I always loved sweet things: cookies, chocolates, cake; you name it, I ate it. I remember going through the cookie jars and sweet tins when I was a child and loving every stolen piece of candy, liquorice or sweet crisps. If I have to own up to an addiction, then sugar would have been it. I am from Amsterdam, city of the free cannabis, but that never had any appeal for me. I drank alcohol, but only socially, and I even smoked cigarettes in my younger years. But I was never addicted to any of that: I quit smoking when I had my first baby and alcohol consumption also became less. But eating sweet things continued and I remember that after having my first child, I became a bit depressed and thinking it was post natal depression, I visited a homeopathic doctor who then put me on a strict healthy diet, avoiding dairy, gluten and sweets. He told me that the depression I was experiencing, was caused by an unhealthy digestive system due to eating the wrong things. At the time it was already a sign of a fungus or parasites that had invaded my gut and was causing havoc. I did what he told me and after a few weeks, with also lots of exercise, I began to feel much better. I lost weight and I felt strong again.
Allergies
But bad habits do not go away and before I knew it, I was back to eating sweet things again. It seemed to fill a hole that I felt in the stomach area. I would feel knots of fear whenever I felt uncomfortable or was confronted with a challenging situation or person. Now the stomach area is related to the third chakra, also known as the Solar Plexus, representing the core self. Self empowerment, self worth and self confidence are all related to this area. Funny enough, I always seem to be advising and helping other people in finding their own true authentic selves. I guess it is my big challenge in life, I can see that now. I also suffered from allergies a lot, which became even worse in the winter time, often resulting in a severe flu. I was (still am) allergic to dogs, cats, horses, dust and I had hay fever in the spring time. I would be coughing, sneezing and if it was really bad I would have trouble breathing, sometimes resulting in bronchitis and twice in pneumonia. Over the years I tried many things to get over the allergies, but nothing ever worked.
Sinus Infection
The last two years I have been suffering from a chronic sinus infection and it seems to all right when it is summer, but when it turns colder it starts again. In the beginning I went to the doctor and asked for a sinus scan, which I got, but they could not find anything to my surprise. Then I started doing some research on the internet and found a connection between acid reflux and sinus infection, which felt that I was on the right track. When I told my doctor, he just gave me a document about acid reflux and what to do about it and for him, that was that. End of treatment…Of course that was not completely it, but I was getting there. Now I skipped most of the last winter, because I went travelling to Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed the lovely weather. No allergies, no sinus problems, just bliss. But when I came back in the cold weather which was still going on in the UK, the sinus problems returned. It was like having a continuously bad cold. It causes fatigue, loss of energy and general misery. One night, after having a luscious meal and some beer in the pub, I really felt bad and that is when it hit me: the food and drink was making it worse. I went on internet again and found a connection with sugars and sinus problems due to a fungus – also known as candida. I was not entirely sure, but I went off sugars and alcohol for weeks and I did seem to feel better and so by the time the summer arrived, all was well again.
Autumn arrives
I enjoyed the summer and started eating sugars again, drinking alcohol and had no major problems. Later on I learned that candida does not like sun light. But then the weather changed, autumn arrived and it became colder and darker. Unfortunately my sinus problems started again and I felt like I was having a chronic head cold. It became so severe, that I had take off from work and I could hardly function. I knew I had to do something, otherwise I would never make it through the winter. I stopped eating sugars, left the alcohol alone and did not touch dairy. I visited a Naturopath and Kinesiologist who tested me on foods and drinks and other things. He confirmed that there was a fungus in my body causing all this distress and he also suggested not to eat gluten. So, this is quite a challenge for anybody: no gluten, no wheat, no dairy, no sugars, no alcohol…how does one do this. Luckily I can still drink coffee, that is something. I was determined to become healthy again and refused to suffer anymore, so I focused on getting the right foods, mainly vegetables and some meat or fish. For almost 4 weeks I have kept to this and I can now proudly say that I am so much better, and feeling almost a 100% well again. I am also taking supplements, plenty of Vitamin C, pro-botics and other vitamins. I do yoga, take walks outside and meditate. This fungus thing is very stubborn and so I know I need to keep this going for at least 10 weeks or more. It is so worth it, just feeling good again and clear in the head, what a great feeling.
Sugars are in almost everything, especially the processed foods. Even when I try something gluten free, like bread, it has sugars in it. So cooking with organic and fresh products is the best I can do and luckily I like this a lot. I am starting to not miss the sweet anymore, I actually am finding it almost disgusting as my taste buds are changing. There are ways to have something sweet – more natural and there are some wonderful recipes on internet. I know now that sugars are the cause of many health problems and i hope that we will start to ban them in our foods. It just pains me to see children eating all that junk filled with sugars, for me it is poison and it should be outlawed.
Back to natural eating I say….