Eat To Live

I mentioned back in December about being diagnosed with Scleritis, an inflammatory  eye decease.  After 2 months on steroids, it seemed to clear up the issue. But what a price to pay! Fine hairs grew on my face, I developed acne break-outs and I gained 18 pounds astonishingly fast! There had to be a better way.

As this condition has no cure, only control, I began to seek answers. My dear friend Marianne (a stage 4 lung-cancer fighter) was also on daily prednisone and hated it. She turned my attention to the book “Eat to Live” nutritarianism by Dr. Fuhrman. With his guidance and recipes, we became Vegans on steroids (literally) for 30 days.

His program is geared toward building the immune system, especially for cancer patients. Even though I have tested negative for all autoimmune illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, MS and lupus something seems very off with my immune system. This detox recommends taking away all stress-ers ( gluten, salt, sugar and hormones from dairy, meat) so my body can heal itself. 

We are boosting our immune systems with fruits and vegetables by the ton. Everyday we eat a BIG salad (1lb of raw veggies) and drink a green-goodness shake of kale & fruit. Dinner is cooked veggies, some whole-grains and more raw fruit. Now at day 15, we are both feeling very healthy, never hungry and more resolved than ever to get off these steroids. Two myths I’ve busted for myself: veggies really can fill me up and give me enough energy. And I’m not as addicted to coffee or chocolate as I thought I was. (I drink far less and black. I do eat unsweetened chocolate with stevia, homemixed.)

Slowly I’m reducing my dosage of prednisone from 40mg, by 5mg a week. This is really helping the waistline (12 lbs so far!). It will be interesting to see how long total recovery takes and if my eyesight will hold up. I’ll keep you posted on these new habits just incase it works, so you can try it too. 

ForGlorySake! -AnnaIMG_3360IMG_3361

PS. The only craving I’ve really had is for cheese! Vegan cheese is awful…

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