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“²So, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:1-3

Today’s message at church focused on the importance of spiritual and physical rest, which hit me square in the chest. When I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, I was happily working two jobs and attending school full-time. My days were consistently 18 hours of non-stop activities. Following my diagnosis, I had to quit my jobs and cut back my class schedule. At one point, I wasn’t strong enough to leave my house for over a month. I lost my identify.

The following May, I graduated from undergrad and moved on to grad school, but I never regained the stamina to become as involved as my over-active brain desired. I had always been the girl who was involved in everything, and now my broken body was keeping me from doing the things I loved. It took me a long time, and honestly, I still struggle with accepting that my life now runs at a much slower pace. Today’s teaching helped me remember my identify has never been related to the works of my hands or mind as I always believed. Who I am is 100% defined by my relationship with Christ, and it is Biblical to rest in that truth.

Rest is a consistent theme throughout the Bible, beginning in Genesis 1. It is such an important part of our lives that the master of all creation set an example in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible through taking the time to sit back and enjoy his work. Resting is so critical to our well-being that the fourth commandment requires God’s people to rest on the Sabbath.

It’s no secret that this world is moving faster than ever in a nation that idolize busyness. Society runs on coffee to keep up with the mainstream perception that you must be successful in work, fitness, friendships, academics, and pop culture references. We strive to be like those surrounding us at work and in our community, who never seem to take a break, which ends in us crashing on the couch watching Netflix for hours due to exhaustion and emotional fatigue.

Not only is taking time to rest Biblical, scientific studies have proven the benefits of sleep on memory, overall bodily function, and relationships. Additional studies have proven stress is toxic to human body. According to The Mayo Clinic, common effects of stress include headache, muscle pain/tension, fatigue, upset stomach, and sleep problems. Does that sound like any chronic illness you know?

Lately, I have continually struggled with hand pain and mobility. While we are still searching for the root cause, we have determined that a large part of my pain is directly related to my stress levels. If you are struggling with autoimmune disease, or if you are perfectly “healthy”, not only is it ok, IT IS CRUCIAL to take the necessary time to rest and reset. As my pastor said this morning, “we were created to be before we were created to do.”

Creating the Sabbath, a time specifically set aside for His people to rest and reset, is one of God’s first gifts to us. Yes, the Sabbath typically refers to Sunday, but all people need mini-Sabbaths throughout the week, especially those struggling with chronic illness. The Mayo Clinic suggests regular physical activity, relaxation techniques, socializing, and setting aside time for hobbies unrelated to watching TV or scrolling through Instagram to help minimize stress (aka maximizing rest time).

I plan to implement these simple tasks throughout my day and make a conscious decision to rest in the fact that my identity and worth are not related to my work. As much as I love my job, and as hard as I work for my patients, I will take the time to realize that the Lord has a perfect will and plan for my life that is completely uncorrelated with the works of my own hands. Today, I challenge you to do the same.

 

When I was desperately ill, my mom started looking through online resources for any sign of hope. She found Danielle Walker of Against All Grain, and my life changed forever. After six weeks on a paleo diet (actually autoimmune protocol diet), my doctor stated he had never seen such healing. He was completely dumbfounded. Check out Danielle’s incredible story and advice through this link. Her story is extremely close to my own. We have the same disease! We were both really sick newlyweds wondering if we would ever be able to raise a family. We both felt desperate. Lucky for me, I had Danielle and the amazing recipes she created to help me on my health journey.

There’s a lot of fear associated with autoimmune disease, but food can be used to heal and help take control of your symptoms. It can change lives and change the lifestyle of entire families. I’ve seen it, and I’ve lived it. I used to feel so alone at holidays, but I’ve learned I can still host parties and make food for friends and family. My family will now make paleo Thanksgiving and Christmas. While we may have traditional stuffing and casseroles, we always have a paleo option as well. I’m definitely not a chef, but because of the power of food, my life trajectory has been changed forever. It didn’t happen overnight, but check out this video by Danielle to see a little glimpse into her life. Healing is a journey, but it’s possible!

 

http://qideas.org/videos/the-power-of-food/?inf_contact_key=cbd7b2827091c81026567930a2dafaaf43713804c6dc89d0be2489445c88d334

If you have not seen this documentary go watch it, tonight. If you can, watch it right now. The story they tell is my story!!!! These are real-life people who have done the same thing as me. Our stories could be similar to yours.

Food is fuel and food heals. Watch it. Know it. Live it. Step up and take control of your health and diet. Today. Don’t wait. The number of people living with chronic illness is on the rise, and my diet and lifestyle changes put me into remission.

There is so much confusion about diet and this documentary paints a very real picture of changing your life to control disease. It shows the struggle and the triumph. It shines light on the fact that your disease never truly goes away, and the truth that healthy food is often hard to find. It even highlights the importance of surrounding yourself with a healthy community. Even if you aren’t currently struggling with a chronic illness, most Americans are headed toward some type of disease.

