Apparently, Susan and I (weekly writers of these emails), are on a healthy living kick currently. This week we decided it had been a while since we put out a yummy recipe!
The recipe I am sharing for this week's practice comes from an autoimmune meal plan book I purchased and tried last week. Even if you don’t have an autoimmune condition, this kind of healthy eating is beneficial for us all.
That said, many, many, many people, especially women, have autoimmune conditions unbeknownst to them. With studies coming out about the long term effects of the corona virus, the number is increasing rapidly as autoimmune is typically triggered by a viral infection. So, these long-term effects are essentially an autoimmune condition.
Basically, your immune system turns on to fight the virus and doesn't turn off fully when the viral infection is gone. Then, your over-excited immune system starts to attack your internal systems or organs. Slowly and quietly those systems or organs begin to malfunction. In my case, it was my thyroid and I developed a Hypothyroid disorder known as Hashimoto’s.
I cried with joy when I finally found a health practitioner who could explain to me why I could diet, eat healthy and still gain weight, especially in my belly and hips. Why my hair was thinning and why I was always cold. Turns out, even my painful wrist was being caused by the chronic inflammation that is a hallmark of an autoimmune issue.
Traditional western medical interventions don’t have much in the way of treatments for an autoimmune condition or any thyroid or other hormone loss really. Effective primary care is all about a very specific diet and some lifestyle changes. This can be challenging, especially if we have kids that are on the Standard American Diet (i.e. SAD) or other family members we cook for and eat with.
Since an estimated 60% of women over the age of 50 most likely have some degree of autoimmune or thyroid condition going on, these diet and lifestyle changes can benefit us all!
If you have any of the symptoms I did, I urge you to read one of my favorite teachers, the Thyroid Pharmacist and Root Cause Rebel, Izabella Wentz.
Dr. Izabella Wentz, Pharm.D., FASCP is a passionate, innovative and solution focused clinical pharmacist.
For those of you who use Instagram, Dr. Izabella’s feed is a great place to learn all kinds of practical and easy tips about this big, and pretty complicated, subject. You can follow her by searching @IzabellaWentz.
This Week's Practice
Try a New Recipe
This week's practice is to try out a simple healthy recipe from Izabella’s collection! The goal is to begin playing with healthy food that is simple to make and tasty enough for everyone, yes this includes the kids.
I have attached the one I mentioned above, Apple “Toast” with Chicken & Fig Spread. Hint: Use green apples, they have less sugar. Here's a downloadable PDF.
If you don’t have the ingredients for this one, check out this great post from Dr. Izabella Wentz web blog for more recipes.
