"And vegetarianism"

I've decided to use this blog as a means of sharing my vegetarian recipes and discoveries as I make really yummy veggie things. It's still for my health, and how you can benefit from cutting meat out of your diet.

I understand that not everyone agrees with this. I don't foresee any debates starting here, but I will not humor you with arguments and responses. I am a vegetarian, because I want to be, and it has been helping my asthma, and I feel as though I need no other reason.

That is all.

Also, on a personal note, my asthma has improved enough that I can do cardio without using an inhaler! I must be doing something right, and I hope my lungs will continue to improve.

I'll be back, soon.

Feelin' Low.

My asthma no longer seems to be improving. I'm going to acupuncture once a week, as opposed to two, and with the weather getting warmer, my chest and sinuses have gotten increasingly more congested.

I went to acupuncture today, and with seemingly no improvement, I got a few things in hopes of helping out my asthma.

First, is actually something I've used before: Cordychi. Cordychi is a capsule of a combination of freeze dried mushrooms designed for breathing support. In the past, using this has given slight relief to my symptoms, but nothing significant. Although, at the Holistic Pharmacy where I bought this, the workers there tell me every time I come in how other people with asthma use it and their asthma improves significantly. I'm hoping since, in general, my asthma HAS improved, it will hopefully show more effects than it has in the past.

Second, is Florajen (Florajen 3, to be exact). This is strange, since Florajen is actually something generally used for digestive health, but the reason I'm using it, is because there is a chance I'm what's called "Candida Sensitive".

Candida is a bacteria that exists normally in the vagina and gastrointestinal tract, but when there is an overgrowth of them, they can have some unwanted effects. Some of these can be mental sluggishness, allergies chronic fatigue, immune system malfunction (possible reason for asthma, in anyone), depression, hormonal imbalanced, and poor menstrual cycle (all of which I suffer from). Other effects include chronic vaginitis or prostatitis, chemical sensitivities, bloating or other digestive issues and skin problems.

Talking to the woman at the pharmacy, she explained to me that there was absolutely no way there could be any adverse effects from taking it, and may even improve any digestion issues I may have (and not even realize). I spent my $15, and decided to give the One Month supply a chance. The pills contain a ton of micro-organisms, so many in fact, that they are equal to the live cultures in 10 cups of yogurt! Crazy. Can't wait to see how this affects me.

Also, for those of you who are not aware, I am trying to cut dairy out of my diet almost as completely as possible. I am struggling quite a bit (especially living in what the world calls The Dairyland!), and the fact that since becoming a vegetarian just 2 months ago, another significant diet change came as a huge transition to deal with. I have found a lot of dairy-alternatives, including 'veganaise', as well as vegan cheese (which is only kind of passable as cheese if melted), but found (as per suggestion of a friend. Hi Allysha!) to try a brand called SO Delicious, a dairy-free, soy-free coconut milk brand.

I bought a quart of their 'Mocha Fudge' ice cream, as well as a pint of their French Vanilla creamer in hopes of somethine good coming from it. I have yet to try the creamer, but if it's even HALF as good as the ice cream, then I will be ecstatic. The ice cream is amazing, full of flavor, and tastes just like real ice cream...we even managed to (sort of) trick my cat into thinking it was milk. A feat, indeed. It's really fantastic to know I have somewhere to go if I need a really great treat, without cheating myself.

Hopefully between the two herbal supplements, and more reasons to be able to cut dairy out of my diet, I'll see some more improvement!

Third Acupuncture, and Improvement.

I had the biggest victory so far last night when I blew a 360 on my Peak Flow Meter!

The reason 360 is such an important number, is because that officially puts me in the range for 'healthy' lung capacity. Albeit in the very very LOW range, but in the range nonetheless.I should always be in the numbers between those yellow squares, and this is literally the first time in years that that has happened. I spend my life breathing numbers below the red.

This is the kind of win I've been looking for since I started acupuncture, and I'm so happy to finally have something to look at and say "I did this! I work hard, change my diet, get stabbed with needles twice a week and it's all for something!" The best thing is that we're far from finished. Far, far from finished.

My acupuncturist felt the strength of my organs today, and was happy that all of them are stronger, which I certainly could have told him myself! He was very happy, as was I.

As of late, my energy levels have been higher, my nose isn't running as much, and I have suddenly lost the urge to drink coffee. I have been drinking coffee damn near everyday since I was 14, and just a few days ago I stopped craving it. Usually I wake up in the morning thinking about the way coffee tastes, and how it wakes me up, but lately it just hasn't had the same appeal to me. On an even cooler note, I've been drinking green tea if I ever feel like I need something to wake me up, which is probably a pretty damn awesome alternative.

So things are finally happening. It's not a lot, but it's noticeable.

Soon I will have a post about an at-home allergy test, and might start filling in some gaps with vegan and vegetarian recipes.

Second Acupuncture, Diet Restrictions, and Some Herbs

My second acupuncture seemed....different, somehow. I felt a little anxiety going in, but absolutely none while in the chair. While I was being stuck, I felt calm, tired, wonderful, a little inspired. He put pressure on my knee, asked me if it did anything for my congestion, (which, it didn't, not really), then put pressure right above my ankle, and my nose cleared up in an instant. He put a series of needles in my feet and ankles, and for a solid 15 minutes I was able to breathe in and out of my nose! It went away after a little bit, and he said he wasn't too surprised considering all of my sinus/chest congestion.

He 'prescribed' a couple herbal tinctures for me, one for the asthma itself, and one to detox my body of all the bad stuff in my liver, I guess. I'm supposed to dilute it in water and take both of them twice a day. I have yet to try them, but my money is on the fact that they are probably disgusting. I peeked at the list of ingredients, only to see a bunch of Chinese herbs I couldn't even begin to recognize. So, this should be magically mysterious.

I was also given a list of dietary restrictions to help my asthma and congestion, and let me just say that 'overwhelmed' does not even begin to cover how I feel about it. Considering I've been a vegetarian for a solid 5 weeks, more diet changes are really really scary to me. Here are some of the things he is asking of me:

1. No dairy of any kind, ever. Since I watched Forks Over Knives the other day, I've been very aware of how much dairy I've been taking in, and I've been managing to cut back on it, but he's telling me none, whatsoever, or I'm going to stay congested pretty much forever, and the acupuncture won't do as much for me as it could.

2. Eat less soy. Pardon my French, but: FUCK. After becoming a vegetarian, AND cutting back on my dairy, I've been turning to soy for a lot of things. I've been getting a lot of protein from soy products (including at least 1/4 cup of soy nuts almost every day), and replacing milk with soy milk when I have the opportunity to at work. I bought some Almond Milk today, so hopefully that should give me some freedom with something somewhere.

3. No coffee. Not sure where to go with this one. I love coffee. LOVE IT. It's my favorite thing, possibly ever, and espresso even helps my asthma if I'm having a bad lung day. Every single one of my instincts are telling me to just say OH NO. HELL NO. But, there is tea, and liquid ginseng, and other things. I can certainly try, and I will.

4. 'Congee for breakfast daily'. Not sure what this is. Must investigate.

5. No carbs. Upon tracking my calories lately, I have found that I eat too many carbs every single day of my life. So, certainly this will be worth looking into.

6. No sweets. Fuuuuuuuu, why won't you let me have anythinggggggggg?! I mean seriously, at this point, I feel like if I'm not eating vegetables constantly, I'm going to be doing something wrong.

7. No food with artificial coloring. Okay, I'm cool with this one, because I know it triggers my asthma in weird ways.

8. Cut back on nuts. ABSDGODWG*OGW((*)HRE@(*)R@YG*. I can't have soy, meat, or nuts. I just don't know what you want from me anymore. Truly, I don't. Although, I did not realize that peanuts contribute to phlegm production. I can certainly cut back on that.

9. Sleep my 10 PM. Err....no. Most nights I'm done with work at 10:30, and get home around 11. However, I think I get the concept. I HAVE been going to bed around 4 AM for the last 6 months, I can certainly aim to move that back to 1 AM.

10. Among all these things, he also suggested getting an air purifier, washing my sheets once a week, taking a probiotic called "Floragen", meditating twice a day and avoiding other things I am already avoiding (such as meat). These things I know I can manage.

So, that's a lot. I am basically 'allowed' to eats fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Again, I know this is for my health, for my asthma, but it's a lot. He told me to start slowly, to not overwhelm myself, but that is clearly not working.

He also keeps talking to me about lowering my stress levels. To meditate, to get away from things. I've never considered myself "stressed", but I get uptight, and kind of controlling, maybe that's what he means. Ah, anyway. I can't think about all of this right now.

Post-acupuncture was certainly different from last time. Where on Tuesday I almost took a nap on my kitchen floor, today I feel riled up. I feel like running, and maybe punching something. I feel careless, and I feel like eating a gallon of ice cream, eating a cheeseburger, and smoking a freaking cigarette. I feel like sprinting across town. I feel like listening to metal. I feel...weird. I feel like I'm 14-years-old, and spiting everything around me. I'm hoping a lot of this is related to my stress regarding my new diet restrictions, and I will hopefully calm down soon.

First Acupuncture

My very first acupuncture appointment was today, and it was certainly a doozy. I guess I thought to myself that I knew what to expect, that I had expected some very serious and obvious change in my lungs and congestion, and I'm having a a harder time dealing with the fact that I am not completely healed than I thought I would.

The atmosphere was amazing. I took my shoes and socks off, and I went into a room where there were 3 other patients under blankets, looking peaceful and pretty close to asleep. I knew there would be other people there, and I found myself less anxious about it than I thought I would. The reason this is done this way, is that it's been proven through studies that people heal faster when in groups, than when alone. It's the same reason chemotherapy is done in groups. Anyway, Everyone looked peaceful, and I didn't feel anxious about it, so that was good.

My acupuncturist started off by putting 4 needles in my face, about 5 -7 in both of my arms and legs, and then put a blanket over me to let me rest. The needles actually hurt more than I thought they would, and my right arm started tingling almost immediately. Putting about 20 needles into me right away was very weird, but after they were in I could hardly feel them (except for the tingling).

At first, I felt amazed. My congestion cleared up, and considering I didn't take any Advair this morning, my breathing was surprisingly nice. However, after only a few minutes, my chest began to tighten, I started to wheeze, yawn uncontrollably, my congestion came back, and on top of all that, I was feeling very, very anxious, and considering how peaceful the atmosphere was, I could not relax or calm myself down.

The acupuncturist came over and asked me how I was doing, when I explained to him how I was feeling, he put another needle in my face (not even quite in my face, but rather right on my widow's peak), as well as a couple in my wrists, and some in my feet, and more on my legs. He also gave me what he called a "Happy tack". It's a small tack he put in the cartilage near the top of my right ear that he told me I could leave in for up to a week. It's connected to my sympathetic nervous system, and should keep any other anxieties at bay.

After the extra needles and the 'happy tack', my anxiety had dissipated within the minute, and my breathing became easier. I still felt wheezy, which I found very disappointing, and I continued to feel wheezy until i came home and took my Advair, but I'm trying to remind myself that all things worth having take time. I knew there wouldn't be obvious effects immediately, but I'm still finding it hard to accept, I thought at least my lung capacity would be a little higher, but it's hanging out where it normally is. My next appointment is only 2 days away, so we'll see what other things happen.

On the bright side, it's not as if nothing happened. I had been warned about 'healing responses', which include a lot of different experiences, one being extreme exhaustion. After the appointment was over, I was feeling okay, then after about half an hour, I juts got so tired I could do almost nothing productive. I thought maybe my sleepiness was due to a lack of coffee, but even as I was filling up my pot for coffee, I was feeling an overwhelming urge to just lie down on the kitchen floor. I ended up taking a long nap before my coffee had even finished brewing, and when I woke up I was still feeling as if doing anything besides sleeping more was too overwhelming. And when I finally did manage to get up and moving, I felt confused and disoriented. I was trying to make dinner, and was just having the damndest time comprehending my recipe.

Healing responses are good, though. It shows that things are happening, and that something, somewhere, in my body is moving forward towards something healthy. So maybe I shouldn't be so concerned with not feeling as though things are improving, as long as something is happening, right? Right.

Movie Review: Forks Over Knives

I finally decided to sit down and watch this movie tonight, and I'm happy I finally found the time and motivation to do so! I've been wanting to for awhile, but with all the hype behind it, I was actually a little scared about becoming motivated to become a vegan. When you're not ready to change, but something makes you feel like you have to, it's a strange instance.




However, after contemplating a dietary change to become vegan, I decided I actually needed a push to do so, and this was certainly it.

This movie is great. There is a lot of hard evidence that protein from animals causes cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. There was a woman who participated in a study who had basically been estimated only a few months to live. A doctor told her to 'prepare herself', and she replied "You just want me to sit in my rocking chair, and wait to die?" He said yes.

She decided to go to another doctor who would help her reverse her heart problems with diet alone. She is still alive, after 20 years.

There were a few other separate cases, one where a man was taking 9 pills and 2 injections a day, a man with a cholesterol level of 344, and a woman with hyper tension and of course, the director of the documentary. All of them had amazing results (as one would expect), and I was really impressed.

There were also a few cited studies, whose numbers were so high that they left very, VERY little room for error. A few doctors researched the link between diet and adverse health effects of 800,000 Chinese men and women over 65 counties in China. The results were insane. It's probably a good thing I didn't see this movie in theaters considering how many times I gasped and kind of squeaked out "Are you kidding me?!" while throwing my hands up in the air.

This movie is very enlightening. From the case studies, to the numbers, to the sheer amount of years behind studies on how diet effects health. On top of that, how incorrect some of the people at the USDA are about how much protein is needed, and a very enlightening and surprising section about calcium, and the effects it has on osteoporosis.

As someone with a chronic condition, it certainly made me want to dive into veganism without another thought. However, if I did not have a chronic condition, I don't think I would have been so eager to do so. If you're nervous about being terrified into changing, I don't think that will happen to you, but will certainly open your eyes a bit to make you aware of what, and how, you're eating.

Certainly recommended. For those of you who have no insurance, and need to keep your ailments in check, to those of you who just want to know more about food, this is a great documentary. It was very informative, without being too in your face.

Vegetarian Check-In: Week 2

Magnificent is the only word I can think of that expresses how amazing I feel this week. As of today I have been a vegetarian for two weeks, and I am honestly surprised at how amazing and obvious the effects have been, and in such a short period of time. Admittedly, maybe it's not just the fact that I've cut meat out of my diet, but also the fact that I'm actually THINKING about my food for what seems like the first time ever. For the first time I can recall, my lungs are taking priority over everything I do, and I consider them before I eat anything, and that might also be the reason why there is such improvement. Also, there are added benefits that I didn't expect!

So, for starters, before this new diet change, on my peak flow meter (lung capacity scale), my breathing averaged around 250 liters/minute, where now after just two weeks, my readings tonight averaged at 325! There were even some mornings where I wasn't coughing or wheezing when I woke up, although that is, admittedly, quite a rarity so far. I'm also still rather congested all the time, so I'm wondering if that will go away or not. I guess that we'll have to wait for that one. However, the extra lung capacity is most impressive!

Also, I've been significantly more energetic, and my mood has improved immensely. When I'm at work, I find myself to be irritable, tired and achy for almost the entirety of my shifts, while over the last few days, I haven't felt nearly as annoyed with as many of the customers, and I don't feel like I need caffeine, and my legs are no longer hurting after standing up for just a few hours. I feel cheery, and excited and really just...full of life. Work has never been better, to be honest.

As a possible TMI effect, my breasts are doing awesomely, too! Since I was about 13 or so, I've had lots of different issues with my breasts (which I won't get into detail about now), and absolutely all of them are gone! This was certainly not something I was expecting, and it was something I've just been dealing with for the better part of a decade, and now, within two weeks, they are all gone! I have tried looking online to see if this has happened to anyone else, and I can't seem to find any reasons as to why this happened. While I'm not complaining, I certainly wouldn't mind looking into this more.

So, as it turns out, becoming a vegetarian is that best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm also very excited for all the recipes I've been trying, and looking through. To find such vast improvements over so many areas of my life from simply cutting meat out of my diet is...phenomenal. I've been so grateful, and so excited for life for what feels like the first time ever, that I can't believe it took me this long to do this. I can't wait to see how things continue to improve, and to see if I can get up to my lung capacity goal of 450! Then I would be like a normal person, with normal lungs! My eyes well up with tears of joy at the thought of it.

I'm also going in for my first acupuncture treatment soon! I will certainly be back here with all the details after it happens, and to see how my lungs (and possibly congestion) improve after my appointment.