HOW TO LIVE NIGHTSHADE FREE

Nightshades are a plant family that include - tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. These plants contain alkaloids that are toxic to some people. Eating a nightshade free diet seems fairly simple at first…until you realize where they are hidden. This is where you're going to need some assistance.

If you are eliminating nightshades to test yourself for an sensitivity, it will be difficult to detect if you are still getting low levels of nightshades from hidden sources. This is why it took me 11 years to figure out my intolerance after I first tried to eliminate nightshades. It wasn't until I treated nightshades like a celiac treats gluten; that is when I finally found relief.

You really need to eliminate ALL sources of nightshades to feel complete relief. Detecting this intolerance takes time, you really need to be careful – and READ EVERY LABEL.

It may also be difficult to feel great on a nightshade free diet if you have other food intolerances you have not identified. It’s recommended to start a complete elimination diet and remove all inflammation foods that could be causing you any pain, fatigue, GI problems, sleep disturbances, etc.

The most popular elimination diet that removes nightshades is called Auto-Immune Paleo or AIP. AIP eliminates just about every food, spice, or seed that may be trouble for someone with an auto-immune disease or many chronic health conditions. The Carnivore diet is another inflammation free diet. If AIP or Carnivore is too drastic for you right now, you could try eating a Paleo diet, and removing nightshades. You could try Whole30, and remove nightshades. You can also try a nightshade free Keto. These are all popular diets you can easily find books, blogs, support groups, and recipes on Pinterest. 

Common Nightshades

•         Tomatoes
•         Potatoes
•         Peppers
•         Eggplant
•         Tobacco 
•         Goji Berries
•        Tomatillos
•         Cape Gooseberries (not normal gooseberries)
•         Ashwagandha

PLUS….all of the….

Spices

• ·        Paprika (may also be used for coloring in natural products)
• ·        Cayenne
• ·        Red Pepper
•       Capsicum
• ·        Seasoning Salts
• ·        Many Seasoning Mixes
• ·        Any food or beverage label that just says “Spices” or “Natural Flavors”

Black pepper and Szechwan are not nightshades and perfectly safe to consume on a nightshade free diet (except when following AIP).

Starches & Food Additives (not a complete list

With the exception of potato starch, the other food additives may or may not contain nightshades. The only way to find out is to write the manufacturer. Manufacturers can hide a lot of nightshades and other junk under "Natural Flavors". Sometimes they will tell you if their natural flavors contain nightshades, and some will not.  

•         Potato Starch
•         Modified Food Starch
•         Starch
•         Vitamin A Palmitate
•         Maltodextrin
•         Dextrin
•         Dextrose
•         Some yeast
•         Some baking powders
•         Natural flavors
•      Natural Colors (paprika, eggplant, and goji berries can be used for coloring)
•      Artificial Coloring (most have modified food starch)
•      Thautamin II

Sauces

•         Marinades
•         Dressings
•         Most Condiments (even mayo, mustard, and pickles can have nightshades)

Vitamins & Supplements

•         Some types of Vitamin A
•         Some types of Vitamin C
•         Magnesium Stearate (may or may not have nightshades)
•         Lycopene
•         Ashwaganda
•         Food based vitamins/Multi-Vitamins
•         Starch is added to some vitamins, especially chewables.
•         Superfoods or wheatgrass products may have tomato, bell pepper, or goji berries.
•         Some protein powders and drinks.
•      Homeopathics with Belladonna

Some vitamins you can read through the label and easily find nightshades – for example, the food based vitamin companies usually have tomato, pepper, or potato listed. Most vitamin labels are not as obvious. Unfortunately, we have to reach out to the manufacturer to confirm if their vitamins are nightshade free. Unless your vitamins are nightshade free, don't take them while you are testing yourself for an intolerance. 

Medications

Starch is often used in medications as an inactive ingredient.

There are many medications that are made from nightshade plants or that can affect the cholinergic system in the body.

Many vaccines are now being made using nightshade plants because it's cheaper and faster. The COVID vaccines are made from nicotiana benthamiana, a sister to the tobacco plant. The influenza vaccine is in the process of switching to nicotiana benthamiana. It's cheaper and faster than chicken eggs. They've also used potato and tomato plants in vaccines.

Getting your eyes dilated, scopolamine comes from nightshades. 

 

Sweet Potato Products

Sweet potatoes are NOT nightshades and they are perfectly safe when you prepare them yourself. But we have found, many sweet potato products are cross-contaminated with potato. Sweet potato chips can made on the same equipment as potato chips. Sweet potato snacks made from sweet potato starch almost always trigger a reaction - including the organic products. 

Sweet potato fries are only safe, if they are not cooked in the same oil as regular french fries. Sweet potato fries can also be coated with potato starch.

Dairy

Pre-shredded cheese, or pre-crumbled cheeses need to be checked for potato starch - it's used as an anti-caking agent. If you have chosen to continue dairy on your nightshade free diet, you might want to avoid cheese all together because the potato starch they use on shredded cheese, can cross-contaminate the cheese slices and cheese blocks.

All lowfat/non-fat dairy products need to be avoided. When they remove the fat, they remove the vitamins. Then they add vitamins back in, that may come from nightshades. If you do drink milk or eat yogurt, stick to Whole Milk and full fat yogurt.

Many ice-creams and yogurts can have starches added to them...I've also been nightshaded by the "natural flavors" in vanilla ice-cream.

