A number of years ago I became very unwell and spent some months in and out of hospital. To my shock I was told that I had a rare autoimmune that had no cure and a disease that not many in medical field knew much about.
At first I was shocked, then angry, then numb. However as I got used to the news, I soon realised that being angry and upset would get me nowhere.
As I slowly started to get better, I noticed clear and subtle differences in how I felt depending on the foods I ate. It became clear to me that the foods I was eating affected the way I felt daily and most importantly the relapses that occurred as part of the autoimmune. Effectively the foods I was eating, the lifestyle I was leading such as working out, taking time for myself and doing simple things like laughing more and socialising with friends all contributed to how I ultimately felt and the wellness in my body.
I soon realised that the only way to stay well, was to take full control of my whole life as a whole. My doctors were doing what they could to help me get better, I also owed it to myself to take some control too and start to look after my body in the best way possible.
The first thing that I did was to understand exactly what foods affected me. I'd already been told by my neurologist to stay off gluten so that was the first allergen out of my body. Gluten though wasn't enough. I was still feeling unwell when I ate certain foods and so I had a food intolerance test carried out via a blood test. I found out about a range of foods that did not agree with me and these all made sense. I had to learn quickly about alternatives to have instead.
I found it easy enough to go gluten free as I opted for the naturally gluten free way by cooking foods from scratch and sticking to complex carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables. As it happened this also helped to remove many of the other intolerances that I'd found I had. My life became an array of yumminess as I started to learn about lots of delicious food alternatives. An example of the kind of meals I eat are as follows -
Breakfast - homemade fresh muesli using rice flakes cooked in coconut or hemp milk, sprinkled with seeds and fresh fruits such as blue berries and raspberries.
Lunch - I love freshly made quinoa topped with stir fired spinach, broccoli and kale in coconut oil with red onions then sprinkled with chillies and salt to taste.
Dinner - A simple mixture of organic oven roasted vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, courgettes, red and white onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes blanched with coconut or olive oil. I love this sometimes with garlic and dairy free homemade basil or kale pesto used as a dipping sauce.
My food is always an array of beautiful colours, fresh, natural and delicious. It's amazing how lovely coloured food makes you feel so good on the inside and out.
Eating the right foods was only one part of my transformation. I also started exercising regularly for up to 30 mins a day either at home, at the gym or outdoors. The importance of taking time out for myself also became a huge thing. Doing things like going for walks in my local park and taking in the simple things such as the beautiful flowers, stopping and listening to the water from the stream, smelling the fresh air and just simply spending time in nature to clear my mind and feel at peace.
I came to the realisation very soon that wellness was about mind, body, me.
The mind - is about taking control and finding space and peace within yourself.
The body - is about eating the right foods for you, exercising and using as naturally free products as you can.
The ME - is about taking time out for me and being in my own space to think and just be.
All this has helped me to truly take and be in control of my own health and at any point that I've become unwell, the healing process is always so much quicker and easier, I can't ask for any more than that.