A true story of love, mother’s intuition, faith and Gluten free/Dairy free living……

I asked my cousin Kris to share her story with me and with my readers. I have been interested to hear about the changes she has made with diet, not only because she looks better than ever but because I have also been going dairy free to eliminate  the irritability, sleeping problems, and excema that were symptoms of milk protein intolerance in my son. We also as a family have chosen to eat less sugar and have seen amazing results in our weight loss goals and overall health. Here is Kris' story:


One year ago, my beautiful 12 year old daughter, Winter, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis. She, up to this point, had lived a very healthy and full childhood. No warning signs of any health issues prior to this moment.
 
It began with a very swollen, stiff and painful toe on her right foot.  Shortly after months of numerous doctor visits, MRI’s, x-rays, blood work and buddy taping her toes together in hopes of it being “sprained”. We were diagnosed with this crippling, heartbreaking, “incurable” disease that no one seemed to know anything about. Why? Being the avoided topic and shrugged answer from most doctor visits.
 
TO briefly fill you in….when the immune system attacks the body like it does in RA, it leads to the symptoms such as; joint pain, stiffness, fatigue and fevers. Over time, the joints can become permanently damaged and lead to disabilities and deformities where the joints have been destroyed.
 
Needless to say, being the hopelessly determined and loving mother I am I would not go down without a fight for Winter’s best well being and future. I researched every piece of information I could find in books, websites, chat rooms, blogs…you name it. Sadly none of it grew into an alternative to the modern cancer chemo therapy medications that all the doctors wanted to prescribe….it seemed the whole world was on them! How could that be? There has to be something else for such an un-known, un-answered, incurable disease. The modern medicine theory is to attack the autoimmune system in hopes to slow the cells from turning on themselves. Basically, chemo drugs seemed to be their preferred band-aide method to slowly kill her insides while stuffing their bank accounts rather than examining the root of the issue and building her system up to live a high quality life she deserved.
 
FYI-
These drugs have serious “possible” side effects! Beginning with hair loss, nausea, very low immune system……
 
·  Bone marrow depression
·  Leucopenia
·  Thrombocytopenia
·  Anemia
·  Mouth ulcers
·  Gastrointestinal disturbance
·  Stomatitis
·  Diarrhea
·  Hemorrhagic enteritis
·  Intestinal perforation
·  Death
 
I knew this was not the way for us. I refused to slowly poison my daughter into a wheelchair and death bed before she even hit 18. I am her mother, I am here to protect and provide for her with her best interest in mind. No doctor in the world will love her, protect her and selflessly think of her and her future as I would. Her childhood and future depends on my actions and decisions I make today. 
 
Soon after all this occurred I began to share our story and my fears with co-workers. One friend…aka…our “angel”, ended up recommending that I call her doctor who practiced holistic/homeopathic medicine. She personally shared with me her inspiring cancer fighting success story. I felt hope. I called and scheduled an appointment for the very next opening on his schedule.
 
Winter’s first visit was a true blessing. I felt relief and my heart instantly lighten. I just knew in my gut this was it, we made it. I would share this amazing story with you but it is worthy of its own entire writing. I will just say this….a miracle happened. I am forever grateful and blessed from this experience and our brilliant, dedicated, healing doctor.
 
Dr. G started us instantly on a diet called “the chew chew diet” this diet eliminates:
 
Gluten
Dairy
Acidic foods
Red meat
Pork
Caffeine
And the big one for Winter …..Sugar…in all forms.
 
He also started her on an array of some high quality herbal supplements to build up her immune system and clean out her digestive system to begin filtering properly. The combination within just 2 weeks improved her swelling, pain, energy level, attitude and over all health. By 3 months the symptoms were completely gone with very little permanent joint damage.
 
You may be asking yourself, What does Gluten do to your body? And how does it relate to autoimmune diseases?
 
Here’s just one little paragraph I found online to share. It will provide you a basic understanding:

Reasons to Go Gluten-Free By Danna Korn and Connie Sarros

A gluten-free diet isn’t just for those with celiac disease/autoimmune disease or a wheat allergy. Although eating wheat products, especially whole wheat, does offer some health benefits, the gluten can actually be harmful. Here are some reasons you may want to go gluten-free.
·         Humans don’t fully digest wheat. The undigested portions of wheat begin to ferment, producing gas. Icky, belchable, fart-forming gas.
·         Wheat is a pro-inflammatory agent. A pro-inflammatory agent is rapidly converted to sugar, causing a rise in the body’s insulin levels, causing a burst of inflammation at the cellular level, among other problems.
·         Wheat can cause leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome is a condition whereby stuff is leaking from your gut into your bloodstream — stuff that shouldn’t be there, such as toxins.
·         Refined wheat has little nutritional value. Did you know that manufacturers actually have to enrich refined wheat because they’ve taken out all the nutrients? And even then, the wheat is not that valuable, nutritionally speaking.
·         Wheat is one of the top-eight allergens. Millions of people are allergic to wheat — so many, in fact, that it has made it onto the top-eight allergen list.
·         Many people have gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, and don’t know it. So, how many people fall into this category? No one knows for sure. But 1 in 100 people has celiac disease — but most don’t know it. No one knows how many people have gluten sensitivity, but estimates are that it may be as high as 50 percent, or even 70 percent, of the population.

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/reasons-to-go-glutenfree.html#ixzz1TuXjGhTe

 
 
 Today, just a little over a year later. We continue to eat gluten free and dairy free. It is just our lifestyle. Sugar manages to creep its way back in our diets once in a while as well as acidic foods but for the most part our pantry and fridge is stocked with fresh produce, rice products, nut products, soy milk and other great gluten free, dairy free snacks. Winter is living a full, healthy and high energy 13 year old girl’s life, as God has intended.
 
I share this story with you in hopes to bring a sense of comfort, relief and peace of mind. If you are experiencing or know someone experiencing a similar story of health conditions and deeper sense of knowing, share with them that there really are healthy alternative option to modern medicine. For those who may not relate to the autoimmune disease aspect of this story you may relate to the love for humanity and quality of life we all are given to live if we simply choose to. Our first step is “knowing.”
 
If you would like to educate yourself further, learn more about Winter’s story or simply get some great gluten free recipes please contact me at loveglutenfree@yahoo.com or LIKE my new Facebook page : Love Gluten Free. Posts and info coming soon!
 
May your day be filled with peace, love and joy!
 
Krissy