Metabolically Active Folic Acid - L-Methylfolate

A few months ago I discovered L-Methylfolate. My sister told me that some exams her doctor had done revealed that she could not metabolize folic acid as well as the average person. Her body could not use it the way it was supposed to be used, and therefore she was not benefiting from it. So she was advised to take L-Methylfolate. I naturally became curious about it and began doing some research of my own. I also needed to order more Folic Acid as the prescription one that I was taking was much stronger than the over the counter Folic Acid I would buy, and I would finish the prescription too quickly by doubling my dosage (taking 2 MG instead of 1 MG). Taking more Folic Acid has been one of the simplest and most effective things I have ever done to manage this disease. I started doubling my dose in July 2015, when I was experiencing a lot of pain in my legs and had NO IDEA what to do. I spoke to the Sickle Cell Coordinator (an LPN! :D) at my hospital  about taking more Folic Acid and he said it was safe to do so. My sister had actually ordered some Dioscovite, which I had been considering taking to manage the pain in my legs, and on the bottle it says to take it with 2-5 MG of Folic Acid. Thus, the idea to increase my intake of Folic Acid was born.

Upon hearing about L-Methylfolate I began to do some research. I read reviews online about it as well as reading informative web pages. The people who wrote reviews reported feeling better overall when switching to the L-Methylfolate, as it is a more active form of Folic Acid that the body can use more easily. What I had been doing to stop my prescription from running out so quickly was taking one prescription Folic Acid (1 MG) with 3 non-prescription, over the counter, Vitamin Shoppe Folic Acid (400 mcg each x 3 = 1,200 MCG). This proved to be effective and I had more energy throughout the day. The pain in my legs had also decreased. However, I noticed a great improvement when I switched from taking Folic Acid to its much more potent relative, L-Methylfolate. I had still been getting the pain in my legs with take the prescription and the over the counter Folic Acid, but having switched over full time to the L-Methylfolate, I barely notice the pain now. 

So of course, here I am with an update and information to help others the way that the L-Methylfolate has helped me. Hopefully this will help someone, and please share! :D

This is a list of the resources I used to learn about L-Methylfolate --

This website talks about Folic Acid vs. L-Methylfolate:
http://thehealthyelephant.com/misunderstoodz/mthfr/mthfr-folic-acid-vs-l-methylfolate-vs-folate/

This website talks about L-Methylfolate overdoses:
http://mental-health.emedtv.com/l-methylfolate/l-methylfolate-overdose.html

Here are the reviews that I read on Amazon about the L-Methylfolate:
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Optimized-L-Methylfolate-vegetarian/dp/B003S5RVM4/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1459736758&sr=1-2&keywords=l-methylfolate#customerReviews

Here is where I usually purchase my L-Methylfolate, which on Swanson is called 5-Methyltetrahydrofolic Acid:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/q?kw=5-Methyltetrahydrofolic+acid

This website talks about L-Methylfolate & 5-Methyltetrahydrofolic Acid, which are virtually the same thing, different names:
https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/What+is+Metafolin+%285-methylfolate%29+I+see+it+in+some+supplements+instead+of+folic+acid.+Is+it+better+than+folic+acid/metafolin_5-methylfolate/



 

Blood Building Foods - Increase Your Red Blood Cell Count

Read here about foods you can eat to build your red blood cell count!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb10997151.htm

