|
Welcome to Butterfly News November issue. We currently have 957,
and hopefully by the next issue will have reached 1000!
If you know anyone who would like to receive this free newsletter,
send them along to www.uklupus.co.uk.
New forums have been added to our message boards, so why not pop
in and say hello! The boards provide practical and emotional support
to anyone with lupus, who thinks they may have lupus, or friends
and families of those affected.
Thanks again goes to Shar Phoenix for this month's
article.
Surviving the
Season in Style
"Tis the season to be wheezin'" so, once again, many
of us living with autoimmune illness are wondering whether to get
a flu shot or not. Many doctors and researchers in the field of
autoimmunity agree that influenza injections, which are designed
to heighten the immune reaction, may be problematic for some of
us. Some studies demonstrate that such vaccines may so stimulate
the immune system as to trigger stronger disease reaction.
New variations of influenza strains are constantly
mutating or springing up and there's no way to vaccinate against
them all. So, the flu shots we get may not work on the strain of
flu we come down with. We may also be hit more than once by different
influenza strains. This is one of the many aspects of our health
that will benefit us most if we study the research, talk with our
doctors and make a decision suited to our own needs.
Along with Lupus, many of us have one or a few of
it's kissin' cuzzin syndromes such as Raynauds, Chronic Fatigue
and/or Fibromyalgia. To learn more about the benefits and risks
of flu shots so that you may make an individual and informed opinion
for yourself, please visit About.com's Experts at http://chronicfatigue.about.com/library/weekly/aa101399.htm
and try the links at the article's end for more information. You
can also visit http://www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-723.html for the
rundown on the flu treatment medicine, Relenza.
The best way we can reduce our risk of contracting
influenza is to slow our pace during flu season, protecting ourselves
with extra rest periods and careful nutrition. We need to avoid
those folks with colds, viruses or who might be carriers, although
that can be tricky for those with children or who work outside the
home. If, at the first sign of increased irritability, achiness,
tiredness or brainfog confusion, we can start resting even more
and putting up road blocks to stress, we'll be much better off.
Just saying, "sorry, I can't right now", can be a great way to start
setting boundaries. We Lupies can be terrific warriors on behalf
of others but a little self assertion can be mighty good medicine
for us too.
To investigate any medications and find some good
questions to ask our doctors and nurses, try http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/default.htm
Vitamin B-12 and other B vitamins used in CFS and FM is documented
at http://chronicfatigue.about.com/library/weekly/aa031500a.htm
with more at http://www.wholehealthmd.com/news/viewarticle/0,1513,1045,00.html
For more on the use of specific B vitamins for Diabetes, MS, depression,
panic attacks and more, please study the Whole Health M.D. webpage
at http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/0,1525,962,00.ht
ml
Soy may help us weather the winter, with one serving
of soy based foods daily generally recommended as the Lupie maximum,
to reduce the risk of immune overstimulation. By replenishing our
healthy liquids, starting with an 8 oz. glass of water on waking,
with several more during the day and until bedtime, our systems
will function more smoothly. The juice of one fresh lemon in a glass
of hot water, drunk before bedtime, at least 2 or 3 times a week
will help to cleanse our internal plumbing systems and to detoxify.
Autoimmune illness also makes us prone to food allergies and sensitivities.
To read of those most common in autoimmune illness, visit http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4225/allergy.html
where you'll also find information on clinical testing. To learn
about the possible link between decaffeinated coffee and the onset
or stimulation of arthritis, read the entire San Francisco Chronicle
article published online at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
f=/chronicle/archive/2001/11/18/LV163124.DTL
We can further bolster our health with plenty of fresh
juices and those foods that are generally proven to be best for
us, as described in the last Butterfly News issue. If you don't
have the last BN, it's available online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/butterflynews2
with previous issues kept at http://www.uklupus.co.uk/bnews.html
in the archive. With a little bit of kitchen alchemy, we can create
our own best diets. Chris, a longtime Lupie, advocate at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/livingwithlupus
and creative spirit, has taken the research presented in BN articles
to imaginatively healthy lengths. With an array of fruits and vegetables,
her tender taste buds and a wild imagination, Chris has created
zesty meals and juices that she swears have reduced several of her
symptoms while increasing her energy levels.
Chris says, "My cholesterol count went from 220 to
down around 130 when I stopped eating meat. I am not a vegie person
and my hubby thinks that gravy is a food group by itself. We are
doing healthy, wonderful stuff now and though it is a challenge,
it actually comes out really tasty. In my cupboard are only bagged
noodles and brown rice. All else is fresh or frozen except for the
nuts. I combined four recipes to make a blood regenerator, a tonic
for my lungs and two toxin cleaners. I know that something is working."
