Immunity boosters

When it comes to immunity...

...it's not so much about fighting or avoiding every germ. We all have cancer cells in our bodies, and a strong body keeps them under control and from spreading.

...it's not about chasing symptoms and simply getting comfortable and pain- or irritation-free again.

It's about strengthening our bodies. It's about looking for the root cause of sickness.

Symptoms are simply the smoke alarm going off to alert us to a problem inside our bodies, forcing us to take action and look for the "fire." (Not beat the heck out of the alarm or remove the battery. ; ) )

Here is a mental list I've collected over the years of immune-boosting foods and remedies that strengthen our bodies, and that we try to use regularly, and especially during sick season and while sick:

coconut oil

gobs of bone broth soup

herbal teas with cinnamon, clove, herbal chais, etc.

lemon juice and manuka honey

Berry Well elderberry juice supplement from Beeyoutiful.com

Bragg's apple cider vinegar

fermented food and drink from our PA farmer (delivered to our door...ask me about it!): beet kvass, sauerkraut, fermented pickles, kombucha

minimizing sugar and sweets, and using good sweeteners like stevia, raw honey, good agave, and real maple syrup from PA

lots of organic onions and garlic in cooking

===

Aaaaaaaaaaand a variety of brands we used to use, but don't anymore because we've found something much more powerful and worth our money...

Young Living essential oils! EOs are simply the most powerful part of the plant. The Premium Starter Kit contains 11 important immune-boosting oils (that we use daily and don't let go "out of stock" in our house!) plus a diffuser...that's where we started for immunity and wellness (my story and ordering info here)

Thieves oil (the big immunity one...it's in the Premium Starter Kit)

Ningxia Red
(1.5 oz a day for me, .5 oz a day for the kids...made a big diff for us last winter!)

Super C
(tablets for me, chewables for kids)

Thieves mouthwash
(I swish and gargle daily...wow, packs a punch)

Thieves spray
(spray little and big hands every time we get back in the car from being out)

Inner Defense capsules
(or my own capsules with 2-3 drops each of Oregano, Thyme, Lemongrass, Thieves, and Frankincense)

Life 9
(amazing probiotic)

Thieves cough drops

Lemon and other citrus oils in water
(gentle detox and immune-booster)

We use most of this stuff DAILY, esp during the winter.

Our bodies are made to heal themselves, but we have to give them what they need (and were made to run on)...consistently! You don't put gas in your car a few times a year. ;)

Wellness is complicated and our bodies are "fearfully and wonderfully made." We need to get sick sometimes for detox and rest. But there's so much we can do to be proactive, and God has given us so many beautiful, natural, safe, side-effect-free and truly nourishing "wellness treats" to use!

Living clean is the only way to live!

My friend Ginger so graciously asked me to speak at her wellness mini-retreat about chemical-free living and I was incredibly honored to do so. I decided to hit the high points for her class, and contain a fuller version here. Thanks Ginger! I've been wanting to write this out for a long time.

Why should we care about our health?

Stewardship

Even the most cursory study reveals that our bodies are--both in macro and micro--a whole universe unto themselves. Facts like this defy comprehension: it's estimated that the human body contains 60,000 miles of blood vessels, which is 2.5 times around the earth! And the string of DNA inside each and every cell is a full 6 feet long, all squished down into something we can't even see with the naked eye.

Such a body deserves, not abuse or neglect, but attention, thanks, and lots of love. We expect to maintain our cars and appliances, should we not maintain this masterpiece machine that affects how we live and feel on a daily basis?


Temple

Christians have the added privilege and charge to uphold our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Reading chapter after chapter of God's detailed "architectural plans" for the Tabernacle in the Old Testament is one illustration that He cares about every detail of His dwelling. ("...You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." I Corinthians 6:19-20)


Strength to serve

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself" are the two greatest commandments. That means they are God's first priority for His children, and bring the most blessing when we do them!

But if I'm weak and sick and tired and dragging down my body with a chemical burden it was never meant to bear, then how will I have strength to serve? Yes, God gives sickness to His children at times so we can learn and grow and to glorify Himself through our weakness. But God forbid that I should not being doing everything in my power to get and stay well.

(Plus, take it from chronically-ill-for-ten-years me, it's just not fun to be sick, and totally worth every bit of effort to stay and get well! Friends, please don't take your health and energy for granted; take heed and preserve it so you can play with your grandchildren someday! ...Actually, I'm talking to myself here....)


The situation

There's so much about our environment that we cannot control at this point. Just for one example, there is evidence that the water supply is...

...contaminated with glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) that's been sprayed on food and then run into streams and rivers;

...contains high estrogen levels from pee'ed out birth control pills;

...contains tiny bits of plastic that have come off recycled clothing (polyester) in washing machines...and now the fish are eating the plastic in the water...and we eat the fish...and the cycle of contamination continues. Not to mention all the chemicals put into our city water, that include arsenic, lead, chlorine, fluoride, etc etc. And that's just water.

However, there is so much we CAN do. And frankly, we'd better, especially since our bodies are already assaulted by what we can't control. All that we CAN do is both a privilege and a responsibility. Be encouraged...there's so much you can do to support your health and happiness! It's simply a matter of being aware, and replacing what you are already buying and using with quality, natural products that nurture our bodies. More on that in a minute. But first, more bad news. ; }


I didn't get it

I'm so grateful for those who took the time to educate me about what chemicals and synthetics were doing to my body. I had heard that certain products were "bad for you" or contributed to cancer, but that still didn't mean anything to me until my friend Bronwyn (check out her helpful blog! I just found non-toxic nail polish recs on there...lots of good stuff!) explained HOW they were affecting me. As you can see from my Addy blog, dear reader, I've been on a 10-year journey with adrenal fatigue and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, and I've spent buttloads of money on supplements and holistic doctors. I had no idea that my "cucumber fresh" deodorant and my minty foamy toothpaste and my window cleaning spray were actually working against my exorbitant efforts and money spent to get well.