Sickle Cell Crises

I'm having a SC crisis. It's a new and improved version on it because of the changes I've made to my diet, and it takes me longer to recognize what is actually happening to my body. Sometimes, I just think of it as pain. Normal pain. Which is something I'd almost never experienced before my dietary changes. It's been 3 years and my life has had a complete turn around. Okay, so details. The weather on the east coast (anyone else from NYC out there reading this blog? Shout out!) has been quite funny, as it varies from being warm/hot to chilly/windy/cold in the same day. I CANNOT handle these strange weather patterns and quick changes in temperature that all happen within the same day. My body does not like extreme weather. On Tuesday (it was hot) I went shopping with a friend, and we went to two locations, a shopping center and a mall. The sun was hot in the car and the mall was cool/cold. After we'd finished at the mall, the weather had cooled down and was getting cooler towards the evening. I went out twice more after she dropped me off home, and the second time I went out, I had to wear a jacket (note all the temperature changes in one day!). The next day, I spent most of the day on Tylenol Extra Strength in bed because my body was in crisis mode. By the end of the day, I was feeling mostly better (well enough to have dinner with a friend ;) ). Today, the weather was nice. It was warm for the majority of the day and again I went out with a friend. This entailed hopping on public transportation, which blasts the AC, heading back outdoors, heading indoors where it was cold, back outdoors where it was warm, repeat, repeat, repeat... In other words, it was a recipe for disaster! Aka another SC crisis. Such is life with SC. Temperature changes such as these are the bane of my existence. The sun literally burns my arms (my most susceptible to the cold body part... they're so skinny!) when I'm in it for too long and it hurts. Even in the summertime I have to carry 1 to 2 extra layers with me, either to cover myself from the sun or to keep myself warm when facing ridiculous AC subzero temperatures. It's a difficult season to deal with. I used to think that summer was the best season because it was warm all around and I didn't have to worry about winter making my bones ache. But summer hurts just the same as winter. The main difference is that in winter I can wrap myself up more and adequately prepare for the killer cold. In the summer, it's a double-edged sword. I get hot easily AND I get cold easily. Not only do I need to dress for the heat, but I have to consider the cold as well. My body can't handle it very well either. I'm doing everything I can and yet SC still is attempting to kick my butt and keep me down. But we are warriors, aren't we? The pain doesn't keep us down for very long and as soon as we can get up we can, don't we? It's not all roses, in fact, there are quite a few thorns along the way. This is the reality of life with SC, and I am keenly aware of the fact that there are many, many others out there whose symptoms are much worse than mine, who deal with more pain than I do, often on a daily basis. I write for them as well as myself. I write because I have a new hope and I want to share that with others as much as possible, that others too might now that there are life changes that can be made to help their health. It's not easy for sure, but it's life, and life, by definition, is not easy.

Doing More Harm Than Good? Royal Jelly Update

There have been points along my journey where I've had to stop and take inventory and wonder if the new thing that I've added to my diet hasn't been doing more harm than good. Currently, the thing that I'm wondering about is the Royal Jelly. It's a super-food and has many beneficial properties... however, it doesn't seem to be benefiting me as much as I thought and hoped it would. As I wrote in my original post about Royal Jelly, I was hoping that it would be a cure for my ulcers. However, during the first week I took the Royal Jelly, I started experience stomach pain again! My sister said that I should continue taking it for at least another week to notice its effects. However, we ran out and I was a bit reluctant to continue taking it, as I wasn't sure what the side effects were.

So I took the Royal Jelly for about one week, beginning on March 20th. And let me just say, I started by taking like 2 TABLESPOONS of the stuff at a time. I really really wanted my ulcers to heal. I was getting some weird types of reactions from my body, like with my stomach hurting and also I felt like my asthma symptoms were starting to increase. Adding Magnesium to my diet (which I did around January or maybe the end of December) has greatly helped reduce my asthma symptoms as well as my monthly cramps, to the point where I rarely ever use my inhaler anymore. Before January/December, I was using my inhaler quite often, and taking lots of pain killers each month for my cramps. After adding the magnesium, I noticed that my need for the inhaler decreased overall, as well as my monthly cramps. Jump to the end of March, and I started to feel again that I was having some difficulty with breathing at times (but not enough to necessitate the use of my inhaler again. That stuff has side effects too, it's a steroid! I only use it when necessary.). This need would arise especially when I was coming up out of the subway after taking a lot of stairs and when trying to run to catch my breath. I thought it was strange, but it took a while for me to connect this problem with my intake of the Royal Jelly. I stopped taking the Royal Jelly around March 27th, partially because I was wary of it, and partially because we were running out of it quickly because I was gobbling it down. On April 2nd, we received the second shipment of Royal Jelly that my sister ordered. This time, what was ordered was the regular Royal Jelly as well as one that had a mixture of ginseng in it. I resumed taking it that same day, and again I started to feel those asthma symptoms as well as tummy trouble. I had looked at many different websites talking about the side effects/benefits of Royal Jelly in the interim period of not taking it, and also continued my research after I resumed taking it. Some of my sources are below. One of the best pieces of advice I found on a website about Royal Jelly was that I should have introduced it to my diet slowly, and increased the dosage from there to avoid any side effects of it. After reading that, I decreased my dosage to about 1 TEASPOON at a time. On April 2nd, I had started with about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons, but afterwards I decreased it. I began to notice that soon after taking the Royal Jelly I would feel like I had to go potty (diarrhea :( ), so of course I did more research about it. One article I came across said that Royal Jelly could send your body into "crisis mode" as it begins clearing out your body, with this crisis mode including the need to go potty. So I started thinking that maybe that's what it was. However, I was also beginning to get chest pain again in my sternum, which was also a big problem for me before I began taking the magnesium. On Sunday night into Monday, my body was feeling kind of strange, but I also have to add here that I have not been eating very well lately, and that has been negatively affecting my health as well.

