Food for the Mind, Body and Spirit

About a month ago, the skin on my right index finger and middle finger began to break out with tiny red pimples.  Subsequently, the index finger became swollen to one and a half times its normal size and I started to develop stiffness and warmth in both fingers.  I happened to have a chiropractor appointment around this time, so I showed him when I went in.  He took one look and said “it looks like psoriatic arthritis”.   SAY WHAAATT!?   Combine the fact that I have a great deal of respect for my chiro, my penchant for hypochondria and that I already knew some really scary details about PA because a co-worker was recently diagnosed with a very severe version… and I totally LOST MY SHIT. 

For a few weeks straight, I shut the blinds, dropped out and tuned into the internet to scour every possible bit of information I could find and began mapping out my future gym workouts as a handicapped person.  I’m nothing if not resourceful!  This wasn’t my proudest moment, to be sure… but certainly one of my most humbling.  The more I researched and dwelled, the worse my symptoms  seemed to get.  Pretty soon, I was sure that all my fingers and a couple of toes were involved and I couldn’t seem to grip anything without fumbling for it first.  Every little ache or pain that before I would have simply chalked up to my intense workouts without enough stretching, I was paying miscroscopic attention to.   After awhile, I couldn’t tell which symptoms were real, which were imagined and which were real because I had imagined them.   Yeah people, I was a hot mess. 

I had scheduled a visit with my doctor, God bless her, as she is an angel from above!  She recommended I take some herbal anti-inflammatory capsules, put me on a liver cleansing nutritional program and ordered some blood tests.  So I had another full week of freaking out while waiting on the results.  I had already decided that I wouldn’t be impressed with them anyway, because there is no conclusive test for PA.  I knew this because if there’s one description that sums me up, it would have to be detail-oriented; both a blessing and a curse.  A week later, the tests came back OK; a small relief.  It was now nearly a month later, and my fingers were starting to look normal again and I was set to visit with a rheumatologist at UCLA.  Armed with my camera of hand shots…since most of the remnants of my little episode had cleared… I was off to see a specialist.    The doctor checked all my joints, asking me to flex and stretch.  She concluded that while some of my symptoms sounded like PA, one very important factor was missing… lack of any pain.   She took some detailed notes, told me I’m in great physical shape and that if the condition returns, to visit her. In the meantime, she ordered some tests to check for genetic susceptibility to autoimmune illness.  The results eventually came back fine, save for a major Vitamin D deficiency, which the doctor thinks likely contributed to my joint incident.  Aside from prescribing a high dose supplement, neither doc seemed worried and both told me I was free to return to my regular workouts so long as I wasn’t experiencing any pain.  Anyone who knows me knows what music that must’ve been to my ears!

I wholeheartedly believe that everything happens for a reason.  I know that this was no accident, rather it was a stepping stone along the path of my chosen career as a food therapist.   While I already knew these things, I needed to be (powerfully) reminded of the following … 1- Food IS medicine, 2- The mind is a seriously POWERFUL thing, and can make or break you… so why not let it make you, hm?, 3- Appreciate every little thing you have and every little thing your body does for you on a daily basis.  In the process, I also learned some fascinating things I hadn’t known before.  I became a veritable expert on the intricacies of autoimmune illness…and learned that a majority of them usually boil down to one key element… and that is the AA:EPA ratio… I’ll explain momentarily. 

First, I’d like to talk about the mind/body connection, because it is so incredibly powerful.  I really cannot emphasize this enough.  And frankly, this is a huge piece of the puzzle that Western medicine is lacking; factoring in the WHOLE PERSON—mind, body and spirit.  The fascinating thing to me about autoimmune illness is that flare-ups wax and wane according to a person’s  state of mind at the time.  Usually depressive episodes are associated with flare-ups whereas happier times are associated with a remission of disease. This is a testament to the body’s incredible ability to heal itself given the right combination of circumstances.  Since these autoimmune conditions are so suggestible to mood, hypnotherapy is an extremely effective tool in managing AD and is actually capable of guiding a patient into remission. This is precisely why good bedside manner is key in the patient-doctor relationship.  Many doctors these days are overbooked, overworked and underpaid by insurance companies.  Their hearts just aren’t in it.  Nevertheless, patients deserve to be told about their condition in a kind and compassionate way.  A doctor’s delivery alone can mean the difference between an autoimmune client experiencing a flare-up or heading into remission.  These are the kinds of holistic ideas that I hope our new healthcare system will take into serious account.  I believe this country is moving in that direction.   As a GIRLLLL (okay, a woman, but girl just sounds so much more sing-songey), I also found it especially interesting to learn that there have even been accounts of AD going into remission after a person falls in love…. how romantic!!!  Interestingly, my episode had occurred just after I had lost my job of nearly a decade.  I didn’t think I was stressed about it.  I really had no idea. But when push comes to shove, the body will find a way to move any blocked negative energy/chi to clean them shits out (Tribe Called Quest reference-anyone reckanize?).  Did you know that 99% of your genes were designed to keep you healthy?  Yes, that is 99%, almost 100%!!!  That’s a pretty major head start, so why mess that up by adding nasty foods and stress to your life?!   Eat well, laugh often and go out and fall in love!!!   Then teach your loved one to hypnotize you… tee hee!

Now, a bit about nutrition.   There’s a little-BIG thing researchers have discovered called the AA:EPA ratio.  It’s been highly recognized that an imbalance in AA (arachidonic acid) to EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) is the root cause of a huge array of diseases, particularly ones of the American variety.  When the body is exposed to too much saturated fat (usually from animal sources and all kinds of fried & processed-food trans fats) and not enough healthy fat (omega 3’s from olive oil, flax, nuts and seeds), it begins to develop inflammation which may or may not present with immediate symptoms.    Heart disease, cancer, hypertension, AD…are all attributable to a diet high in AA.  Why does AA cause disease?   It’s very simple.  Pro inflammatory molecules called eicosanoids are derived from AA.  These eicosanoids are responsible for many complex bodily functions and for exerting hormone-like effects on cells.   Up until now, it’s been the American way to live BIG (literally and figuratively) and to worry about the consequences later.  In the process, this country  has become fatter, more sedentary and resigned to its ailing health.  What most of our doctors haven’t been telling us is that these conditions which tear apart families, leave children without parent(s) and cut short the lives of young adults are, for the most part, preventable through proper nutrition and lifestyle choices.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman, in his brilliant book, Eat 2 Live, discusses how he has successfully reversed his patients’ Type II diabetes, hypertension, as well as prevented a majority of his patients from undergoing bypass surgery…simply by having them follow a vegan diet.  What many of us don’t understand is that what we choose to feed our bodies is THAT powerful.  This ain’t no hippy dippy Alice in Wonderland mumbo jumbo, people—it’s for real!  As Thomas A. Edison much more eloquently put it “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”   So, you can continue with your French fries and hamburger diet and wash it down with all kinds of pills to try to counter the damage you’re doing.  Or, you can decide to take control of your health and start eating more nutrient dense foods (click here for a list: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article17.aspx ) and throw those pills away!  Your doctor probably won’t tell you all this, but now you know and the decision is yours to make…POWER… feels SO GOOD, doesn’t it?!