When Bronwyn explained it to me almost three years ago, I finally got it. And because I also had wonderful products to replace those things with, it was an enlightening and empowering experience! That's what I want for y'all too! So that's why I share this stuff.


Stats

I don't know about you, but the stats make this real for me. Here are just a few:

Within 26 seconds of washing your hair, chemicals from shampoo can be found in your bloodstream.

The word "fragrance" in an ingredients list can stand for up to 100 different chemicals.

We assume if it's sold in stores, that it's safe. But that's simply not true. There are hundreds of chemicals banned in other countries for the cosmetic industry alone, that are not banned in the US. (Here's a few.) So that should tell you something. (Of course, instead of increasing the burden of more government regulation in our country, I believe an educated consumer base influencing business decisions in a free market is the most effective and enduring way to effect change. We vote with our dollars every day.)

This is a comprehensive study listing personal care and household products contributing to cancer. Whew, it's a long list, but how wonderful that there's so much we can do to protect ourselves and our families!

As for me, I don't need a greater risk of cancer than I already have from the 12,000 free radicals assaulting each of my 37 trillion cells every day. And my hormones are already wacked out enough without being further imbalanced by endocrine disruptors like xenoestrogens.

Here's a UN study of common household products linked to disease.

Back to Roundup, would you spray it in your mouth or your kids' mouths? No way! And yet that's what they are spraying on our produce and grains. The active ingredient in Roundup is called glyphosate, and it blocks 80 percent of minerals from being absorbed in our bodies and destroys healthy gut bacterial, weakening our bodies and leaving us as sitting ducks for disease.

Barium is a chemical found in industrial pollution, fluorescent lights, and electronics, and was also used in chemical warfare in the Middle East to sicken and weaken the enemy.

With a heavy heart I say that this is just the tip of the iceburg. Does all this only affect you? No, the effects are generational. Babies are now born toxic. : (


What you can do!

The Environmental Working Group has a handy website ewg.com that rates thousands of personal care and household cleaning products based on overall hazard, cancer risk, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity, asthma and respiratory, and skin allergies and irritation. They give it an A-F or 1-10 rating, and rate each ingredient, and tell you the why's. I'm super grateful for these vigilant peeps!

Look up your personal care products and makeup here.

And look up your household cleaning products here.

Does replacing toxic products make a difference for your health and happiness? Is it worth the extra upfront cost? (Which btw, you are either going to pay now or later...and later sucks. : (  )

Yes! Overall health is determined mostly by daily choices and habits. It's simply a matter of choosing purity over impurity, natural over synthetic when possible, life-nuturing over death-contributing. (And remember, if it's synthetic and it kills other forms of life like weeds, insects, algae, or bacteria, it is probably bad for humans too.)

This is not about buying a bunch of new stuff, but over time replacing toxic products with pure safe ones. This is a journey.

As an example of the difference small choices make, one study measured the glyphosate in children's urine while they were eating conventional food, and it was high. When the kids started eating organic food, there was a sizable drop in the glyphosate in their urine, and it went back up when they started eating non-organic food again. Another study noted a clear correlation between a person's glyphosate levels and many common diseases.

I know organic food is more expensive (trust me...you should see our food bill every month! what with all our family's food allergies too...), but I'm to the point of realizing--especially with my family's health issues--that it's honestly not worth buying "chemical" produce anymore. I would rather do without (at least from the Dirty Dozen list) than put more poison in our bodies. (And btw, meat and milk and grains are even more important to buy organic.) And Trader Joe's and Costco have so many organic options now!

Speaking of healthy options, I am so grateful for all the clean companies and healthy natural resources out there!! Thank God for His ever-present grace and mercy, always providing a "way out" for His children.


"Overcome evil with good."

So ewg.org not only reveals the bad products, it is a resource for finding clean ones.

Find safe cleaning products here.

Find safe personal care products here.

EWG also has a handy app to use for shopping, and so does Think Dirty.


Water

My husband said I got y'all all scared about water, so I would be remiss in not recommending our amazing water filter, Berkey, which is the best water filter on the market, besides whole-house reverse osmosis, I believe.


The BEST overall resource I've found (da-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaah)

You didn't think I'd leave y'all hanging, with no awesome solution to offer, did you?? Way to persevere through the bad news and value your health enough to keep reading!

I had been sick for 7 years and tried countless natural remedies and supplements. And then...

Young Living entered my life. Or rather God said, let me reeeeally bless you, my dear. <3

God, in His mercy, looked down through the corridors of time and saw a place in history where man was gonna really pollute and screw up His beautiful world. And pay a huge price for it. So He hid essential oils (the "lifeblood") in plants all around us, to be discovered, enjoyed, and give restoration to people throughout history.

Essential oils are mentioned hundreds of times throughout Scripture. They are the best way I've found to take control of our health, embrace natural goodness and purity, and give our bodies what they crave. One drop of Peppermint oil compares to 27 cups of peppermint tea...and pure essential oils are alive, while most herbs are dried plant matter. So you can see that potency = more bang for your buck. (Plus one drop of Peppermint--which gives almost instant tummy support for us, for example--costs just $.09.)