After my body began having all these strange pains and I began to feel those asthma symptoms again, I began to wonder if whether or not I would be better off without taking the Royal Jelly. I took it for a few days more and then I discontinued its use entirely. Having taken it out of my diet, my overall health began to return to its new normal. So, it was a failure of an experience for me. I think that the ginseng also contributed to the symptoms I was feeling, however, I was still getting those symptoms on the regular Royal Jelly. The point is, I tried. Maybe I should have done more research before trying. I'm just thankful that the outcome wasn't worse and that I was able to put 2 and 2 together quickly enough about what the Royal Jelly was doing to my health. I no longer take it, but I think that it may actually have benefited my stomach to some extent, because it is now the end of May, and I no longer feel like my stomach is as much of an issue as it was. Also, I no longer take Cayenne Pepper daily for my stomach, only as needed. So something along the way, or multiple things along the way, have helped! My stomach still gives me the occasional pains, but I can live with it!

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Truth-About-Asthma-and-Bee-Pollen-and-Royal-Jelly-Should-You-Take-Them-If-You-Have-Asthma&id=5236442

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8835130

http://www.livestrong.com/article/121419-dangers-royal-jelly/

http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/side-effects-to-royal-jelly.html

http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-are-the-side-effects-of-royal-jelly.htm#didyouknowout

Cayenne Pepper: The Miracle Spice

Can we just talk about how much I love Cayenne Pepper? I've been taking it consistently for the past year and a half I think, maybe only a year, I forget. But I've been taking it for my peptic ulcers, as it is the only thing that has given me consistent relief from the pain and allowed me to live a normal quality of life again with eating food. My ulcers have been a real pain over the past 3-4 years, and the medicine that the doctors gave me only made me feel worse rather than better, so I gave up on those and looked for natural treatments. So, Cayenne Pepper is good for peptic ulcers. Among many other things!!! It is great for circulation. Every time I take a few pills, I get a warm feeling in my stomach (sometimes a bit of pain if I don't eat too much, I have to be careful with it too! But most of the time I don't get pain from it because I eat enough) and the rest of my body starts to get warm too. It helps to open up those blood vessels so that the blood can flow more easily through them. Of course, that should have led me to realize that meant it is an anti-inflammatory, but somehow that escaped me. It was only recently that I realized that Cayenne Pepper is an anti-inflammatory, because after I would take a few pills, I would get a really strong urge to pee (sorry, too much info! Lol). That made me realize the work that the Cayenne Pepper is doing in my body besides giving me relief from ulcer pain. Of course to be sure of its anti-inflammatory properties, I looked it up online (research is my favorite :) and my suspicions were confirmed. Apparently, Cayenne Pepper is also great for stopping pain signals throughout the body as well! Yet another score for the fantastic Cayenne Pepper :) I also added Cayenne Pepper to some Castor Oil as a muscle relaxing/pain relieving treatment for my jaw after my wisdom teeth were removed. The combination was really helpful in terms of getting my face back to normal! You can check out for yourself the benefits of Cayenne Pepper at these links:

http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html

http://www.natures-health-foods.com/Cayenne.html

http://commonsensehome.com/home-remedies-for-sore-muscles/

Enjoy reading! :)

Royal Jelly: A Cure for My Stomach Ulcers?

Recently, my sister ordered Royal Jelly from Swanson Vitamins (my favorite website!). The order arrived yesterday (on my birthday! :D) and she told everyone in my house to take 1-2 teaspoons a day. Obedient as I am, I took one teaspoon today, grimacing all the way as it's disgustingly sweet. However, I fought my way through, being a trooper. And then, I did my research. I know I had heard somewhere before that honey is good for curing peptic ulcers, so I went and looked into it further. The information I found was encouraging: many people have found relief and healing from ulcers in their digestive systems through consuming Royal Jelly, and that happens within 7-30 days of regular consumption of the sweet stuff. Of course, I would never leave you without links to the information I find.

You can check it out for yourself here:
http://caspianapiaries.com/presentation/Ulcer%20treatment.pdf

So, God willing, maybe in about 30 days I'll be able to report that I can once again eat beets, pineapples, sour apples, oranges, red cabbage, and other things that have been eliminated from my diet because they cause me stomach pain. I'm hoping really hard, because it's been such a pain to have my diet become more and more limited since my diagnosis 3 years ago!