Non-Dairy Products

Almost all non-dairy cheese has potato starch or potato flour. Nut-milks use some of those same vitamins they use in lowfat milks.

It’s really hard to find any vegan or vegetarian products that are nightshade free.

Beverages

Beverages are probably another place you forget to check the labels. Paprika can be used for coloring in teas and sodas. Dr. Pepper has nightshades, Rootbeer is also a problem. Alcoholic beverages, such as vodka can be made from potato. 

Meat

Most processed meats will have some form a nightshades. Some have paprika or other nightshade seasonings, dextrose, but many meats also have added potato starch.

Potato starch is often added to chicken, including rotisserie chicken and lunch meats. Unless it's raw, unseasoned, and you cook it yourself, it's likely to have nightshades.

Bacon and sausages have to be checked for "spices" and most patties (salmon, turkey, hamburgers) all have to be checked for spices and potato starch. There are a few safe brands out there.

Hotdogs have paprika, buns have potato starch.

If you order a burger, most buns have potato starch. 

Nightshades in Body Products

We have found potato starch in lotion and lipstick – and yes it has caused the same painful reaction. We have also encountered lotion that didn't have anything obvious on the label - but after reacting to it, I wrote the manufacturer and found out the natural coloring comes from eggplant.

There may be a lot of ingredients made from potato. We don't know. We recommend buying organic products. The labels and ingredient lists are much easier to read and understand. There is such a thing as organic potato starch - so be careful. Just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's a free pass.

Household Products

Envelope glue - I’ve personally never encountered this, but I don’t do a lot of snail mail.

Laundry starch used for ironing can be made from potato. We have reacted to a very starchy book bag.

Nightshades in Your Yard

Wear gloves if you are doing yard work. Some nightshades are weeds and might be hiding with your flowers in garden beds. Or some nightshades are ornamentals, like petunias.

Pesticides & Herbicides

Eat organic. If you have a nightshade sensitivity, then it’s possible you also have a sensitivity to cholinesterase inhibitors (CIs). What are CIs? Pesticides, herbicides, nerve agents, and nightshades. 

You need to eat organic on your nightshade free diet. If you would like to learn more about cholinesterase inhibitors, please visit Anne Wright's blog on this topic.

Also avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides around your home and yard.

GMOs

The problem with GMO products, they have had their DNA changed with DNA from another plant or living organism. Nightshades have a natural pesticide in them which is why they are cholinesterase inhibitors. So what happens when you take the DNA of petunia and put it in soy? You have GMO SOY which then gets sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. It's best to avoid.

There is also a GMO sweetener that is usually hidded as "natural flavor" on labels. It's called Thautamin II. Made from 

Nicotiana benthamiana and Thautamim. 

I’m not sure what other frankenfoods they’ve created using nightshades.

Eating Out

While you are testing yourself for a nightshade intolerance, it’s best to not eat out. If you have to eat out, you’ll need to make a card explaining all of the above in a nutshell. We have one – we'll post what we put on it and you can make your own.

Don’t bother with fast food. Look for places that have organic food and make everything from scratch. Even places that make their food fresh, may not be safe – too much of a risk with cross-contamination. I have found 2 places that can make me a nightshade free pizza. But both places have also poisoned me because of cross-contamination. :(

Also when eating out, be careful with biodegradable to-go containers and cutlery. They can have potato ingredients. We have heard of some people reacting to these.

Preparing Nightshades for Other People

If lotion can poison us, then you should wear gloves when handling nightshades or washing dishes.

Becareful with powdered nightshades such as spices, superfoods, pancake mix, etc. DON’T INHALE. Wear a mask if you have to. Yes we have inhaled them and they do cause a reaction.

Some of us can't be in a restaurant or a home where nightshades are being prepared. We have reacted to touching surfaces like a door and reacting. Also just smelling peppers being prepared can also trigger a reaction.

Other Cholinesterase Inhibitor Foods

This is a list of foods that can inhibit cholinesterase and might cause a similar reaction to nightshades. Although I don't know if they can inhibit as much as nightshades. I personally have experienced reactions from coffee, but I do okay with decaf. Recently mint has been a problem for me and tea tree oil. I have not experienced a strong reaction from any others on this list, yet. If you remove nightshades are are still having a similar reaction after eating, address the items on this list:

• Caffeine
• Mint
• Blueberries
• Rosemary
• Cinnamon
• Saffron
• Fenugreek
• Turmeric
• Saffron
• Licorice
• Iniand/Tulsi/Holy Basil
• Zinc
• Copper
• Ginseng
• Aspartame
• Tea Tree Oil (Body products or diffused)

Please in our group have also reported apples being a problem for some.

Try a Nightshade Free Diet - YOU CAN DO IT! 

We put this list together for you, so you don't have to learn the hard way, like we did. We know it's a lot and can seem overwhelming - but if you aren't feeling good, then it's worth it if it means you can feel like your old self again, right?

If you find you have a nightshade sensitivity, you will love how AWESOME you feel when you cut out all sources of nightshades.

Adding Nightshades Back In

It has taken some of us up to 2 weeks to recover from nightshades. Try to stay nightshade free for 30 days. WHY? Now that you are feeling awesome, give yourself some time to enjoy it. The longer you go without nightshades, the easier it will be to detect a problem when you try to add them back in.