Lately, I’ve been struggling. I have felt alone and strange for following my strict diet, which has led to more cheat days and increased feelings of isolation. This documentary has given me hope. It has lit a fire under me to spread the word that the American diet and lifestyle is making us ill. Changing these statistics are up to you and me!

This isn’t just about treating my disease, this is about connecting communities to healthy options. This is about getting healthy food, the most natural medicine, to everyone in the US regardless of income. Go watch this movie and LEARN.

https://www.facebook.com/FoodAsMedicineTheMovie/

Danielle Walker of Against All Grain posted an article on Facebook that I had to share. I know very little about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), but it has a lot of similarities to the paleo diet. Finally, doctors are beginning to realize diet has a huge impact on this illness! Check out the article and information on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet below.

Article:

http://pulse.seattlechildrens.org/novel-diet-therapy-helps-children-with-crohns-disease-and-ulcerative-colitis-reach-remission/

What is SCD?

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/home/

The hardest part about becoming paleo is finding recipes that are quick, easy, and delicious. When you are learning an entirely new lifestyle, remembering what is allowed/not allowed can become extremely overwhelming. Many of the ingredients used in paleo cooking were completely foreign to me when I started. Here are a list of my favorite resources for new delicious recipes.

Against All Grain

Danielle Walker has managed her Ulcerative Colitis with a paleo diet. She also happens to be a New York Times Bestseller and an incredible chef. Everyone, including myself, loves her take on traditional favorites. She has some simple meals (usually not simple enough for this non-chef on a Monday night), meals that are great for meal prep, and a little more complicated recipes for special occasions.

http://againstallgrain.com/

Mangia Paleo

This blog is the reason I started the paleo diet. Laura Scaviola began a paleo diet right after her diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, and has used her awesome recipes to help manage her disease. P.S. She’s also absolutely hilarious.

http://www.mangiapaleo.com/

Other Websites… Yes, that is Cryptic

I skim through some other websites that offer great paleo options like Nom Nom Paleo, The Paleo Mom, Paleo Leap…and many more! Google paleo recipes and a million awesome resources will pop up.

Pinterest

 I LOVE PINTEREST. It is perfect for those times when I am completely out of ideas, but want a quick meal.The link to my Pinterest board is below. Please pardon, the mess… organization has never been my strong suit. There are tons of recipes in several different Pinterest boards (some I have tried and some I haven’t).

https://www.pinterest.com/collinskm2/

Instagram

When I see a great recipe, I take a screenshot of the link to the recipe. My favorite instagram chefs are donteatthespatula, emilyeatsrealfood, squirrel_kitchen, grassfedgirl, eat_heal_thrive, thespunkycoconut, paleochef, autoimmunepaleo, and mightymorphinmitch. Not all of these are completely paleo, but seeing what other people are eating always gives me ideas.

Google

I know it sounds crazy but the majority of my meals are found through google. I type in whatever I want to make (cookies, brownies, baked chicken, pot roast) and add the word paleo. Then, I scroll through recipes until I find the simplest one. Honestly, 9 times out of 10 it turns out delicious.

Simple Meal Ideas from Me

I believe in simple/cheap mid-week meals. I believe in very little clean-up. I believe in meal prep and microwaves.

My meals usually consist of some simple protein, vegetables (usually organic, frozen, or prepped ahead), and a carb. My carbs are usually sweet potatoes, white potatoes, or some form of seasonal squash. On crazy days, I swap my carbs for fruit!!! Living on the edge! I’ll be updating this site with some simple recipes I use as staples.

Check out this awesome article by Jacklyn with Ulcerative Colitis. Not only does IBD effect you physically, it often takes a huge toll on your mental state. You go Jacklyn! Thanks for sharing and being a safe space for others to share their IBD journey.

http://online.ccfa.org/site/PageNavigator/awareness_hero_JACKLYN.html

THIS IS AMAZING! Way to go Grace! Seeing children dealing with Crohns and Colitis always breaks my heart. Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease is hard and embarrassing. I love that this little girl is making changes in her country, and using a bad situation to advocate for herself.

Can we get this in America? I’ve been in remission for almost two years now, but the amount of people who deal with severe IBD on a daily basis with no current path to remission is staggering. We need to stand up and advocate for ourselves, raise awareness, and get the plans in place to receive the accommodations we need. So proud of this little girl for acting wise above her years, thinking of others beyond herself, and advocating for others beyond her disease.

http://www.zincestates.review/strangers-give-girl-dirty-looks-when-she-uses-handicap-bathroom-but-they-cant-see-her-disease/

It’s been a hard week… But you know what is incredibly uplifting? Seeing a strong young woman achieve her life-long goals while living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Kathleen Baker has Crohn’s Disease, but she is COMPETING IN THE OLYMPICS!!!! She’s officially my new hero… Some days may be pure torture, but this disease does not have to limit your dreams. Living with chronic illness may mean taking a new route, but you can still make it to the finish line.