Feelings on Having Sickle Cell Anemia

Having Sickle Cell Anemia can be pretty scary. The disease is entirely unpredictable. One never knows when a pain crisis will strike and just how severe it may be. My health has drastically improved in the past year and a half, since I changed my diet and began focusing on eating more fruits and vegetables, and consuming a lot of foods that are high in Thiocyanate, such as plantains, cabbage, yuca, etc. More recently, as of August, I added Moringa to my diet, which I researched online and found that it helps with reducing sickling. Combined, all of the things I do have greatly helped to improve my quality of life. 

However, another complication that I can't do anything about is the cold weather, which increases the pain. I'm currently at a point where I rarely have to take painkillers, which is a miracle, in and of itself. One thing that I always have to keep in mind is that my routine is not a cure, nor is it a one time thing. If I don't stick to my routine, if I don't stay dedicated to being healthy, I start to once more feel the effects of the disease. My new motto is, "No health, no life." My health is something that I know always put first, and it's something that I think about constantly. I'm always thinking about what foods I'm putting into my body and how they will affect me. Keep in mind, I also have peptic ulcers as a result of using NSAIDs, and those are another thing that affect my health. 

SCA comes with many emotional ups and downs as well. A chronically painful disease is one that takes a lot out of the carrier, regardless of whether they show it or not. One of the greatest benefits of my new and improved diet is that I suffer 95% less pain that I used to. The sick thing is, when my health started to get better, at first I actually missed the pain. That's how used to it I was. My tolerance for pain has decreased since my health has gotten better, but my tolerance for painkillers has decreased as well, so it takes less to help me feel better.

I still have my bad days, when I have moderate pains, and I start to feel really down about everything. It's more the fear of what my disease possibly could make me suffer and the memories of what I have been through that bring me down, than the actual effects of the pain. But overall, with my new routine, my health has never been better. My hope is that my story can bring hope and help to those who have SCA, and my new mission is to begin helping out with SCA awareness, which I will be doing by helping out with Sickle Cell Warriors.

Barley & Lentil Soup, Anyone?

Yesterday, I decided to make a barley & lentil soup so I could eat my lentils a different way. My former favorite way to eat lentils was to use this Curried Lentils recipe, which is incredibly simple and tasty. You don't actually need all the ingredients on the list either. For instance, I never used chicken broth. Instead, I used plain water and threw a Maggi Cube in the pot along with everything else and let it all simmer. Maggi cubes are a good substitute for chicken broth if you don't have any. The barley & lentil soup I made was super simple and mostly improv. I'm going to write down the recipe here in case anyone else wants to try it. The two foods in the soup that are Thiocyanate rich are the lentils and carrots. I didn't use exact measurements for the water, so if you want a thicker soup, add less water, and if you want a thinner soup, add more.

Barley & Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Barley
1 Cup of Lentils
7-10 stalks of Celery
6-8 large Carrots
3 stalks of Scallions
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlice
1/2 Maggi cube (optional)

7 Cups of Water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Servings: Many!

Directions: 

Rinse barley and lentils. Chop celery, carrots, and scallions. Add everything together, the barley, lentils, celery, carrots, scallions, minced garlic, and Maggi cube together in a pot. Add about 7 cups of water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the fire and let the soup simmer for about an hour, or till all ingredients are tender. 

That's it! Hope you enjoy making it! Bon appetit!

Cabbage Juice!

In my research about what is good for healing ulcers, I read about red cabbage and how it can help the stomach in the healing process. Today, I finally bought a red cabbage and pureed it and drank a cup, and have a good sized container to last me the next week and a half. I'll be drinking at least one cup a day on an empty stomach and will continue for at least a month, maybe two. Cabbage is also a Thiocyanate rich food, so I may just continue drinking cabbage puree as part of my daily routine until I get tired of it. Yet another easy way for me to stay healthy (as well as help my ulcers heal)! :D

Discontinued Use of Liquid Chlorophyll

One thing that I haven't considered as a factor in my health for a while is Liquid Chlorophyll. I discontinued my use of it a few days before I returned to the USA, not because I wasn't pleased with it, but because moving was interrupting my daily patterns. I would say it's been about 5-6 weeks since I last took any. What I will do is first commence this new treatment with Mastic Gum for my ulcers, and once that is through, I will once more purchase LC to begin using daily. I also need to work on making sure my diet is well rounded, with enough essential building blocks such as Calcium, Iron, Folate, etc. to keep my whole body in good health instead of feeling like one part of my body (usually legs, arms, or ribs) is weaker or hurts on certain days and not others. What I want to remind everyone is that though what I am doing is not a cure, it  is a new way of eating and treating my body that has worked incredibly for me, and that's why I'm sharing it with you, that way someone in your life may also have positive results and begin to feel better in their bodies.