Once it's time to start adding nightshades back in. You may have different reactions to the various nightshades, so don't add them in all at once. Add them in one at a time and wait 4 days in between.  Some reactions can take 24 hours or so after you ingest. So pay attention to your body. Sometimes when we don't feel good, or don't sleep well, or have a neck ache, or a back ache, we don't think about what we ate the day before. You may want to keep a journal with what you ate and how you feel. A nightshade reaction is different for everyone. Pain (anywhere, especially joints), fatigue, GI problems, rashes, congestion, anxiety, depression, brain fog, insomnia, muscle cramps, and more. If you have any one of these symptoms, it might be the nightshades.

Also some people may react to raw tomatoes, but are fine with cooked tomatoes. Try them on different days and see how you feel. Some people may react to peppers, but they do okay with paprika. These people are usually reacting to the lectins in nightshades, and not the alkaloids.

We found potato starch or modified food starch to be the most painful of all. Try that last.

Hopefully you are able to find the answers you are looking for. If you discover super spidey senses for nightshades, just like us, please join our Facebook group:

Nightshade Free and Cholinesterase Inhibitors Sensitivity Support Group.

GOOD LUCK!

Would you like to learn more?

Check back later for more news about nightshades. What symptoms can nightshades cause. Plus ways to reduce your symptoms if you get nightshaded.

More about nightshades

https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/nightshades/

Have you been sick this year? Read This: HOW TO BULLET PROOF YOU IMMUNE SYSTEM

I always thought catching several colds and/or the flu every year, was just part of life – especially in the winter. Some years were worse than other, I just thought I had really bad luck. I would catch several colds, bronchitis and the flu. I had asthma, so my breathing was always impaired. Exercise was impossible – walking was the extent of my exercise and sometimes that would take my breath away. During the inversion in Salt Lake City, Utah – I was always sick. I expected to be put on Prednisone at least once per year. I told my doctor I was sick of being sick. She told me I needed to take Advair every day and that would keep me from getting brochitis....

I took my Advair for my asthma, I took a grocery store multi, and got the flu shot every year (that would make me sick for a week). It didn’t matter how many times I washed my hands and how much hand sanitizer I used…I still got sick. (To read how sick I really was, read my blog). If someone walked past me with a cold, I caught it. I didn’t feel good and I was determined to get better. 

I made a lot of changes in my life. I cut out soda, processed foods, I did a good detox program, took vitamins and I felt a lot better. I went from being sick ALL of the time, to catching 4 colds a year…they’d last a week or two, and no more bronchitis. Would you say 4 colds is average? I didn't want to be average, I wanted  to be the person who NEVER gets sick…is that even possible with my crummy immune system? Well, I'm happy to say - SUCCESS!

Here's my story: Two years ago, I was one month into eating an extremely healthy diet and taking my vitamins every day (not the same ones I take now) and I caught a cold. I decided to switch up my vitamins and I ordered them from Life Extension.  When my order arrived, I was still sick with the cold and I was having trouble with my asthma – plus living in Salt Lake City, we were in the middle of a very polluted inversion. (Yes, that brown layer of air in the photo, is what we have to breath several weeks out of the year in Salt Lake City). I took one dose of the Life Extension Buffered C and instantly,  I felt better. I could breathe better and I had a little more energy. The next day, I took a dose with my breakfast. I noticed I felt great for about an hour. Hmm….what is it about this product that makes me feel so much better than the 1000 mg of Mega C I was taking before?

Life Extension Buffered C has 4,000 mg per dose. Every vitamin C product at the store only has 1,000 mg – at the most.  It's the high dosage that makes a difference. So does that mean, if you take 4 doses of your regular vitamin C, it will have the same effect as Life Extension Buffered C? No – other vitamin C products will hurt your stomach if taken in that high of dosage. It’s the buffering minerals in the Buffered Vitamin C that protect your stomach.  

Immediately I started researching buffered vitamin C and WOW – this stuff is freaking amazing!!. (You can read what I found here). According to my research, this buffered C, if taken every hour, will help get over a cold very quickly. It’s called a buffered vitamin C flush.

Sure enough, I started taking it every hour and within 24 hours, my cold was gone. GONE!!! When you take the buffered C dose every hour, it does have a side effect, and can upset the stomach. It won’t be painful like regular vitamin C, but it can flush you out. No big deal  - I can tolerate that, and it's better than being sick.

Since I started doing this 2 years ago, I haven’t had a full blown miserable cold. I’ve had a few close calls when I was inconsistent with my daily vitamins.  But If I hit the buffered vitamin C right away, I only had 2 symptoms: asthma and fatigue. I also found that 1 dose, 4-5 times per day will do the trick (instead of taking it every hour) and my stomach seems to tolerate it a little better. I take 4-5 doses a day until I feel normal, usually 3 days.

I did have one brief cold when I was on vacation and I didn’t have my vitamins. I started feeling sick on the plane and I took 4 EmergenC’s but it wasn’t enough. I was sick (congested) for 1 day while I started my vitamin C flush. The next day, I was fine. I recommend continuing the flush for a few more days until you feel normal again.

Not only does the Buffered C help with my asthma when I feel a cold coming on, but it helps me every day. I no longer need to take Advair….yep…asthma medication is gone. I haven’t had to use my rescue inhaler. Here we are in dirty Salt Lake City – in the middle of a nasty inversion…no asthma medication required. Granted, I’m not out running in this dirty air, but I can handle exercising indoors without a problem.

