Tuesday 21 October 2014

Health post - sugar and the endocrine system etc. Minor interest

Most profoundly am I grateful for the work of Charlotte Gerson, Robert Lustig, Eric Berg and Gerald Green. Working with their insights has brought me to one lightbulb moment after another.

A real turnaround for me came in connecting up diet, weight and the endocrine system.

I had started to get desperate about weight gain. Like so many other people I’d go on a slimming diet, lose weight – but put it all back on and then some. It got harder and harder to lose, and my weight was gradually increasing. I didn’t feel like dancing, exercising, or even getting out of bed. Everything felt so tiring, the company of other people absolutely drained me; I was chronically exhausted. I'd felt well in the spring when I followed Charlotte Gerson's system, and the weight started to come off then, too. But I found it too difficult to keep up properly. And social eating is based on sugar, wheat and dairy (in England anyway); gradually I gave up, and started to feel ill again, and the weight started to creep back - clothes feeling tight.

So I went back and re-visited Robert Lustig’s video about sugar and his new one extending that work. I took in what Eric Berg had to say about body types (adrenal type, me). I read Gerald Green’s book that explained about candida creeping through the gut wall and messing up your blood.

And I concluded ~ no, I really, really do have to permanently give up sugar. So I did. No sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no yeast. Only exception there – I still have a little milk in tea when I’m a guest in someone else’s home. And, as before, I’ve seen my health transformed. I still drink some home-made juice every morning, following Charlotte Gerson’s advice that juice made from organic fruit and vegetables is good for you. I take the pulp from it and mix it in with my oatmeal while it’s cooking, so I don’t lose the fibre. And I still, regularly, do the Gerson coffee enemas to detox my liver – and they are better than anti-depressants by a million miles for re-establishing peace and equilibrium. I know it’s embarrassing to mention enemas on the internet, but really they revolutionise mood: toxins and depression are bosom buddies. I eat fish and I eat meat that's been compassionately farmed and raised on proper pasture (not just rye grass), or wild. In principle I could eat eggs but I find them a bit yucky.

The main thing is, I feel so, so well. This evening it occurred to me, that this is the origin of the word ‘wealth’. It’s nothing to do with money. Being ‘well’ comes from the same place as being ‘whole’. ‘Weal’ is the old word for it – like in the King James Bible, ‘I create weal and I create woe’ says the Lord in the book of Isaiah. So ‘weal’ is the condition of wellbeing; therefore ‘wellbeing’ is what ‘wealth’ really means. Money doesn’t come into it.  
I wouldn’t care how much I weighed if I feel this well. But. The other thing is, now that I’ve understood the role of the adrenal glands and thryoid et al in my weight gain, I get it – how the sugar fits in. And with the sugar knocked out, the surplus weight has just rolled painlessly away. No slimming diet, no hunger. The wheat, I stopped because it bloats me and gives me feelings of anxiety and dread. The dairy, I stopped because it clags up my tonsils and fogs my brain and stops me singing because it fills me up with mucus. The yeast, I stopped in case I had too much yeast in my gut. And I feel well, well well! Dancing again, Singing again. Zipping about again. Enjoying people’s company again. All the soft tissue pain and unshakeable despair just gone.


This time last year                            and now
         



In case you, too are chronically tired and just dragging through life barely able to put one foot in front of the other, I thought I’d let you know, so you could sniff along the info trails and see what you think.

19 comments:

Sandra Ann said...

Wow what a difference! For a while now I have thought that you have looked like you have a spring in your step! will check out the links especially in relation to Dave and MS.

Thanks for sharing.

San x

PS Any thoughts if buying organic food really is out of your weekly budget, as it is for us? I try and buy organic for leafy greens and apples and the rest of the fruit and veg I peel. Where possible we buy organic meat.

Rapunzel said...

Thanks for the links Pen, I'll be off in a moment to do research. I was diagnosed years ago with Fibromyalgia, which I think is a code name for toxic modern living. I've found things that make it worse or better, but am eager to learn more!
Everyone I work with feels lousey all the time...and judging by lunchtime diet is a big part of it. I wonder too if the work environment is more toxic than we realize, but diet is the easier thing to test and make changes in.
Sooooo glad for your newfound zippiness!