Back Once More... and Doing Well!

Hi, Everyone,

I haven't posted in a while, but in the time that I haven't posted, my health has been pretty stable. There were a few changes when I returned to the USA, I feel that at times my body is a bit weaker, but I am keeping up with all my vegetables, and definitely sticking with my Thiocyanate rich fruits and vegetables. My favorites are bananas, carrots, plantains (especially sweet ones!), chickpeas, and lentils. My non-Thiocyanate laden favorite veggies are beets, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, black beans, green peas, and celery. Plenty of ways to combine and cook them and plenty more fruits and veggies in the stores to choose from! 

As to my pain levels, they increase and decrease here and there and I manage it with 1 or 2 Tylenols (500mg) on an as needed basis.  While I was away, I didn't have Tylenol after the first 2 months, so that gave my body a chance to decrease its dependence. In the past, I tended to OD on painkillers (taking more than the recommended daily dosage on a regular basis) as I didn't know how else to deal with the pain, but now I find that 1 or 2 painkillers is all I need to deal with some pain, which is usually low level or a little more than mild. Yet even the amount of painkillers I take now is no comparison to what it was before I started this diet. (I will add here that I don't ONLY eat Thiocyanate rich foods, but I try to make them the main part of my diet.) I take much fewer painkillers these days, and sometimes am able to ignore some of the (mild) pain I have, choosing to rest and increase my water intake as opposed to taking more painkillers to manage it.

The thing that is really kicking my health's butt right now is my peptic ulcers!!! They are really making my life difficult, and the doctor prescribed me Omeprazole to deal with it, but that only made me feel worse. I made the decision to discontinue taking them after 3-4 days and am once more trying the natural route. Yesterday, I discovered a product called Mastic Gum, and from the reviews I read, many people have been happy with it and say that it has helped them with their ulcers. I'll be looking to purchase it today and will let my readers know if it worked for me or not. 

My view on health is that it is not just what goes on in your body, but what's going on outside of your body and how you respond to it that acts on health as a whole. Yes, I have a disease that can be devastatingly painful. But the decisions I am making now have turned that around and have made a big difference in my life. What goes into my body determines what my body will do, what I put into my body are the building blocks for my health. What I do with my body determines how I will feel. I try to walk more to keep up with my health, I try to make sure I get a good amount of water everyday, I'm making more of an effort to avoid sweets (my weakness!), pasta, white bread, and white rice. Everything plays a factor, even if it's small, and I'm going to continue to do what I can to not let this thing beat me!

Keeping Inflammation Down

A huge problem with Sickle Cell and a cause of a lot of pain is the inflammation. From what I've learned, when a crisis begins, after the cells get stuck in the veins, an inflammatory response is triggered, which worsens the pain, and which can stick around long after the actual clot is gone. In the daily diet, their are things that can be done to help reduce overall inflammation in the body. To help reduce inflammation, I first looked up things that cause it. Sugar is a primary culprit, so I try to reduce sugar in my daily diet. I try to stay conscious of how much I'm having and try to keep it to a reasonable amount. Another thing I do is avoid white rice and refined flours and pasta. I don't eat a lot of bread, eat practically no rice (such a turnaround since rice was a staple when I was growing up!), eat very little (white) bread and pasta. When I do eat the above mentioned, I do later feel a difference in my body as if there is more inflammation going on. (I also break out! -__-') These are just the things that I do based on what I've learned about my own body and the way it works (and doesn't work.) Hopefully the observations I've made can be helpful to you!

Life without Serrapeptase/Nattokinase

I must admit, part of the reason why I don't update more often is because I've gotten a lot of page views, but very few comments, which makes me wonder if this is helping anyone at all. But maybe some people prefer to read and not comment. If so, this is for you guys!

March 15th was the day I stopped taking Serrapeptase regularly, since then I've barely taken it at all. It was making me feel like my ulcers were still bleeding, so it definitely had to be dropped from my routine. However, my body still feels good, and I still do take my Liquid Chlorophyll every morning, sometimes in the evening. I also continue to stretch every morning which has greatly helped my body. In the past, the muscle in my right leg between my pelvic bone and thigh was very weak and would sometimes cause me to limp. The muscle would sometimes get so stressed throughout the day that it would get to a point where it felt like it twisted, and then I wouldn't be able to walk for about a week. This, of course, was at times the bane of my existence. Stretching helped change all that. Since I started stretching, I noticed the muscle wouldn't hurt as much when I would walk, and over time it's become more limber and flexible, and it now feels like it works with me, as opposed to against me. All in all, stretching has helped my existence become easier! And it's such a simple thing to do, my basic routine can be done in about 5 minutes, though I'm sure sometimes I take longer with it by taking deeper breaths and just getting oxygen into my lungs. Trust me, it's a relaxing way to help start your day! Experiment with stretches and see what works for you :)