I’m sure you’ve heard enough about the awesome and amazing Buffered C….but that’s not the only thing I take to keep me healthy. I also take:

Vitamin D, 5000IU: Vitamin D is so important to your immune system and your overall health.  You can read more about vitamin D here.  I do visit my doctor each year for my annual exam and I ask my doctor to test my vitamin D levels. This will tell help me to determine how much vitamin D I should be taking. Its important to keep your levels above 50 but not over 100. If you are below 50, you will feel tired and you will be more susceptible to illness and diseases. Get your vitamin D levels checked every year.

Magnesium 500 mg – it’s a must, it’s responsible for over 325 biochemical reactions in the body. (You can read more here).

Omega 3’s – We all know that these are a must. However, be smart when you shop for omega 3’s. Yes, they can be full of contaniments like mercury. Look for omega 3’s that have been 3^rd party tested by a reputable company for impurities. Also look for brands that have sesame lignans and olive fruit extract to help with absorption.

Multi-vitamin:  Most multi-vitamins on the market, don’t really do anything and just make your pee really yellow. Some are so full of junk and full of cheap, non-absorable forms of vitamins, they are just a waste of money. The last time I looked at the ingredients of Centrum, I told the person who bought it, they’d be better off throwing it away….yes, the entire Costco size bottle. It’s filled with unhealthy junk and cheap vitamins your body probably won’t absorb anyways. So why bother? However, there are good multis out there. Life Extension has two multis to choose from: one is a Two-Per-Day vitamin and retails for $22.50 for a 60 day supply. That’s pretty dang cheap for a good vitamin. The other retails for $110 for a 30 day supply –and you have to take 14 a day. Personally, I like the 14 a day, but I usually only take 4-6 and sometimes I rotate with the 2 per day. A nice side effect of their multi-vitamins: my nails grow like weeds...

Pro-biotic – part of your immune system is your gut - if that’s out of whack, you will get sick more. Getting on any anti-biotic makes it worse. Take a pro-biotic daily, especially after taking antibiotics.

Green Superfoods – awesome energizing greens, full of nutrients, enzymes and probiotics. I add it to my daily protein shake with ground flax seed and water (or almond milk).

Essential Oils – I love essential oils but they are not the end all be all for fixing your health issues like some people believe. If your immune system is impaired by diet and vitamin deficiencies, slapping a little oil on your feet every day isn’t going to cure the problem, but there are benefits to them. There is a wonderful essential oil blend reported to help the immune system. I was told to put it on my feet daily and you won't get sick. I did, it didn’t help me from getting sick. However, now I use it on my teeth daily- I put 2 drops on my toothpaste when I brush my teeth. It makes my teeth feel fresh from the dentist clean – and strips all the fuzz off my teeth and helps keep them whiter longer in between whitening. Overall my oral health seems to be better since I started using it. The oil blend is called Deliverance and you can read more about it here.

I eat HEALTHY. None of that Special K, Yoplait, Lean Cuisine, Diet Coke, 100 Calorie Pack, – FAKE healthy foods that taste like cardboard or have chemicals that make it addictive. I eat whole foods…salads with dressings I make myself. Lots of VEGGIES - Lightly sautéed or steamed veggies, leafy greens, Wild Alaskan salmon, organic chicken breast, eggs from pasture raised chickens, quinoa, fruits and nuts….REAL FOOD and it tastes amazing. I read the ingredients on everything I eat and I don't put food made of chemicals in my body.

Exercise – yoga, cycling, pilates – I try to stay very active. In the past I tried to stay active, but my energy was always zapped. Now I have the energy and I actually like working out….I couldn’t say that before. Exercise and sweating, helps to eliminate toxins and strengthen your immune system.

Stress – when we are under a lot of stress, physical, or mental – our bodies require more vitamins. Unfortunately, most people forget to take their vitamins when they are stressed….I know, I’m guilty of that. It’s so import to not only take your vitamins, but take more – especially vitamin C….once again, another reason to always have buffered C on hand. Look for ways to reduce stress - do yoga, meditation, exercise, eat healthy, or change jobs if you have to.

Whole Body Detox - Every year I complete one Whole Body Detox for 30 days and a few 7 day detoxes during the year. Every detox experience has been slightly different but instead of getting older with age, I feel like I'm getting younger....reversing the clock by getting rid of toxins.
 

Look at it this way. Think of your immune system like a big bucket. All the junk you put in your body, from the polluted air we breathe, to the chemicals in food and personal care products, every virus, parasite, etc. goes into this bucket. When your immune system is functioning properly, you’ve got this big ladle that scoops the junk out to keep your bucket from overflowing and making you sick.

When our detoxification system is impaired from a poor diet and vitamin deficiencies, the big ladle is just a slotted spoon. The little slotted spoon can’t keep up with all of the toxins and soon our bucket overflows.

Before I changed my diet and started detoxing, my bucket was overflowing – flooding my body with toxins. Eventually I repaired the deficiencies and changed my diet, fixing my ladle.  I dump my bucket out every year with a complete detox plan. Now everything is functioning properly and I don’t get sick like I use to.

SO what do the detoxes, vitamins and healthy eating all cost me? A hell of a lot less than doctor bills and missed time at work – plus it will save me money in the future.  The cost of all these products runs about $100 with discounts on my web-site. I’m sure most people think that’s a lot of money…but it’s a lot less than most medications. Not to mention the fact that I FEEL FREAKING AWESOME! I think that’s worth a $100 a month…easily. My detox program runs about $329 for 30 days but it’s worth well over $445…actually if you ask me, its priceless….it gave me my life back.

