Fibro Notes for Dec 2009 - Our guest speaker was Cindy Cohen, RN and Health Coach. As expected, she was a veritable fountain of information. Our meeting went 45 minutes overtime, and we still weren't ready to leave.
Cindy first covered the risk factors for FMS. Then the Immune System Triggers. These need to be repeated here because these are the things we need to watch out for and consciously work at avoiding... The triggers that stress out our immune system are: Overexertion, Stress, Lack of Exercise, Too Much Exercise, Anxiety, Depression, Lack of Sleep, Physical Trauma, Emotional Trauma, Extremes of Temperature and/or humidity, Infectious Illness, Genetics, Emotional Family issues. All of these things are aggravators for Fibromyalgic symptoms, of course, but importantly they are triggers for running down and weakening our immune system. Good Whole Real foods build UP your immune system.
Cindy stresses that no one else cares as much about you, as you do. You must take responsibility to help heal yourself. Controlling your thinking about foods and deciding to eat healthy, nourishing foods can make a huge difference in your symptoms. Something as simple as saying over and over to yourself, "I will only eat foods that are good for me" will eventually put that thought in your mind.
We inherently know that whole nurtitious foods will help heal us; studies have shown that even cancer can be healed or prevented by eating only whole healthy foods--foods that grow in trees, bushes, in the earth, etc. REAL foods. Fruits and vegetables and foods with fiber like nuts, beans, legumes, whole grains, etc. But even at that, we also need supplements like Omega 3, Vitamin D, and others because the earth doesn't have the same nutrients that it did 100 years ago and some some foods are left wanting in vitamins and minerals. Even the Food Pyramid has changed because of this lack. We are now told that we need 9-13 servings (6 cups) per day instead of the 4-5 that we used to need.
Avoid the inflammatory foods--the ones that create inflammation and pain. These are trans fatty foods and saturated fats, as well as refined white sugar and flour and high fructose corn syrup. Avoid an overabundance of nightshade plant foods - tomato, potato, green peppers, eggplant. They have alkaloids that can trigger nerve and joint pain when eating two or three of these foods at one time. Try eating only one of these foods at a meal.
Cindy is also a Juice Plus+ distributor and that's because of the health benefits that she experienced with her own family. The nutrients in this product provide 13-15 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. She is a firm believer that good nutrition and good food is a major help for any condition, including Fibromyalgia. Starting with a good food diet makes Fibromyalgia and any other chronic illness much easier to deal with because you have a good base with less going wrong in the body.
During the Q & A she told of gluten and lactose intolerance being typical for everyone on the planet because humans have not evolved to have the enzymes to break these foods down sufficiently. Also it is a matter of degree, it shows up strongly in some people and hardly at all in others--until much later, that is, when they contract an autoimmune condition due to their system's inability to deal with these foods that we were never meant to eat anyway...gluten and cow's milk.
Cindy gave a couple of websites for quick videos to learn about the food industry--real eye openers! www.FoodMatters.TV and http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2494759449/ , a video from Food Inc.
And "Super Size Me" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Tv_mihMBA
Also a quick video about a very special book and movie called The Secret. The idea that thought can create reality has been around for many centuries. Thoughts are things. Quite literally. Controlling your thinking, such as repeating "I eat only healthy foods," can indeed create that condition within you. Go to http://www.thesecret.tv/movie/trailer.html
This was an excellent meeting and we're definitely going to have her come back.
Stay well everyone. Come and say Hi on Facebook! Pati* Chandler *:)
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