Getting Back on Track

And so it begins…

In our daily lives we are constantly exposed to various toxins in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink. For the next 28 days we will be taking part in a detoxification program designed to eliminate toxins from our bodies that we have been exposed to through our environment and the food we eat. Certain foods can inhibit the natural detoxification process from our bodies while others are important in how well our bodies detoxify. This program was recommended to us by our chiropractor and we will be under her watch during the entire month.

There are 3 stages to this detoxification:

Stage 1 - Initial Clearing (Days 1-6): This stage is all about elimination. We will eliminate all refined and simple sugars, caffeinated beverages, gluten-containing grains, meat and seafood, eggs, and dairy products. We will continue eliminating all of these foods throughout the entire 28 days.

Stage 2 - Detoxification (Days 7-13): This stage is where we increase our protein powder consumption to make up for the lack of protein in the foods we are allowed to eat. The foods we are allowed to eat in this stage are organic fruits and vegetables, rice, oils (olive, flaxseed, sesame), spices and water. That’s it!

Stage 3 - Reintroduction (Days 14-28): During the last 2 weeks we will be slowly reintroducing foods that were eliminated in stage 2 back into our diet. Each day we will introduce a new food and will be recording any reactions (digestion, headaches, nasal/chest congestion, skin, energy, joint/muscle) to the foods we are reintroducing. Our goal during this stage is to identify if certain foods are playing a role in Tia’s asthma and allergies.

You must be asking why are we subjecting ourselves to this and why has our chiropractor recommended it? Well, Tia’s lung capacity was around 52% about 2 weeks ago and we’ve been trying to determine what is causing this extreme shortness of breath. She underwent allergy testing and most of the known allergens came back positive (buckwheat, peanuts and all tree nuts, dust mites, cats, dogs, grasses, trees and weeds). But two foods in her lab results came back with off the chart numbers and it has left us a little puzzled. Tia has been eating cheese, hummus and yogurt almost daily for as long as we can remember. So how could milk and chickpeas come back with off the chart numbers? Was the test flawed? Or, are the side effects of milk and chickpeas causing her asthma to flare up? Is blue cheese worth a sleepless night gasping for air? In Tia’s case it very well may be!

The road ahead during this month will be challenging and there is some argument as to which stage of our new diet will be the worst. Stage 1 may be the worst as a result of the sugar and caffeine withdrawals (severe headaches!). Some suggest stage 2 is the worst because you can only eat fruits and veggies and both irritability and the hunger meter skyrocket! But we have a feeling the hardest part will be cooking for Maya and watching her eat without sneaking a bite!

Maya is constantly trying to share her food with us and have us try a bite. Just today she has already tried to feed us some of her pancakes with honey, spoonfuls of her yogurt and of course some pretzel sticks. It is very hard to re-teach her to change her sharing habits now and she doesn’t quite understand why Mom and Dad have to be on this “silly diet” that you can’t share with others while on it. She asked this afternoon how long this is going to last and why Mom and Dad have to do it and why she doesn’t. She continues to ask this no matter how much we explain. It will all be worth it in the end Maya, just trust us. It will be worth it but it will be a pretty long and tough journey on all of us in many ways!

The headaches have already started…

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