I'm not someone who never gets sick, telling you how to stay healthy. I am someone who was always sick and made changes telling you how to get healthy. There is a difference coming from someone with first hand experience.

You can find all the products I recommend here and offer awesome discounts: 

• Life Extension, Buffered C
• Life Extension, Vitamin D
• Life Extension, Magnesium
• Life Extension, Super Omega 3
• Life Extension, Two Per Day or Life Extension Mix
• Futurebiotics, Colon Complete, Pro-biotic
• Amazing Grass, Green Superfoods
• Butterfly Express, Deliverance – Essential Oil Blend.
• Whole Body Reboot 30 Day
• Whole Boy Reboot 7 Day

I try to take these products every day, and normally I feel pretty good. When I do start to feel sick its usually when I have been inconsistent with my vitamins and my diet. As soon as I feel the tickle in the back of my throat, or I get sneezy, or I just feel really wiped out and tired,  I immediately start the buffered vitamin C flush.  Then I increase my D to 10,000 (if I haven't been taking 5,000 daily), and I try to eat as clean and healthy as possible.

If you are sick right now and don't have these vitamins on hand, but you want relief, follow these steps.

1. If you live in the Salt Lake area, contact me, I have them in stock and you can pick them up today. If you don't live here, I can ship them.

2. Go to Whole Foods and buy Kombucha, when I was sick, I loved Mystic Mango.

3. Forget the chicken noodle soup, buy the vegetables to make this healing broth. 

Have you had problems with your immune system and health in the past? What changes did you make in your life to strengthen you immune system?

"You Don't Know How Bad You Feel, Until You Feel Good": The Story of My Journey to Good Health

My name is Angela and while most people consider me very healthy, I wasn’t always this way. I was never athletic and I was a very picky eater (I lived on pepperoni pizza, McDonalds and cereal/milk most my life). I want to share with you why I changed my eating habits and why I want to help others do the same.

At age 30, I was a mess.  It seemed as each year passed, an odd new symptom would begin. Looking back, my health problems started just before junior high. I remember being tired all of the time; the kids in school and even my own mom would accuse me of being stoned. I was always cold and my energy levels were very low. I struggled to stay awake in every class. My legs itched like crazy – I ruined a few pairs of pants scratching my leg with my pen, forgetting the cap was not on. Gym class was miserable, I had low energy and my lungs burned every time I had to run – that discomfort caused me to hate anything athletic or any form of exercise.

My itchy skin was blamed on dry skin, the doctor suggested changing detergents…but I still itched, some soaps made it worse. My fatigue was blamed on “just part of being a teenager” so I continued being a teenager and of course, ate horribly. Breakfast was cereal or poptarts and milk. School lunch: ranch dressing drenched iceberg lettuce with cubed processed ham, turkey and topped with cheese, crouton and sunflower seeds.  Sometimes I didn’t want what they were serving so I sold my ticket and used the money to buy a thick slice of white bread covered with melted cheese and a honey butter scone. Beverages of choice: Pepsi, chocolate milk or skim milk. Sometimes I would buy chili cheese nachos and a 32 oz soda at Circle K. It was cheaper than school lunch so I had money left over to refill my 32 oz soda and get a snack on they way home. I started working at McDonalds at age 15, and that was my dinner almost every night for the next 3 years.

I’m disgusted in myself for eating that way. I wish I knew what that food was doing to me - I wasn't fat so I didn't see any reason for changing. I wasn’t the only one who ate like that, just about every kid in my school ate their salad that way or had cheese bread and scones for lunch.  I wasn’t the only one selling my lunch tickets for convenience store crap.

At age 20 I gained 30 pounds over the course of about 9 months. This was in 1995-96 when GMO foods invaded the American diet. When I grocery shopped, I had to bring my shopping list, coupons and calculator. I was cooking for two but I only had so much to spend with our tight budgets. We lived on hamburger helper, tater tots, frozen pot pies, Spaghetti’Os, tuna, canned veggies and I tried to learn how to cook on the weekends and serving up lasagna or chicken enchiladas with a cake or cookies. Of course I didn’t exercise because it was too painful to breath.

These photos were taken 9 months apart - you can see the 30 pound weight gain in the photo on the right.

My partner had asthma and he gave me his inhaler to try and - wow…I can breathe! I went to the doctor and sure enough, I had asthma. I decided to give my improved lungs a try and bought a gym membership. It was 1996, with the help of a popular drug called Phen-fen prescribed by my doctor, I dropped all 30 pounds in 5 months with a diet primarily of Life cereal and skim milk. During that 5 months, I was required to attend a nutrition class at the hospital. This is what I remember: drink skim milk, diet soda, make sandwiches with wheat bread, use lowfat dairy products and I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter.

At age 22 I found myself struggling to stay awake – especially if I had to drive or sit through a class or meeting at work. I couldn’t do it. My commute was 30 minutes and my partner had to drive me to and from work every day. Every day I fell asleep in the car to and from work. I was exhausted all day but then I found myself struggling to fall asleep at night.

I do not have a photo of my 30 pound weight loss, but here's one about 5 months later at age 21 - I'm sure I gained 10 back after stopping phen-fen. The photo was taken 1 1/2 years after the photo on the right at age 22...I gained it all back.

Over the next few years my immune system seemed to not work at all. I caught several colds, flu, ear infection and strep. Each time I caught a cold it would turn into bronchitis and they would put me on antibiotics and prednisone. I was put on these drugs several times each year. Once again I ballooned up 30 pounds and I was not very happy.