LANA said...

So funny you should be writing about this. I adore Charlotte Gerson, have her book and have watched all the videos about her clinic. Because of her I went out and bought an Omega juicer and try to make fresh juice as often as possible. Even got my 4 year old grandson into it. When a cold is coming on, he requests his "super juice" to help him get better. I also have a weight problem, about 50 lbs worth. I was thin all my life until menopause, when I quit smoking at the same time, developed plantar fasciitis, and gained tons of weight. You may also wish to look into Dr. Joel Fuhrman, he shares the same philosophy about the body healing itself if given the right nutrients. No sugar is the best idea, I wish I could do it. Perhaps I have not tried hard enough. Lord knows I would love to lose some of this weight, it is such a burden. Thanks again for a great post, somehow you always seem to write what I am thinking!

Bean said...

I gave up sugar about a month ago and feel much better for it. Another benefit is that the rosacea I have been plagued with for the past twenty plus years has made a drastic retreat, still there but so hugely improved it is amazing.

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi San ~ We do something similar to you. I get my meat from Eversfield Farm now (http://www.eversfieldorganic.co.uk/dept/eversfield-farm_d0188.htm), looking always for the cheapest cuts and special offers. Then I use a small amount of meat and put it with a lot of veggies; I expect you do the same. Each week, we buy at least some things organic, but like you we can't afford for all of it to be organic all the time. Veggies are usually cheaper than fruit, and we eat a lot of pulses. Because we eat almost all basic things rather than put-together food (i.e. ingredients not ready meals), that keeps the cost down.

I have a friend who's in a year preparation for entering a convent, and is keeping her costs as low as possible so she can follow the monastic live as nearly as possible at home, and she goes to the store in the evening and gets food from the reduced aisle. There are sometimes organic things in amongst.

Something I read one time that made sense to me, is that the veggies with a big uptake of water are good to buy organic, because they suck in stuff from their environment big time - potatoes, cucumber, tomatoes.

I've always put good quality food as No.1 priority for my family. Over the years we've made do with a small house, 2nd hand clothes, few toys, no holidays - but the best food. Wild food is good, too, and homegrown.

All that aside, I'd say you exercise just the most responsibility in caring for your family and watching over their wellbeing. And I think God guides us, and draws our attention to things along the way. xxx

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Rapunzel - Yes, I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia too. I think in my case it was internalised grief.

Something I would draw to your attention, though it always feels embarrassing talking about it, is the coffee enemas. They used to use these in the trenches in WW1 for soldiers needing surgery when the meds ran out.
The liver is a repository for toxins - that's it's job, to clean the blood - and these have an emotional component too.
How a coffee enema works, is when the coffee hits the sigmoid, the bile ducts have to open like gates, releasing the liver's toxic load.
Now that my body's properly detoxed, I've noticed that if I start to get angry or despairing - not because of a real situation, but a mood looking for a peg to hang itself on - I can clear it with a coffee enema, which flushes out the toxins leaving a feeling of rest and peace in my emotions.
My mood has stabilised immensely, and I have become much more resilient.

Another cause of pain and mood swings is sugar. It creates peaks and troughs in mood. It also creates an acid environment in the blood. Where there is pain (e.g. fibromyalgia) there is inflammation. Where there is inflammation there is acidity. If you can alkalinise the blood, the inflammation subsides and the pain with it.

I'd put money on your fibromyalgia improving if you had a zero-sugar diet. xx

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Lana - yes, just like everyone says, I've found it so much harder to shift the weight after menopause. The YouTube videos of Eric Berg are helpful with this, because he helps identify by body types (in terms of fat storage) what's happening on the endocrine level.

Charlotte Gerson's juices are fantastic. One thing to watch, though, is that the sugar component of the juiced fruit/vegetable is much more available and concentrated than if you eat the actual fruit. If you watch Robert Lustig's first video (link in the blog post) he speaks about this.

I have taken to having one medium-sized glass of home-made fresh juice (I have the Champion juicer) each morning, and I add all the pulp into my oatmeal as I cook it, so that I get all the fibre as well as the juice.

