit, but it wasn't bad).

Tomorrow I enter STAGE 2!  I get to add fresh herbs, fermented vegetables (I've only been doing sauerkraut juice up to this point), fermented fish (? I'm not even sure what this is?), and egg yolks.

Intro to GAPS diet- Day 4

I wasn't going to post about Day 4, because it's all pretty standard now.  I'm eating lots of boiled meats, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and butternut squash.  But I just remembered the soup I ate last night, and it was really good, so I've got to post about it  (& I'll do another post for Day 5).

The soup from last night is  Meatball and Broccoli Soup (SOURCE).  I made a few changes to it that were really good.

On Thursday I made some fish broth by boiling a whole tilapia for 8 hours.  I could only find a farmed whole fish at the store, so I hope I'm not doing more damage than good.

 I took the fish out, salvaged what meat I could (it was a tiny amount for how big a fish it was- a few bites worth), and then strained the broth into some quart jars.  When Jimmy saw this he asked if I even felt one tiny inkling that this was a bit.... weird.  I just smiled.

For the beef/broccoli soup I used 2 quarts of beef broth, 1 quart of water, and 1 cup of fish broth.  I added about a pound of broccoli, and ten meatballs, and let it simmer for about a half hour.  I removed the meatballs, added a couple cloves of garlic, and then blended it nice & smooth.  It was a lovely green color- reminded me of split pea soup.  When dishing it up I added back the meatballs, and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. 

It was so good!  The fish broth gave it an interesting tang, but not too strong.  Jimmy didn't even guess the fish broth was in it.  I give this soup 5 stars out of 5.

The Dreaded Detox Bath

In my "What Can I Eat Now- 30 Days on the Intro to GAPS Diet" e-book (sample HERE) it says that I should be doing one detox bath a day.  First of all, I had never heard of a detox bath before this program, and second of all, we have one bath tub in our home, and it's one of those small ones that I don't really find relaxing.  When I think of a relaxing bath, I think of a nice big soaking tub in a beautiful setting.  Maybe something like this:

.
I know, I know- I need to be grateful for what I have.  I have visited other countries where a bathroom is a luxury, not to mention indoor plumbing.  I need to remind myself that as I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to take this step. 

I've come this far, though, that I should be doing everything I can to get the results I want, right?  So I decided that today I'm going to read about detox baths and try and work that into my schedule at least 4-5 times a week.  Maybe up to 7- we'll see!  Maybe I'll begin to love it and wonder how I ever lived without it.

Here's a web page from wikihow.com on detox baths:  Detox Bath.  This has already made me more excited to try it.  Interesting point from the post:  Your skin is known as the third kidney, and toxins are excreted through sweating. A detox bath will assist your body in eliminating toxins, as well as absorbing the minerals and nutrients that are in the water.

In the e-book it says: 

Detox Baths Detox baths are a part of the GAPS intro (and continuing) protocol. You will alternate between seaweed, Epsom salt, apple cider vinegar, and baking soda.

Each day along with the menu it tells you which kind of detox bath to take.  Today my detox bath is supposed to have seaweed powder, something I don't have.  I think for now I'll start off basic with Epsom salt, vinegar, and baking soda.  I had never cared to know what Epsom salt is made of until a few minutes ago:  MAGNESIUM sulphate.  Hmmm.  Think that might help my possible magesium problem?

OK- wish me luck.  I'll start this tonight.  (I know- torture to have to set aside half an hour a day to soak and relax, right?)

Have any tips on detox baths?  I'd love to hear them.



Intro to GAPS diet- Day 3

Ahhhhhh.  Much better.  I know that I was experiencing some die-off symptoms yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today! 

Yesterday I felt a little nauseous and had a headache (mainly in the morning, but no, I'm not pregnant!).  Thankfully that wore off once I had lunch.  Maybe it was that yucky onion soup for breakfast.  I ended up putting the onion broth/onions in my blender and pureeing into more of a creamy soup.  It still wasn't my favorite, but a lot better than eating the onions sliced in the broth.

In the evening yesterday I suddenly started having symptoms like I was getting a cold- stuffy nose, my throat feeling itchy/funny, and sneezing.  I have felt that before over the last few months, and it was always quite sudden, but went away quickly, too. 

Here are common die-off symptoms (the ones I'm experiencing/have experienced in red):

Fatigue, brain fog, gastro-intestinal distress such as nausea (not any more), gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, low grade fever, headache, sore throat (slight), body itch (behind the knees!  I thought it was a reaction to something I was eating, but couldn't figure out what), muscle and / or joint soreness or pain, feeling as if  coming down with a flu (slight- not so bad) .

When you do a candida cleanse everything I've read says it isn't good if you have a big die-off all and once and feel horrible.  I feel like I've got a pretty good balance here, because I'm having enough symptoms to know it's working, but nothing too bad.

One of the biggest changes today is how mentally clear I feel!  There is a distinct difference!  The last few days I have been VERY spacey- answering questions wrong, saying the wrong words when I'm trying to say something- in a BRAIN FOG (another die-off symptom).  It's hard to describe unless you've had it happen before.  It's a step past "dumb blond".  