I researched prednisone and found it causes gain weight and weakens your immune system for up to one year. Great, I already have a weak immune system and now these drugs I to take to help me overcome my illness, will weaken my immune system even more?!…sounds like a vicious cycle I’m never going to get out of!

By age 25 my diet was mainly cereal, milk and frozen pizza, lunch was turkey or chicken sandwich and sometimes a not so healthy salad with ranch dressing on the side (that was my effort to be healthy).

New symptoms started – pain. It seemed to stem from my neck and back but it radiated up and down my whole body. Eventually the pain radiated on just the right side of my body where it would come and go. The pain was pretty debilitating at times – all I wanted to do was sleep or numb it with alcohol and drugs. I was seeing a chiropractor and going to physical therapy 3 times a week. They would do trigger point shots and send me home with somas for flare ups.

Over the next 4 years my weight went up and down. I tried to exercising 5 days a week but my energy was low. I gave up the frozen pizzas and tried to eat healthier. I followed the South Beach diet and other “low carb” diets. The weight would go down, then my energy would decrease and my weight would go up. I would catch every cold that walked past me and some would last for several weeks. I decided not to take prednisone when it was prescribed and I seemed to survive without it.

The photo on the left is me at age 27 - at a lower weight and the photo on the right is 2006, age 30 at a higher weight.


By age 30 I’d had enough and desperately wanted to feel good. The itching was getting worse, more intense…my legs were raw. My ears were itching and sometimes my arms. According to the doctors there was nothing wrong with me – at least from what they could find. My physician said I was too young to have all of these health problems but there wasn’t much they could do about it since all my test showed I was healthy. Here is the list of symptoms I was experiencing:

• Itchy ears
• Drainage from ears
• Ringing in ears
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Watery itchy eyes
• Red sticky eyes
• Headaches – sometimes migraines
• Balance and dizziness issues
• Asthma
• Poor memory and concentration
• Stuttering or stammering
• Hoarseness
• Thinning and breaking hair
• Constipation for a few days, then diarrhea
• Bloating and gas
• Heartburn
• Stomach/Intestinal Pain
• Foot pain
• Back pain
• Pain on entire right side of body that comes and goes
• Restless leg
• Trouble falling asleep – at least 2-3 hours I’d lay in bed each night.
• Waking up in the middle of the night – at least 1 hour.
• Sleep walking (2 occurrences)
• Anal itching
• Reoccurring yeast infections
• Irregular periods – sometimes never ending
• Swollen legs  / ankles
• Plantar warts

YIKES! Embarrassing – but true. Please keep reading because I'm going to tell you what I did to cure all of the health issues.

I’d stopped going to the chiropractor for a year. The pain was tolerable for a while but after a year, I couldn’t take it anymore. My old chiropractor office was closed so I tried just doing physical therapy for a few months…. but it got worse. I found a new chiropractor and he performed a test called a meridian scan or bioenergetic scan. He recommended vitamins and some diet changes along with adjustments 2-3 days per week. He didn’t really explain much - other than the vitamins I was taking (spending $30 per month on, were not working for me). He then sold me $100+ in vitamins but didn't really explain what they were and why I needed them or why they were better than what I was already taking.

A few months went by and I started feeling a little better…I think.  He suggested removing dairy and gluten or eating sprouted wheat. I kind of listened to what he recommended, but I didn’t really know why and didn’t really stick with it. Every few months I had a new meridian scan, I could see my results improving and I felt like I was improving….a little…but I still didn’t feel right.

I was on a mission to solve my health issues. I researched endlessly on the internet. Each week I would stop at Whole Foods in the supplement section, looking for remedies and answers. I decided to purchase one of those boxed 30 day detox kits for $30. I followed the instructions and ate most the foods it recommend and the supplements it included. At the end of the 30 days, I felt a little better, but maybe that was because of the vitamins my new chiropractor had me on?

My physician sent me to a GI doctor. She was unsure about my digestive problems. I suspected gluten may be an issue because several family members had just been diagnosed with celiac disease. She didn’t believe me because I didn’t have all the symptoms of celiacs and my blood tests were normal. She mentioned I may have IBS and scheduled me for a colonoscopy in four months. She also told me that my bowel movements every 3 days were “normal”. HOW CAN THAT BE NORMAL? I eat 3 meals a day. Why would waste sitting in my bowels for several days be normal?

I decided to try another detox but this time I purchased Dr. Hyman’s “Detox Box”. It cost $30 but it was different than the other kit I bought. It didn’t include supplements; it contained an audio CD with Dr. Hyman explaining why we need to detox, a yoga CD, yoga flash cards, a booklet, and flash cards referencing the foods and supplements the doctor recommends. It took me about a month to gather all of the supplies needed for the detox and prepare for it. I’d spent over $300 purchasing all of the supplements and supplies. Plus another chunk of money buying all of the healthy foods and spices. If I’d know the price tag up front, would I have done it? Probably not, unless I knew of others who’d been successful doing the detox. Then maybe I could’ve justified the final price tag.

After the new year, I followed it exactly for 7 days and I had a 7 pound weight loss. I felt better than I’d felt in years.  I had to learn more! Why do I need to take all of these vitamins and supplements? Why does the so called food I’ve been eating all of my life affect me this way? Is it possible I may have food intolerances or allergies? Why was I taught growing up to have 11 servings of cereals and grain, and why was I told to drink all that milk? Why does my body feel so much better when I don’t eat what I’ve been taught to eat my whole life? I had so many questions which prompted me to look for more books by Dr. Hyman.

