If you are reading this book, I’m guessing we have a lot in common. I love life and all it brings, but I especially love the food. I love making it and sharing it. I love the joy it brings to people. Food didn’t always bring me joy, though. For too many years, I struggled with my undiagnosed chronic illness, celiac disease, and food became the enemy.
Living with chronic disease isn’t so different from regular life, but it is much more difficult. Every bite you take, every hour of sleep missed, every stressful toxic environment you’re in, every pill you take or supplement you choose—all can have a dramatic effect on your long- and short-term health and happiness. This is true for everyone, but it is amplified for those with a chronic illness.
Who wants to live that way, having to be so careful all the time? For me it was not an option, and that has made all the difference. I’m not saying that I don’t have hard days, because I do; but I have found foods, rituals, eliminations, and a new way to look at my situation. Since my last book, I have been asked by so many who read it, “Now what? How do I LIVE?” Well, I’ve been stockpiling these recipes and life tips to share with you ever since the first person asked me that question, and I promise I have some great tools for all who want to take back control of their health. In doing this, you must take a good look at not only your food, but all the inflammatory triggers in your life. If you don’t, a clean, healthy diet will be rendered useless. Yes, useless.
Okay, let’s get started. First, here are the top two major things in life that I’ve found kick that nasty inflammation into high gear for all of us: stress and toxins. Here’s what I do about them.
Stress is the number-one most potent way to inflame not just your body but also your heart, mind, and soul, and it is the one that gives me the most trouble. I will be honest. I am still trying to win this battle. I am a work-in-progress, as we all are. Life is hard and stress is a part of it. This is something I’ve had to come to terms with: Sometimes, things happen to you in your life that are not happy or pleasant. Sometimes, things happen that are downright brutal. When things like this happen to me—like a diagnosis of celiac disease, to name just one of many things that have happened to me—it can leave me in a hole. To get out of that hole, I’ve learned to look for the lesson and consider every experience, good or bad, as a learning opportunity for growth. For example, if I had never been diagnosed with celiac disease, I wouldn’t be writing this book, and I wouldn’t have as my life’s purpose helping people from around the world who struggle with health issues. That has meant more to me than pretty much anything else in my life (other than my pups).
But finding the lesson isn’t always easy in the moment. Here are some things I do to help me climb out of the hole and get through the immediate real-time stress:
• ACCEPTANCE. Life happens, and then you grow. You can waste a lot of energy wanting something not to be the way it is, but that won’t change anything. There are always things you can change (especially the way you think about something), but accepting reality instead of living in denial can make a huge difference in how much stress you feel about a certain situation. Take a diagnosis, for example (although this works for anything). You can wish you didn’t have a chronic health issue. You can be angry about it. You can try to blame someone or something. You can get depressed about it, or get anxiety about it, or just be generally pissed off that your life has taken a turn for the worse. You can lose hope and see no future for yourself. Or you can accept your situation, take a deep breath, and decide that this is now part of your reality, and that’s okay. Only then can you finally move forward with your life and start working on finding your new normal.
• SELF-CARE AND KINDNESS. It’s easy to be hard on yourself. So many of us do this. You say negative things to yourself. You deprive yourself. You make yourself suffer. None of that does any good. When you are having health issues, or emotional issues, or both, what you really need is self-care. You are hurting, and you don’t need to make it worse on yourself. Give yourself a break. Think positive things about yourself, and say positive things to yourself. It may seem difficult at first, but it’s a habit to be negative, and it’s a habit to be kind to yourself. The more you do it, the easier it gets.
• MEDITATION. Along this windy, curvy road called life, I can’t always see what’s around the next corner. When I get to it, I don’t always like what is there. To deal with the stress that comes with living life this way, I have found that meditation really helps. For years, people told me I should meditate, but I never thought it was for me. Then I hit a really crazy, hard time many years ago (this was before I was diagnosed), and I began searching everywhere for some peace. Finally, I decided to give meditation a try, and it became the single best thing I could do for myself. Meditation is self-care at its most powerful. In order to give both your body and mind a rest, you need to be able to find true silence, and that’s what meditation does. If you are like me, working even when you are sleeping, constantly busy in body and mind (making plans, writing recipes, singing songs, my mind always moving), meditation is the only time when I can really get silent and allow body and mind to just be.
So how do you do it? I suggest starting slow and following just one rule: Be kind to yourself. You don’t have be perfect or get it “right.” There is no “right.” Just sit quietly, close your eyes, and pay attention to your breath. Breathe in through your nose for five seconds, hold your breath for five seconds, and exhale for five seconds. While you do this, if thoughts come into your mind, gently say to yourself, “Now now.” Sometimes I like to repeat three words to myself, over and over, like a mantra: “Peace, love, light.” Eventually, I can feel my body and mind start to release.
