In the past few weeks, maybe a month, my husband and I have been very consistant about getting out for walks, turning those walks into walk/runs, and trying very, very hard to eat at home and to eat well. We're still working on the eating. Mostly this is for losing weight and getting back the energy that I seem to have lost. (He almost never seems tired and has a million things he's working on at once!)
Also within that timeframe, possibly longer, I have had serious problems with digestion. I will not bore you with symptoms or provide TMI, but I will say it has been a challenge. So last week I finally went to the doctor. Doctors are a regular part of my life... I think the dedication for my wing at Mayo is next summer... ha! But I still hate going. Especially for something new. Nine times out of ten I'm told that the tests look good (yeah, I look GREAT on paper!), maybe I should just eat more fiber... I swear my leg could be broken, they wouldn't realize it, and they'd attribute it to low fiber intake. Enough complaining -- it is what it is. I went and we tested the thyroid, blood sugar, iron, hemoglobin, and some that I don't even remember. All came back well within the normal range. Now I'm just waiting for the results on the parasite tests, but realistically, it probably isn't that.
I started thinking earlier this week that maybe, just maybe, I should think about what my acupuncturist has been saying to me for the last year. Spleen. In Traditional Chinese Medicine "Spleen" is with a capital "S" because it's not the organ, it's the Spleen Qi (chee) which is a system and it is affected by physical and emotional factors. The main function of the Spleen is (drum roll please) DIGESTION. (Yeah, I know -- I ask myself the same question. Why do I wait so long to LISTEN??) So how do I help to fix this? I've found some chinese patents (pills) that I'm going to try for Spleen support, but a lot is how and what I choose to eat.
NO: raw foods, cold drinks or drinks with ice, and suprisingly, no spirulina because they are all considered "cold" foods. Dairy, grains with gluten, sugar and fat (obviously I can't get rid of EVERYTHING, but I can limit) because these are considered "damp" foods. Soy is even considered bad and I should reduce the amount of that I take in.
YES: cooked veggies, ginger tea, soups/stews, and warming spices (ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, touch of cayenne). Not too spicy, though, which is fine with me. I like to taste my food.
Lucky for me we were already planning to make Carribean Carrot Soup tonite. Yummy!
I'm sure I'll need to set up some acupuncture appointments soon, but I'd like to try some of this on my own.
Wish me luck!