As usual, I have to put a reminder here about eating a diet high in Thiocyanate. It's simple to do once you get the hang of it, I promise! For instance, last night's dinner was beets, lentils, and roasted chicken. It was healthy and delicious! This morning's breakfast was Golden Grahams and warm milk. Variety in the diet is essential so you don't get bored and hop off the wagon like I did when I first started my new way of eating. A good suggestion for adding Thiocyanate filled foods to the diet would be to add a little bit at a time. For example, experiment with different recipes and find what works for you. Over the summer, I would make smoothies out of frozen strawberries and coconut milk ( with a bit of brown sugar and vanilla essence for extra flavor!) The smoothies were delicious, filling, and high in Thiocyanate! There are tons of things you can try, such as fried, baked, or boiled plantains, baked sweet potatoes, stewed lentils, steamed broccoli, raw carrots, bananas, and almonds just to name a few! Try them out consistently and get your Thiocyanate in large  amounts as well as your other vitamins from foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Try these out and let me know what works for you!

Steamed Broccoli and Plantains

...that is what I am having for dinner. There is some cauliflower on my plate too, actually more cauliflower than broccoli. I brought a frozen mix and the great thing about my dinner is that everything on my plate is high in calcium. I cut way down on my intake of Nattokinase. I was also able to get my hands on some goat's milk, which I rather like, and my ulcers seem to be doing a lot better. I am not sure how long it would take for the goats milk to completely heal my ulcers, I am also not sure how strong pasteurized goat's milk is in healing them because I'm sure the raw version has more nutrients in it, but I will keep drinking some everyday until I go back home. The fact that I haven't been feeling any stomach pain that feels ulcer related since I began eating more foods that would help heal them has been very encouraging to me. 

Sometimes, I get a bit frustrated with my diet and just want to eat anything I want. For instance, tonight I wanted to have frozen pizza and nachos for dinner. Since I had pizza yesterday, and I know that it's not that good for me with all those starches and all that white flour which probably is causing me to break out today and also is probably causing inflammation in my body, I compromised with myself by buying nachos. I will have pizza another day. Knowing that sticking to my diet is essential to my health and well-being is a highly motivating factor, especially on days when I'm feeling down because I'm not feeling well, and I wonder if sticking to my diet that day is worth the trouble. At this point, I probably shouldn't even call it a diet, because I've been making sure that the majority of what's on my plate each week is high in thiocyanate. It is probably safe to call it my new way of life. If I weren't dedicated to my health, I probably would have given up already. But seeing how my diet helped me over the summer, and again seeing how it's been helping me now, where I can mostly stick to my regular activities and be a "normal gal" for the most part is what keeps me going. Looking at my health charts and seeing all the information I've collected so far is also something that continues to inspire me to stay on the path that I am on. Again, I must reiterate that I haven't found a cure, and that if I don't stick to my diet, then my health won't stay as good as it is now. But the fact that I am able to feel a lot better than I used to because I am eating foods that are high in thiocyanate is truly encouraging, and I hope that other people will find the encouragement that they need here on these pages. 

Dangers of Nattokinase

Pretty upset right now. My stomach has been hurting on and off for the past week and a half, it's been doing it more since last night, I actually woke up with a bit of pain last night. Nothing extreme, but enough to wake me up. I mentioned before that I have stomach ulcers, and I think they are what make my stomach so incredibly sensitive to when I eat out, which I've been doing more since last Sunday. It only occurred to me tonight, after I ate dinner and my stomach began hurting, that since I have ulcers and Nattokinase is a blood-thinner, that the Nattokinase is probably what has been contributing to my stomachaches. I looked it up, and lo and behold, the website says, 

"Nattokinase should also not be taken by those who bleed very easily. It should be avoided by those who have recently had a bleeding ulcer, surgery, stroke or heart attack." 

This is all even more upsetting to me because my health has been feeling a bit more poor in different ways as well, and I can't be certain, but I wonder if my elevated heart rate during my work outs was not attributed to the Nattokinase in my system. As I said to a friend last night who said I should live it up more, "my health is a full time job." It gets incredibly frustrating when I have setbacks such as these. I was doing really well on the Serrapeptase and Liquid Chlorophyll alone and I really should have done more research before adding Nattokinase to my diet. It should have popped out at me that it was a blood thinner, but then again, I really wanted to be rid of the clutches of this disease. 

