Hi friends – this post is just a little challenge. You do not have to reply – or follow-up in any way.
I just wanted to write to you and ask some of you to consider “not” drinking this holiday season.
A few of you might want to consider fasting from alcohol for Christmas and New Year’s – and see how it makes you feel.
Are you up for the challenge?
Some of you reading might think this is a crazy idea – you might hold fast that the holiday parties are your chance to unwind and indulge. I say – go for it.
Some of you are feeling a little defensive and you might think I am judging your libations – missing out on the culture of good wine and craft beers – or forgetting that a good meal is complimented by such beverages. And while I agree- I also think you can easily do without and then it might even help you appreciate it more when you enjoy them again.
It is also just really good discipline to “fast” from things. I know we associate the fasting with religion and faith matters, but fasting needs to be more of a regular practice because it is so good for humans. It can help us “see” things clearer and it is just good for our psyche. I also think it can break strongholds, but that is for another time….
Some of you might be “living sober” and have been going strong for months or years without putting alcohol in your body – and you might even have other reasons why you think folks should fast from drinking alcohol this holiday.
Well here are my reasons for this post.
~ I was just watching a the show about the history of the sitcom Mork and Mindy. Actually, I watched it in segments – three different times of riding the recumbent bike – and when I finished it, I recalled the bio I saw about Robin Williams earlier this year and I was saddened by the way Robin Williams partied. I know there is a time to party, but years of partying heavy-duty can have negative consequences. And while research is still not clear about the connection between years of alcohol abuse and dementia, we know there is a connection for some people.
~ Last Sunday, I ran into someone who was 60 days sober. I stayed to talk with this lady because I wanted to celebrate with her. Seriously, I had so much to go and do, but I stopped in my tracks to encourage and listen a bit. And I pray for her right now – that she will fortify her body and set herself up to break any addiction with strength. (Some people fall off the wagon because they go cold turkey and they do not take care of their physical body – when it needs fortification. Hannah Kroeger has a best-selling herbal formula that used to called “Stay Sober”- and is now called “Liver Care” – it has herbs that can help satisfy (and repair) the body – making cravings diminish.
I was also talking this week to a lady named Vicki. She is Shanna’s mother – who is Shanna? Shanna is a girl I met in 1995, when she was 15, and Shanna died a few months later in a drunk driving accident.
she died from being involved in a drunk driving accident
I also know so many people who turn to alcohol at this holiday time of year. To have fun, to escape, or just because it is a lifestyle habit. They work, pay bills, do exercise, and drink alcohol a few times a week and think nothing of it… maybe we should think about it a bit more….
Every Christmas, I also remember the stay at home mom – back in 1998 – who almost fell over while wrapping holiday presents – because she was SO buzzed from drinking too much wine as her spouse was away on another trip.
I think of the guy who is drinking instead of dealing with family issues.
I think of Doctor Carlson, from Hanover County, who was just sentenced for killing Meg Menzies, a runner, back in 2013. I guess the story is that the doctor drank a lot of alcohol and then went to bed. He got up and went to work, but still had so much alcohol in his system and ended up hitting this runner and killed her as she jogged. Such a tragedy.
I think of my special blog friend, the Spanish poet, Charly Priest, who is trying to stay sober so his body can heal (strength to you my friend, and May God continue to show you what your body needs hour by hour).
I think of anyone who is drinking instead of finding ways to improve life.
Nobody ever said, “I had marriage problems, some debt, and some pain – and then I started drinking more and everything got so much better.”
I think of the group of six people who were drinking all day along the beach – and when someone asked them if that was how they were spending their entire Saturday – they defensively shared that they earned that day off to do their drinking. Really….? In their mind it was an exalted pleasure for the fruit of their labor – to sit and get plowed for hours and hours. Good times…. so you could talk while mentally impaired – get a ride home – and wake up to a headache, dehydration, and a healing body. I am not saying all drinking is wrong – but it is the mindset of these people I am noting… as they did those shots of Jägermeister.
I think of anyone who is letting a love for craft beer – or using their enjoyment for a high-end wine – as a way to convince themselves that ongoing drinking is OK – because it is not. It takes a toll on the body – and less alcohol can be more – and for some folks, no alcohol is the way to go.
