A New 30-Day Challenge - Salad Style

One really interesting thing I have learned through all of my joint and inflammation issues (among so many interesting things!!) is to gear my diet to include a lot more alkaline foods and drinks. Apparently the sweet spot is to get 80% alkaline and 20% acidic.  This isn't just for those suffering from inflammation or joint pain, it's actually fascinating to learn all of the things that this type of diet can help with.  If you are interested, I highly suggest doing some research of your own, as I am certainly not an expert!

I have made so many changes with my diet over the past 4 or 5 years (removing meat, dairy, gluten,  & soda, reducing processed foods and sugar, increasing fresh, whole foods) but I have been feeling like I need to make more effort on this front. Switching up my diet to include more alkaline foods is likely to make a big difference in my health overall, including the dreaded inflammation I have suffered from for the past 3 years.  

Now, I love a good salad. Give me a big bed of spinach, kale, lettuce and I will happily pile it high with fresh chopped vegetables (sans dressing).  I am not, however, good at doing this regularly which is strange given how much I love it.  It just hasn't become a habit to include a salad into my daily diet for one reason or another.  Not to mention that it usually involves chopping whatever vegetables happen to be in the fridge and throwing them on top of greens.  Not a whole lot of planning involved.

So I am going to do a little salad challenge (similar to my bikram yoga challenge) to jump start what I hope will result in us incorporating salads several times a week, if not daily.  So I have been trolling through Pinterest to find some new salad recipes just to mix things up and keep it interesting.

Here are some that top my list...

Southwestern Chopped Salad - courtesy of The Garden Grazer

Can't We All Just Get Along?!

{ Disclaimer: this post is likely to turn into a rant halfway through. consider yourself warned. }

Over the past few years I have spent a fair amount of time in doctors offices.  Always wanting them to help me, trusting that they knew what they were doing, and not really questioning whether our individual visions for optimal health actually aligned.

I finally - on a whim - scheduled an appointment with a naturopathic physician who specialized in inflammation.  I figured it couldn't hurt anything (aside from my bank account!) to try it and see if she had a different take on my health.  My paranoia around prescription medication aside, she spent an hour and a half with me going over every detail of my health as far back as I could remember.

After she ordered a few additional tests, she smiled at me and told me that she had no doubt that she would be able to get to the bottom of what was ailing me.  A simple, kind sentence. But hearing those words were extremely encouraging, especially for someone who had only gotten "best guess" diagnoses for the past several years.

The results of those blood tests confirmed all three of her suspicions.  I was suffering from adrenal fatigue and I tested positive for both a gene mutation, known as MTHFR, and the least likely: Lyme Disease.

Meat-free, Dairy-free, Gluten-Free, Oh My!

As many of you know, my health has been a bit troubled the past few years due to severe inflammation in my joints.  I have spent countless hours going to doctor appointments, surgery, physical therapy and having a battery of tests done.  All of this resulted in a 'best guess' diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, with my rheumatologist saying that medication was the only way to ease my aching joints and all of the unpleasant side effect that came along with it. (I won't bore you with the details.)

Mini Life Update

I realized after a few questions I received that I hadn't updated everyone on the latest with my knee, hips, etc. so for those asking, here is what we know.  For those that aren't asking, feel free to stop reading here. I won't be offended!

Last week I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, though which one still remains a mystery.  My rheumatologist's best guess?  Rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis.  I also have achilles tendinitis, which explains the painful situation going on in my right heel for the past 4 or 5 months.

My knee has been suffering quite badly with more cysts, so I have been put on a brief stint of medicine to kick that back into shape, and hopefully help my hip pain in the process.  Over the next several months we will try a few different medicines (that will only target RA for instance) to see if my body responds.  The hope is this will help us get a full, proper diagnosis.  Once I have that, I intend to try any (and all!) natural solutions I can find to keep things feeling good.  I have heard that these medications can be quite harsh on your body, and for someone who prefers to not take medicine in general, my hope is that I can find a natural solution that works for me!  Although all of our questions haven't been answered, we have ruled out the potential of any sort of mechanical problems, and just knowing that it is an autoimmune disorder is huge progress!

Veggie Life: Protein Pasta?

Okay, I feel like I have an obligation to share something with you, my three loyal readers. :)

As a vegetarian, I am often struggling with getting enough protein into each meal of my daily diet.  I really do try to incorporate it wherever I can, but am always eager to find new and healthy ways to do so.  Well, last year I found Ezekiel Bread, and it literally changed my life.  Not only does it taste great, but it is also a complete protein!  Meaning it provides all 9 of the essential amino acids your body needs to function properly!  Double win!  Yes, it still has carbs... let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  But our bodies need carbs of the healthy variety, people, so let's call a truce.  Chris and I enjoy this bread all the time.  And then, I found out that Food for Life do loads of other things as well: pasta (gasp!), tortillas, buns, cereal, english muffins (!), etc.

