RECOVERY: Inflammation Nation...

RECOVERY: Inflammation Nation...
DIETARY STRESS: The state of internalized stress, primarily to the digestive and excretory systems, resulting from the belief that you can consume all the toxic, inflammatory foods and chemicals you want, on a daily basis, and not inevitably experience consequences.

If you're in recovery (chemical/behavioral addictions, mental illness, autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, cancer treatment, trauma, etc) and you continue to ignore the foods and chemicals you ingest, batten down the hatches and prepare for the inevitability of the perfect storm coming your way.



The science is out and it's being replicated every year. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is literally killing us (Good Grief, look at these charts!). Every year there is a rise in heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer, mental illness, etc. You would think, with all the advances in medicine, health would be improving. But actually what we're seeing is a rise in new disorders, ailments and diagnoses.

What happens when, for many years, you consume foods that are, or have become, toxic to your body? What happens when you ingest copious amounts of chemicals, over many years, such as processed foods, alcohol, drugs, nicotine, caffeine, sugar and wheat? (been there, done that!).You may be able to get away with it in your youth, but the ravages of time and consistent stress will eventually exact a heavy toll.



INFLAMMATION: Increasingly research is identifying depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses as not stand alone disorders, but symptoms of systemic bodily inflammation, particularly in the gut which also houses close to 80% of your immune system (look at all this research connecting diet with depression!). This is why most mental health disorders involve some form of IBS or irritable bowel system. Keep in mind, you're not only connected up to a central and peripheral nervous system, but also an enteric nervous system through a vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the gut. Any chronic disturbance down below will eventually reach top side resulting in brain inflammation with, migraines, headaches, dizziness, depersonalization, brain fog, depression, anxiety, panic, etc. I just recently perused research that’s pointing to Vitamin D depletion as the main cause of migraines. Imagine that, something as simple as a vitamin D depletion, epidemic in the modern age, could aid in reducing migraines and headaches.


"We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, socially isolated, fast food laden, sleep deprived, frenzied pace of modern life" - Stephen Ilardi  LINK

SUGAR: One of the most toxic “foods” in our diet. It is estimated that on average we consume 32 oz of sugar everyday and that’s not just white sugar, but particularly high fructose corn syrup and other sugars such as agave nectar barley malt, dextrose, maltose, rice syrup, dextrin, dehydrated can juice, etc, the list is endless. I once read the ingredients on the back of a frozen dinner and it had 20 gms of sugar. It was Swiss steak and potatoes. The fact is the entire western world is addicted to sugar as a staple food of a daily diet.

Robert Lustig M.D - Sugar: The Elephant in the Room  Sugar Science - Dr. Lustig

WHEAT: If you're in recovery there is good possibility your body is in some form of chronic inflammation due to years of stress. Research is pointing to the fact that chronic inflammation is caused or further aggravated by wheat or more specifically gluten.


'Grain Brain' author talks about the effects of wheat on your brain

Occasional use of sugar and wheat may be okay for some folks, but in recovery but they should not be the staple of your daily food intake due to dietary stress and the recovery process has enough other stressors and symptoms to cope with that dietary stress should not be one of them.

However, keep in mind that any significant dietary change in support of your recovery may include withdrawal type reactions, particularly if a certain food or substance has been a large part of your diet for years. Eliminating wheat and sugar may result in "carb flu," "candida die-off" or the Herxheimer Reaction and it is recommended you gradually taper to avoid those symptoms.

SENSITIVITY: If you're in a recovery/healing process you may find an increase in sensitivity to things you were never sensitive to, due to inflamed or compromised immune system. Noise, heat, cold, various foods, pollen (can’t wait for spring here in the enchanted forest and all the trees that will make my life a living hell). Sensitivity can arise from a compromised immune system due to chronic inflammation in the gut and this is because 70-80% of your immune system is centered in the gut microbiome.

Drew Ramsey:A Brain Prescription from the Farmacy 

Below is another video stressing the importance of diet in recovery from diabetes and how the past science derived food pyramid was entirely wrong. This doctor promotes a reduction in sugar and wheat with an increase in good fats and vegetables:




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