Monday, February 19, 2007

Reflux Update

Well, I'm at near 2 weeks without any over the counter acid-reflux medications. With some diet modifications and the addition of probiotic supplements (2-3+ a day from the "Garden of Life" company, product: "Primal Defense"). I am drug-free and doing good. My sinuses are also no longer swollen and able to drain without decongestants. I wonder if a side effect of the acid-reflux medication is sinus congestion?

I still need to address damage to my body from antibiotics and get more fiber in my diet, but I have hope. I want to try this treatment for at least a month before I share any specific details. I don't want to send anyone down the wrong path needlessly. But I will say this:

1) eliminate processed foods from your diet whenever possible (i.e., big name brand starchy cereals, chips and other pre-packaged snack foods: if it has long list of unrecognizable ingredients avoid it!).

2) Try to eat only 100% whole grain products -- do not eat white bread/starchy foods. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and eat organic if cost and availability allow. My husband is making our family's bread from scratch.

3) My family eats no red meat whatsoever. We do eat chicken and turkey, but unless we can locate a free-range supply we may stop that as well. We eat lots of beans and fish/seafood.

4) We also do not drink milk, but use organic soy milk (yes, I've heard the dings against soy, but thus far have had no problems and feel that risks from soy are far less than milk filled with hormones and antibiotics) instead. The kids do, however, get an occasional ice cream.

Here's to your health!
God Bless and Have a Great Day!

P.S. I drink a lot of tea and green tea in particular. I noticed when I run out of green tea and can't get to the store for a few days to buy more that I start to feel worse (i.e., more tired and more stomach aches). So I am going to try an ad-hoc experiment: take some of my husbands baking yeast and put equal amounts of yeast in a) 1/4 cup pure water and b) 1/4 green tea (made from one bag). Then I'll see how the yeast growth in the green compares to the yeast growth in the control group of water. I know that candida yeast (kind that results in human body after antibiotic use) is a different yeast than baking yeast, but surely they share some similar properties. Maybe I'm onto something?

No comments: