Not The Whole Story...

Some of you may have seen the recent addition of Consumer Reports--in which the cover basically asks, "Will a gluten-free diet really make you healthier?"

The answer, according to Consumer Reports, is that the gluten-free products available on the market (i.e. the processed foods available that are labeled 'gluten-free') can actually be less healthy for you than conventional products.

Well, duh. Eating a bunch of processed, pre-packaged food of ANY kind isn't healthy. The implication of the Consumer Reports article is that cutting gluten from your diet isn't healthy for you. The unfortunate assumption here is that eating "gluten-free" means you don't make any of your own food and only eat things that come in boxes. :)

Part of the reason I try to bake stuff from scratch is that it lets us use ingredients that are better for us. For example, I made homemade waffles about two weeks ago. The husband, a Type 1 Diabetic, dosed for these waffles as if they were similar to white flour waffles (about 30 grams of carbohydrate PER waffle). In the end, he took way too much insulin because the waffles I made (with flax meal, almond flour, and bean flour) were 9 grams of carbohydrate per waffle. !

The best advice from Consumer Reports comes at the end of their article:

• Get your grains. Whether you’re on a gluten-free diet or not, eating a variety of grains is healthy, so don’t cut out whole grains. Replace wheat with amaranth, corn, millet, quinoa, teff, and the occasional serving of rice. 

• Shop the grocery store perimeter. Stick with naturally gluten-free whole foods: fruit, vegetables, lean meat and poultry, fish, most dairy, legumes, some grains, and nuts. 

• Read the label! Minimize your intake of packaged foods made with refined rice or potato flours; choose those with no-gluten, non-rice whole grains instead. Whenever you buy processed foods, keep an eye on the sugar, fat, and sodium content of the product.

In related news, I have yet another friend who has been told by a doc that she should try going gluten-free. To date, I've had four health professionals suggest eating an anti-inflammatory diet--no processed food, sugar, wheat, or dairy and more fruits, veggies, and water.

Gluten-free by Vlado; freedigitalphotos.net

I Love Someone Who Has Type 1 Diabetes

T-Shirt Available from Cafepress.com

I saw a shirt that said that: "I Love Someone Who Has Type 1 Diabetes".

On this, the day of our family walking in the American Diabetes Association's Step Out to Stop Diabetes*, I wanted to post that a) I love him and b) Harvard is trying to CURE diabetes, and it's amazing: "With human embryonic stem cells as a starting point, the scientists were for the first time able to produce, in the kind of massive quantities needed for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical purposes, human insulin-producing beta cells equivalent in most every way to normally functioning beta cells...hopes to have human transplantation trials using the cells under way within a few years."

The dudes who are in charge of the research both have kids with Type 1 Diabetes. Amazing.

*Lord willing, we'll make an annual thing out of it. We're terrifically bad at doing something year after year after year...

When Life Doesn't Look Like You Thought It Would...

I haven't blogged here in awhile because I don't want to. I don't have anything terribly uplifting to say. But I think it's time.

I just got rid of the last of our baby stuff. Well, that's not true--there's a stack of three bins and one trash bag full of baby girl clothes in the corner of the garage. I had one woman who was interested in buying them all at once but, as with so many Craigslist endeavors, it fell through.

This past July (my daughter's 4th birthday) marked two years that we've been trying to have a third child. If you've been keeping up with me, you know that during and after my daughter's pregnancy were kind of dicey. My body hasn't been the same since.

I was hoping that after this much time I'd be able to announce on this crazy blog that we had successfully had another baby!

Alas.

After two years of hoping, I decided it might be time to purge the leftovers of babyhood--the swing, the high chair, the clothes, the toys, the changing table, the books, the idea...

After four miscarriages and a chemical pregnancy, I don't make any baby name lists. I can't afford to get excited about another kiddo. I realize now that more cynical, pragmatic people are often less disappointed. I'm finally ready to get rid of all the crap I've been saving. Really, it's an act of self-defense. PURGE.

I know quite a few of you who struggled with/struggle with infertility or secondary infertility and I don't want to diminish any of our experiences by comparing. I do have two healthy, beautiful kids. I think what I mourn is the expectation and the idea that I had in my head of what my reality would be. I hope that makes sense. I think ALL of us do that, just in different ways:

• "I thought I would have as many kids as I ever wanted as easily as I dreamed!" 
• "I thought I would be married by now." 
• "I thought I would have my dream job by now." 
• "I thought I would like being married more." 
• "I thought I would not live in _____ anymore." 

You probably have your own version. So right now I'm trying to envision my life differently. I'm trying to see it as it IS with two kids and just be CONTENT and GRATEFUL. It's a pity that it doesn't come more naturally. 

In more mundane news, after the first two miscarriages I found it incredibly difficult to maintain a healthy diet because I was angry. Why try so hard when it obviously made no difference? Unfortunately, I'm finding it's still a good idea to eat a healthy diet and get my greens. Might have to dust off the juicer and try again--not for a future baby, but just for me. 

BPA: Everywhere Chemicals

I have written before (Parts 1, 2, & 3!) about BPA in plastics and how harmful they can be. I have tried to eliminate lots of plastics from our kitchen (but not totally, because $) to cut down on BPA exposure. Why do I care? Sure, because I don't want my kids to have health problems but also because of a potential elevated risk for miscarriage due to BPA exposure. :( Luckily the FDA has mostly taken BPA out of anything for children, but...

...a while back (gosh, like a year ago), a friend messaged me and added to the growing body of evidence that BPA is no good: "...a new study just came out about BPA and miscarriages. The results found that women who had the highest levels of BPA in their bloodstream were 80% more likely to miscarry. And keep in mind, BPA isn't just in bottles and plastic containers, but in food can linings and all cash receipts. The biochemist involved says it's too early to say if it's a causal link, but that it does add to the biological plausibility that BPA may impair fertility. Also, the endocrinologist involved suggested that, if possible, avoid canned foods, cooking and heating plastic, and avoiding unnecessary cash receipts." Info about the study can be found here. Scientists call "phthalates" (BPA is one) "everywhere chemicals" because they're so prevalent.

I've been thinking about this ever since because I can't find a way to avoid BPA. It. Is. Everywhere. We use canned foods sometimes (like beans for chili) and everywhere I shop they use bags and receipts that apparently have BPA in them.

I guess what it takes is more vigilance on my part, like remembering to bring reusable shopping bags to the store and putting my kid's school sandwiches in foil or wax paper instead of a baggie. Sigh. Sometimes caring about carcinogens, be it plastic, pesticides, etc. is exhausting. In the end, let's just say I'll try my best and accept that I can't totally avoid BPA. So say we all!

freedigitalphotos.net by khunaspix

Book Review: The Immune System Recovery Plan: A Doctor's 4-Step Program to Treat Autoimmune Disease

There's a book I came across, by Dr. Susan Blum, that I love. It doesn't have any new info, per se, but she includes solid diet recommendations and recipes.

A fave quote: "It seems to me that we have been conducting a huge experiment on humans for the past sixty years...Since World War II, we have created and been exposed to thousands of chemicals and toxins with unknown health impacts and side effects. Some chemicals were removed from the market after it was discovered that they caused cancer...the cumulative effects of all these toxins has created a big toxic load on your body without your knowing it."

1. Using Food As Medicine

The gist? Food can be used to combat inflammation and curb autoimmune disease processes.

On gluten: "...keep in mind that every food has the potential to cause an immune reaction, not just gluten, although gluten is the most important for autoimmune disease...People often ask me why there is a bigger problem with gluten today than ever before...The answer is twofold. First, you are exposed to more gluten today than ever before, and second,...your digestive system is a mess..."

On sugar: "One really dangerous type of carbohydrate is sugar. A diet containing processed sugar is associated with increased inflammation and impaired function of the immune cells called T cells and B cells...there is plenty of research on sugar and immune function...this kind of diet is unhealthful and has been linked to heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. In fact, it's linked to all chronic disease."

Lump Sugar by Suat Eman

I love sugar. Tough one for me. General recommendations from Dr. Blum:

• Good Fats--avocado, coconut oil, fish, nuts, or seeds. 
• Colorful Fruits and Veggies
• Vitamin D
• Selenium and Zinc
• Green Tea

2. Stress and Inflammation

Yup, they're linked. Stress can lead to adrenal fatigue which, as I can understand it, is just when you push your body to the brink-wake up early (drink coffee), stay up late, eat stuff that's bad for you, repeat--you get the idea.

3. Healing Your Gut

"...70 percent of your immune system lives in your gut." Such a shame that decades of antibiotics kill bad bacteria and good bacteria.

"Beneficial bacteria also seem to help the immune system learn the difference between your own tissue and a foreign substance..."

Good bacteria basically help balance out the immune system and regulate it--your immune system might get inflamed and 'stuck' making T cells (the cells that attack an 'intruder') but good bacteria will help prevent that from happening. Recommendations to help your gut:

• No Sugar *sob*
• Whole Grains
• Coconut Oil
• Probiotics
• Fiber

4. Supporting Your Liver

See the opening quote above--toxins put strain on your liver. Stuff to help:

• Glutathione-antioxidant, made from the amino acids cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine, found in poultry, yogurt, egg yolks, red peppers, garlic, onions, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and oats. 
• ALA (a fatty acid)-antioxidant, found in dark leafy greens and beef. 
• Chlorella, Cilantro, and Fiber-compounds that help remove heavy metals from your body.