But once again, purity is paramount. Please don't replace toxic chemicals with essential oils that contain toxic chemicals...in an even more concentrated form! This is very important, friends. I am not a brand snob (ok, maybe just a little ; )), but it's just the facts that Young Living is the ONLY company with the "seed to seal" guarantee of purity. Gary Young was the pioneer and visionary who finally found someone in France to teach him how to correctly distill EOs, and then over 20 years ago brought a handful of organic lavender seeds back to the US and started this whole essential oil revolution! Go to the source.

Young Living not only has the only essential oils worth buying (beware: many have fallen instantly in love, including myself), but they have over 700 vitamins and supplements, personal care products, cleaning products, and now even MAKE-UP that are infused with their essential oils, and made from the cleanest ingredients on earth.

See why I am over-the-moon about this company?! And there's countless more good things about them, but that's for you to discover. ; ) I fell in love almost three years ago, and use Young Living essential oils and products as our family's primary go-to for healthy bodies, emotions, and minds.

I couldn't stop sharing with friends what these oils were doing for us, and how they could help them. It is such a joy for me, burdened by all this "bad news," to have such good news to share with my friends, and to connect you with a company I have checked out and thoroughly trust. Click here to learn more, and be sure to read the "Smelly Nellie" blog post at the bottom of the page which details how we've replaced toxic products mostly with Young Living's yummy ones! Please ask me questions through the "contact" portion at the top of the link! Or just go ahead and order your Premium Starter Kit, add a Thieves Household Cleaner and some Aromabright toothpaste to start your "ditch and switch" journey, and I'll be in touch with support and resources!


Perspective

To wrap up, I'd like to remind us of Jesus' words, "It's not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of a man." The truly really bad chemicals can come from our own thoughts. I've heard (from Gary Young actually) that when we think a thought, a molecule is created, and it either gives life or death to our bodies. Overcoming evil with good is most important in our hearts.

Let us not be depressed by this information: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Let us not be overwhelmed: "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul." (Psalm 94:19)

Let us not fear (in an obsessive way), but embrace peace and empowerment. We are responsible to do what we can, but healing and protection and provision come from the Lord!

"The Lord will keep you from all harm--He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:7-8

Two wonderful blogs for education and alternatives are https://wellnessmama.com/ and Bronwyn's blog she's been keeping for about a decade http://cleangreenstart.com/.

Hashimoto's in a nutshell

I watched this interview with Dr. Izabella Wentz the other night while folding laundry (which is the only way watching or laundry gets done!). Wow! Such wise distilled, practical knowledge from someone who truly understands. She explains what Hashimoto's is and how to cure it in simple terms and doable steps (much of which I am doing through my nutritionist friend Jessica Bischoff, whom I recommend far and wide!)

Dr Wentz says...

97% of people on thyroid supplement have Hashimoto's (the thyroid autoimmune disease)

27% of the US population have Hashimoto's

20% of mental illness is caused by Hashimoto's

If you have adrenal fatigue (the adrenals and thyroid work so closely together and if one is unbalanced, the other one probably is too) or take thyroid supplement of any kind, please do yourself a favor and listen to this! It could save you alot of time, energy, money, LIFE.

thethyroidsecret.com/bonus-interview/

"Simple" steps

I talk with people here and there who have some degree of adrenal fatigue/low thyroid function, and I try to boil down what I did in simple steps they can take right now. It's hard. So many compounded stresses, untruthful mindsets, and daily lifestyle decisions factor into the end result...crash! It happens very slowly over time. So it takes a long time to climb back out of the pit. But you CAN and MUST do it, one step at a time.

And God really will lead you, with light and guidance for each step, as you take them, as He did for me. One symptom of adrenal fatigue is feeling overwhelmed, so pick one of these steps (or others found in good books on the subject) to focus on first, and ask God to guide you to the next one.

Here's my attempt at a "boiled down" list of the steps that helped me the most. Every time I need to take a new step, I have this overwhelmed feeling that I just can't do anything more than what I'm already doing. It's too hard, it's too much. But when I become convinced (or often "forced," ie backed into a corner) to take it, it opens up a whole new world of wellness and learning and opportunity! I pray that happens for you as well.

1. Ask God for help. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." Matt 11:28-30 "...He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no strength He increases might..." Isaiah 40:28-30

2. Rest. All you want to do is sleep? Don't get excited about the things you used to because daily functioning is already overwhelming? Your body is crying out for rest, and enabling you to get it...ennui can be a gift if it forces me to get the sleep my body so desperately needs. Sleep, rest, recreation, light exercise, reading a good book, restful vacation, getting away, "5 minutes peace," an edifying Bible study group, laughter and edifying amusement, possibly journaling/an outlet, art, God's creation, and quiet time with the Lord...these are things your body and soul need extra much right now. (And yes, I'm talking to ME here. ; ) Sometimes it's easier to get more rest when you've all-out crashed, than when you're feeling well enough to do lots of things but probably too many.)

3. Get the book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Dr. James Wilson, read it to learn about adrenal fatigue and figure out if those are your symptom, and work on making the attitude, lifestyle, and dietary changes he recommends. This book was huge for me early on.

4. Find a alternative/natural/holistic/integrative doctor who specializes in adrenal/thyroid/hormonal imbalances and/or "mysterious" illness. I love Dr. Jennifer Rabenhorst and her team at Integrative Family Medicine off Shaker Drive in Columbia, MD.

5. Food allergy/sensitivity testing (IgG) revealed allergens in my blood to gobs of healthy food I was eating daily that my food was spending precious energy fighting, and which were also causing leaky gut. I went off those short term and that helped. At the recommendation of Dr. R, I went gluten free two years ago (!), and had much more energy/wellness from day 1! (after resisting the idea for years...yes, you can do it!) Going GF is the single biggest dietary change you can make for adrenal/thyroid issues.