I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but come on now – let’s be real – poor alcohol habits are something many people wrestle with (and it can make you poor) – so we all need to learn more about this dangerous pleasure.
We live in a culture that conditions us to view alcohol consumption as sexy, celebratory, and powerful. We see commercials with fictitious people (the stud of the world’s most interesting man, or the sleek woman with a polished look) – they are depicted as wonderful as they have their alcohol- but this is not truth. Let’s show the world what people really look like when they drink and drink. Let’s show the skin quality – the eyes, the inner organs – and even the affect. Just sayin’
We are conditioned in the mind to celebrate with alcohol after a success- and to celebrate with the “best” alcohol items after huge successes – and while sometimes this can be great – other times it is overdone and it is wrong. Too much inclusion of alcohol for celebrating can lead to unhealthy living in a way that PULLS from wellness.
~~~~
It is GOOD DISCIPLINE FOR THE HUMAN BODY TO FAST – AND BECAUSE ALCOHOL IS SUCH AN ALTERING SUBSTANCE, – IT CAN BE A VERY NICE THING TO FAST FROM.
Fasting from alcohol gives your organs a break, can save money, and it can also enrich you as a person. When we stretch ourself by putting the flesh down it can lead to very good things. Maybe you don’t need to fast from alcohol – maybe sensual porn is your little secret and you can fast from that for a while. Or maybe you want to stop smoking cigarettes – well try fasting for a few days and see if that gets you moving in a new direction. Or maybe you just want to fast from TV, from music, or from reading – just for enrichment – sometimes it allows the mind to clear and helps one “see” with freshness.
If you are up to a fast, well you have my full support – and shoot me an email if you need encouragement – because it will be my pleasure to remind you of the value of your effort!
Alcohol itself is not bad, but when we drink, it can distort the mind and make us do or say things we regret.
As a wellness counselor, you know I could write more about the benefits of a “fast” from alcohol, but I will wrap up this post with a resource suggestion.
If you are thinking about fasting – or getting sober – or if you just want some tips for someone you know that is trying to embrace sobriety, this blog will give you a few ideas.
Side note, K’s blog is NOT in any way related to this guy’s “bye bye beer” you tube video – with his misspelling of a beer for bear – but you do need to see how the bear waved goodbye (so cute ) –
Kristen’s blog is a rich resource for sobriety tips, but she also just writes about life as a working mom, wife, and as a lady who likes to do some jogging while she muses about donuts and family events.
Maybe this fasting from alcohol post is NOT for you, but maybe there is someone in your life that you need to talk to about their drinking?
Sure, it is not always your job to speak up, but sometimes we DO need to speak up – sometimes we might have a word of reason or nugget of advice that changes someone’s life.
Maybe if you see someone is struggling – you could suggest you both fast from drinking (for ten days??)- do it together and then find other ways to celebrate. Do you think you could do that? You don’t have to answer me – but think about it.
Some people cannot fast from anything – and they get defensive at the suggestion – but maybe they need to consider understanding more about their relationship with things – especially alcohol – because it is layered and it is an interactive kind of thing that we NEED to learn more about.
Kristen Rybandt’s bye bye beer blog was also noted as one of the best recovery blogs of 2016 by After Part Magazine – HERE
.
Okay – signing off for this Tuesday.
Hope your week is going well and thanks for stopping by.
26 thoughts on “Don’t Drink Alcohol this Holiday (Kristen Rybandt’s blog and Shanna Frazee mention)”
You have a good message. I won’t be fasting, neither will I be drinking to excess at any point during the holidays or during the new year. Those days are far in the rear view mirror. And, I will not be driving in anything close to an impaired state.
I would remind people that it was recently mentioned in the news that driving while tired is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. We are so busy during this season, that we often push ourselves to get things done before starting that holiday trip. Let’s all be careful.
Oh dan… Thanks So much for that reminder – a former student of mine had his uncle die from driving and falling asleep!
So sad.
And glad your check list is covered – it takes some mirror adjusting and driving to find one’s plAce with alcohol and many other things .
But your note about not driving tired also toes in to the number one tip someone have recently for the best “self-care” – they said make sure to get enough sleep ….