I detoxed again but this time I did the full 3 weeks as suggested in The Detox Box. Wow! I had more energy than I’ve had in my entire adult life. I followed the detox diet exactly as it was laid out and it was very difficult for me. Before I started I had no idea how to prepare vegetables and I didn’t really like fish. I struggled eating the rice protein shakes, steamed veggies, brown rice and salmon – but I did it and I made myself like it. I continued to eat healthy for a few more months and I followed an allergen elimination diet recommend by Dr. Hyman and used recipes from his Ultrametabolism book.

By my 31^st birthday, I’d lost 25 pounds and most of my health problems went away. Even the symptoms I thought were normal part of life were gone. After 4 months without dairy, I added it back in and discovered that is what had been causing me to itch…and it made me tired. I also realized  I had a lactose intolerance. I cancelled my very expensive but now unnecessary colonoscopy.  My pain was gone too!

Over the course of the next 4 years I still applied some of what I had learned but I got lazy with the vitamins – just taking a multi. My eating habits were better than most people – I ate my fair share of vegetables and salmon, I ate really well at home but I ate food from work – which was pretty much fast foods. Most my symptoms were now back including the pain and I found myself once again, 25 pounds overweight. Ugh! I know better, how did I let myself get here….life…stress…and bad eating habits had a domino effect.

Feeling horrible I went back to the doctor, this time my tests were positive for Hypothyroidism. That would explain why after 12 weeks of bootcamp, working out harder than I have my entire life, I did not lose any weight. I was asked to come back in a month and re-test. I made some changes to my diet and the following month my test was negative – but I still had all of the symptoms. I read Dr. Hyman’s book on Hypothyroidism and found that just because your blood tests are negative, doesn’t mean you don’t have a thyroid problem. He referred to it as an elusive thyroid problem. Hypothyroidism is when your body takes the food you eat and converts it to fat instead of energy. So you feel tired and hungry all of the time – sabotaging whatever diet you try to stick to making it impossible to lose weight. Each month my tests proved negative results despite all of the symptoms I was experiencing.

That summer my allergies and asthma were really bad. I itched constantly despite avoiding dairy products. My doctor referred me to an allergy specialist for further testing. The day before my allergy test, I returned home from a weekend trip at Bear Lake. I had the worst sunburn I ever experienced in my life. I went to my appointment and said to the nurse, "We should only do the asthma test. My back is very sunburt and I don’t think we can do the scratch test on my back." The doctor disagreed and said he can still perform the test.

UGH!! That was painful! After the test the doctor said I had no allergies, even dairy did not show an allergic reaction. He said “Some people just itch” and he implied that it was all in my head. WTF?! Seriously?! He told me to go by Zyrtec....so I did and it made me feel like I'd been hit by a bus. Okay, so that visit was a waste of money. Thanks doctor for your wise advice.

The pain that radiated on the right side of my body was worse than ever. I’ve tried acupuncture, chiropractors, and massage – sometimes it would help for an hour, a day or a week but the pain always came back. Detoxing was the only thing that took the pain away for an extended period of time. Now I’ve added a new pain – joint pain in my hips and feet. My stomach hurts randomly, sometimes I'm doubled over for 4 hours. Eating is painful, even something as simple as sushi was painful.

A few months before my 35^th birthday, I knew what I had to do. I had the knowledge and the resources to fix the problem. I listened to Dr. Hymans, Detox Box CD again and re-read his books. I had to get my mind in the right place so set these goals and follow this restrictive detox diet again.

I gave up my birth control, asthma and allergy medications. I detoxed for 3 weeks – I felt better, I only lost 7 pounds and I knew I wasn’t finished. My energy wasn’t like it was 4 years ago.

I decided to detox again but I wanted to wait a month. I ate healthy that month and continued my yoga. I tried to start running until the pain came back after 2 weeks. Hmmmm the pain goes away when I detox. It feels better after chiropractic, yoga and massage - they all release toxins. Could my pain be from a toxin, maybe a toxin I’m continually exposed to? Hmm???

It had been a few years since I had a meridian scan and I visited a friend who just purchased a scanner. We performed the test and the results showed few toxins in my body, but one was very high – palladium. I went home and Googled palladium. It’s used in jewelry, mostly from china and it’s an alloys mixed with gold and used in dental crowns. It’s just as poisonous as mercury. Hmmm…..my pain started 10 year ago. That year I had 2 crowns – one on the right and one on the left. The same year I had radiating pain throughout my entire body. Both crowns really irritated my gums but the crown on the left was more irritated and that’s the one they removed…leaving the other one on the right….all my radiating pain is on the right.

For 10 years I’ve had this crown on the right side. I asked for a porcelain crown but what I got was a porcelain crown with gold on the inside. It most likely has the palladium alloy that showed up on my test. The next day I called my new dentist and asked him to remove this old crown. This time I want all porcelain – no gold, no metal. It costs more, but I’m willing to pay more if the pain goes away. After I had the crown removed, I started another detox. By the end of the 3 weeks, the pain is gone, I only dropped 3 pounds but I felt a lot better.

