Month: September 2023

This week, I’ve decided to swap over to only juice. For the past several days, I’ve only been consuming one meal daily. There have been a few days where it was only juices. My body seems to tell me this is the right thing to do, and I enjoy juice fasts. I do believe that I’ll end the fast with a water fast. For the past several days, cabbage juice has been the primary juice I’ve consumed daily. Guess what? That juice has helped with the constipation that I was experiencing, and I’ve been having bowel movements (unassisted) in the morning. How awesome is that?

What’s in the cabbage juice?

1. Cabbage
2. Celery
3. Carrots
4. Ginger
5. Turmeric
6. Lemon
7. Lime

 

 

I’m typically awakened in the early morning for the past few years by intense itching. Well, guess what? I did not experience that at all. How awesome is that? Yes, it’s something straightforward; however, if early morning wakeups are part of your daily life, you truly appreciate when this does not happen. I’m still mainly juicing and adding one daily meal to my daily routine. I most likely will swap over to 100% juice at some point.

Today, I had my watermelon juice combo and drank the remaining cabbage juices, 16 ounces. Well, all the liquids I consume are in 16-ounce glass bottles. I didn’t juice today; there was no need since I made plenty of juices yesterday. However, we went to the store today, and I purchased grapefruit, celery, and carrots. I’ll be juicing tomorrow.

My one meal of the day was a lentil soup I made yesterday and red and sweet potato chips.

I chopped the potatoes into thin slices, patted them dry, and placed them in a large stainless steel bowl. I then added spices: garlic powder, cumin, Italian seasoning, and Redmond Salt. I mixed the spices well and ensured all the chips were coated. I then spread the chips on a tray placed in a preheated 425F oven and baked for 25 minutes. Results? The chips were crisp and delicious, and what’s better, they were not fried!

Years ago, when I’d swapped to juicing or mainly juicing for some time, I discovered that for me (at least), watermelon juice was a delicious and gentle way to break up some unpleasant symptoms that I might have had during juice fasts.

Juicing: I’m Drinking Most of My Meals

I’ve been mainly juicing for the past week, and some days have been challenging. I imagine the added annoyances are tied to my autoimmune disease and Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW). I’ve noticed that the itching has intensified in the early morning hours, typically between 1:00 and 3:00. However, unlike in the past, the itching usually dissipates within 30 minutes upon awakening, which is much better than it used to be when the pain was bone deep, in how it felt, and would last for hours.

Easing the autoimmune itch by choosing produce that reduces inflammation

A few of my favorite juices to help alleviate itching associated with some autoimmune diseases are cabbage, celery, and watermelon. Celery contains apigenin, which is an anti-inflammatory, which is just what the body can use to help heal from autoimmune diseases.

Watermelon is high in antioxidants, potassium, and amino acids. It makes a fabulous post-workout drink, and I would drink occasionally after my intense gym workouts. Since my garden apothecary is depleted of watermelon, I’ve been purchasing seeded watermelons from the store, juicing, and drinking the juice throughout my day. We consumed the last juice yesterday, so we must replenish our watermelon supply.

Health Benefits of Watermelon

1. Research states that watermelon has more lycopene than any other fresh produce. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant. Consuming it has been linked to heart disease, eye disorders, and cancer.
2. High in Antioxidants
3. Excellent source of vitamin C
4. Excellent source of vitamin A
5. 92% of watermelon is water. It’s an excellent source of hydration.

This afternoon, I added watermelon, celery, ginger, turmeric, lemon, and lime to my Nama J2 juicer. I made 256 ounces of juice, enough to last my daughter and me for a few days. My daughter loves the juices I prepare and drinks most of them, except spicy ones. The watermelon was purchased earlier today; I bought two medium-sized watermelons.

I also made a small juice batch this evening containing red cabbage, celery, carrot, ginger, turmeric, lemon, and lime. Cabbage juice can be an acquired taste; however, I’ve been juicing cabbage for several years, and it doesn’t bother me anymore. Not only is cabbage great for inflammation, but it’s also an excellent digestive aid, and I’ve read that it can help heal certain types of ulcers.