I have read that when you first start GAPS or a candida diet some of the symptoms you were having in the first place get worse before they get better.  I was hoping that because I had cut out simple sugars and most fruit for a few months that I wouldn't experience die-off symptoms as bad, but I can see that there is more work to do!

Today's Menu:
Boiled roast beef (with leftover butternut and onion soup from yesterday)
Creamy Cauliflower (with butter and lamb tallow - I'll use chicken fat instead of the tallow)
Crock pot Onions (I'll use the leftover from yesterday)
Mashed Carrots (boiled an hour, then mashed & adding garlic and chicken fat).
Sauerkraut Juice (!)  (I get to introduce sauerkraut juice- 1 tsp!  Thankfully I like it. It's supposed to be homemade, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.  It's on my to do list.  For now I'm using pricey fancy sauerkraut from the health food store).

Intro to GAPS diet- Day 2

Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh.

I feel crappy right now.  Yuck.  The detox effect has kicked in, and I feel nauseous and a bit shaky.

It doesn't help that the soup I ate this morning is yucky.  It is onion and leek soup.

It smells really good, but it tastes like nothing- a huge disappointment after yesterday's amazing Intro butternut squash soup.   And it doesn't help that I made pumpkin oatmeal (with pumpkin pie spices and raisins) for my kids.  It smells SOOOOOO good. 

Recipe:

Onion Leek Soup
2 quarts stock
1 quart water
5 onions, sliced
4 leeks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon sea salt (or to taste)
Simmer everything for one hour or overnight on low in the crock pot. (source) *

My menu for today:
Onion Leek Soup
Meat Patties (you form hamburger into patties, cook in chicken broth with carrots and cauliflower added, remove when done then blend broth & veggies into sauce to pour over burgers- this sounds good)
Squash chunks
Meat strips (boiled roast beef)
 Another challenge that I'm facing right now is the MICROWAVE.  You're not supposed to use it on GAPS.  They say it destroys the nutrients.  Grooooaaannnn.  I'm realizing now how much I depend on it (I'm using it right now to thaw my hamburger).  This diet will really test me on my planning ahead skills, which aren't the greatest right now.


*All recipes I post for the Intro to GAPS diet are taken from the e-book "What Can I Eat Now- 30 Days on the GAPS Intro Diet" from www.homehealthhappy.com.

Intro to GAPS diet- Day 1

Yes, I did it.  I took the plunge!  I'm on day 1 of my Intro to GAPS diet.  For those of you who have never heard of GAPS, it stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome.  I describe the Intro to GAPS diet more HERE.  The purpose of doing GAPS is to help heal the gut, which will prevent toxins and other unwanted things from entering the bloodstream and causing all sorts of problems (GAPS basic info HERE).

I ordered a 30-day meal plan for my GAPS Intro diet from http://www.healthhomehappy.com/, and I'm really glad to have found something all laid out for me to use.  The diet is a HUGE change, and this takes helps make it less overwhelming.  HERE is a sample of the meal plan I'm following.  It's great because it tells you what cooking equipment you'll need, gives you a shopping list, and even tells you what to tell friends, family, and others about your diet (because people will think you're crazy!).

I made my chicken broth yesterday, and had one huge pot taking two burners, and then two other pots on the stove the entire day.  It smelled really good, but I wasn't so sure how it would taste.  I didn't know if I diluted it too much.  Last night I put the broth into jars, and I ended up with a lot!

This should last me quite a while!  I used the plastic container of broth today for my butternut squash soup (probably not BPA free... I ran out of jars, though!).  I'm going to freeze most of it, and left extra room at the top of the jars for it to expand in the freezer.

My menu for today (any order):  Intro Butternut Squash Soup, Boiled Broccoli, Sweet Onions, Chicken Meat with Soup.

I made the butternut squash soup this morning by simmering 4 cups of butternut squash in 2 qts of chicken broth and 1 qt of water.  I also added one tablespoon of Real salt.

It didn't look very good at first, but when the squash was soft I blended the soup up in my Vitamix, and it looked creamy and smooth.

It was a bit thin, but when I took a bite..... Heavenly!  SO GOOD.  Unbelievably good.  I am surprised that something so simple could be so good.  If everything I eat the next month tastes so good I shouldn't have any trouble.  You can do anything for a month, right?

And remember, this diet has six stages.  In this first stage the diet is very basic, and then we add more & more variety at each stage change.  If all goes well I'll be on each stage for 3-4 days.

I decided to wait on the magnesium.  I read a blog post where someone was supplementing on magnesium and had a crazy reaction to it- they got so tired they had to immediately go to bed & they were groggy and incoherent.  I decided to wait until dinner, closer to bed time.  But then I read somewhere else that magnesium can mess with your sleep, so not to take it after 5 pm until you know how it will affect you.  That made me nervous, so I think I'll wait for a while.  On this GAPS intro all my foods are soft anyway, so it won't be an issue for me.

One thing I haven't found any information on is if there is anything wrong with heavy exercise while you're doing this program.  I'll have to play it by ear.  If I start feeling too wiped out I might have to ease off on the strength training for awhile.