I felt so good – I completed two 5k races that spring (I’ve never been able to run like that before). For the first time in my life, I felt athletic. I was controlling my asthma through diet and vitamins. I’m not the best runner and I don’t really like it but I’ll kept working at it. I do however, love cycling and started commuting 16 miles every day. At lunch I go for a brisk walk for 45-60 minutes and I started swimming once a week. I continued eating the detox diet for my breakfast and lunch. Despite all of these efforts, my weight stayed the same – all summer.

That fall, I decided to do another detox. It seems to be the only way my weight will budge. The inflammation foods: dairy, gluten, corn, soy, nightshades, eggs and nuts all keep me from losing weight.  This time I dropped 9 pounds in the 1st week. One pound the 2^nd week. The funny thing, I did it without exercising.

My energy was really low before I started my detox and continued to be low after the detox, then I came down with a tonsil infection that felt a lot like strep. My doctor referred me to an ear nose and throat doctor because it was my 2nd infection in just a few months. The ear nose and throat doctor ask why I still had my tonsils? He said I had the biggest crater in my tonsils that he’s ever seen. He’s surprised I’m not sick all of the time (Well I used to be). With a crater that size my immune system is constantly fighting low grade infections and that’s what could be causing fatigue. I never had my tonsils removed because none of my doctors had ever talked to me about it until now. Looking back to my early 20’s – they should’ve been removed then. I was constantly battling chronic fatigue, sore throats and illness. Duh!

After I had my tonsils removed I expected to drop weight. Despite the low calorie, liquid diet – I didn’t lose any weight…just 2 pounds but I know it wasn’t fat.

I learned that thyroid issues cause problems with liver detoxification. Anything that’s toxic on the liver is going to cause problems with my thyroid preventing me from losing weight. I’m sure the painkillers I took after the surgery kept my liver pretty toxic.

My life has completely changed. I went from being a picky eater who's only veggie was iceberg drenched in ranch. Now I love eating healthy, I crave veggies and nutrient filled salads but I love healthy treats too. The problem is every time I start allowing, gluten, dairy or sugar in my life – it’s like a domino effect and it takes over. Next thing I know I’m eating it every day – and then I start packing on the pounds, anxiety comes back and I just don’t feel very good. In order to stop, I have to refocus and reboot my system.

Some people can lose weight by following a 90/10 rule….eating healthy 90% of the time and allowing 10% cheats. Not me. One drop of gluten, sugar, alcohol or pretty much any food not included in my detox can keep me from losing weight. I have to be strict, no cheats, not even 1 glass of wine. The longer I go without those poisons, the better I feel….and it’s not easy. But sometimes you don’t know how bad you feel until you feel good.

Now at age 36, I’ve reversed my dairy allergy. I don’t itch anymore. I still chose not to eat it, but it’s nice to know that if I do allow a splurge I’m not going to spend the rest of my night paying for it. Even the lactose intolerance is hardly noticeable.

I did not have seasonal allergies for the 1st time in 10 years. I use to take Allegra every summer....this year I'm loving the summer without it.

Pretty much all of the symptoms I listed up above are gone. Gluten causes my stomach to swells up (for years I just thought I was fat). Overall I just feel better if I keep it out of my diet. If my diet is bad for several weeks, some of the symptoms come back and go away when I eat healthy again.

I’ve learned so much these last 6 years; I just wish I knew all of this years ago. …maybe my 20’s would’ve been more enjoyable. I believe the detox, good quality vitamins in high doses and a very healthy diet with a lot of vegetables cured all of those symptoms. It's not just one change I made, I changed everything.

My doctors weren't much help, just ready to write a presciption for each symptom. Never addressing toxins, vitamin deficiencies or diet. The only one who mentioned anything about that was a chiropractor. I had to figure most of this out on my own. I read book, after book, after book. Google was pretty handy too. It's unfortunate that the doctors we trust with our health, don't know anything about vitamins, toxins or diet. So unless your luckly enough to find a doctor who knows about preventative medicine, you'll have to figure it out on your own to. You can choose to grow old on your meds while some of us are getting healthier with age.

Changing your diet takes full commitment and dedication but all that work added years to my life and it can add years to your life too. I hope to have a family some day and I want to live to see them grow. I want to be a grandma – a fun grandma, one that has energy to have fun with her family. I want to teach them how to eat between the lines and be smart about their health.

I’m a different person than I was 6 years ago. My health is in my hands. I’m responsible for what I put in my body. I don’t listen to commercial advertising telling me what’s healthy. I know how to read the labels and I understand the ingredients. I don’t count carbs or fat grams – instead I eat the right carbs, the right fats and eat clean foods. I know eating healthy costs more but I can pay for my health, feel good now and I’m investing in my future health. Or I eat cheap processed, GMO foods and pay for the doctor, hospital and medication bills down the road.

I believe I'm on the border of having serious health issues, possibly an auto immune disease. MS and Celiacs run in the family. If I don't continue to eat healthy, I will only cause myself more problems in the future. If I end up the cancer down the road, I know it was not caused by what I'm doing now, but what I did while I was young. They say adult cancer starts in your body 20 years before you are diagnosed. Turn your life around before you get sick or it may be too late.

If I can make these changes in my life, anyone can. My goal in life is to help others find what I’ve found – good health. Let me be your coach and guide you, to feeling the best you’ve ever felt. I can get you on a vitamin plan that works and I'll explain why. Try my detox – I’ve made the detox preparation easier, I've even improved it and added to it. I have a kit with everything you need and even created an easy to follow workbook. Plus you have me as your coach.

Like I said, you don’t know how bad you feel, until you feel good J