Well I will be on an alcohol fast for sure 😉 Till about 6 weeks ago, I could have claimed to never have had alcohol, now I can safely say I shall abstain 😀 It’s not that in India people dont drink or women dont drink – in fact the earlier social taboo with drinking is fast going down and often husbands and even fathers encourage or offer their children drinks. I never tried because I was apprehensive of precipitating a migraine. Plus I have always been the ‘good’ girl. But then sometime ago, I felt in my new avatar as Dahlia I should experience everything – so i had a peg of vodka. Quite awful to taste and just made me terribly sleepy for about 10 -15 minutes. And then nothing! What a hullabaloo over nothing 😉 So I have sworn off drinking – besides, like i always believed, I have enough endogenous alcohol like substance secretion which keep me high naturally 😀 Merry Christmas to you and your Y 🙂
Oh good that you have that natural high –
And thanks for sharing –
I am lucky because I am a lightweight and cannot drink too much without feeling horrid (or getting sick) and so it has been fortuitous for me – but in college years had some girl friends who could drink like a man….
and side note about the vodka….
I watched an episode of this show called “scandal” – it was about two weeks ago and overall the writing was good.
Well someone told me to watch a snippet from the week before because the lead character had an amazing scene about the kind of book the former First Lady needs to write – it was so good !
Anyhow – recorded the next episode and near the end of it –
The former First Lady and the main character are sitting there drinking a clear alcoholic beverage (from a mason jar)
And then they show hours pass – and the jar gets filled and they share sips as they talk political strategy.
However – then – these two women (without tons of body fat) finish all this drinking and spend hours talking on the floor – to go and start writing the book.
Computer opens and the two characters are sober like they just had coffee.
Really?
Argh!
The other parts seemed ok-
But I guess stuff like this is on my mind – when alcohol is depicted as this benign neutral thing –
And not saying it is “all” bad – but it leaves us vulnerable for sure. ..
Yeah unfortunately that kind of stuff is romanticized all too often. And health wise, it is all bad, there is ample medical evidence to show that binge drinking can cause greater brain damage than chronic alcoholism.
I read carefully through to the end, and I applaud your message, Yvette. I won’t be on an alcohol fast this Christmas. I probably need this crutch. I’d find it much easier to do in the warm sunny months. Bless you for caring. 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Thanks for your sweet comment restless jo…
This was unplanned – but it came from my heart and maybe it is not even for anyone right now…. maybe some other time….
Thanks for this, Yvette, and for the really sweet mention. I LOVE the bye bye beer video and will have to work that into a future post, haha! I’m touched and moved by your message. It’s a tricky message to deliver because people often feel passionately about it and not everyone has a problem. But our bodies don’t need it and moderate guidelines are quite low…much lower than most people drink. I can attest that one can go without for at least five years and gain so much more than she had to give up 😘 Much love to you and yours this holiday season.
Thanks Kristen -and I wonder if the guy with the video would have more views if he changed the title of his you tube video. Not that everyone wants views, but it is a funny misspelling – and the bear really waves…..
And the comment about how our bodies “don’t need it”
Well one of my health mentors reminds us that it alcohol is a “minus” food and so if folks could at least start thinking of that it can at least help some who consume with the mentality that it is a special gift to the end of a workweek – delicious and all – but how does the body process it – esp an aging body that might have other strain.
Oh, I was also going to ask about the candida “stay sober” product you mentioned…I wonder if that’s also good for fighting the sugar demon. You know those donuts I’m always on about…looking to apply wellness in that area but don’t want anything too costly or complicated.
Well I actually believe the only way to combat craving sugar is to use herbs to clean out what the sugar has been feeding.
Everyone’s body is so different in what they have going on, but I most cases- candidiasis is involved –
And I am not sure totally about the liver care-stay sober formula, but I personally used Kroeber herbs’ “candida cleanse” kits -they are 21 days long and I did two back to back. And ate a lot of eggs 🍳 and plain protein shakes.
And actually, then it still took herbs and supplementing with a good oil, enzymes, probiotics, vitamin and minerals – sounds like a lot – but ends up being comprehensive.
And the best outcome is that there are no cravings for desserts – that was weird at first. It took a while to get there – but the other thing is that many people have malabsorption from a corrupted inner terrain-
And so they aren’t absorbing nutrients and so a sweet tooth is many times from a lack of nutrients (it takes living through cleansing to see this for oneself and I could not wrap my head around it without having had to heal and cleanse).