Pasta is not a common dish found in Chris and I's diet, but who doesn't love pasta?!  We usually opt for spaghetti squash instead, in an effort to fool ourselves into thinking we are eating the delicious comfort carbs we crave. But finding a way to add the real thing in such a healthy way is certainly a win for me.  And the best part is, that they have a few different types of pasta including, spaghetti, fettuccine, elbow, and penne. What more could you need?  Add a healthy (homemade?) sauce and some tasty grilled veggies and you are good to go!

A veggie blog that I love, is Naturally Ella, and she has some very tasty looking pasta recipes that I just might have to match up with our new pasta friend, Food for Life.  A few of my favorites from her site...?

Sweet Potato & Spinach Mac and Cheese

Spinach-Pesto with Roasted Red Peppers and Ricotta

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

Chris and I are enjoying being in the kitchen together as of late, so I might have to suggest a date night in sometime this week to make one of these tasty recipes!

On a side note, if you are scouring your grocery store trying to find it... the bread is located in the frozen section, and should be stored in your fridge once you get home (unless you plan on saving it for a while, then it can go in your freezer).  The pasta is typically in the "health food" section of Safeway, etc. rather than on the regular pasta aisle.

Happy Sunday!

One Year Accomplishment: Soda

It occurred to me last week that I just hit the one year mark of... no soda!  Feels really good to reach this mark.  Not that I drank a ton before, but I wanted to make a conscious effort to remove it from my diet entirely.  And I feel much better for it.  

Slow and steady always works best for me.  I wonder what I will eliminate or add next?

30-Day Challenge: Bikram Yoga - Update 2

Well, this morning I completed class number nine of my 30-day challenge!  It is feeling really good going to class every day.  I find my balance getting so much better (even in the difficult standing bow posture!), and my flexibility gradually improving.  

At the weekend, getting to class requires a bit of extra motivation as the class is 30 minutes away.  But I managed to make it both days to the morning class.  And we even managed to fit some snowshoeing in Sunday afternoon, as well!

Another big thing I have noticed is improved posture.  This is a big one for me, as I naturally slouch quite badly.  I find the biggest difference in my lower back; it seems to automatically arch back already, at just 9 classes in.  One really big focus of Bikram yoga is back bends, focusing on every part of your back.  Mine is not very easily manipulated at the moment, so my back bends are quite shallow, but I hope to improve this soon.  I also hope to get more flexibility in my hips; they are very tight and inflexible, so I hope to see progress in these two areas over the remainder of this challenge.

And finally, here are the next four postures in the series, along with a few of their benefits.  The first three are a part of the balancing series... aka they really get your heart rate up!

 5. Dandayamana-Janushirasana  (Standing Head to Knee Posture)

 Improves flexibility of sciatic nerves and strengthens hamstrings and leg muscles.

 Works muscles of the back, biceps, triceps.

 Helps squeeze and flush out internal abdominal organs (gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, uterus, ovaries)

6.  Dandayamana-Dhanurasana  (Standing Bow Posture)

Moves all the blood from one side of your body to the other and back again.

Develops balance, increases size and elasticity of the rib cage, firms abdominal wall and upper thighs.

Improves strength and flexibility of lower spine

Builds patience, determination and concentration

7.  Tuladandasana  (Balancing Stick Posture)

Forward tilt of your torso sends high-speed blood pouring into the heart, especially the neglected region, cleaning out the veins and all of the arteries, strengthening the heart muscle.

The same rejuvenating flood rushes to the brain as well.

Strengthens your powers of concentration

8.  Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Paschimotthanasana  (Standing Separate Leg Stretching)

This posture is like kryptonite for sciatica!

Strengthens and stretches those poor crushed and shriveled sciatic nerves, as well as the tendons in the legs

Massages internal abdominal organs and small and large intestines, and gives added flexibility in the pelvis, ankles, hip joints, and especially the last 5 vertebrae of the spine.

                 

So far, so good!  Only 21 more days to go!

30-Day Challenge: Bikram Yoga - Update 1

Well, I am happy to report that I am 4 days into my challenge and going strong.  It may not sound like a great accomplishment, but I am happy to see myself sticking with it, and hey I'm more than 10% in now!  Ha!  As strange as it might sound, after four days in a row, I am already experiencing improved balance in the postures. I think the more regularly you attend class, the quicker you see results like this.  I am still in desperate need of improved flexibility, but I am excited to see how that progresses through this challenge.