Be sure to select fresh, quality fruits and vegetables
to start with. Wash them well, as noted in the last BN issue and
peel any that have been sprayed or waxed, washing and drying your
juicer thoroughly after each use. Here are some of Chris's favorite
home juiced beverages, for your pleasurable experimentation.
Breakfast
1. Handful parsley
4-6 carrots, greens removed
½ apple, seeded
2. ¼ inch slice of ginger root
4-5 carrots, greens removed
½ apple, seeded
3. 1 pink grapefruit, peeled (leave white pithy part)
1 Red Delicious apple, seeded
4. 2 firm peaches, pitted
½ lime
1 ripe banana
1 Tbs. brewer's yeast
Juice peaches and lime. Place juice, banana and yeast in blender
or food processor. Blend until smooth.
Lunch
1. Handful dandelion greens
3 pineapple rings, with skin
3 radishes
2. Handful parsley
Handful spinach
4-5 carrots, greens removed
2 stalks celery
3. 2 sprigs parsley
Small handful wheatgrass
4-6 carrots, greens removed
2 stalks celery
1 apple, seeded
½ beet
Chris's Tummy Tingler
Handful parsley
Handful of spinach
Handful of watercress
¼ inch of ginger root
1 tomato
4-6 carrots
2 apples, seeded
2 Tbs of Aloe Vera
1 beet
1 potato, peeled
¼ cantaloupe or 5-6 chunks of pineapple
Miscellaneous
1. 1 large kale leaf
2-3 green apples, seeded
Lime twist for garnish
2. ¼ inch slice ginger root
1 beet
½ apple, seeded
4 carrots, greens removed
3. Handful of spinach
4 lettuce leaves
4 sprigs parsley
¼ turnip
4. Small handful parsley
4 sprigs watercress
¼ potato, peeled
6 carrots, greens removed
Green Drink
"Make one cup of green juice from any green vegetable.
Suggested vegies include beet tops, spinach, parsley, zucchini,
kale, cucumbers, green leafy lettuce, dandelion leaves, collard
greens and wheatgrass. Add to your Green Drink mixture, an equal
part of a mild tasting juice like carrot, apple, tomato or pineapple.
This drink has been traditionally used as an aid for digestion.
It is high chlorophyll, which is said to help detoxify the body
and cleanse the blood."
Chris drinks two glasses of Green Drink each day and
warns us, "If you are just starting out and want to really try the
"green" thing, start with the health food store and try the "green
drinks". You can get them dry and you add water or you can buy them
in containers like orange juice and apple juice. That is how I experiment.
I buy a juice and if I like it, I make my own at home. I look at
the ingredients and juice until it tastes like I want it. It's like
figuring out the "secret sauce" on fast food hamburgers.
I will caution you at first. If you haven't been eating
the "recommended" daily allowances of vegetables, you may find that
your stools are looser and pass through you more quickly. I haven't
had even one problem with diarrhea but you will find that you will
have more than one bowel movement a day. Also, when drinking these
"concoctions" you have to take into consideration that they are
thick. Don't drink too fast; learn to savor and enjoy them."
Those of you who've read the last issue of Butterfly
news will notice that Chris juices and seems to thrive on foods,
such as potatos and tomatos, that aren't generally recommended for
those of us with challenged autoimmunity. Since it just so happens
that all of us come to our illness and experiences as individuals,
we're more likely to thrive like Chris if we too will curiously
yet carefully experiment with food. If we can be flexible and imaginative,
we may greatly increase our options and learn to thrive, like Chris,
in spite of our illnesses.
Some of us are fasting now, during the month of Ramadan,
others of us have "visions of sugarplums' dancing in our heads.
No successful nutrition plan can be rigid; we all are likely to
indulge our sweet tooths now and then. A life with no pleasures
wouldn't be very apt to inspire us to strive for more. Naturally,
a sense of moderation and the spirit for adaptation are very important.
For instance, even during Ramadan, those who are nursing infants,
are pregnant or seriously ill are not required to fast.
As we learn what works best for each of us and we
add to our options, we create lives uniquely designed to meet our
particular needs while allowing us to lead a rich and satisfying
life.
Whatever your faith or the holiday you may celebrate
this month, we here at the Butterfly News wish each of you an abundance
of peace, good health and joy in your daily lives. Each of you is
the inspiration for every issue of this newsletter and the motivation
for all our efforts. Your posts and emails guide this work and keep
it pertinent to our daily lives. Whatever else this season brings,
we are blessed in you. May you be blessed in all your endeavors!
Written and copyrighted by Shar Phoenix
[email protected]
http://hometown.aol.com/pubpanda/index.html
http://www.everydaywarriors.com/
Butterfly News
© 2001 Joanne Forshaw Must not be reprinted in any way without prior
permission from the author. Any queries or suggestions - [email protected]
|
Message
Boards
