Friday, December 18, 2009

Food Journey Friday... low oxalate is working!

Howdy all,

I hate to venture off track today, but I simply must.

As I mentioned when we started this journey, I have been trying a new diet for pain management. It is called a low oxalate diet. Don't ask me what an oxalate is; I don't know. I just eat what they tell me. I started the diet as a last ditch effort to try and curb a pain problem that I've had for THREE YEARS. The doctor didn't think that this diet would help, but he offered it when I pressed him enough on the issue.

Lo and behold:

It is working.

We are baffled at the progress I am making with the pain problem- all because of this diet. I'm sorry, but this just blows my mind. It is about like a night and day difference. I am going to have to write more in depth about this strange diet and the benefits I am seeing, but that is for another day.


This has gotten me thinking more about the healing power/hurting power of food. I'm not talking about new age stuff. I'm talking about the principle sowing and reaping-- reaping the benefits of eating healthfully. I'll grant you, it has gotten me thinking, but not necessarily doing. But it's a step.

Here's the thing. If this particular group of foods was having such an adverse affect (I mean- severe pain) on my body, then what else might I be missing? Could it be that when I feel sluggish sometimes, it's just because I haven't been giving my body the nutrients it needs to really thrive?

I think that as Americans, when it comes to our health, we are used to just getting by. As long as there isn't anything majorly wrong with us, we are happy. But perhaps we ought to think more clearly about the benefits we would reap by putting better fuel into these amazing bodies God has given us. That is not to say that eating healthfully will cure all ailments. The hard truth is that sin ruined everything, so even our best attempts at healthy living will not always be enough. I am also not talking about being an extremist. But I do think we could both honor God more, and have healthier bodies if we ate differently.


So, as for the challenge this week, I am going to start planning a no HFCS week for January. This will take more planning than I can currently handle with the holidays coming up. I was surprised to find online a list of foods with no HFCS. That's a start. And then of course it mostly means I need to go less processed and more fresh. I hope to slowly start weeding out HFCS altogether in our home.


So that's where I am this week on my journey. The next few weeks will probably be crazy in the food journey, but I am sure that I will still have thoughts to share.


What do you think? Are there particular ailments you face which you think might be related to the food that you eat?

3 comments:

  1. Woohoo! That's awesome! A true testament to the fact that God provides the things we need to be better; and enough that we can avoid the things that hurt us. Amen!

    Have you looked into some gluten free foods? Maybe I should do an entry about that soon. I'm still learning (through you, mostly) about low-oxalate foods, but my understanding is that high-gluten foods are also high-oxalate, so perhaps a gluten free entry would work? I Guess I'd have to do some research first though.

    Hurrah, hurrah, and congratulations!

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  2. Learning about oxalates!

    First, search "oxalate" on wikipedia. A little science-term confusing at first, but there's some reader-friendly material when you scroll down a little for those of us who are chemistry formula challenged.

    Then, I found another informative website: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48

    Very interesting. This oxalate thing has got me intrigued...

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  3. go check out www.drmercola.com for the article he just wrote on HFCS. Good stuff.

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