It’s funny. For most of my life I didn’t think of myself as being particularly crunchy. Until age 20, at least, I was your typical American girl. The only thing granola about me was my penchant for atrocious peasant shirts in middle school. But then you wake up one day and realize you’re the girl that cooks straight out of the garden, drinks raw goats’ milk you milked yourself, gets acupuncture treatments, and obsessively uses essential oils.
So here I am, the raw goats milk essential oils farm girl. Good grief, how did I get here? I promise I wasn’t always this weird. Like most other people who get super granola, I never planned to get this crunchy. In fact, 10 years ago I would have thought it was pretty dumb. But 10 years ago I hadn’t experienced chronic health problems yet. And there’s nothing like chronic pain to change your mind…
My Uncrunchy Past
I grew up eating home cooked standard American diet meals. I spent so much time at urgent care as a kid that the staff knew me by name and nicknamed me “the Strep magnet” when offering me round amillion of antibiotics. I spent most of college surviving on Cinnamon Toast Crunch, coffee, stress, and Bagel Bites.
Oh hey, college. I can’t even get over how college this photo is. Don’t you just wanna yell, “You’re not as cool as you think you are, college Stewarts!!!” Just me? Ok, moving on.
And that’s when it all started to take it’s toll and a chronic illness, Interstitial Cystitis also called Painful Bladder Syndrome (doesn’t that sound fun?!), popped up for the first time and kept me pretty miserable for over four years.
And that’s when I first started to go natural. When you go to several doctors and they can’t do anything to help make you well, you either have to stay sick or take charge of your own health. Because my disease is really just a grouping of symptoms (inflammation, pain, etc) with no known cause (kind of like fibromyalgia is), Western medicine can’t do much for me. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not against Western medicine! Western medicine is fantastic at a lot of things and I’m grateful for it. But it can’t do much to treat my disease.
So after four years of feeling awful, I started to change my diet. I got the supplements I needed to help my body get well and in weeks I noticed a difference and in months I went into remission. That was step one into becoming crazy goats milk girl.
We didn’t become weirdos overnight. No sir! It takes years to get like this. And when my illness flared up again with a vengeance spring of 2015 in the midst of selling our house and moving our family across the country for a huge career change (hello, stress) I was pretty devastated to be dealing with it again. But, I knew so much more about healthy living than I did 10 years ago. I didn’t have to wait for four years to start getting better, I had a few steps of crunchiness under my belt to speed up the process.
We’d already incorporated more veggies and proteins into our meals and taken out lots of the grains. And due to our son’s gluten allergy, we cook our meals gluten-free. I had gradually tossed my toxic cleaning products and switched to natural cleaners and essential oils. I’d already taken some of the steps toward health.
But it has been a rough few months. It’s been since Easter 2015 that I’ve felt 100% normal. And I’ve spent a lot of time crying in frustration that the stupid symptoms are back.
But after we got settled on the farm in September 2015 , I started to get better. Eating a good real food diet and some other important health changes made a huge different.
Then I Leveled Up the Crunch…
That October things plateaued. I was still in pain, exhausted, and feeling crummy. And I felt overwhelmed after all the research I was doing that oven gave contradictory advice. (Don’t eat fruit! Eat only fruit! Take THIS supplement! Take THAT supplement!)
So I found an acupuncturist in our new town that had been highly recommended to me by multiple friends. And that seems to be just what I was needing. I made so much progress after starting weekly treatments and now I only go twice a month and still feel great! I’m not in complete remission yet, but I’m really close.
The “Health Bucket”
My acupuncturist gave a great explanation that has helped me visualize my health. If you imagine a bucket and the water inside it to be different stressors to the body: foods you’re intolerant to, toxins, stress, lack of sleep, etc. then when the bucket gets too full, it overflows and you start to experience symptoms. There are two ways to help. You can remove some of the water in the bucket (try to reduce stress, get more sleep, eat nourishing food, avoid environmental toxins) and you can also make your bucket bigger (acupuncture treatments, for example, are one way I am trying to make my “health” bucket bigger so that my body can handle a little bit more without me feeling crummy.)
