Well, after reading Jordan Rubin’s and Sally Fallon’s book, my whole view about health and nutrition began to change. I became convinced that my years of vegetarian and vegan eating had taken their toll. Not that it had caused Chronic Fatigue, but I have no doubt it has done nothing to prevent it. It was a relief to be able to eat fat again, especially since I had constantly felt hungry and only felt satisfied when I ate carbohydrates. Since carbohydrates are converted to saturated fats in the body, no wonder I turned to them for satisfaction! My husband was delighted about eating fat again!! His comments were “God promised a land of milk and honey and it wasn’t skim milk and it wasn’t pasteurised honey! He also said to eat the fat of the land!!â€. The philosophy of eating foods in their whole unprocessed form just made so much sense. Why would eating margarine be healthier than natural butter? Why could our grandparents eat the fat off their chops and not die of heart disease? Why was supermarket bread so unsatisfying? All of these questions were answered in these two books. It wasn’t an easy shift, as eating healthily takes time and effort. With very little strength, it was difficult to cook meals and even think clearly to know what to eat. This was my only complaint against these books, that their suggestions for healthy eating often equated to 3 cooked meals a day - something impossible for someone going through CFS!
For the next 18 months we continued to focus on whole foods and cutting out sugar and processed foods. I took a tablespoon of high vitamin cod liver oil and various other whole food supplements. Healing came slowly and I can’t say for sure why, but I began to improve. I have started going out again and am even looking after my 3 year old daughter full-time. Walking is still an exhausting concept, but little by little I am able to do more. The worst is behind me.
I began Green Pastures Australia at the beginning of 2007, in order to distribute the great whole-food products that I had been purchasing individually from the USA. We distribute mostly for Green Pastures Products, Dr Ron and Pure Synergy. It was an enormous task to undertake, while recovering from CFS, but also a great joy. The testimonies that people send to me regarding how these products have helped them is the most rewarding part of all.
So that’s my story so far. Thankyou for sharing in my story!
Oct 20th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Some ideas that don’t include cooking.
12 raw oysters with a simple salad.
Bone broth from a constantly cooking broth pot, a cup every morning and night (add bones from meals you do cook ) to your cup add miso and kim chi or grated parmesan cheese.
Kefir - even if you don’t make smoothies out of it, if you’re too tired to clean up afterwards (have the trouble of cooking) just take out the kefir, add it to another container of milk and eat the kefir with a spoon - very sour but you’ll get used to it, I did. Kids are ok with lots of honey added.
Ceasar salad, chicken from a broth making session, lettuce, crispy nuts, home made mayonnaise. I know there are three ingredients that need to be prepared but it’s quicker than cooking if they’re prepared ahead of time.
Pasture fed ham with chunks of raw cheese (Zanetti do a raw reggiano and grana padano - avail at Woolies) and salad.
I like to make a big pot of brown rice cooked in broth for the kids to add what every they like to. Their favourite is smoked trout or tinned fish, cucumber, mayonnaise and tamari. I like tahini and shallots as well.
Sometimes salads are a little cold for a chronic fatigue type - deficient digestion - so try fermented ginger to warm the Spleen and add fermented ingredients where you can.
I don’t know how many people you have in your life, but it’s a good idea to gather friends and family to make huge batches of home made mayonnaise, fermented products and crispy nuts. They all come to help out, clean up and go home with armfuls of great products. All you do is tell them how to do it.