5. Essential oils bring balance to the body and support the body both physically and emotionally. I've used a boatload of natural herbs and supplements, and Young Living essential oils are by far the most powerful and effective "natural supplement" out there. Ask me and I'm happy to tell you more! ; )

6. Cleansing...yes, we clean out all our appliances, cars, and vacuum cleaners, but never stop to think our bodies need cleansing. Once I started learning about all the toxins and chemicals in our air, water, food, household cleaners, personal care products, plastic, etc etc and how they were building up in my body and causing scary imbalances, it was all the motivation I need to start cleansing my body systems and organs as explained in the book Inner Transformations by Leann Dearduff (ask me about this one before you spend too much on amazon ; )).

How's that for a "start"?! I'll try to elaborate on these and add some links etc when I can. May the Lord bless your journey to energy and wellness!!

Essential oils!

Hi friend, I know this blog is grossly un-updated. (Having twins 2.5 years ago didn't help.
; )) I'm working to fix that (when I can), but the latest and greatest help that God has led me to for supporting my energy level and strengthening my body is essential oils. I'm so grateful to my friend Bronwyn Deiter, who has also struggled with adrenal/thyroid deficiency for about as long as I have, who introduced me to oils. Here's some of my oily story and I'll try to write more soon!

Thank God for good doctors (and good mothers who find them)!

My Mom continues to be one of the greatest forces for good in my life, and this has certainly proved true in the health arena. As I mentioned below, she helped me locate Mary Shomon's doctor in McLean, VA, which isn't toooo far from Columbia. One has to navigate the infamous Washington beltway to get there, but even with the beltway traffic it was worth it to find a good doctor who speaks my language and whom I can trust to restore my energy level and...well-being!

Dr. Adrienne Clamp at Well Being - Being Well has been wonderful. My first appointment was 2 hours long, and much of that was spent with her, explaining my health history in a variety of areas and getting her feedback.

I retook the saliva test, and went to Labcorps to have blood drawn for an array of indicators, including iron, B vitamins, vitamin D, cortisol, thyroid antibodies, etc. As it turns out, my thyroid supplement needs a little tweaking because my T4 is low, and I was low in vitamin D, iron, and selenium. I do have Hashimoto's or thyroid antibodies, meaning my immune system is producing cells that could attack my thyroid, as I understand it. However, my number is relatively low and Dr. Clamp didn't seem worried. Furthermore, it seems that everyone who is hypothyroid has thyroid antibodies. One of my friends has brought her numbers down through a gluten-free diet, but I pray to God I don't have to do that! (I tried it for a week and it's hard!)

Also, my saliva test revealed that my adrenal glands are no longer depressed...they're stressed. [Wry smile] My cortisol levels are slightly elevated, but at least this means my adrenals are back to normal and functioning properly, just overly so. Why am I so stressed I ask myself? Dr. Clamp and I agreed that I'm a busy mom and that's why. "Well I do get uptight about every little thing that happens," I said to my husband that night at dinner. He laughed at this self-revelation.

Dr. Clamp put me on 5,000 IU/day of vitamin D, more selenium, an adaptogen (herbs that help your body deal with stress) mix, and iron with "liver fractions" for absorbability. She also tweaked my thyroid prescription to receive only T3 in compounded form and T4 in synthetic form, I believe. And I only take it once in the morning vs. twice a day, which is so much nicer. Gone is the 3:00 pm alarm on my phone! I was most sluggish in the morning, and the T4 I was formerly taking was slow release, which you really don't need anyway since T4 stays in your system for days. Now I get a T4 "shot in the arm" first thing in the morning and that should help. I just started on it today, so we'll see how the next few weeks go.

I think I'm starting to feel better after four days on the supplements, but time will tell. You can be sure I'll keep you posted!

Some new doc recs

My Mom has had mysterious, painful, debilitating symptoms that resemble allergies for over 30 years off and on, and might finally have found a doctor who understands, her fourteenth doctor to visit I believe. He thinks my dear persevering Mother's symptoms, based on her round of lab tests, are due primarily to thyroid and adrenal causes. Amazing. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? (Ten points if you can tell me what 80s chickster movie that line comes from. Would adding "Marilla" to the end of it help?)

How did my Mom find this excellent doctor, you ask. Through Mary Shomon who wrote a book she found extremely helpful, Living Well with Hypothyroidism, which you should be able to get at your local library. Mary keeps a running tally of extremely good thyroid- and possibly adrenally-minded doctors listed by state.

As soon as I have weaned my daughter, I hope to visit Mary's own doctor who practices in the McLean, VA, area and see where on the charts my adrenals and thyroid are, and what I can do about it if they're still low. Thank God for these doctors!

The most important meal of the day

Somewhere in the last nine months I think I've made a discovery. Before our little bambino arrived (would that be bambina since she is a girl?), I would sleep in the morning until my body woke me up, which was always at least 10:00 AM or later. I hated missing so much of the day and not really getting my game on til noon, but I knew I needed the sleep and having no job besides wifing, I could, especially since my wonderful hubs encouraged me to get the rest I needed.

I would have a substantial breakfast of eggs, toast, hot tea, and usually also yogurt/banana/flaxseed meal while pregnant. But I would still hit a slump about an hour after breakfast, even after all that sleep, and it was so frustrating. However, for the last nine months I've been getting up between 7 and 8:00, eating breakfast (same as above minus the yogurt), and going back to bed during the baby's first nap. Granted, I might be in bed during my after-breakfast slump, but I seem to be more energetic overall and wonder if my blood sugar got too low sleeping in so long and the extra sleep backfired.

