Day 1

I've struggled with low blood sugar for years. Could control it on my own, though. "A spoonful of peanut butter." "Orange juice is a quick fix." I would get light-headed, or my speech would become slurred, and someone would know to grab a snack for me. I've done the drill a million times. Then, in a matter of 5 years, my father was killed, I was married, I had moved 4 times and had 3 babies. Sleep was no longer sound. The importance of my meals were thrown out the window. There was a hungry husband coming home, a baby to nurse, another baby about to fall off the couch, and a toddler screaming "potty! potty! potty!". After my third baby was born, I had literally relied on a bag of marshmallows for lunch. Who had time for anything else? I was awake at 3:30am for a feeding one night, and decided to shower then. The house was quiet, no one needed me, and it had been 2 days since my last one. I wasn't losing the baby weight and my skin was breaking out, but who cared? I got through another day. Then I started showing signs of depression. I had been diagnosed with clinical depression in high school. I went through months of counseling, and had been fine since. But all of these changes, this stress, was catching up to me. Then one day I overheard a conversation. Something about sugar....yeast.....white blood cells. Hm. I'd always LOVED researching health topics. I knew this was one I needed to consider. Fast forward a few very busy, hectic months. The depression is back. Exhausted and emotional. Starting to convince myself I have true psychological programs. We head to the library and I come across "Crazy Sexy Cancer" by Kris Carr. Ah! I remember this! Way back when I enjoyed the luxury of cable tv, I had watched this. When Kris was diagnosed with a very rare cancer, she was already at stage 4 and was told there were no treatments or known cure. She was told to sit and wait. Instead, she started a new lifestyle full of herbs, raw veggies, disgusting looking green juices, yoga, etc. etc. etc. It's been 7 years since her diagnoses, and her cancer has not spread. "Yay for her!" This was the extent of it, until I began delving deeper into the world of degenerative and autoimmune disease and their link to diet. Then my dear sweet hubby and I sat down for alittle one-on-one time (obviously the 3 children were asleep in their beds....we had made it another day! :) ). He struggles with carpel tunnel, heart burn, IBS, lower back pain, ulcers in his mouth, and headaches. I was sharing with him what I was learning, all the while getting terms and definitions wrong because I still wasn't sure myself if what I was learning was true. "Sugar produces insulin spikes, which white blood cells thrive on, which makes them grow, which leads to cancer. White flour and processed foods are digested by our bodies as sugar, which ofcourse produces the same effect. If all of this is true, then I am laying the foundation for a cancer feeding frenzy!" Take a look at my daily routine for a minute, will you? Breakfast: toast (homemade bread, ofcourse, because I'm not into preservatives....if only I knew the harm the white flour itself was doing....) or cereal (well duh! that one's a no-brainer in the nutrition spectrum. Even bran flakes contain sugar, and every single cereal is processed.) and ofcourse a HUGE glass of juice (sugar sugar sugar). Then there was snack time! I love baking, and 99% of the time there is a delicious baked good sitting on my kitchen counter. That's where I would head first. Lunch. Already mentioned the bag of marshmallows. Then there is my famous time of day which I love to refer to as "mommy minutes". All 3 kiddos are napping peacefully, and I feel like I "deserve" a treat. I mean, come on, I've just made it through an entire morning with 3 kids 2 1/2 and younger! Treats can and did include: ice cream, cake, cookies, cheesecake, lattes, milk, more juice, cupcakes....well, you get the idea. This was EVERY day. It's no wonder I don't weigh 50 lbs. more than I do. Dinner was always sensible. My husband is one of those "meat and potatoes" guys, although he prefers beans and rice (not my specialty). I tried to include a vegetable at every dinner. Failed at that, most of the time, but did try. Then ofcourse there's dinner to clean up, toys to clean up, kids to bathe, stories to read, babies to nurse, laundry to finish....the normal evening routine for every family with young children. All of this would leave me exhausted, and just "deserving" another snack. I've been known to whip up a batch of homemade, from scratch, chocolate chip cookies at 10 o'clock at night just because that's what I'm in the mood for. Who can go to bed without something sweet, or chocolatey? :P I'd always have trouble falling asleep, sick with worry and paranoid thoughts about what could happen in the middle of the night....then would doze off, only to wake alittle while later with heart racing, can't get back to sleep. Suffering from the sugar high from the previous snack, ofcourse. So, this has been my life. This was accepted, and normal. Until I put two and two together, and realized if I don't change something now, then I might as well proclaim to my body "Okay! Go head! I'm giving you the green light to deteriorate and give me a fatal disease!" I know what it was like losing a parent as a teenager, and I don't ever EVER want my own children to experience that. I believe that God is ultimately in control of when we leave this earth, but I don't want to be held responsible for destroying this body he has given me. So, here starts our families journey into all foods life-giving! I've been learning about juicing, oxygenating our cells, releasing stress, digesting enzymes, and so much more. And I'm going to write passionately, as if there is atleast one person out there who is reading this. smile. Body experiment #1 starts in the morning. Can't wait to tell you all about it! :)