Now you know who I will be supporting at the Rio Olympics. Goooooo Kathleen! Thank you for inspiring all of us with IBD. I hope to see you around Charlotte one day.

Check out an amazing article on her below.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/joe-posnanski-kathleen-bakers-crohns-disease-isnt-curse

This is me, two years ago (July 3^rd, 2014). I was in the hospital between the first and second bag of my blood transfusion. If you think this photo is bad, you should have seen me in person. The old woman wobble, memory fog, bald spots, and steroid rash really topped off the look. But do you see that smile? That was real. I was outside, and I wasn’t crying.

In the weeks leading up to my hospital stay I would beg my boyfriend to take me outside. I needed his help to make it across the fifteen feet of flooring and two stairs that separated my living room from my driveway. I usually pleaded and promised to be good for over an hour before he would cave and drag/carry me outside. You see, he had a very good reason for protesting.

As soon as my face felt the sun, I would break down. Being outside opened a floodgate of emotions. I would cry about my stupid disease, my lack of independence, and my desire to just be normal. I would cry about the constant pain…. And every time I cried, he sat down beside me, stroked my hair, and told me I was going to be ok. Every time, after I finished crying, he picked me back up and carried me inside to begin another round of the couch to bathroom shuffle. This was the first time in weeks I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I felt the sun and instead of thinking of days past I thought of the days ahead.

 

When I see this picture, I see hope, joy, and unconditional love.

 

I see my mother going without sleep for weeks to make sure I didn’t hurt myself stumbling to the bathroom 30 plus times in the middle of the night. I see my father paying my astronomical medical bills without expecting anything in return and my brother driving 14 hours to clean out the dorm room I abandoned when I got really sick.

I see my boss and coworkers stepping in to help me, and I see my roommates watching over me when I came back to school. I see the doctors and nurses who cared for me and the friends and family who came to “babysit” me when I could not be left alone.

I see my grandfather reaching for my hand “for him, not me” when I was too weak to walk by myself but too stubborn to ask for help.

I see my boyfriend telling me he was going to marry me, because he wanted to be the one taking care of me for the rest of my life. And… moments after that he had to rush me inside to get sick.

This picture represents more love than anyone could imagine. In this picture, I felt Christ-like love when I had nothing to give in return. I would yell and scream. I would break down and cry. I would say hurtful, mean things to people who were giving up huge chunks of their lives to take care of me. (Sorry mom…).

I did not deserve their love, but they gave it anyway. I did not deserve their patience, but they gave it anyway. I did not deserve their grace, but they gave it anyway.

They showed me a glimpse of heaven.

In this picture I see the love, the compassion, and the hope for a better tomorrow. I see the huge strides I have made in the past two years. I see the blessings the Lord placed in my life, and the assurance that there is always a peace that passes understanding. In short, I see the unconditional love of Christ. The wobble, the bald spots, and the memory fog are gone, but the smile remains. I know my support system will love me through anything. Some days are still really tough, but I know no matter what happens I have unconditional love on my side.

You started paleo. You said goodbye to fried foods and soda, but you still feel tired, nauseous, and sick. It seems impossible. 

This has often been my story with my paleo diet. There is a reason that I strongly believe everyone’s body is different and everyone reacts differently to dietary changes. However, I also do not accept the physician viewpoint of determining which foods are triggers through trial and error. Over and over again, I was told I should try a food to see if I could tolerate it.  This method made me terrified to eat, and I spent months on a diet consisting of about 5 difference foods. Many times I was told my diet was not affecting my disease at all. While there are still certain foods I personally cannot tolerate, I no longer live in fear that a food will put me in the hospital since I went paleo. I have also learned which foods on the paleo diet do not work for me. 

While paleo is helpful, there are some foods that are paleo approved but could still be causing inflammation. I highly suggest beginning on an autoimmune protocol diet and slowly adding restricted foods, as you feel comfortable. This type of reintroduction protocol helped me realize which foods I could tolerate in small amounts, which foods caused no issues, and which foods were on the final “no fly” list. Below are some common culprits for those with autoimmune disorders on the paleo diet.

Nuts/ Nut butters/Nut flours/Seeds

Nuts are extremely hard on the digestive tract. Even in modified forms (almond flour, cashew milk) nuts are extremely hard to break down in your gut. Using nut flour is a quick way to add A TON of nuts into your diet. Nuts are full of good fats and excellent protein, but moderation is essential to nut consumption. Overconsumption of nuts into an system that is consistently fighting inflammation can spell disaster.