I know Charlotte Gerson gives her patients huge amounts of juice, but they are also having several enemas a day, and castor oil washouts, plus they have advanced cancer. I think for us who are basically well, the juices are absolutely good news, but one has to bear in mind that unless one is an athlete, the fructose that doesn't get used up is a big problem to the liver and has to make one fat. xx

Pen Wilcock said...

Hi Bean - that's so interesting! I would not have guessed the connection with rosacea. Were you surprised? What a pleasing thing to happen. xx

LANA said...

I usually limit the juice to one 8 oz glass a day which is carrot, kale and apple. I also add some spring water to it so it is not as concentrated. All organic, of course. I buy as much organic as possible, including oatmeal. I have cut back on the carbs. I only buy grass-fed organic meat and chicken, and use it sparingly. Yes, it is expensive, but I cut back on other things, as you do, because the quality of our food is top priority for my family. I am enjoying the links you have provided. Here in the USA, GMO's are a big issue. They have not banned or labeled them as they have in Europe. We cannot count on the government or FDA, EPA to protect us, so buying organic at least insures we are not getting any. Some stores and food companies are listening to the protests of the people, there are lots of new organic products coming out, but not enough. I am afraid politics and greed has taken over our country, so we must advocate for ourselves. Again, thanks for the info. Now I must get back to watching more.

Pen Wilcock said...

:0)

Kale. Now, there's a healthy thing! x

Pen Wilcock said...

I like your new profile photo, Lana. x

Bean said...

I was surprised by the change, but then did some research on diets where sugar is eliminated and one of the common side effects, 2/3 of people, experienced was an overall improvement of skin.
My daughter first commented on the improvement of my rosacea and then my husband did. My sister at that time sent me a link to an article about eliminating grains and sugar helps rosacea, I have not completely eliminated grains.
My mood and energy levels stay very stable throughout the day and my blood pressure is lower.
It is scary that something we all eat and use as a treat has such unpleasant side effects, I no longer provide sugary treats to my grandchildren.
Bean

Pen Wilcock said...

That's so encouraging, Bean - well done! xx

Katrina Green said...

Thanks for the added incentive to get back to the sugar-free and reduced grain diet I went on in the spring. I knew something about that diet had helped my rosacea, but couldn't remember what.

Pen Wilcock said...

:0) xx

Rapunzel said...

Well Pen you do get people motivated! Today was Day One of no sugar. Not a difficult thing so far and fortunately I DO Like real food. I forewarned my co-workers in case I get grumpy later on, Halloween is a daft time for me to be doing this, haha.
I reckon if I can't have sugar in my coffee I may as well learn to 'drink it upside down' and see what it can do for my liver.

Years ago when I was a young mom with a houseful of family I went off sugar for 18 months and was quite content without it. Wouldn't allow it in the house, learned to cook nicely without it and never missed it. And I didn't bake up sweets with some ghastly chemical substitutes, we just ate real food all the time. I think our sweetest thing was bananas. I had a watermelon with a candle in for my birthday.
To this day the kids refer to that period of our life as "The Dark Ages."
Perhaps I'll do better this time around without them at home to drag me back into modern times.
Haven't had a problem with mood swings or PMS, but got arthritis in my knees at around age 15 or so (on a typical teenage diet). I too suspect if I straighten my diet out and get rid of the sparkly white stuff my body will heal itself. Imagine how lovely it would be to not have to listen to or ignore pain 24/7. I'm excited about this grand experiment in how we were designed.

Pen Wilcock said...

:0D From now on, sparkly white stuff will be SNOW!

Re the coffee enemas - advice I've received is to supplement with milk thistle to edify the liver after it detoxes; also Charlotte Gerson says to match each enema with drinking a glass of fresh home made juice to restore electrolytes to the gut. And, I take a pro-biotic every day. If you don't have a juicer, and don't do the enemas too often, I'd have thought just making sure you chomp through plenty of fresh fruit would do the biz. Also, Charlotte Gerson says make sure anything you juice is organic, because the juicing process lets whatever chemicals are inside the thing you juice go gambolling free.
Let us know how you get on!
xx

Rapunzel said...

Duly noted. Milkthistle. Hmmm. My liver has never been edified before. Clearly Adventure Awaits!

Pen Wilcock said...

:0) xx