So this is where I am now, my ulcers are once more proving to be a problem when I eat, and it will take several weeks before they heal sufficiently to not bother me anymore. I'm not sure if they will ever heal completely, hence my absolute and essential need to stay away from blood-thinners, Ibuprofen, and anything else that might irritate them. Really can't say how frustrated I am about my ulcer situation, but I gotta press on. My warning to everyone is to really do your research before you add anything new to your diet, please look into the side effects. I still suggest eating a diet high in Thiocyanate and eat healthy in general. Eat as natural as possible because that's always best for your body.

Workin' It Out!

I must say, I am incredibly proud of myself today! I feel absolutely terrible, I have a cold/flu type thing going on, but not only did I make it to work and saw most of my students (was late to my first class so the first batch got a free period!), I also did my 10 minute workout today! I figured that if I am already feeling terrible, I might as well work out anyways because it could help me feel a bit better. In any case, I have spent years dreaming of being fit and not breathing heavily when I go up the stairs, and am still at point A because I've never had the stamina to see me through to point B. If I don't take now, the beautiful present moment, as my time to seize upon and take advantage of, then I know I never will. It really is now or never! Very happy to have noted down on my health chart that I got in my 10 minute workout today :D

In other news, I received my shipment of health supplements from Amazon.co.uk (thank you Amazon for your loyal and quick service!), so today is my first day on Nattokinase! We will see how it makes me feel as I progress with it, and whether or not I notice a difference. From my chart, I can see that I am on quite a few supplements, but it is better than not having taken any steps and constantly being afraid of my next hospitalization! Also, a word about supplements, if you can get something naturally from food, go for that as your source! The more natural it is in form, the more beneficial it is to your body. The natural form, such as fruits for instance, which have natural sugars, also have fiber in them. When fruits are eaten, instead of imbibed as a juice, the sugars are more slowly absorbed, because the fiber from the fruit is there to help slow down the sugar absorption. That's one tiny little example, but I hope you get my point. The more natural it is, the better it is for your body, because it also comes with the fibers and other nutrients that will benefit your body. I wish you good health, my friends! :)

Starting a New Workout Routine

Tonight, I did a workout routine after months of being turned off from working out. I took a health class last spring semester that got me really motivated about working out, and I wanted to begin right away, but alas, I began too fast and too soon. Everything I tried was too difficult, or I just didn't stick with it very well. What I found was that after working out, my ribs would hurt, and I attribute that to having done too fast, too soon. But I now realize the necessity and great importance of starting off slow. A slow start will allow me to work up to a good level of aerobic health, which I especially need because I have asthma and going up a flight of stairs usually kills me! I do think my aerobic health has improved a bit here because I've been doing more walking. However, I want it to continue to improve and to do so faster, and I also want to build up my strength, especially in my legs and arms. Down with weakness! I say yes to strength and health and no to all else! My goal is to keep doing my 10 minute workout, and I started with this video, but mostly kept it on as background noise and moved along at my MUCH slower pace, for a week, after which I will update about how my workout routine is going. I think that after two steady weeks of the same 10 minute workout,I will be ready to increase it to 15 minutes. For now, I am going VERY SLOWLY and at my own pace, because it's better to start off slow than not to start at all! Wish me luck in my workout journey! :)

P.S. It's about 15-20 minutes after my workout and I feel the need to note that I feel great, I feel like there was a boost of serotonin and energy and I am definitely looking forward to my next workout tomorrow! :D

Pain Pills: The Debate

I often debate with myself quite a bit before taking a pill for my aches and pains, knowing that with each pill I take, my resistance to its effectiveness is being increased. Here in France, I'm starting to feel a bit self-conscious about buying my painkillers. It's not like back home where I can walk into a large Walgreens and pick up a bottle of 100 Tylenol/Acetaminophen and pay for it with little interaction with the cashier. I have to ask a pharmacist for my Doliprane, and one night, when I was having crisis pain in my arm (I mentioned this a few posts back, it was more mild than an actual crisis because of my diet), the pharmacist asked me if I had a lot of pain, and I said yes, in my arm. Her words, "Vous-avez des douleurs importants?" still stick with me. Should I have explained to her that I have SCA? Not that I was really in the mood to explain anything as I was feeling pretty down. 

