Update!

Hello all, I am finally back for my update! My diet has been treating me well, and I am feeling good, though tired since I've been working six days a week and getting up fairly early everyday, 6:30-7:30 am. My arms were a bit sore/hurting from having to pick up the baby I sit for as well as carrying grocery bags, so I started taking a double dose of Serrapeptase everyday. Which brings it up to 240,000 i.u. a day. Research I did about Serrapeptase says that it eats up scar tissue, but I haven't noticed great differences in my body. What I have noticed is that my stomach is a bit flatter, and the night I decided to double my dose, because I had mild aches and pains in my legs and arms, I noticed the next day that the pains were gone. I do have stomach ulcers, as I mentioned before, so I suspect that the Serrapeptase is working on healing those before it can go on to work on the rest of my body. In any case, there is no harm/downside to taking it, so doubling the dose has not given me any negative side effects, and Serrapeptase is also a natural painkiller, so I will keep up with the double dose. I have also been eating more fruits, as promised. Apples confuse my stomach/hunger signals, so I've taken to eating unsweetened apple/pear sauce, pears, and oranges, along with my trusted bananas (which also lower blood pressure and increase serotonin!). Other than that, I have no complaints, which is great! I hope this blog is helpful to people and that people will find inspiration to how to deal with their Sickle Cell. It is possible to live healthy and with little to no pain! This is my story and it's real! Back when I was in college and high school I had a lot more pain and took a lot of painkillers to deal with it, but now my body has the chance to heal from that damage and be healthier. As with all things, a diet change like this is a lifestyle change, and sticking to it and being patient is the key. For anyone who is ready to try it, I wish you success, and please, if you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to get in touch with me, even if it's just to talk! I am here for whoever needs :)

Adding More Fruits to My Diet

As promised, I have added more fruits to my diet! On Monday I went and purchased 4 apples and 4 oranges. My body doesn't seem to respond well to when I eat apples, it seems to confuse my stomach so that I don't know how hungry I am afterwards or how full. I've decided that I'll purchase apple sauce instead of buying apples because of how my body reacts to them. The apple sauce I buy has no added sugar, so I don't need to worry about that. Sugar causes inflammation in the body, so I try not to consume more of it than necessary. The oranges I purchased are a type called Clemenvilla and they are really delicious! I have a whole supply for the week ahead and am really looking forward to eating them all. A while back, before I was diagnosed with stomach ulcers, I was having strange reactions to eating oranges. Sometimes it felt like they were too acidic for me and I had trouble eating them on an empty stomach, so I was worried I might have the same reaction with these oranges, but none of that has happened thankfully! They are more sweet than anything else and taste great. I also purchased bananas yesterday, finally, after weeks of avoiding them! I had one today and I had no negative reactions to it, so I hope it will stay that way. Bananas are packed with nutrients and are so good for the body, and I want to keep them as part of my daily routine. Did I mention that they also contain Thiocyanate, which is what my body is deficient in and causes my disease? Yet another great reason to love them!

To Be Honest, I've Been Neglecting My Fruits

Yes, it's true, I've been neglecting to eat my fruits recently, but I have good excuses for that. I previously mentioned that I was getting a bit nauseous when I would eat bananas. They would also make my stomach hurt a bit at times when I would eat them on an empty stomach in the morning, and I'm pretty sure that is because of my ulcers. Eating apples had me feeling incredibly, and sometimes uncomfortably, full, and I didn't feel so great after eating them on an empty stomach. As for oranges, the citrus-y fruit didn't seem to be agreeing with me at times. I used to bring a banana or an apple along with me when I was going out so that I could have it as a snack later. But then, I gradually gave up on those natural fruits, and have been choosing cereal bars as my snack food of choice. Today, I have finally realized the error of my ways. Though my body shows me those noticeable effects after I eat those fruits, I know that my body will get rock solid benefits from those all natural, nutrient packed foods. I don't feel any sort of effect after eating cereal bars, and yet, they aren't packed with the nutrients I need. Cereal bars are packed with sugar and highly-processed nonsense that I don't need in my system. I would rather deal with a bit of discomfort from food that I know will be beneficial to me, than to put nonbeneficial nonsensical foods into my system. I'll be buying my fruits at my local market tomorrow and here's to wishing me a healthier snack food filled health journey.