Just a thought for any others out there with the luxury of sleeping in or blood sugar issues that might require a little bit of night-time noshing perhaps. I always hated getting up to find something to eat in the night when pregnant and an empty stomach prevented sleep, because you get so woken up and you have to brush your teeth afterward (which requires turning on a bright light) and what you ate might give you too much energy when trying to fall back to sleep. But...if it gives you more energy overall, it might be worth it.

Energy for a challenging year

I have not forgotten your comment, dear "ayarella," at the end of the last blog about how I am doing now. In fact, it has haunted me for months. It seems mommy-brain is getting the best of me these days (how handy to transition from fatigue-fog to mommy-brain as an excuse for anything), and even when I have two seconds to sit at my laptop, the tyranny of the urgent email is all my mind has room for.

I just reread my last post, now almost a year ago (oh dear), and found it encouraging to look back and remember. I had no idea what the coming months would bring. Let me just say that this year has been fraught with physical limitation and weakness (along with the immeasurable joy of the cutest and sweetest baby imaginable!), and I'm pleased to say my mostly-recovered adrenals and God's grace has seen me through so far.

I did in fact have enough energy for 18 hours of labor that started at 1:00 AM and a natural birth...at the hospital down the street...in the biggest snowstorm in Maryland history: the birthing center was too far away and, incidentally, closed. I had enough energy for the newborn night wakings which lasted a little too long since 2:00 AM somehow meant party time to our little stinker. But thankfully she started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks after we got her on a schedule. I had enough energy to endure four months plus of postpartum healing complications that I won't go into here.

At six months our little darling hit a growth spurt that had her waking up at night again, sometimes several times, for the next two months, and I somehow had the energy for that, though I blame getting strep throat in July on my being thus run down. But I was able to recover in less than 3 days without antibiotics, which I attribute to my many natural "remedies." After sleeping through the night for another month and a half, she hit teething/sickness/teething again, which become a weeks-long family sickness saga. I think I am finally over that virus, maybe. Perhaps my adrenals are reaching their limit.

Breastfeeding takes alot out of you, I'm realizing, though what an honor to pour your life into another so literally, and such a darling other at that. But I have had an over-abundance of milk all these months actually, and plan to keep nursing her until she is a year old.

In addition to often-interrupted nighttime sleep, every day I have gone right back to bed during our daughter's first nap. Most of the time I am able to sleep, and this is probably what has gotten me through. It's a little more challenging now that she's down to two naps and her first nap is two hours after waking in the morning, as opposed to an hour and 15 minutes (ie, it's harder to go right back to sleep). But I'm hoping that as she starts sleeping through the night again and thus I do, I won't need that morning nap. If I can go to bed early. Which I'm flagrantly violating at this moment. Uh, good-night!

Addy and pregnancy

Friends ask from time to time how my health is doing and where I am in my recovery. Others of you may wonder, especially if you have adrenal fatigue and are considering getting pregnant, how recovering-fatigue and pregnancy mix.

I have to admit I thought I would see more significant progress in my energy level during our first year of marriage, since I was not working, was sleeping in, was out of the city with its pollution and fast pace, and was living a peaceful low-stress life. As I have said, Ageless Xtra had significantly accelerated my progress in the fall of 2008, but time hadn't like I'd thought, since I still needed about 10 hours of sleep a night to function well and not get sick.

Just before we got pregnant in May, I was starting to get up around 9:00 instead of 10:00 AM. This seemed like definite progress, and I think it was. Then at about six weeks pregs, I got slammed with nausea and fatigue. Morning-noon-and-night sickness was a special kind of torture and was pretty debilitating, although I never actually threw up. The fatigue would land me back in bed many days after having breakfast (which was after sleeping in til 10:00), and around 2:00 I had enough energy to get some stuff done. Then around 5:00 I would get tired again and sometimes napped.

However, the acclaimed Second Trimester was a whole new story, as my previously-preggy friends promised. Around 12 weeks the nausea and fatigue started to diminish and disappear completely over a couple of weeks. I didn't have the "superhuman energy" that many women get during the second trimester ("more energy than you've ever had in your life!" said one friend), which I confess I was looking forward to, though not banking on. Nevertheless, I had way more energy than in the first trimester and felt "normal" or "new normal," i.e. how I felt before getting pregnant, which is significant because I wasn't taking all the supplements I had been then, simply my prenatal vitamin. I started taking Juice Plus again (I had been off it for about a year) as my only other supplement, and have seen studies and anecdotal evidence of exceptionally healthy babies born to "JP+ moms" and greatly decreased chance of pre-eclampsia after prenatal use.

I am now 32 weeks and pretty far into the third trimester. I do get tired more easily, but nothing dramatic. Brisk walking (and in the now 30- and 40-degree weather, it is brisk) energizes me and banishes much of the fatigue. But I'm also trying to listen to my body, not overdo it, and lie down when necessary. I have also been able to splurge on sweets during my pregnancy without it affecting me too drastically. I was eating so healthy for the two years previous, that even though I'm eating very healthy now, I'm splurging more so I feel like I'm really indulging, which is of course one of the privileges of pregnancy.

So that's where I am now, and according to our midwives and sonograms, both Peanut and I are quite healthy and on track. I'm curious what my energy level will be during labor and what kind of adrenaline reserves I have. From what I've learned so far, much of labor is staying relaxed and letting your body do the work, though stamina is obviously key, and the most energy is needed at the end to push. My doula suggested an energy drink, and I have one of my own I can try (Univera's Essentials), and we are using a birthing center where they let you eat and drink as needed for this "athletic event."

