HEALTHY CHANGES FOR THE NEW YEAR

With the new year, I've made it a goal to do whatever I can to make myself and my family more healthy through gaining knowledge about food and the nutrients that are offered (and robbed) by the various choices in our super markets today.  This didn't just happen by accident.  I have had two life changing incidents take place with my family members that has shaped me, and motivated me to achieve optimal nutrition for my family going forward.  My goal is to not only do that, but to share as much information as possible with as large an audience as possible to have a positive impact on people's health in this country.

First, our family spent YEARS trying to figure out problems that we were seeing with our second son Kyle.  Kyle had severe reflux from the time he was born, and as he got older, he was able to begin using his words to inform us of his migraine like headaches and fatigue that he experienced on a regular basis.  We started with our pediatrician, and from there progressed to a pediatric gastroendocrinologist, two ENT doctors (one of which who took out his tonsils and adenoids), an immunologist, a nutritionist, two neurologists, and the list goes on.  At different times, we heard that he was possibly having strokes, had lymphoma, had epilepsy, had a condition known as CIPD, and other a variety of other ailments.

After years on the merry go round, we finally found a holistic doctor / chiropractor (Dr. Fred Ratio out of Downers Grove, IL) that found the root source of the problem.  It turns out that the ingredients in our everyday foods that we were unknowingly feeding our son was the culprit.  Kyle had developed a food sensitivity with the symptoms of celiac disease.  Now that we knew this, and the types of foods that affected him, we could properly prescribe a treatment plan going forward.  Kyle required a gluten free diet, as well as the complete removal of dairy and sugar.  While most kids would rebel at the thought of removing so many staple foods from their diet, Kyle was remarkably accepting of the concept.  I think he realized that this may finally make food stop hurting him.  Kyle was one of the many kids in our country who's body simply can't handle many of the ingredients that are allowed into our food supply.  With the knowledge we now had on what to avoid, we saw a remarkable improvement in his overall health and well being.

Our second family challenge was the diagnosis of my wife Debbie with breast cancer this October.  There is nothing to prepare you for that call that you receive confirming that it is cancer that you are facing.  We were devastated.  While finding on Oncologist and Surgeon that you are comfortable with and trust was priority number one, I also wanted to do as much research as I could into the possible causes, and what we can do to help avoid a relapse in the future.  While the chemo treatments that have been prescribed have shown major improvements in the shrinking of her tumors, I am convinced that the changes in diet have had a positive impact as well.  While diet wasn't the only cause for Deb contracting cancer, I have come to firmly believe that there are certain things in the normal American diet that significantly increase the chances of contracting a  myriad of types of cancer.  Removing these things can significantly reduce your chances of hearing that dreaded diagnosis from your doctor.

Going through these experiences prompted me to dig deep into the food choices that we have in this country and how they can impact our health.  We are considered to have a high standard of living when compared with the other industrialized nations on the planet, yet we rank dead last at 17th out of 17 when it comes to our overall health.  Why is that?  Well, that is the purpose of my blog.  To share information that I come across to help my readers with taking steps to make healthier choices in their diets.

Since making some simple changes, I have much more energy, have maintained my health, and have drop some unwanted lbs!  I am implementing simple steps that should prolong my family member's lives and keep us out of the doctor's offices as much as possible going forward.  If sharing that knowledge can help people live healthier lives the natural way, and avoid some of the illnesses, allergies, and diseases that we face, then I'll be achieving my goal.

In the future, I'll be sharing things that I have learned to avoid, the reasons for doing so, and what I have incorporated into my diet to improve mine and my family's health and wellness.  I am looking forward to help as many as I can to live healthy, and look forward to sharing with you on a regular basis!