The milky way - Day 5 My Whole 30

It's only day 5 but there are already some intriguing developments in my experimental foray into strict paleo territory! At first I had wicked sugar cravings. No surprises really, I coped by eating my body weight in bananas. After a few days the sweet cravings wore off, to be replaced by a different and unexpected craving; dairy.

I mentioned in the last post that I believe in raw dairy and yoghurt as beneficial components in the diet, provided your ancestors were known to consume it. My ancestors certainly did consume it, so I have been blithely consuming raw milk, raw butter, raw cream and yoghurt, as well as Gouda cheese (for its elusive vitamin K2 content) to my hearts content. My breakfasts were often smoothies with raw milk, yoghurt, egg yolk, berries and banana. My snacks were often cheese, my late evening treat was yoghurt laced with honey, vanilla, banana and nuts. In between I'd have glasses of raw milk, straight up. These are the things I'm missing now.

However my sinuses are not missing these things, nor I assume, are my intestines. They're dancing for joy at a five day reprieve. I've felt my sinuses clearing (gross but true!) and my head feels lighter without all that gunk up in there, and I'm breathing more easily, and probably more efficiently. That alone can amount to big health benefits. (For more info on breathing better, look up buteyko method)

And now that I think about it, its not the first time I've craved dairy. When I was pregnant with my boy my yoghurt cravings were so strong I took to carrying disposable spoons in my handbag. I'd walk around the streets of Melbourne with 250g tubs of Jalna natural, easily finishing one a day. We even bought a yoghurt maker, thinking it might reduce the cost of my humerous addiction. 

A pregnancy craving can be laughed off, or rationalised as my body asking for beneficial bacteria, but now I see this is a little more serious. I probably have an intolerance to dairy. I'm devastated. Boohoo. 

Perhaps one day, when my intestines are in good health, with balanced flora, I'll be able to consume small amounts of raw dairy. Until then, I'm off the juice.

My whole 30 post series

Owing to some very unhealthy (albeit delicious) personal food habits in the wake of Easter, I decided it was time I cleansed. The last cleanse I did was in college, way too long ago. That was a four day juice fast, retreat style. Many happy memories of Ballingup bush surrounds, friends and vegetables! Much as I'd love to relive that time, it's just not practical for a breastfeeding mother of two to fast for any length of time, much less head to a quiet bush retreat for the duration. It has to be a different sort of cleanse for me!

I chose the whole 30 cleanse for a couple of reasons. Foremost, it can be done at home, and requires no special effort or expense. Big bonus. It's based on whole foods, JERF, just eat real food, for a month. This promises to reset my digestion and eliminate cravings. Great, much needed! But I also chose it for a more, shall we say, 'investigative' reason.

With all the hoopla around the paleo diet of late, many people, including high profile personalities, have put their two cents into the debate 'for what it's worth'. I happened to flick past that unfortunate tv show 'the circle' recently to hear a bleach blonde drag queen-like woman in her 40s declare that in her opinion cutting out entire food groups wasn't healthy. I wasn't aware she held any qualifications to that end...

But why not put it to the test? There are thousands of testimonials online by people whose lives have been changed for the better to various degrees by paleo and similar diets. While it doesnt suriprise me that eliminating processed food does anyone a world of good, I'd like to see what it can do for me. I'm a perfect candidate at present as my health is wanting. My senses of smell and taste are diminished, a sign of zinc deficiency. I have chronic plantar fasciitis (sore feet) and lower back pain, signs of low magnesium. I'm increasingly tired, which could be my baby's night waking, or anaemia, or both...my baby's night waking is itself possibly due to my milk being high in sugar and low in essential nutrients, I strongly suspect this to be the case as she had been sleeping through prior to my diet completely falling off the proverbial wagon. At present, my diet is like many western diets, inclusive of all types of food, real or otherwise. So I'm going to cut a few out and report the changes! 

The whole 30 diet essentially eliminates sugar, grains, dairy and legumes. While grains have been on my hit list for ages, legumes and dairy are a different story. I still think legumes should be ok provided they are bought dried and soaked til sprouted, but for the sake of science I'll forego the pleasures until the end of the cleanse, then reintroduce them. Its been a long time since I've consumed pasteurised milk, and I do feel that raw milk is a wonderful thing, but in the spirit of cleansing and investigating, I'll forego that too. Sugar is something I regularly eliminate...long story!

In addition to the whole 30 protocols, I'm going to drink warm lemon water before meals, and take a gut cleansing herbal formula, as well as my usual handful of probiotics every evening. 

I'm certain that my health will be amazing by the end of the month. I'm sure my zinc, magnesium and iron levels will return to normal, I'll lose some weight, have heaps of energy, feel light and happy and calm. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope to inspire others to try it too. 

And finally, for the sake of accountability, Im posting a selfie, before and after style!

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to an improvement in that dial! (to say nothing of everything south thereof).