Spring Break!

We are all so thankful we made it to Spring Break!  We have a playdate/sleepover planned with friends for the girls and a week of going at a slow pace...except for me, maybe.  I'm busy working on the house and planning, but it's all what I want to be doing -so we're good!

It was exciting to see our oldest's cholesterol levels significantly lowered at her check up. (she inherited the high good-bad cholesterol levels that run in our family)  She dreads the yearly blood draw, but it was so good to see the results.  She hasn't focused on her diet all year and it went down by a lot!  I attribute it to our diet (mainly low carb and less eating out).  The doctor says it is also in part due to her age and growth.  Kids her age tend to see their cholesterol dip in these early teen years, so we'll keep a yearly eye on how she's doing.

The Keystone Approach book came in and I read the majority of it in 2-3 days.  My brain was overwhelmed with the amount of information, but I was so motivated to learn that I didn't want to take a slower pace.  I took pages of notes and learned quite a lot about what foods help/hurt individuals who have arthritis and the science of why these foods react those ways.  She gives a lot of helpful tips and hints, but not a specific diet to follow.  I appreciate that because I always feel so skeptical of people who say that a specific type of diet is the "be-all, end-all" of ways to go.

She acknowledges that a low starch/carb diet is very helpful and gives ways to help achieve the best results possible.  So my take-away from her book is learning some good specific ways to tweak our current way of eating to help my husband's health.  I'm going to be decreasing nightshades, increasing cruciferous vegetables and antioxidant fruits, adding a fish oil supplement and vitamin D3 supplement, adding collagen peptides, and we'll try her suggested blend of probiotics -something that has been a hit or miss type thing with other AS sufferers in our FB group.  I found it interesting that many fermented foods are not helpful for those with arthritis.  That's part of why I really liked this book.  Foods that are beneficial for many people, are not as beneficial for those fighting an auto-immune disease.  Many of the Paleo Auto Immune Protocol recipes are a good match or simple to tweak for the foods she suggests.  PS. Most of the supplement tweaks are specifically for my hubby, they are a bit on the pricy side!

I'm hopeful that my hubby will not only see relief from his current symptoms -oh, and I nearly forgot!  He was diagnosed with an ID allergic reaction to his HRT patches, so it is NOT psoriasis, praise the Lord!!!  I am hoping he will see an overall increase of feeling better with less pain and fewer flare ups.

New Path for Healthy Eating!

I am very excited about a new book I just ordered!  It is written by Rebecca Fett and called, "The Keystone Approach."  It specifically speaks to my husband's type of arthritis and his current struggles with what appears to be psoriasis symptoms.  He's been struggling with this recent development and we're both very motivated to find some way to help him. 

I read several reviews and the first three chapters of the book online.  It has recent scientific information tied to the microbiome and more specifically how individuals with autoimmune diseases can eat real foods that promote a healthier system.  I can't wait to read more on the "how" and "why" our bodies react the way they do to the foods we eat.

I know my hubby thinks I internet-diagnose, but in reality I research in depth so that I can understand a topic and then formulate my own opinions.  I read the positives and negatives, I look for repeated themes and common ground in the various articles and websites I use.  My favorite is to find references to a specific professional in the health/medical field because they often have the best in depth information to share when I specifically read what that professional has published.

We also received a gift of some Essential Oil samples that I am keen on trying once I am able to figure them out.  I think diet is our highest priority, and the oils will be an additional help for symptoms as well.

Health Updates, Food Updates, Etc.

Life continues to go on taking us along for the ride!  My hubby has developed an allergic reaction to something, we believe it to be related to his arthritis somehow, but it also interferes with his current method of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) so it gets muddled into a complicated mess.  Finding the source is not as easy as I would hope.  It could be a reaction to his biologic arthritis medication.  It could be that along with the added increase of histamine in his system too since he has had to stop his HRT until we hear from the doctor...his appointment is next month...reminding myself to be patient!  It could also be just an arthritic complication of his disease -it's a progressive disease and compared to others with this disease he has been doing quite well before this happened.

I'm finding that our son still has some of the sensitivities he had as an infant.  He can tolerate more of the offensive foods before reactions appear, not sure if that is progress or just that he is bigger now.  Raisins were the most recent.  He absolutely loves them and begs for them.  He eats them by the fistful, literally grabbing as many as he can possibly manage and stuffs them into his face!  Unfortunately, they are causing a minor rash similar to the one he had from the chicory root milk.  He was eating organic raisins, so I'm going to try another brand to see if it makes a difference before giving up on raisins all together.

Chocolate is another food that he can tolerate in small amounts, but it is easier to avoid.  It is a food that I have had trouble with when I over indulge or if my system is already struggling.  Big bummer because I love chocolate!  I am noticing that wheat and dairy still bother me when not eaten in moderation.  I find it is easier to avoid those ingredients and indulge only at special times -in small amounts.

Finding a nutritional meal plan that meets our needs is challenging.  There is so much conflicting information out there.  I've basically resolved to focusing on a real food diet with less processed foods and less grain products..  I buy organic for the "dirty dozen" and focus on making the best choices in other foods as my budget allows.

Finish Line In Sight

We had our science fair this weekend and the girls did a wonderful job with their presentations and answering questions about their projects to all ages of audience members!  I am so proud of them and the hard work they put in.  It was a very busy several weeks and I loved seeing the spark in their eyes with the motivation they had to work on their projects.

I've been striving to stay rationally focused on our work and seek the Lord with our schooling.  Homeschooling is funny...all of January and February you fight the "homeschool slump"  where it feels like you've been doing school forever and everyone is feeling the burn-out, and summer seems so far away.  Then March 1st hits and all of the sudden you realize you only have 10-13 weeks left to fit in everything you've planned for the year!  To top it off, curriculums and planners start going on sale for the next school year and it only adds to the pressure to figure everything all at once...easy to get overwhelmed with everything going on in your brain.

It reminds me of the verse where God tells us not to worry about tomorrow.  Matthew 6:26-34 is the passage.  If God cares for the lilies of the field, why would you worry about your own tomorrows?  Seek Him first and He'll give you everything you need.

I've been asking God what He wants for us this coming year: whether or not we move, whether or not we stay with our current enrichment program, what to add or remove from our lesson plans, etc.  I've got a lot of ideas and am waiting for his guidance for the right choices.

On the plus side, today I was able to review our goals for finishing out this year and we're mostly on track.  A little behind in some areas and ahead in others.  My goal for this year was to be more organized and I feel I've been pretty successful in that.  Next year my personal goal is to keep organized with school, and add in being more purposeful in our learning and how we spend our time. 

I've also got to figure out how to add in toddler learning time too for our little guy...he'll be on his own track of learning and I'm not sure how yet to incorporate all of the variables into my available time and energy each day.