I thought I would share some of the poses from Bikram with every update that I post, along with some of the benefits each pose offers.  I knew a lot of these benefits from the instructors in class, but found it really fascinating just how good each and every pose is for your body.  It makes me appreciate my time in class a lot more knowing the benefits my body is experiencing.

Bikram yoga consists of the same 26 poses, in the same order, each and every class.  Some might find this to get a bit boring, but I love the predictability of it.  I also think it is easier to progress further into the postures when you do the same ones each class.  There is 60 minutes of standing poses, followed by 30 minutes of floor poses.  The room temperature is about 105 degrees Fahrenheit and approximately 40% humidity.  Yeah, you sweat.  A lot.

Here are the first 4 poses.

1.  Pranayama (Standing Deep Breathing Pose)

          Benefits:  Pranayama prevents respiratory problems (such as bronchitis, emphysema and shortness of breath.)

2.  Ardha-Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose)

          Benefits:  Strengthens every muscle in your core, increases flexibility of the spine, firms and trims the waistline, hips, abdomen, buttocks and thighs.

3.  Utkatasana (Awkward Pose)

        Benefits:  Tones and shapes legs, heals chronically cold feet, relieves rheumatism and arthritis in the legs, helps cure slipped discs and other problems in the lower spine.

4.  Garurasana (Eagle Pose)

        Benefits: The Eagle pose is the only one that opens up the 14 largest joints in the skeletal system, improves flexibility in the hips, knees and ankles, and supplies fresh blood to the reproductive system and kidneys.

The next 30-day challenge update will be up this weekend.  Do you think I can stick it out for the full thirty days?

What's In A Knee...

That's the saying, right?  No?  Well, that's been my saying as of late.  What's in my knee, to be more exact.

I want to start by apologizing for being so mysterious about my knee issues of late.  It was in no way intentional, I just figured it might be a bit boring to post about.  But as several people have asked me lately, I thought I would do a quick update on the details (or lack thereof).

About a year ago I began having pretty severe pain behind my right knee.  It wasn't unbearable, it mostly hurt when I tried to fully bend or extend my leg.  I didn't think into it too much, as I hadn't had any sort of obvious injury.  A few months later, it began to get worse, and one day, as I was standing up from our kitchen table, I felt some intense movement (though not painful) in my knee.  I looked down to find it immediately swelled up on the front of my knee.  

So off to the doctor I went, where she told me I had a bakers cyst that ruptured.  

A Baker's cyst, also called a popliteal (pop-LIT-e-ul) cyst, is usually the result of a problem with your knee joint, such as arthritis or a cartilage tear. Both conditions can cause your knee to produce too much fluid, which can lead to a Baker's cyst.

I asked if I should limit physical activity, upon which my (incompetent) doctor told me no.  Once the swelling went down, I could return to whatever physical activities I wished.  Wrong.

A few more months went by and I was cautious with my knee and activity, but by no means did I stop exercising.  In October, I began to feel the tightness and pain behind my knee again.  It continued to get worse and worse, and the night we returned from visiting family in Washington, the same thing happened: the cyst burst.  

{ courtesy of good old WebMD }

By this point (nearly 11 months!), I was losing my patience, so I scheduled an appointment with another primary care doctor to get her take on the situation.  She seemed concerned that there was no obvious injury and that I was a bit young to be experiencing a recurring cyst typical of older, arthritic patients.  So she referred me to an orthopedist.

One X-Ray and one MRI later, he sees a few questionable things in my knee (3 bakers cysts!), but nothing that clearly says, THIS is the issue, let's fix it.  So after a very critical review of my MRI, he has referred me to a rheumatologist to rule out any type of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus.

Other than the obvious impatience to just figure out what is going on with my knee, I have handled this whole process fairly well.  But this latest referral to the rheumatologist has gotten under my skin a bit.  I am fairly certain that it is none of these things (though this is a completely uneducated guess), but the potential that it is something chronic like this has me quite nervous.  

I lead a fairly active lifestyle, and have been going crazy the past few months having to just sit around and get no physical exercise.  I can't imagine incorporating a chronic diagnosis into the type of lifestyle I am used to living.  

I understand that I am getting ahead of myself here. I do.  But as "cool" as I try to remain about it, I am extremely anxious to rule this out, and even more eager to actually figure out the cause of this pain, fluid and swelling.

The top doc that he referred me to is super in-demand, so I opted for a different doctor in the same office in order to get in a bit sooner.  So now the waiting game.  I am pretty confident that the next week is going to crawl by.

Apologies to anyone who is not interested in the inner workings of my knee, I just wanted to inform those who have been asking about my brief references to the trouble in previous posts.

Fingers crossed that next Wednesday comes quickly and brings good news!