Something I am finding helpful lately is asking God for the strength and energy for this day, every day (or when I remember). A friend challenged me to do this (thanks Wendy!), and though it seems so obvious, I think it's a new thing for me since the days almost three years ago when I was very weak. The Bible is clear that any strength we have comes from the Lord anyway, and I do want to look to Him primarily for this basic need, over vitamins, diet, advice, doctors, or the elusive magic bullet. If every breath is from Him, how much more the energy to accomplish the things He's given me to do today and be the person He's called me to be. And amazingly enough, when I ask, He answers!

(...Like how I just read this verse the morning after I wrote the above!) "When I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me the strength I need." Psalm 138:3 NLT

New life, and brand new life

So I haven't written in a while (before the last post) and I have a very good excuse: pregnancy. God gave us the gift of conception a month before we had even planned to start trying. This is significant in many ways, but especially from a health angle, as a demonstration of God's healing power.

At the beginning of June, I took my third saliva test in three years to gauge where my adrenal glands were in their recovery. When I got the results back, they showed my adrenals in worse shape than last year, and almost back to where they were when most depleted two years ago! I tried not to panic and stay at peace for the 24 hours before my phone consultation with Dr. Taylor in Atlanta. I assumed it might have something to do with my pregnancy, which we had discovered just after I'd taken the test, but I wasn't sure.

When I finally got to speak to him the next day and we were going over my results, I mentioned that I was pregnant and had been when I took the test. He was so relieved and said, "I didn't know how I was going to break it to you that your hormone levels are post-menopausal!" (uh, or pregnant). We had a good laugh of mutual relief, and he went on to say that my test results were basically awash since I'd been pregnant at the time and pregnancy is the biggest stress you can put on your body.

However, he said that ironically the biggest proof that my adrenals had rebounded and were in good shape was that we had gotten pregnant at all, and so fast. He said if my adrenals were still too weak to handle pregnancy, they would have stopped my body from getting pregnant. So the very thing that skewed the test was the true test.

What proof of God's lovingkindness and redemption that He would give not only new life to me, but a new little life to me and Steve to incarnate His grace!

In a nutshell (er, a big one)

I was talking to a friend recently who suspects she has adrenal fatigue, and in writing her an email outlining the steps I took to get well, I realized I should probably reiterate it on my blog for anyone else looking for similar advice. Here's my attempt at being concise.

1. Figure out if you could have adrenal fatigue, through perusing the website www.adrenalfatigue.org and/or reading Dr. Wilson’s book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. This is the book that helped me the most. It lays out symptoms of adrenal fatigue, why your doctor can’t seem to help you, and exactly what to do, eat, drink, etc. to get well.

2. If most of the symptoms Dr. Wilson talks about match up with yours and everything he says resonates, the next step, as he suggests, is to take a saliva test. This is the best way to measure your cortisol levels throughout the day (my blood tests were completely normal; but my saliva test showed my cortisol levels to be way under the normal range). I recommend my doctor in Atlanta, Dr. Eldred Taylor, who specializes in women’s hormonal issues and wrote the book Are Your Hormones Making You Sick? His office will send you the saliva test in the mail, you take it over the course of a day, send it in to the lab, and three weeks later Dr. Taylor can fax you the results and do a phone consultation (if you don’t live in Atlanta as I didn’t) to interpret the results. His office number is 678.443.4000.

3. No matter whom you go to for your diagnosis, you will end up having to be your own doctor for the most part. By eating healthy, cutting out all sweets/caffeine/alcohol from my diet, exercising to exhilaration but not exhaustion, making lifestyle changes like working part-time and moving out of the city, figuring out that I had low thyroid as well and taking thyroid supplement, and taking excellent nutritional supplements religiously, I have rebuilt my adrenals and feel more “normal” than I have in years. As long as I get plenty of sleep (I still need 10 hours per night), I feel basically normal during the day. This is a LONG way from where I was two and a half years ago. But I had to make my health first priority, be willing to make big changes, spend lots of money on supplements and good food, and be “weak” before my friends.

4. For diet changes, I refer you to Dr. Wilson’s book, which is very thorough. Basically, your diet should be “real” food: whole grains like whole wheat bread and brown rice, unprocessed meat, unprocessed everything!, veggies, fruit later in the day (when I could handle the fruit sugar better because my cortisol was higher), dairy products but milk in moderation because the lactose (milk sugar) would make my head cloudy. For example, for lunch almost every work day I treated myself to salmon and brown rice from my favorite restaurant. For dinner I might make a stir-fry dish on brown rice, with dessert as plain yogurt, toasted almonds, and strawberries. If you’re like me, you can tell immediately when you’ve put something in your mouth that drains rather than supports your energy. Listening to your body is the best way to help it.

5. For supplements, I took a lot of different things at different times (Reliv, JuicePlus, green food, licorice tea at least once a day, vitamins, dessicated liver, whey protein, etc) and it all helped. But to maximize your time and money, here’s what I recommend: I would take Dr. Wilson’s “adrenal rebuilder” and “adrenal C” for longterm repair, Univera’s Ageless Xtra for short-term and longterm energy and repair (use my associate number 1344420 when you order or I'm happy to order it for you), and Univera’s (or somebody’s absorbent) multivitamin for general health.

