Early Stage Natural Girls!

Marrianna, I had similar symptoms. (Maybe we were separated at birth.)  I remember those days of being mentally and physically drained. Gluten was sucking the life out me.  When I decided to become a raw vegan, the enzymes brought me back to life. I gave up so much-- dairy, meat, fish eggs, legumes, processed foods.  I credit green juices for my health . I look and feel younger than I did 10 years ago, so it was worth it.  I just want to keep going in the right direction. 

I'm only now starting to introduce some wild meats into my diet and cooked gluten free foods. I can't wait to flip through the recipe book Sherri mentioned and see what I can make.  But, I 'm only cooking for two. If I had to make meals every day for a family of five, maybe I wouldn't so enthusiastic.

My local grocery store has a wide variety of gluten free products (i.e. breads, waffles, flours, rice pastas, wheat free oatmeal, cookies, pizza dough flour, pancake mix  etc) and organic everything.  Maybe you should shop online, if you don't have maybe access to enough variety. 

Remember too that you work out a lot. Therefore, you are always going to be hungry. So, it's important to always have healthy really delicious snacks handy. Otherwise, thoughts of having chocolate croissants will highjack your mind when you get even a little hungry.

Thank God, at least you woke up and are taking charge of your health. Whenever I feel like not completing a set when working out, I think of your triathlons and find the strength to push through the pain. There are so many people who never wake up (or get inspired) no matter how bad their health gets. They'd rather  be complacent. I always say "prayer without action is no prayer at all. It's powerless".  

I know for a fact that had I not had my health problems, I would not be in good shape now. They forced me to take control and not leave my health in the hands of people who didn't have my best interest in mind. My former doctor never once asked me about my diet or took me seriously when I pointed out that certain foods were making me ill. I had to figure out what gluten sensitivity is on my own and trust that I'd get well. 

I'm about to take on a major project that will  affect the lives of many people and require me to have good judgement, stamina and faith.   I believe everything that I went through was God's way of preparing me mentally, physically and spiritually to take on this new challenge and excel.  So, I understand what you mean when you say "every cloud has a silver lining".  It's true. I have that message in my tagline.  

Hugs

Sharon

SAB, according to my ND and a couple of books that I checked (just to be sure) occasional natural soy foods are fine. It's the processed soy typically found in things like protein bars and shakes and soy burgers that we should always stay away from.  

Kefir Inhibits Progression of Breast Cancer

A surprising effect of drinking kefir is the possibility that it slows breast cancer cell growth. A study published in the 2007 issue of the "Journal of Medicinal Food" found that kefir is beneficial in suppressing the growth of breast cancer cells in animals. In this study, kefir proved more beneficial than yogurt and pasteurized cow's milk. Studies have not been performed on humans yet, but scientists feel that this discovery is promising in the future treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/116946-benefits-kefir-grains/#ixzz1azN4wUv3

Sharon

I don't know who originally came up with those exact words. I was watching John Hagee' s(sp) son Matthew preach and he said it.  It's in reference to James 2:26 -For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  

What Can You Do to Actually PREVENT Breast Cancer

While it is certainly helpful to identify cancers as soon as possible, even better would be to engage in lifestyle changes that would dramatically reduce or virtually eliminate your risk of developing breast cancer to begin with. This includes:

• Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). When JoEllen Welsh, a researcher with the State University of New York at Albany, injected a potent form of vitamin D into human breast cancer cells, half of them shriveled up and died within days. It was as effective as the toxic breast cancer drug Tamoxifen, without any of the detrimental side effects and at a tiny fraction of the cost.
  
  If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I'm aware of, with no adverse effects.
• Normalize your insulin levels. A primary way to accomplish that is to avoid sugar, especially fructose, as well as grains (including organic ones). Aside from causing insulin resistance, all forms of sugar also promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.
  
  Also make sure to exercise regularly, especially with Peak 8, as exercise is one of the best ways to optimize your insulin levels.
• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a roll in helping prevent breast cancer. It's best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.
  
  Beware of using oral supplements as there's some evidence that vitamin A can negate the benefits of vitamin D. Since appropriate vitamin D levels are crucial for your health in general, not to mention cancer prevention, this means that it's essential to have the proper ratio of vitamin D to vitamin A in your body.
  
  Ideally, you'll want to provide all the vitamin A and vitamin D substrate your body needs in such a way that your body can regulate both systems naturally. This is best done by eating colorful vegetables (for vitamin A) and by exposing your skin to safe amounts sunshine every day (for vitamin D).
• Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens, such as phthalates and BPA. These chemicals mimic natural estrogen, which is a breast cancer promoter.
• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide-a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried-has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally once you cut out sugar, fructose and grains, and start to exercise. It's important to lose excess body weight because fat produces estrogen.
• Drink a quart of organic green vegetable juice daily. Please review my juicing instructions for more detailed information
• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
• Take curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis. It's important to know that curcumin is generally not absorbed that well, so I've provided several absorption tips here.

Hi sweetbean,

 "Most of the tofu available in supermarkets has been coagulated into its thickened, moist, cake-like form, but it has not been fermented. Pickled tofu is an exception, and it's been fermented and aged like an aged cheese. Like other fermented soy products, it makes a great addition to soups." whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=newtip&dbid=36

ETA:The isoflavones in soy milk are good for preventing cancer. However, the commercial brands usually have plenty of sugar. I think if you are going to  drink soy milk,fermented soy milk is the way to go. But, I wouldn't go drinking gallons of it every day. Everything in moderation.  

High-fructose corn syrup is chemically similar to table sugar (sucrose). It's found in sodas. So we don't want that.  I'm like you. I have at least 3 fruits in the morning for breakfast.

Sharon