This is the most important and life-changing article I have ever written! I am going to tell you some secrets about myself that I have not told you before!
For many reasons, about eight weeks ago I made some serious changes in the way I eat. Not the quantity, but what I actually put into my body. Here are some of the reasons.
The main reason is that I had been experiencing laryngitis for many months. No matter what I did, my voice was horrible and it would not get any better. I tried everything, such as resting it (but I speak for a living so that was difficult), lozenges, honey and tea, drinking lots of water, gargling with salt water, and everything else that people told me to try. Nothing worked. It actually progressively got worse until I could hardly talk.
I went to the ENT and he scoped me. No cancer or anything serious. Just inflammation. He told me to stop talking and take some medication that he handed me. Who knows what it was! One thing I did find out is that it didn’t work.
While I’m thinking about it, I had some other issues. I have had psoriasis for at least twelve years now. Not the really bad kind that covers all of my skin. But enough to make me know that something was not right. Dermatologists never had an answer other than “here is some cream.”
Also, I was tired a lot. Don’t know why. I ate healthy, exercised, slept well, and was at a pretty good weight. I was baffled as to why I got so tired in the afternoon.
I’m on a roll now. Let me see, what else was bothering me? Oh yeah, what about some occasional acid reflux? Not much but occasionally I would awaken with a bad pain in my esophageal area I am guessing. No big deal, right? Nothing that a little calcium tablet couldn’t take care of.
Is that all? Maybe. If I think of anything else I will let you know.
So I did some reading. Lots of reading. And on my own, I decided that these crazy things going on in my body could be related to some type of food I was taking in. And probably not one food, but many.
I decided that I was going to only put foods into my body that had a proven track record of being very healthy and healing. So first let me share with you what I completely took out of my diet.
This is what I completely removed from my diet:
- Alcohol – it is not a health food! Full of yeast and it’s caustic to your tissues.
- Caffeine – an addictive drug that does no good in any way.
- Sugar – need I explain? This is horrible and causes tons of diseases!
- Peanuts – very allergenic and moldy.
- Wheat and gluten – highly allergenic. So no breads or anything made from flour!
- Soy Sauce – Did you know the second ingredient in soy sauce is wheat (hence gluten)?
- Vinegar, pickles, olives.
- Anything that is processed in any way.
- Dairy – except plain, unsweetened organic Greek yogurt.
- Most fruits – they are very high in sugar.
- Rice – except for brown rice.
- Yeast
- Artificial colors or sweeteners.
- Any ingredient that I could not pronounce.
Now when I removed all of the above from my diet, the following were automatically restricted:
Sauces, ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, desserts, crackers, breads, cakes, noodles, lunch meats, potato chips, cheese, croutons, most soups, all drinks except for water and organic green tea. And a lot more that I probably cannot think of now.
So what could I eat? Well, I steered towards mostly organic, unprocessed and raw foods.
- Eggs – they are extremely healthy!
- Brown rice crackers.
- Organic blue corn chips.
- Meats
- Vegetables – tons of vegetables.
- Non -wheat grains such as millet, quinoa, amaranth.
- Olive oil and fresh lemon juice on salads.
- Fresh filtered water or spring water.
- Organic green or white tea.
- Organic turkey or chicken deli.
- Hummus
- Nuts such as almonds, cashews.
- Pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
- Cashew butter and almond butter.
- Sweet potatoes.
- Gluten and yeast free bread (eccch… no taste).
- Unsweetened plain Greek yogurt.
- Fish
- And did I say TONS of fresh veggies???
Actually a whole new world was opened to me once I made this change. At first it was difficult because I really could not eat many of the things that the average American eats on a daily basis. But as I got into the groove, it got easy! Actually most of the foods on the eliminated list I have no more craving for.
If I was traveling, my dinner consisted of the fresh salad and food bar at the local Whole Foods instead of going to a typical unhealthy restaurant. You’d be surprised how many interesting down to earth people hang there. And I learned to carry my own healthy snack bag to work every day.
What do you think happened to my body as I sit here typing this a mere eight weeks later? You simply would not believe it. I can’t believe it either. But here is what has changed:
- My voice is back.
- I lost ten pounds without trying! Totally flat stomach!
- My skin is 100% improved on my knee (I had psoriasis there for twelve years) and 95% improved on my elbows! This I literally cannot believe. It is incredible! I feel in a short time it will be 100% improved everywhere. I would not expect something that I have had for twelve years to go away that quickly.
- Increased energy, no more lethargy!
- Incredible positive mental feeling!
- NO acid reflux episodes.
- Great sleeping.
- Perfect bowel regularity.
- Probably much more that I cannot even think of right now.
Please understand that I am not exaggerating at all. Everything I have said here is really 100% accurate. I have no product to sell you. I really wish I did – but I don’t. There is no reason for me to embellish anything here. And I’m giving you this knowledge for free.
I am so excited about this “new lifestyle!” It’s so funny, I have always considered myself to be VERY healthy and athletic. Most people around me would have ranked me in the top 5% of all people as far as health. I am 56 but look at least ten years younger than that. I run marathons. I ski the double black diamonds. I backpack in the Grand Canyon for a week at a time. I go to the gym. But maybe I was not so healthy. I had these nagging issues and something was causing them.
Listen. I honestly believe that we need to take in the purest of foods. The typical American diet is pure J-U-N-K. Sure, many of you can ostensibly “get by” on it. But my bet is that you are “sick” inside. If issues have not reared their ugly heads, I think they will sooner rather than later.
I just feel great and I wanted to share this with you. It’s been only eight weeks but it is now a lifestyle because of the changes I have seen. There is no turning back for me.
If you want to find me these days, look for me eating at the counter at the natural foods store. Or the eating area of Whole Foods. It’s actually amazing how many other healthy people hang at these places! It’s fun!
Rock on!
