Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Controlling CF with Nutrition (part 1)

Ive talked about diet and Cystic Fibrosis before, and one thing that sticks out in my mind is being slated about what i said. emails, and comments saying I dont know what im talking about.
The second thing was, i was told by another PWCF that their dietician told them that if they had a choice between an orange and a Mars Bar, to go with the Mars Bar.
I have talked about PWCF either being told, or doing it by their own accord that they eat for when they get sick and not eating to prevent themselves from getting sick.

I feel that us Westerners can learn a lot from the Indian and Chinese way of lifestyle. The Traditional Chinese Medicine was so helpful to me that i went and studied it for 3 years in college and am now fully qualified. They eat for function, and also the diet changes on each individuals strength and weaknesses.
For instance. CF is a damp heat condition which effects the spleen. The spleen creates the mucus and the lungs house it. I know that this wont make sense to people who dont know about TCM and 5 Elements.
So lets take the dampness. Irelands weather is damp. We boil or steam our veg. We eat a lot of dairy, in terms of milk, cheese, yoghurts. These all have damp properties and if our body is already a damp environment, then its a double edge sword.
Take a minute to look at your own tongue. Does it look swollen, have toothmarks on the side and have a white or pale complexion? This is how a dampness in the body will show up. If there is heat in the body, it will show up as a redness, and usually a red tip on the tongue.

Ok. So back to the diet.
When i was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia, my diet changed greatly. Let me talk a bit about hypoglycemia. What is it? It is when the body produces too much insulin, and the blood sugars dip below 4mmol. In my case, they dip below 4 every 90 minutes or less, and they will continue to dip and result in me having a seizure. I have had this for 18 months now and there hasnt been any change in it. It hasnt gotten worse or better. I know what triggers it. Stress, refined sugar, exercise, anxiety, a lack of fresh produce, creatine, and being out of a routine.
When I was diagnosed with CF, one of the most prevalent symptoms was not keeping food in, and not digesting it at all. With CF, we don't produce enough digestive enzymes so we need to take digestive enzyme tablets before eating. If we take too much, or not enough we will soon find out about it. Stomach cramps, tired, and going to the toilet a lot!

I started a nutrition page on Facebook as well as Twitter and Instagram.

Twitter @DFoodFight
Instagram - @Food.Fight

Food Fight Facebook



1 comment:

  1. Really interesting! I'm interested too to know the link with creatine? :)

    ReplyDelete