I typically drink my last liquids at least two to three hours before I plan to go to bed. I hope to sleep through the night without any wakeups due to itching.

 

 

Medication prescribed for my Auto-Immune disease

I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease a few years ago. Getting to the point where I received that diagnosis took about three years. I was poked, prodded, and referred to this doctor, and specialist tests were completed the entire time I was prescribed medications to mask the symptoms. I was prescribed a few different pills, and I refused to take them since they only hid the issue upon reading about the prescribed drugs. They also came with side effects I did not want to deal with. However, I took some topical creams/ointments, desperate to find relief from the non-stop itching!

Prescribed medication made my flare-ups worse!

But, I soon stopped taking those also because although some initially provided relief, they seemed to intensify when I was experiencing flare-ups. I began to suspect that these prescribed treatments were making the flare-ups intensify. These flare-ups were extremely painful, and although I have a high pain threshold, it took me to levels of pain that I’d never experienced before. It took all my willpower to focus on the pain when it hit, ride those pain waves, and concentrate on getting through them while remaining civil towards others. It was rough, and I can remember thinking that the pain would stop if I did not exist anymore; since that was not an option, I continued to search for ways to get past that pain. It worked since no one knew that I was going through that much pain unless I told them. So not only did I look like nothing was wrong with me, a characteristic of auto-immune diseases, but I also made sure people weren’t aware of how it affected me.

After further investigation, I discovered that others referred to what I was experiencing as flare-ups, and the pain that I described as bone-deep or “deep-rooted” was also a description made by others with similar issues. Initially, I thought the cause of my suffering was environmental and set about adding air purifiers into the home. Cleaning products weren’t the issue since I already used natural products within the home. However, after investing in the air purifiers and still having reactions/flare-ups, I turned to what I was eating.

I was already eating healthy but eliminated additional produce that triggered flare-ups.

I’ve been following a whole foods lifestyle for 30+ years. I eat whole and minimally processed foods. I noticed that my flare-ups became worse, depending on what types of whole foods I ate, so even though they were healthy, some foods I later identified as high oxalate foods would trigger the itching. I’ve learned to avoid those foods. Admittedly, it was a bit frustrating since some of the foods that I love, like tomatoes and kale, would cause my flares; however, the intense pain associated with those flare-ups, I chose to avoid the foods after learning what caused the flare-ups, a bit easier.

As mentioned, I was eating whole foods, with very minimally processed foods. I preferred savory, so I did not consume a lot of sugar. However, I did notice a reaction when consuming sugar, so I eliminated that from my diet. I continued to get flare-ups and dialed that back even more by avoiding foods high in oxalates. In addition, I’ve been only juicing with produce recommended for those suffering from an auto-immune disease.

Flare-ups are still occurring; however, diminishing

The good news is that although I’m still getting the flare-ups, the intensity is not as strong. I experienced that this morning, around 1:30 a.m. The itching was so intense it awakened me, and I did what I usually do during that time: use the restroom and ride it out. That has become my new norm in dealing with flare-ups related to my auto-immune disease and topical steroid withdrawal.

I’m thrilled that modifying what I eat even more is helping. The only other thing I’m doing differently is actively juicing. Since juicing is powerful, since you’re expressing the produce essences and consuming them with very little fiber, I see first-hand results and relief from some of the debilitating symptoms associated with auto-immune/topical steroid withdrawal flare-ups.

 

 

I’ve been juicing for over 20 years; recently, I upgraded my “fast juicer” to the Nama J2 Cold pressed juicer. I made the switch from the Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL Juicer. What I love about the Nama J2 juicer is that I can fill the hopper with a lot of produce and walk away if I want. I sometimes do; however, I usually don’t. But… the juicer now means I’m not constantly feeding every piece into the hopper. I also have the Tribest Greenstar GS-P502-B Pro Jumbo Slow Masticating Juicer, which I’ll still use for my greens and herbs, but I’ll use the Nama J2 for everything else.