GMO'S, Diet changes, and helpful hints

     What are Genetically Modified Foods? Where do they come from and what is the purpose behind them?? I've read so much about GMO's and it's pretty darn scary to think that a group of scientist and business men...not Farmer's...have come up with all kinds of new ways to make our cows, chickens, pigs, fish, etc. grow faster and bigger. They've also figured out how to make our corn, soy, and wheat grow bigger and faster and not to mention, they have also figured out how to keep the bugs away from them in order to keep them growing big and strong! GMO's are foods and plants that have been genetically altered in order to make them grow big and fast and without the fear of pests killing them in the field that they grow in..Great huh?? No...the chemicals they use in and on these foods and animals are making us sick! I am overwhelmed at the fact that so much of our food supply is just full of hormones, chemicals, and even pesticides. How do we avoid this and what can we eat? Those are the questions that I have because I now have three auto immune disorders and trying to eat healthy and organic, without chemicals and hormones, is downright impossible and very scary and frustrating to say the least.

     When I found out that my illness were autoimmune, I started researching what lifestyle changes I needed to make in order to feel better and have my life back to some sort of normalcy. What I found out, was that the food I was putting into my body was causing a lot of my problems and that was sad to me because I love to cook and I love to eat even more! I knew that I would have to give up a few things that I loved and have eaten my whole life, but I never knew that even the food that I could have, was not that great for me because it had so many chemicals and hormones in it and those are the very things, in my opinion, that are making me sick. I'm no doctor or even a professional at what I'm doing, but by process of elimination and research, I've learned, very well, that these chemicals and hormones are just bad and they really make me feel sick when I eat them.

     What I have learned is that by eliminating certain foods, I can feel so much better. I am not at my full potential of feeling well all the time, but I am no longer sick every hour of every day. I stopped eating gluten, processed foods, dairy(mostly), soy, sugar (except what comes naturally), canned foods, foods with BPA and BHA, sodas, red meat, and corn. Now I'm not saying you should do the exact same thing, but this is what has helped me. Finding out what your body reacts to in a negative way and eliminating those things will help you so much...stopping the use of preprocessed and chemical laden foods and drinks will help even more, now I know that is a huge job to undertake and it seems that everything in the world ha those things in them, but if you can at least get the majority of them out of your system, you'll be able to tell the difference in no time at all. We'll probably never be able to get every little terrible thing out of our food, but we can do as much as possible to cut down on the amount we are putting in our body.

     Something else that I've started doing that helps is drinking lemon ginger water everyday. I have rheumatoid arthritis and have horrible joint and muscle pain everyday. I also use this to help keep my liver clean and functioning better. The liver function gets messed up when you are on a multitude of drugs and they can affect your kidneys too. In addition to the lemon ginger water, I also use turmeric 1500 mgs a day and take Epsom salt baths. It doesn't take it all away, but it helps enough so that I can at least do what I need to do.

I found that keeping a journal of what I eat and how I feel helps a lot...it showed me exactly what foods are making me feel bad. Also, try to eliminate those foods for a few weeks and see you feel without them...it took some time, but I know now what foods hurt me and what foods help me. Taking good supplements helps a lot too...talk to your doctor first and get tested for the ones you need, such as Vit. D, B-12, Iron and Ferritan,  magnesium, zinc, and iodine. Once you have established what you need, get on them and be consistent. My Vit. D and iron were good, so I don't take those, but I do take Selenium (For TED),   magnesium, Turmeric, milk thistle (for my liver), Vitamin C, and that I about it...I only have my Synthroid to take other than that and I am trying so very hard not to have to take a bunch of drugs, I need for my system to be as calm as can be.

One last thing that I do, besides walking, is Yoga...I started trying it out earlier in the year and I really can tell the difference, it's not a huge difference but it's there and I just have to say that I am a short, top heavy, chunky, girl...I have gained 60 lbs in two years, so it's not easy and is quite comical to see me trying my hardest to do yoga in the floor of my home. I just have to laugh at myself because I really do looks hysterical doing some of the poses, but I am stubborn and love a challenge. I will get there some day and I am in this fight to make my whole body healthy, in every way, not just my thyroid or my immune system.

     With all that said, I hope I didn't lose you in there, it was lengthy and I did ramble at times...#brainfog   #ADD   I hope I can help someone and learn something new, because we are all Warriors....Right?? Until next time, be good and feel good!!