Too much fruit

Now this idea seems completely impossible right? Fruit is good for you. Many fruits possess anti-inflammatory properties. Fruits also contain lots of natural sugars. These sugars linger in your gut and help grow bad bacteria. Yes, there is good gut bacteria, but that is another blog post… The natural sugar in fruit can give you a spike in energy with a drop off, just like refined sugars. Too much sugar, in any form, is not what the body needs. I love fruit, but I always make sure to pair it with veggies and a protein to limit the sugar intake in my blood.

Berries

During my restricted days, I missed berries. I missed them terribly. Even though they are filled with antioxidants, be careful with berries. Not only do they possess the natural fruit sugars, they have teeny tiny seeds inside. When you are inflamed, these little seeds act like a grater on your digestive system. Once I healed, I started eating blueberries for the anti-inflammatory properties, and then expanded to all of my favorite berry deliciousness. I still limit my berry intake (about once a day) to make sure I’m not causing additional harm to my body.

Too Many Paleo Treats

AKA: too much natural sugar

Yes, maple syrup and honey are still sugar. These sugars give your body a boost that it comes crashing down from, just like a refined sugar crash. They also cause bad bacteria to build up since it can feed off of un-needed sugar in your gut.

Nightshades

AKA: tomatoes, eggplants, peppers of any kind, spices made with peppers, potatoes

This concept was definitely the hardest for my family to grasp. They kept saying, “But vegetables are good for you…..”. Yes, vegetables and nightshades have tons of vitamins inside their delicious exteriors. However, nightshades possess lectin, a protein used to protect themselves. Some nightshades are incredibly poisonous. The nightshades we typically eat have very low levels of this protein, but for those of us with autoimmune disorders, it causes inflammation and leads to leaky gut. (Leaky gut is an entirely new blog post.) I can tolerate a meal with tomatoes or peppers about once a week. Any more than this will cause me to experience bloating, nausea, and exhaustion.

Grass Fed Cheese/Milk/Yogurt

Grass fed cheese is allowed on paleo, but often people with gut issues of any kind struggle with lactose…trust me this saddens me as much as it saddens you. Cheese replacements… even worse for me than actual cheese. Now that I have been in remission for a while I can tolerate dairy about once a week in small amounts. If you are going to eat dairy make sure it is grass fed. That gives you the highest chance of preventing inflammation.

Eggs

People often remove eggs and possess some kind of allergy (small or large) to this common ingredient. Personally, I have never had any problem with eggs, and I receive almost all of my eggs from my father-in-law’s organic, cage-free chickens. Cheap eggs possess soy, hormones, and additives. Free-range organic eggs are the way to go. If you have a problem with eggs, they can often be replaced by gelatin in many baking recipes.

Chocolate/Cocoa Powder

Cue the tears. I love chocolate and cocoa powder. However, cocoa often causes inflammation. Limiting chocolate, even my favorite allergy-friendly Enjoy Life chocolate (technically not paleo) is essential for healing. It can also limit acid reflux.

Alcohol

Alcohol as part of the paleo diet is controversial, but the point is alcohol can cause serious inflammation. The sugar found in alcoholic drinks can be extremely detrimental in healing a digestive tract. Alcohol is inflammatory and makes it much more difficult for your body to deal with chronic inflammation. Some studies have shown that alcohol in small amounts is beneficial for preventing inflammation, however the sugar, carbonation, and sometimes wheat (I’m looking at your beer…) found in alcohol can cause major inflammation. I typically drink one glass of red wine (ONE) when I want a drink since red wine does have some anti-inflammatory properties.

Coffee/ Caffeine/Carbonation

Lay off the caffeine! So many people say they cannot give up caffeine, but coffee is like pouring hot inflammation directly into your body. Caffeine causes acid reflex, bloating, digestive issues, and curbs your natural appetite, throwing off your digestive tract. There are some studies that state coffee helps with digestion, but remember coffee is often used as a laxative. We are trying to keep food in the body. I also stay clear of all carbonation…. Even when I am flaring. For me, it only amplifies the issue.

 Raw/Slightly Cooked Vegetables

I learned this lesson the hard way this past week. My in-laws have a huge garden full of delicious and nutritious goodness. When the produce came pouring in, I started eating it at every meal. I was in heaven until my stomach threw me into a flare/stomach problem/whatever you want to call it. In short, it was no fun. Cut back on my raw vegetables, followed some directions by my doctor, and I am back on track. Raw vegetables are extremely hard for the body to digest. Your body has to work harder to break them down, steal the nutrients, and move them through the digestive tract. Cooking the vegetables until they are soft and mushy makes consumption easier. I plan on still eating raw vegetables in moderation, but I am also adding more cooked vegetables. I highly suggest cooking them down in organic chicken broth. It adds in nutrients but mostly it is just delicious.