6. Keep educating yourself on your adrenals, thyroid, hormones, and general health. There are all kinds of good books out there, including the books listed here on my blog, The Metabolic Plan: Stay Younger Longer by Stephen Cherniske, and Jordan Rubin’s “Maker’s Diet” books. This is going to be a long journey back to optimal health: if it took years to get sick, it will probably take years to get better. And once there you're gonna want to take better care of your body than you did before. Hang in there. God has some pretty amazing surprises for you on this journey, if your story is anything like mine!

7. Take the saliva test again six months or a year later and measure the strength of your adrenals. If you are not feeling significantly better, you may have another deficiency like low thyroid that is contributing to the problem. I stumbled on a book about six months after my adrenal fatigue diagnosis that said to treat all your issues simultaneously in order to get better. So that’s when I realized I had low thyroid symptoms, Dr. Taylor confirmed my suspicions based on my previous saliva test, and I started taking natural thyroid supplement from a compounding pharmacy, which as far as I know has greatly contributed to my recovery and overall energy.

That was my attempted nutshell. Hope it's helpful!

New website!

In seeking to get the word out to other "addy" sufferers about how Univera products helped to dramatically increase my energy level, I just launched this new website: www.adrenal-fatigue-energy.com. I would love any feedback you have on it. Spread the word!

The secret to a longer fuller life

I am currently reading a fascinating book (now that I'm fascinated with health stuff, finding out how my body works and what makes it work best--so personal and urgent has that subject become, so interwoven with my every day life). It's called The Metabolic Plan: Stay Younger Longer by Stephen Cherniske.

In it he explains his lifelong scientific search for the causes of aging and his discoveries that have come as a result of turning assumptions on their heads: not "oh you are getting stiff joints because you are getting old," but what about "getting old" contributes to stiff joints, and how to prevent the getting old (and thus the stiff joints).

He explains why free radicals cause cancer and heart disease, and what to do about it (e.g. get LOTS of antioxidants). Why oxygen embodies a profound paradox, being both the source of life, and the cause of death (oxidation), and what to do about that (e.g. don't overcook your food). Why caffeine is so bad, keeping the body in a "stressed" state, and that the caffeine headache when attempting to withdraw is actually the blood rushing back into previously constricted blood vessels in the brain! (That information is enough to keep me off the bean, I hope.)

One of his chapters, as you might imagine, in on stress. And, as you might also imagine, that one was of particular interest to me, since I am one of stress's many victims. I was reading this chapter on the plane next to Steve on our way back from skiing in Salt Lake City.

Sitting on the other side of Steve (he's always so sweet to take the middle seat!) was an older woman who seemed to look about her with alertness, had a gleam in her eye, seemed interested in us, and most surprising, sat for most of the 4-hour flight doing nothing but sitting, seeing, thinking, so contentedly. She struck me as wise, and I finally overcame my reluctance to put down my book and began a short conversation with her (yes, across poor reading Steve). It crossed my mind that here was a specimen of a long full life before my very eyes, exhibit A of the book I was reading, and I half planned to ask her what her secret was.

She had been visiting a niece in sunny Phoenix hoping to kick a cold, but ended up hitting some bad weather and wasn't quite over it, though she'd had a good time. When I suggested she go back soon, she revealed that both the going and the coming involved travel upheavals and missed fights and late nights. "But it doesn't bother me," she said. "I take things in stride." She said that a couple times.

We took a break from our conversation (and leaning), and I contemplated asking her what her secret to longevity was. And then I realized that she had already told me. "I take things in stride." I don't get stressed out. Stresses happen--missed flights, clingy colds--but I don't let them get to me. I put them in their proper place. I take things in stride: I keep walking, allowing for life's craziness but not succumbing to it.

Later when I forget the details of my book and have to refer back to remember terms like glycation and alpha lipoic acid, I can bet I will still remember this Lady of Contentment and her lesson for me.

More exposure

I was doing a google search on "adrenal fatigue" and it seemed to come up with more stuff than I saw a couple years ago. I think awareness is growing...as those of us who get it realize how horrible it is and that we don't want anyone else to experience it. Also, alternative medicine seems to be doing its part to educate people. For all this I am very grateful. And maybe the mainstream medical community will catch on/up someday.

One website I found to be informative, if a little extreme. Or perhaps not. I don't understand all its terms, but the first sentence, "Adrenal Fatigue is reappearing as a major cultural influence in the 21st century," whether true or not, definitely caught my attention. Anyway, this website raises some interesting questions and possible cause and effect, while also adding new information about treatment, or at least new to me.

Great news! for everyone!

I can't believe how much better I'm feeling. In fact, I'm starting to forget how I felt just a few months ago, when I was lying on the floor too tired to look up recipes for the week, and when sweets sent me plunging for the rest of the day, and when I always knew when it was mid-afternoon...slump!

Here's my secret. Yes, it's a nutritional product that claims to change your life, but this one really does. It's called Ageless Xtra, put out by a company called Univera. My chiropractor handed me a CD one day in September, and said, "The guy on here really is as excited about this product as he sounds." Steve and I listened to it that night, but I was like whatever, this is too long, and thinking Steve was bored, I stopped the CD early.

However I did buy a bottle from her the next day, because I'll try anything. And I only wish I'd found this product two years ago.... How different my life would have been. Or at least my quality of life. But God's timing is perfect.

I saw results the very first day I tried it. That night, I couldn't fall asleep until after 2:30 am, because I had so much energy! Uh, that hasn't happened since our wedding, and certainly not on a regular non-psyched up day. And for the month and a half that I've been taking it, I have started using the word "normal" in conjunction with "how I'm feeling"...after two years of severely abnormal. My "miracle juice" is accelerating my healing like no other.