But Kroeger herbs were not my only help – While I love he quality of their herbs – and the great prices – my favorite is the basic colon cleanse from “health plus inc”
And in some of my health groups this cleanse (done in and off until the body tells u it’s done) has been huge for a few ladies.
But there are stages and the goal is to
Go slow and do no harm.
And when does it out the gut- we also can feel worse before we feel better- a thing called the herxheimer reaction or healing crisis –
And so we expect to have days of feeling worse before we feel better. And during cleansing this happens and we have to adjust.
But the stay sober-liver care are a great place to start for some folks because the capsules are easy to take and then the person gets herbs in their body, which gently need to be introduced.
Sorry this is a long reply- but this is a passionate area for me because even without candidiasis – we need to clean out our pipes (GI) and was just reading another article about giardiasis and how this is constantly misdiagnosed – also was reading that many people have heart problems from dog heart worm – but gets missed – I will try and add the links here later just in case folks want them.
My point is
“Why not cleanse?”
It should be like changing the oil and air filter on a car – it is what you do every so many miles.
And because immune function is directly related to GI health – cleaning out and fortifying the inside can lead to a longer life – but also a better quality –
And the word satisfied is what comes to mind.
Well thanks for your comment and your blog
Thanks for all the info! I may email you more in this and I am doing a whole body cleanse already so will probably continue and work on sugar after New Years. I’m worried about cravings. Anything to soothe them would be most helpful and would love your “plain protein shake” recipe. Many contain fruit and I’m guessing that’s to be avoided for awhile?
Email anytime because it is a passion topic.
I also will note some info to chew on here real quick.
Unless really sick ( like with Lyme, CFS, morgellons, etc) I think sugar can take a back seat. For those ailments they need more aggressive approach because they are usually many coinfections at play.
So instead of removing all sugar (and you might do this already)
Aim to “eat smart”
And aim to “fortify”
Aforementioned – I believe that many cravings are from a nutrient void – it seems like the pleasure principle is at play and we might view it as a demanding sweet tooth,
But systemically there are a few things going on – that has to do with years of buildup –
Eating smart:
Some gunk in the GI sends out “enzymes inhibitors” and so going for fruit (daily apple – or seasonal fresh ones) will give phytonutrients and life!
Sometimes a bagel is the equivalent of eating a napkin (no life left)
And while we need to eat for our body type (some do better with red meat, some white meat, some, no meat -) but we all need amino acids (bcaa) and MCT-
And enzymes they come from food and we can also supplement –
There is a new silk enzyme out (serraptase) that helps heal the gut.
Something all
Folks might want to think about starting wth is an inexpensive “betaine HCL with pepsin” capsule before the main daily meal.
Eat really good oils and fats – or supplement (esp in beginning)
They feed the cells and help cellular function and real butter is on my daily list –
Eggs are a multivitamin food
And I do like some paleo suggestions (marks daily apple helped me early on)
Supplementing:
I suggest a b complex – this is a must for anyone with adrenal issues –
A cal- mag blend for the mineral (helps with kreb’s cycle)
Antioxidants and enzyme stuff –
Start looking at Now food products –
But some people insist that powerful healing is done with NAC and alpha lipoic acid.
Coq10 is a healing must have.
Some life giving meals food combos are
Flax oil and cottage cheese
1 or 2 tbs of the oil (I like cod liver oil even more)
But have a huge amount of cottage cheese if you want – esp early on –
I also like different vitamin C options.
In closing (and always an email away) but thing of adding dense and nutritious foods (compared to folks who always seem to eliminate – it becomes lose lose)
And focus on what you can have.
Oh
And drink kefir.
I prefer the plain
But one of my mentors has folks drink a huge vat of plain kefir every day -Trader Joe’s has the best plain kefir IMO and
It is like sending the marines and special forces into your GI….
Ann Louise once wrote a book “your body knows best”
And the more and more we listen to our changing needs – it really will direct our choices –
Can’t forget to mention popcorn !
Emilio has mentioned it before too
But a dense and satisfying meal for me has been homemade popcorn.
But the kernels (all natural ones) cook in EVOO
Add real sea salt and it of butter.
The sea salt is crucial for cells
But early on with more gunk to cleanse – it can lead to swelling and so have to adjust and assess daily.