This book can be summed up neatly--eat well, get better. :) If only it were that easy to DO what you know will be good for you...

Super Fertility! The Most Useless of Super Powers.

In researching miscarriage (yeah, just in general, because what else am I gonna do?), I came across some research that hypothesizes women who suffer from recurrent miscarriage have uteri (uteruses?) that are too accepting!

The hypothesis: "For years, researchers have searched for the reason why some women experience recurrent miscarriages. Now, a new study suggests some women's uteruses are just more conducive for implanting embryos, both healthy and unhealthy ones. The results may explain why these so-called "super-receptive" women often have multiple miscarriages."

The study, with women who had 'normal' fertility and also women with recurrent miscarriage: "In the lab, the researchers placed high- and low-quality embryos on channels in between strips of uterus cells of the two groups of women. Cells from the women with normal fertility rejected the low-quality embryos and began to grow toward the high-quality ones. Cells from the women with recurrent miscarriages reached out and grew toward both the high- and low-quality embryos."

Embryonic development by dream designs; freedigitalphotos.net

Only 1 in 100 women suffer from recurrent miscarriage. As another article explains it: "...the wombs of some women are too good at letting embryos implant, even those of poor quality which should be rejected."

Unfortunately, like everything else health-related, this is just a hypothesis with a fairly small study behind it. It's just an idea, with no solution or treatment plan presented alongside it. But, every little bit of new info helps, right? Onward with my acupuncture plan...

To Live Happily, Live Hidden

This blog post has nothing to do with the current state of my health, directly, but I'd like to make the argument that reading does much to benefit one's health generally. So, I submit to you, a review of a book that just...surprised me: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of the Great American Fortune.

I thought I would skim this book and send it on back to the library, but instead I found I physically couldn't put it down. I started reading from part of the intro out loud because I couldn't help myself. My husband interrupted: "Is this real?"

Yes, yes it is. Dear Hollywood, please option this story.

This is the story of Huguette Clark. More than that, it's the story of her father, how he came to be filthy rich, what happened to his money after he died, and what became of Huguette. She was his youngest child out of 9 (though two died young). She was from his second marriage and, it appears, wasn't very connected to her half-sisters and half-brothers from her father's first marriage. When Huguette's father died, he split his wealth evenly among his children, but this doesn't stop Huguette's cousins (generations removed) from falling all over themselves to claim their 'inheritance' when Huguette dies. Huguette eventually became a recluse--only speaking to others through phone calls (but never giving our her own phone number) and indirectly through others. She owned hilariously extravagant properties and collector's items (you know, just a Monet, Renoir or Stradivarius...). She was a closet philanthropist, handing out large sums of money easily to those close to her.

Her story is a twisted fairy tale, or, as the authors put it: "...the story of the Clarks is like a classic folk tale--except old in reverse, with the bags full of gold arriving at the beginning, the handsome prince fleeing, and the king's daughter locking herself away in the tower."

I particularly respected Huguette for, as it appears, choosing to live outside the spotlight. When her Renoir (valued at 10 million) was stolen and miraculously reappeared in someone else's home, she declined to sue to get it back just to protect her privacy. Her favorite French fable (which she could recite in THREE languages):

The Cricket

A poor little cricket

Hidden in the flowery grass,

Observes a butterfly 

Fluttering in the meadow.

The winged insect shines with the liveliest colors:

Azure, purple, and gold glitter on his wings; 

Young, handsome, foppish, he hastens from flower to flower,

Taking from the best ones.

Ah! says the cricket, how his lot and mine

Are dissimilar! Lady Nature

For him did everything, and for me nothing.

I have no talent, even less beauty;

No one takes notice of me, they know me not here below;

Might as well not exist. 

As he was speaking, in the meadow

Arrives a troop of children.

Immediately they are running

After this butterfly, for which they all have a longing.

Hats, handkerchiefs, caps serve to catch him.

The insect in vain tries to escape. 

He becomes soon their conquest. 

One seizes him by the wing, another by the body; 

A third arrives, and takes him by the head.

It should not be so much effort

To tear to pieces the poor creature. 

Oh! Oh! says the cricket, I am no more sorry; 

It costs too dear to shine in this world.

How much I am going to love my deep retreat!

To live happily, live hidden. 

Pour vivre heureux, vivons cache. 

When this book was published, Huguette's (greedy!) relatives were still contesting her will. She hadn't left a penny to them, but to those who kept her company and maintained her health on a day-to-day basis (who, frankly, also seem like greedy bastards). I'll be curious to see how this story ends. Are there really any winners after drawn-out, expensive legal battles? It pains me, though, to see Huguette get turned into a butterfly in the end, instead of remaining the cricket she clearly preferred.