Basically it's a concentrate made of berry juices and lots of herbal extracts from around the world. Univera's motto is "bringing the best of nature to mankind" and studies hundreds of thousands of plants and how they affect the human body on the DNA level (at one of the top genomics labs in the country). In fact, they are so committed to this study, that they did research for five years before coming out with a single product. And they are constantly discovering new things and adding them to their products.

Anyway, they tell you exactly what's in Ageless Xtra and what it does for you. Mainly, it promotes energy, mental clarity, stress management, and joint support, and is excessively high in antioxidants. I now know that this product is helping so many people with fatigue and autoimmune issues.

But I want to help more! I told my chiropractor, Dr. Lisa, that if this product helped me as much as it has, I'd become a distributor and save the world! Well, here I am. If you have any questions about this product, I'm more than happy to chat about it. And by the way, it's a fantastic business opportunity too, so let me know if you're interested! janelrmilleratgmail.com 202.577.3191

Even wine couldn't get me down

I drank a glass of red wine this afternoon at a wedding, a...ahem, full glass of wine, and I can't believe how good I feel five hours later. Oh and a big cupcake with lots of frosting. Yeah, it was at Clyde's and the food was real good. That's what you go to a wedding for anyway, right?

More on why I'm bouncing off the walls, later.

Upward trend

I'm feeling so much better the last two weeks that I keep forgetting to take my pills (yeah all those bazillion pills I take throughout the day). More on why coming soon!

Looking back, and forward

Almost a year ago I was sitting on a plane to Georgia, leaning against the window, praying to be well. Wondering what it would feel like to be instantly healed, to have simply the normal amount of energy to function. To not feel hollow inside, to not require determination and a hasty snack just to sit upright in my airplane seat. I mustered the faith to believe that God could heal me in that moment. And let myself dream of what that would feel like and what a difference it would make in my life.

I can't believe that was a year ago. God definitely didn't chose to heal me in an instant, at any point along this journey of ours. Instead He is healing me gradually, with Time as His chief nurse, and rest and nutrition as His remedy, and books and doctors and parents and friends as His mouthpiece. I look back in awe at the bursts of light He's given at intervals, how several of His agents combined to point in a single direction, like in discovering and treating my low thyroid a year ago. And now, in regular bio-cranial treatments from my new chiropractor, which I'm cautiously optimistic about.

After suffering from and aggressively treating my adrenal fatigue for almost two years now, I often look back with wonder. As with so many kinds of pain, while going through it you can't stop to reflect, you just have to push forward putting one foot in front of the other. A tightropist does not stop to admire the view of the surging waters beneath him, nor can he waste precious energy on analyzing his chances of making it across. But on the other side he may weep at his own fear and courage and retrace each step, feeling a sober elation that he actually made it. "I...made it!" I made it this far anyway.

I'm still very much in the throes of "good days and bad days." But the good days feel almost like normal (if I can remember what that is) and the bad days are infinitely better than those ghost-janel days I'm now struggling to remember. Those days when I didn't know if I would make the short walk from the metro to the office, and how would I ever climb those two flights of stairs? Those days when everything in me wanted to lie down, but when I finally did, I still wanted to lie down. Those days when the Pink Chair was my best friend and the companion of my non-existent social life. Those days when I would try to journal the swirling thoughts of discouragement and misunderstanding in my shrunken world, only to watch my pen fall out of an exhausted hand.

I don't want to forget how all that felt. Millions of people around the world with chronic illness feel horrible every day, and I don't want to just bound away from their bedside with newfound energy, never to return. Well, that's not to say I'm not forever changed by my illness, that I can't help but feel a deeper compassion and solidarity with those who suffer with physical pain. But I want to do more. I want to go on the offensive, not just personally, but in a way that helps others. I want those who are too exhausted to get up in the morning to know that they are not alone, and their problem is both bigger than they realize and yet very fixable. And mostly I want those type-A's who are headed for a crash to slow down and heed the warning signs of certain danger ahead. I DON'T WANT A SINGLE PERSON to go through what I've gone through. It's so unnecessary. Such an interruption in a life. And requires so very much time and money and determination to get back. (Although I hasten to say that God has certainly used this whole bad experience in my life for great great good.)

I want to raise awareness for adrenal fatigue, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I feel like I should write something, but I'm not sure which kind of publication or what angle to take. I was just lying in bed thinking about all of this, and had to get up and write it down. I suppose I could write an article and try to have it published in some kind of health magazine. That's my latest idea, I guess. If you have any others, please share them with me. I just feel that with our culture being so busy and stressful and performance-driven, and the principle of sabbath being so neglected even in the church, any encouragement to the contrary would be God's work. And I feel I have a responsibility now that I'm starting to feel better to use my energy to protect and rescue the energy of others. I trust that God will show me how.

Good news

In March I took another saliva test, one year after the first, to check my progess in rebuilding my adrenal glands, etc. And I recently had the phone consultation follow-up with my doctor in Atlanta (Dr. Taylor). He said that my cortisol levels (stress hormone produced by adrenal glands) are rising! And whereas a year ago I was way below normal levels throughtout the day, I am now mostly within the threshold of "normal"!

Of course, I'm not nearly out of the woods yet, as I'm just barely within the threshold on the low end, but that's progress for sure! It means that what I'm doing (rest/nutrition/supplements/low stress) is working, and I just need to keep doing it. Yea! Praise God! Of course, this all corresponds exactly to how I'm feeling (better, but not 100 percent yet), so that's confirming as well.

Please let me know if you would like to take this test. I can tell you all about it! And point you in the right direction (toward my cutting-edge doctor).