Well, I have decided with a lot of thought and talking to some specialists that it is time to repair my small intestine and my digestive system and go Vegan for six months. I have what now is considered an Autoimmune Disease. Before it was just called Celiac Spru or a Wheat Allergy and now it is a Autoimmune Disease. The Celiac Spru was just the symptom pointing to having a Autoimmune Disease.
I was just reading a blog that I signed up for that was talking about Autoimmune Disease one night, and mentioned that Celiac Spru was one of the underlying symptoms of it. I was like "o my god I have autoimmune disease." So i e-mailed some people got and more info. My Gastro was like you have to go even more strict with your gluten in take. He said if you keep sneaking bits here and there we are going to have just take out your small intestine one day or you going to develop cancer which ever comes first. That was his first thought on it. So I e-mailed around this article and everyone was blown away and recommended this course of treatment that was mapped out in the blog article. Going Vegan with also lower in take of proteins in general was my treatment and my hope that I would not have to battle with cancer or have a major surgery later in life.
I had thought for years that protein was great and more the better. Well, not so. An appropriate amount of protein is calculated from one individual to the next. So i weigh about 136 right now. So I take my weight and divide it in half and then convert into grams. So I should not consume more then 68 grams of protein a day. Protein is very hard on your body to digest and animal proteins cooked at high heat temperatures are pretty much off my menu even after this six month period with exception to special occasions. Like my friend Nicki says everything in moderation, so eating a hamburger from quality meat or a grass fed non-hormone injected steak sometimes isn't going to ruin me, but having too much animal proteins on a daily basis for anyone is just not good no matter if you have an autoimmune disease or not.
Basically we actually consume a lot of protein in vegetables that we don't even realize. You know you think your doing well. You have your Whey protein shake with fruit and yogurt in the morning, some fruit and nuts for a snack, salad with fish and some cheese with olive oil dressing, then a protein bar mid afternoon with a cup of coffee with some half in half. Then dinner, some chicken and veggies and some salad. Well, guess what you? You have most likely consumed twice the protein your supposed to have and your poor body has struggled all day to figure out what to do with it. So your bones and digestive track pay the price.
Also from what I read chewing your food is so important. If you just wolf your food down without chewing everything very well, and not make sure you salivate with ever swallow your slowly, but surly killing your digestive system as well. I have known for years that you need to eat slowly so you wont choke and to help digest your food properly, but I did not know the whole science behind why it is so important until now.
So what I plan on doing is documenting what I am eating and how I feel along the way. Maybe you will pick up some fun new recipes with this whole six month period. I do still plan on baking so this will be interesting with still baking gluten free and mixing it up with going Vegan. This will be a crazy ride I will be on for awhile for sure.
Also to conclude; after this six month period I will go back to eating animal proteins, but in just in smaller amounts to keep the Autoimmune disease at rest. There are many dangers in becoming a long term strict Vegan. Even with B12 supplements there are just certain things you can't get in a supplement that Dairy, Eggs and Meat can't match ever. Especially with people trying to conceive, breast feeding Mother's and children should never practice a strict Vegan life style. The best diet that a person could keep is a mostly Vegetarian diet with moderate consumption of eggs, fish and fermented foods and some dairy for sure, and saving red meat, white meat and refined sugars for special occasions.
All the best,
Shara