Xxoo
I am not sure this applies to me as I do not drink (alcoholic drink). If this is about coffee then 🙂 This part that you said ” Alcohol itself is not bad, but when we drink, it can distort the mind and make you do or say things you regret.” concern me the most as it can have the immediate affects.
Well I was mostly referring to alcohol leading to sometimes sloppy behavior and regrets, etc.
But your feedback raises a good point –
We can have distortions without alcohol – and “do or say” stuff we regret…
So i guess we love and learn / and good for you for not being an alcohol consumer….
It is a worthy challenge and one that pays dividends. I remember my youth and how drinking was made out to be “cool”. I am so glad I walked away when many stayed and today they openly talk about the effects it has had on their lives. The ones that were able to find help and support state they found life again.
Oh thanks for sharing –
And curious as to how or what made you walk away – but you don’t have to share that – my mind is just wondering – especially because I guess this topic puzzles me continuously – the layered aspects of it.
And just heard a great “alcohol” quote from the downtown abbey producer – and made me think even more
I don’t mind you asking at all. I was 21 and just finished my second degree and running a group home 5 days a week with 8 delinquent teens helping them adjust to life. Then on weekends I was partying. I felt like such a hypocrite so I stopped the “social drinking and drug use”. It was amazing how many so called friends didn’t want to be around me after that. One of the best books I read years ago was by Dr. Vernon Johnson “I’ll quit tomorrow”.
“Ruffled feathers and endless squawking over a minor difficulty is typical of a crow’s life. I lean back on the counter and realize that could be my line….”
priorhouse blog 
You have a good message. I won’t be fasting, neither will I be drinking to excess at any point during the holidays or during the new year. Those days are far in the rear view mirror. And, I will not be driving in anything close to an impaired state.
I would remind people that it was recently mentioned in the news that driving while tired is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. We are so busy during this season, that we often push ourselves to get things done before starting that holiday trip. Let’s all be careful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh dan… Thanks So much for that reminder – a former student of mine had his uncle die from driving and falling asleep!
So sad.
And glad your check list is covered – it takes some mirror adjusting and driving to find one’s plAce with alcohol and many other things .
But your note about not driving tired also toes in to the number one tip someone have recently for the best “self-care” – they said make sure to get enough sleep ….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I will be on an alcohol fast for sure 😉 Till about 6 weeks ago, I could have claimed to never have had alcohol, now I can safely say I shall abstain 😀 It’s not that in India people dont drink or women dont drink – in fact the earlier social taboo with drinking is fast going down and often husbands and even fathers encourage or offer their children drinks. I never tried because I was apprehensive of precipitating a migraine. Plus I have always been the ‘good’ girl. But then sometime ago, I felt in my new avatar as Dahlia I should experience everything – so i had a peg of vodka. Quite awful to taste and just made me terribly sleepy for about 10 -15 minutes. And then nothing! What a hullabaloo over nothing 😉 So I have sworn off drinking – besides, like i always believed, I have enough endogenous alcohol like substance secretion which keep me high naturally 😀 Merry Christmas to you and your Y 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh good that you have that natural high –
And thanks for sharing –
I am lucky because I am a lightweight and cannot drink too much without feeling horrid (or getting sick) and so it has been fortuitous for me – but in college years had some girl friends who could drink like a man….
and side note about the vodka….
I watched an episode of this show called “scandal” – it was about two weeks ago and overall the writing was good.
Well someone told me to watch a snippet from the week before because the lead character had an amazing scene about the kind of book the former First Lady needs to write – it was so good !
Anyhow – recorded the next episode and near the end of it –
The former First Lady and the main character are sitting there drinking a clear alcoholic beverage (from a mason jar)
And then they show hours pass – and the jar gets filled and they share sips as they talk political strategy.
However – then – these two women (without tons of body fat) finish all this drinking and spend hours talking on the floor – to go and start writing the book.
Computer opens and the two characters are sober like they just had coffee.
Really?
Argh!
