Health Scare and New Focus

Several months ago I began to suffer from extreme afternoon fatigue, yet unable to sleep at night. I noticed that I was experiencing "brain fog" a lot, also. Next came extreme pain in my feet, then my hands and finally my legs... waking me up in the night like "Charlie Horses." What could these "symptoms" mean - if anything?

These symptoms progressed to the point that I finally went into my homeopathic doctor last month. She immediately requested blood tests. Unfortunately these tests came back indicating that my liver was actually attacking itself! My AST and ALT levels were at 71 and 92. Normal levels are 40. The doctor suspected Autoimmune Hepatitis and said I'd need a liver biopsy to determine "what to do next." "Yikes!" I thought, "what on earth could cause this?"

As it turns out, almost 5 years ago when my husband and I were in Maui I brought back some kind of virus that attacked my immune system and kept me sick for 14 months! After being healed from that I guess I pretty much took my health for granted.

Yes, I eat right and generally limit most things known to be "unhealthy"... alcohol, caffeine, and fatty foods. I cook almost everything from scratch and actually love salads and foods known to be "good for you." So what could have happened?

We're not 100% sure but the doctor seems to think that sushi (1st and only time I've ever eaten it!) could have caused my autoimmune system to mis-function. Most likely something I ate in Maui caused the first serious illness. We may never know what caused my immune system to ever-react, either time. That's the bad news.

The good news is this: I've almost completely eliminated alcohol, caffeine and fatty foods from my diet. *I have never been a big drinker but it had become a habit to have a glass of red wine at night to "relax." Now I relax with green tea! I'm also drinking green tea instead of coffee durint the day. I have allowed myself 1 8 oz. cup of coffee a few times but NO MORE 3 or 4 12 oz. cups a day! And, I'm cooking with olive oil more and lard-type oils less. I grew up using bacon grease for "everything" so that's a real healthy switch. I've never been overweight or made a habit of stepping on the scale but I've actually noticed (in less than a month) that I have an overall healthier look and feel. *A few more contributing factors below:


I'm making my own kefir* and muesli** and doing this wonderful 1-minute brain boosting yoga*** every morning. I feel WONDERFUL! And - my blood tests, after less than one month: my AST and ALT levels were down to 45 and 75! NO need to have a biopsy and my liver is on the mend!

*Kefir - a very healthy, very yummy fermented milk drink. This tastes like liquid yoghurt. (also fermented) Don't let the word fermented scare you away from trying something really good for you. I bought a starter packet at Vitamin Cottage and saved back about 1/2 cup from the 1st quart to use as my own "starter" and now I make a new batch about every other day. I add fresh or frozen fruits and ground flax and nuts for a healthy start to the day. Today I used my hand blender to blend up one nectarine, one banana and about a tablespoon of ground nuts with 1 1/2 cups kefir. I thought it was wonderful and I was full of energy for hours!

**Muesli - a very healthy, very yummy cereal. I've come up with this recipe:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice bran
2 cups triticale flakes (or substitute wheat, rice or bran flakes)
3/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp slivered almonds
3/4 cup shredded or flaked coconut
2 tbsp honey
150 ml fresh orange juice
1/2 cup apricots, chopped finely
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried fruit, chopped finely (apples, pears, craisins, mangos, bananas, prunes, etc.)

• Combine all dry ingredients (except dried fruit).
• Blend honey and juice (warm gently in microwave), pour over dry ingredients, mix well.
• Place mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, bake at 150°C for 25-30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Cool.
• Combine dried fruit with toasted ingredients.
• Store in an airtight container.

***Brain Boosting Yoga: here's the link to start doing it yourself! http://ramakrishnans.com/SuperBrainYoga.aspx