You could also listen to guided meditations. Personally, I love doing this and there are hundreds of them out there. Deepak Chopra has some amazing meditations you can download that have helped me tremendously.
The more you do this, the easier it gets and the more you will crave it. Please try it. It is the single best thing you can do for your health, your happiness, and your life.
• GRATITUDE. When you are feeling stressed or low, you probably aren’t thinking about all the things that you are grateful for, but by the same token, if you think about all the things you are grateful for, it’s hard to feel stressed or low. There were days when my autoimmune disease had me on my knees, work was driving me crazy, and life just seemed tougher than it was the day before. During these times, I go down that hole again, and that’s when I start making the wrong food decisions and getting off track with my sleep. It’s a downward spiral, and when I realize I am doing it, that’s when I purposefully switch into gratitude mode.
Some people will tell you to keep a gratitude journal, but I’ve never been good at that. If that’s not you, do what I do and just stop what you are doing for a moment and consciously acknowledge one thing you are grateful for.
I remember one day when I was walking to work. I was exhausted, in a bad mood, inflamed, hormonal, and hungry. Yuck. Then I looked up and saw the clouds for the first time that day. It was 3 p.m., and I had not looked at the sky or even noticed the day at all. I had been too plugged in to my own nonsense. When I looked up, not only did I notice that the sky was a beautiful blue, but that there were little soft, fluffy clouds floating slowly by. In that moment, I was suddenly so grateful for those happy clouds. I focused all my attention on them. I was so grateful I noticed them. And just like that, my day changed. The power of gratitude really is incredible.
Another way I practice gratitude is by sitting with my furry friends. Pets make a huge impact on stress levels. My best friend in life was my golden retriever, Frankie, who has now passed away. When he was getting old, I would deliberately stop and sit with him and pet him and really feel his fur under my hand. I was so grateful for those moments, as I reminded myself that I wouldn’t always be able to do that. I was, and still am, so grateful for his love and friendship.
But you don’t need to have a pet to feel grateful. Any time you can feel it, do it. It will keep stress and therefore inflammation at bay, and increase those feel-good endorphins that make you happy and therefore healthy.
If you live with toxic chemicals in your home due to cleaning products like harmful soaps and deodorizers, if you live with toxic mold, or if you put toxic chemicals in your body through skin absorption directly into your system, you cannot fully conquer inflammation. Have you ever looked at what’s in your cleaning products? Have you considered what residue remains on your dishes and kitchen surfaces? What about your clothes and skin? What chemicals do you use to wash your clothes, or clean your bathtub?
It’s impossible to eliminate all chemical exposure, but you can definitely reduce it significantly in your home. There is no need to use toxic chemicals to clean anything in your home, not to mention take care of your skin and hair. There are many wonderful natural products out there that work just as well. Here are some ideas:
• MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANER: Combine 1 cup apple cider vinegar with 5 cups water and put it in a spray bottle. This is all you need to clean your counters, bathroom, and even your floors. I also use tea tree oil as a homemade cleaner, because it kills mold and makes things smell clean and fresh. Put five drops in a bottle with 2½ cups water and spray on anything you want to deodorize or de-mold.
• REPLACE YOUR PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS. What’s in your face cream, body lotion, deodorant, toothpaste, and makeup? Most likely, toxic chemicals. None of that is necessary. Look for natural, clean brands that won’t increase your toxic burden. I know it sounds simple, but I seriously use coconut oil for just about everything. I use it to take off my makeup, as a skin moisturizer, even to deep-clean my gums by taking a tablespoonful of coconut oil each morning, before I do anything else, and swishing it around in my mouth for ten minutes. This is called “pulling” and it cleans toxic bacteria out of the mouth. It also feels great, after you get over the gag factor. (It gets better fast, trust me.)
I also make sure my deodorant doesn’t contain any aluminum, which can be absorbed through the skin and can be dangerous for the body, especially for those with autoimmune issues.
I use Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, which is a natural brand. And, sorry if it’s TMI, but I don’t use tampons anymore. Believe it or not, I use pads because I think we must allow the body to do what it needs to do. Let it take in what it needs and let go of what it doesn’t without interference.
As far as beauty products and makeup, there are some gluten-free brands. One I like is Afterglow. However, do your homework here, as formulas constantly change and the market for natural beauty products is growing rapidly. There are many choices out there, so I recommend trying out different kinds to find what works for your skin and your personality.
• DETOXIFY YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE: Here are three recipes for beauty detoxifying that I use frequently: two bath soaks and a face mask.