The other parts seemed ok-
But I guess stuff like this is on my mind – when alcohol is depicted as this benign neutral thing –
And not saying it is “all” bad – but it leaves us vulnerable for sure. ..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah unfortunately that kind of stuff is romanticized all too often. And health wise, it is all bad, there is ample medical evidence to show that binge drinking can cause greater brain damage than chronic alcoholism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well so many layers -and raising awareness helps for some people …. hm
Thanks for chiming in
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read carefully through to the end, and I applaud your message, Yvette. I won’t be on an alcohol fast this Christmas. I probably need this crutch. I’d find it much easier to do in the warm sunny months. Bless you for caring. 🙂 Merry Christmas!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for your sweet comment restless jo…
This was unplanned – but it came from my heart and maybe it is not even for anyone right now…. maybe some other time….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for this, Yvette, and for the really sweet mention. I LOVE the bye bye beer video and will have to work that into a future post, haha! I’m touched and moved by your message. It’s a tricky message to deliver because people often feel passionately about it and not everyone has a problem. But our bodies don’t need it and moderate guidelines are quite low…much lower than most people drink. I can attest that one can go without for at least five years and gain so much more than she had to give up 😘 Much love to you and yours this holiday season.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Kristen -and I wonder if the guy with the video would have more views if he changed the title of his you tube video. Not that everyone wants views, but it is a funny misspelling – and the bear really waves…..
And the comment about how our bodies “don’t need it”
Well one of my health mentors reminds us that it alcohol is a “minus” food and so if folks could at least start thinking of that it can at least help some who consume with the mentality that it is a special gift to the end of a workweek – delicious and all – but how does the body process it – esp an aging body that might have other strain.
LikeLike
Oh, I was also going to ask about the candida “stay sober” product you mentioned…I wonder if that’s also good for fighting the sugar demon. You know those donuts I’m always on about…looking to apply wellness in that area but don’t want anything too costly or complicated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I actually believe the only way to combat craving sugar is to use herbs to clean out what the sugar has been feeding.
Everyone’s body is so different in what they have going on, but I most cases- candidiasis is involved –
And I am not sure totally about the liver care-stay sober formula, but I personally used Kroeber herbs’ “candida cleanse” kits -they are 21 days long and I did two back to back. And ate a lot of eggs 🍳 and plain protein shakes.
And actually, then it still took herbs and supplementing with a good oil, enzymes, probiotics, vitamin and minerals – sounds like a lot – but ends up being comprehensive.
And the best outcome is that there are no cravings for desserts – that was weird at first. It took a while to get there – but the other thing is that many people have malabsorption from a corrupted inner terrain-
And so they aren’t absorbing nutrients and so a sweet tooth is many times from a lack of nutrients (it takes living through cleansing to see this for oneself and I could not wrap my head around it without having had to heal and cleanse).
But Kroeger herbs were not my only help – While I love he quality of their herbs – and the great prices – my favorite is the basic colon cleanse from “health plus inc”
And in some of my health groups this cleanse (done in and off until the body tells u it’s done) has been huge for a few ladies.
But there are stages and the goal is to
Go slow and do no harm.
And when does it out the gut- we also can feel worse before we feel better- a thing called the herxheimer reaction or healing crisis –
And so we expect to have days of feeling worse before we feel better. And during cleansing this happens and we have to adjust.
But the stay sober-liver care are a great place to start for some folks because the capsules are easy to take and then the person gets herbs in their body, which gently need to be introduced.
Sorry this is a long reply- but this is a passionate area for me because even without candidiasis – we need to clean out our pipes (GI) and was just reading another article about giardiasis and how this is constantly misdiagnosed – also was reading that many people have heart problems from dog heart worm – but gets missed – I will try and add the links here later just in case folks want them.
My point is
“Why not cleanse?”
It should be like changing the oil and air filter on a car – it is what you do every so many miles.
And because immune function is directly related to GI health – cleaning out and fortifying the inside can lead to a longer life – but also a better quality –
And the word satisfied is what comes to mind.
Well thanks for your comment and your blog
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for all the info! I may email you more in this and I am doing a whole body cleanse already so will probably continue and work on sugar after New Years. I’m worried about cravings. Anything to soothe them would be most helpful and would love your “plain protein shake” recipe. Many contain fruit and I’m guessing that’s to be avoided for awhile?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Email anytime because it is a passion topic.
I also will note some info to chew on here real quick.
Unless really sick ( like with Lyme, CFS, morgellons, etc) I think sugar can take a back seat. For those ailments they need more aggressive approach because they are usually many coinfections at play.
