Health Part 2 – Optimism

I got the inspiration to start researching the GFCF (gluten free casein free) diet from Jenny McCarthy of all people.  I had finally picked up a copy of Mommy Warriors and sped through it on my way to Delaware a few weeks ago.  It amazed me how closely the physical ailments kids with autism resemble those experienced by diabetics.  If the diet helped them recover, in some cases almost completely, I wondered how it could help me, Hubby, and my stepson.  We all have diabetes in different stages of evolution, the baby especially.  At this time he’s in a honeymoon period, which means occasionally his pancreas still produces insulin.  It struck me that this diet might prevent further damage of the beta cells that are responsible for insulin production.  What I found after a few rounds of Google-tag was amazing.  Why was it, in the seventeen years I have been a diabetic, that none of this information had been given to me?

My first search centered around the link between diabetes and autism, which is closer than one may think.  Many children diagnosed with autism will eventually be diagnosed with diabetes, as both are now identified as autoimmune affective disorders.  Research has shown that this continues to be the rule, not the exception.  What concerns me more is the rate at which the number of cases where this is not the case is falling.  Something has to be done, but how?

I continued my search with the effects of gluten and dairy on diabetics.  I had never imagined I would find more results than I could read in a day.  As I sifted through the various articles and holistic healing sites, I was certain that this is something we needed to consider, and soon.  Not only are most diabetics gluten sensitive, there is evidence that most diabetics have a weakened ability to breakdown grain and gluten, causing damage to the digestive tract.  Further sensitivity is often caused by casein, which is found in the milk of A1 cows, which is also attributed to “leaky gut” and the initial cell damage that causes diabetes.  There is only one dairy in the United States that does not use these cows.  All of these factors combine to support a theory proposed to me by my high priestess, who feels I may not be absorbing most of the vitamins and nutrients from the food I eat, which would definitely cause a majority, if not all, of the symptoms I have experienced since last year.

My final search centered around vitamins and herbs.  We already prescribe to a hearty collection of herbs, but all we take in terms of supplements is a multivitamin.  Maybe, I thought, if my high priestess’ theory was correct, I needed higher dosages given in intervals instead of all at once in a multivitamin.  There is no supplemental panacea, but what I found was a cocktail of several vitamins, enzymes, and probiotics at multiple intervals to aid nerve function, glucose tolerance, and carbohydrate metabolism.

Now that I have all this information I am in the process of learning how to properly use it.  Hubby seems onboard with switching to soy milk for him, almond milk for me due to a severe estrogen sensitivity, and gluten flour in the breads and cakes I make.  It won’t be an easy change, but in the end I think it will make a huge difference in our health and better role models for not only my stepson but for the other children we eventually add to our family.

I am determined to do more than sit here and let my condition rule me, and I can not sit and wait for the health system to figure out what to call it.  If this helps, we will all benefit.  I will finally be able to go back to work, and we will be able to get on with our lives, continue to build our home together, and eventually start a family.  I will do whatever it takes to get back to normal, and you, dear readers, will be kept up to date on the progress to share my path to new health every step of the way!

~Namaste~