Based on the food list that I put up in my last post, I made a handy little health chart today. When I am able to scan it, I will add it as an image here. For now, visualize with me a bit. The chart starts with a list of (Thiocyanate) Rich Foods to Eat Daily or Multiple Times per Week - I added eggs to my list since they are packed with vitamins and I eat them almost everyday, so that is why I put Thiocyanate in parentheses. After that I have a list of my Daily Supplements, which are listed on the side of my blog, and hopefully next week will include Nattokinase, as I am preparing to order it from Amazon. I also have a space to note down if I took painkillers, if I stretched, and am using the back to write down any notes I have about the day. Today, for instance, I noted that I had pain in my right thigh (it's been there all day on and off and I have finally given in and taken a pill for it). On the chart, there is a slot for me to write the date for each day that I jot down information. I made 5 copies of it and am looking forward to being able to see more solid information about what works for me and what does not and how it makes me feel. The charts, combined with my blog, should be a good way to continue on my journey to health. :)

Moving On, Getting Healthier

Last night, I was feeling pretty down. I mentioned before that I have a skewed relationship with pain from having to deal with so much of it for so long, and I posted about my troubles in the Sickle Cell Warrior Group. People got back with their comments, and there are others who feel the way that I do, who are just tired of the pain. Thankfully I am feeling better today, and someone also posted a link about Discovite, which I am looking into and will also spread the word about. She said that she has been taking it and her health has been great. These natural alternatives are so much better than the harsh medicines with heavy side effects that the doctors prescribe to us. I think I mentioned before that my body has been feeling tense due to the winter cold, and I remembered that back in the Spring of last year, when I was taking a health class, I began a stretching routine that relieved some muscle pain in my legs that had been recurring for several years. Since I started that stretching routine, though I haven't continued with it, I have not had that pain get so bad that it made me have to stay home in bed. I have had muscle inflammation in that place, but because of the stretching, it never got back to the point where I couldn't walk, which was what it did before. Remembering that made me decide to go back to a stretch routine, and my body has been feeling a bit better though it is only my second day back to stretching. Simple yoga exercises, since the stretching exercises that I do are very close to yoga positions, seem like a good and easy way for me to build up my strength, which is something I really want to do. Back in the Spring when I was in my health class, I tried  to start a workout routine, but the things I was doing were too fast, too difficult, and too soon, so I will work on building my strength slowly but surely. One easy thing that I can do is to hold my leg stretch positions for longer because they don't overstretch my muscles, but will allow my legs and arms to become stronger. One thing that I really took away from my health class was something my professor said, which was that our genetics determine a small part about our body's health, but what we do for ourselves, our lifestyles, plays a greater part than genetics. With that in mind, I am encouraged to keep on the path I am on, and to go farther and keep getting better.

Getting Back Up

I must admit, I was feeling pretty down last night because my body was feeling sore/achey and I needed to take Ibuprofen and Doliprane, which is a French version of Acetaminophen. I had a long day babysitting, and though it's not difficult work, it's a bit tiring, especially having to pick up the baby now and then, which has been making my arms sore. Add to that the fact that my body has just been feeling a bit down in general, I mentioned in earlier posts that I felt tired and it's a feeling that hasn't gone away for weeks. I attributed it to overdoing it at first, too much going out and not enough resting, and then I got back to working after the holidays ended, and my schedule was full. The best way to describe how my health feels is to say that it feels as though I fell a while back and haven't been able to get up since. 

Last night, I rested when I got home and had some Speculoos cookies since I needed comfort food to help me feel better. Reflected on what I've been doing and what I could be doing better, and felt a bit down. Took my painkillers, drank my Liquid Chlorophyll, as well as increased my doses of Serrapeptase, I think I took about 480,000 i.u. last night, and what I like about it is that there are no negative side effects, the only thing I stand to do is gain from taking it. The Serrapeptase reduces inflammation, which is why I took the doses I did, as well as taking my Ibuprofen. Read a bit on the Sickle Cell Warriors page and briefly wondered if I should post about my feeling down because I wasn't feeling well even though I am on a better diet and take my Liquid Chlorophyll and Serrapeptase, and decided against it since I haven't had actual personal interactions with anyone on the page. Talked to some special people, which picked up my spirits a bit. Then I slept and did feel better when I woke up, though not back to 100%. But it has been some time since I have been feeling 100%. 

I'd say that today I'm feeling about 85-90% well. There is still inflammation in my ribs and in the muscles in my upper right thigh, so I'm hoping that inflammation will go down tonight. I don't have a heavy schedule tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will allow my body the time it needs to continue healing. After last night, I also decided that my diet must change some more. I usually eat eggs for breakfast because they are great for energy, are packed with nutrients, and I find that they are a great way to start the day. But after reflecting last night on how I could get more Thiocyanate into my diet, since it is usually my dinner that is based around it, I decided that breakfast from now on will center around beets and lentils, or some other Thiocyanate containing foods, possibly lima beans.