So instead of removing all sugar (and you might do this already)
Aim to “eat smart”
And aim to “fortify”
Aforementioned – I believe that many cravings are from a nutrient void – it seems like the pleasure principle is at play and we might view it as a demanding sweet tooth,
But systemically there are a few things going on – that has to do with years of buildup –
Eating smart:
Some gunk in the GI sends out “enzymes inhibitors” and so going for fruit (daily apple – or seasonal fresh ones) will give phytonutrients and life!
Sometimes a bagel is the equivalent of eating a napkin (no life left)
And while we need to eat for our body type (some do better with red meat, some white meat, some, no meat -) but we all need amino acids (bcaa) and MCT-
And enzymes they come from food and we can also supplement –
There is a new silk enzyme out (serraptase) that helps heal the gut.
Something all
Folks might want to think about starting wth is an inexpensive “betaine HCL with pepsin” capsule before the main daily meal.
Eat really good oils and fats – or supplement (esp in beginning)
They feed the cells and help cellular function and real butter is on my daily list –
Eggs are a multivitamin food
And I do like some paleo suggestions (marks daily apple helped me early on)
Supplementing:
I suggest a b complex – this is a must for anyone with adrenal issues –
A cal- mag blend for the mineral (helps with kreb’s cycle)
Antioxidants and enzyme stuff –
Start looking at Now food products –
But some people insist that powerful healing is done with NAC and alpha lipoic acid.
Coq10 is a healing must have.
Some life giving meals food combos are
Flax oil and cottage cheese
1 or 2 tbs of the oil (I like cod liver oil even more)
But have a huge amount of cottage cheese if you want – esp early on –
I also like different vitamin C options.
In closing (and always an email away) but thing of adding dense and nutritious foods (compared to folks who always seem to eliminate – it becomes lose lose)
And focus on what you can have.
Oh
And drink kefir.
I prefer the plain
But one of my mentors has folks drink a huge vat of plain kefir every day -Trader Joe’s has the best plain kefir IMO and
It is like sending the marines and special forces into your GI….
Ann Louise once wrote a book “your body knows best”
And the more and more we listen to our changing needs – it really will direct our choices –
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Can’t forget to mention popcorn !
Emilio has mentioned it before too
But a dense and satisfying meal for me has been homemade popcorn.
But the kernels (all natural ones) cook in EVOO
Add real sea salt and it of butter.
The sea salt is crucial for cells
But early on with more gunk to cleanse – it can lead to swelling and so have to adjust and assess daily.
Xxoo
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Wonderful message, Yvette! I’m giggling at Jo’s comment…she’s so cute. 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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Thanks for stopping by, Jill….
And merry Christmas to you too
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Thanks, Yvette! Yes, I searched your name on your blog. 🙂
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I am not sure this applies to me as I do not drink (alcoholic drink). If this is about coffee then 🙂 This part that you said ” Alcohol itself is not bad, but when we drink, it can distort the mind and make you do or say things you regret.” concern me the most as it can have the immediate affects.
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Well I was mostly referring to alcohol leading to sometimes sloppy behavior and regrets, etc.
But your feedback raises a good point –
We can have distortions without alcohol – and “do or say” stuff we regret…
So i guess we love and learn / and good for you for not being an alcohol consumer….
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It is a worthy challenge and one that pays dividends. I remember my youth and how drinking was made out to be “cool”. I am so glad I walked away when many stayed and today they openly talk about the effects it has had on their lives. The ones that were able to find help and support state they found life again.
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Oh thanks for sharing –
And curious as to how or what made you walk away – but you don’t have to share that – my mind is just wondering – especially because I guess this topic puzzles me continuously – the layered aspects of it.
And just heard a great “alcohol” quote from the downtown abbey producer – and made me think even more
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I don’t mind you asking at all. I was 21 and just finished my second degree and running a group home 5 days a week with 8 delinquent teens helping them adjust to life. Then on weekends I was partying. I felt like such a hypocrite so I stopped the “social drinking and drug use”. It was amazing how many so called friends didn’t want to be around me after that. One of the best books I read years ago was by Dr. Vernon Johnson “I’ll quit tomorrow”.
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This is a thought provoking post. It’s good to speak up I think 🙂
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thanks so much for this comment (a bit late – hahahah)
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