So anyhow, that’s where I am in all of this. I kind of thought that once I was in remission before that I would never have those issues again, but I’m realizing that health is something I’m going to have to carefully prioritize for the rest of my life in order to feel well, free from pain, and energetic.
So I’m committed to taking charge of my health and fighting for it by educating myself. Because I don’t want my kids to have chronic illness! I don’t want them to have to deal with this. And since they have some allergies (and in the case of Benjamin, asthma) they’re already suffering from some autoimmune issues. (Although after a year on the farm drinking raw goat’s milk their eczema is now completely gone!)
I want them to have the best start they can and have a whole toolbox of knowledge about health that they can take with them when they go off to college or when they leave home.
But it’s a long process. 10 years ago I knew absolutely nothing crunchy. I was a “throw some antibiotics at me because I have a cold” kinda gal. And now Daniel calls me “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” because all the interns at the farm show up on our doorstep if they have sore throats or headaches and need some essential oils or home remedies. And nobody in our family has needed anything but a well check up in over a year! (Knocks on wood). I still have so much to learn, but it feels really good to be building my knowledge for my own health and the health of my family.
So that’s my story from uncrunchy to super granola. Any other Dr. Quinn’s out there?
Psst! If you’re interested in healthy living and don’t know where to start, or if you are already crunchy but want some new inspiration and great resources, Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is here til Monday.
I didn’t contribute an ebook this year because I needed to work on my new book but I’m going to purchase the bundle myself for all the gluten-free resources, gut-health resources (there are ALL KINDS of recipe resources), and the more than $150 worth of BONUS freebies (I’m addicted to the Maca Powder since last year’s bundle).
Definitely take a look at what’s included if you want to improve your family’s health but need a push in the right direction. I’ll even sweeten the deal. If you order through my affiliate link, you can take your pick of any of my 4 ebooks and I’ll send it over as a thank you. You can choose from my liturgical year books: Feast! and More Feasts! as well as Daniel’s gluten-free breakfast cookbook and Making Big Life Changes Together–my book on pursuing your dreams while maintaining a healthy marriage. Just fill out this Google Doc with your email and which ebook you want so I know where to send the PDF! But remember the sale only lasts til Monday (and it’s 99% off, so you really don’t want to miss it!)
Disclosure: Links to the bundle sale are affiliate links which means that at no additional cost to you, a portion of the sales made through my links will benefit my family. Thank you so much for supporting Carrots!
I could’ve written a similar post (and maybe I will!) about my “descent” (ascent?) into CrunchyLand. Love your story! Raw food, real food can be such a healer. Curious – how do you test for alkalinity in the body?
I use these test strips: http://amzn.to/1R3o0go (affiliate link) and you can test them in saliva or urine. And then I used these alkaline drops when I was trying to get my body more alkaline and they helped a lot: http://amzn.to/22uKmNh
It was interesting because Daniel and I pretty much have exactly the same diet, but his alkalinity was fine and I was SUPER acidic.
Crazy. Gonna have to try this. My mom’s been seeing a naturopath while she’s been living in the UK, and her chronic pain from fibromyalgia has been greatly diminished. For her, the issue was inflammation. The dr recommended no more microwaving food – it can cause increased inflammation in the body. Might be something to help you, too? Her toaster oven is her new best friend!
I was a little confused by the pH testing too, because different substances/areas in our body have quite different pH levels normally. Stomach acid is (obviously) quite acidic, while biliary fluid (and thus the contents of our small intestine) is quite alkaline. Blood, because it affects the brain, is the most tightly regulated, with a normal range between 7.35-7.45. Severely ill patients in the ICU might have a blood pH below 7, but not regular people walking around. The lowest blood pH I’ve ever seen was 6.9 in a one-year-old who almost died from diabetic ketoacidosis.
Urine is normally acidic-to-neutral, but it can range quite a bit, because our kidneys are the main way our body keeps the blood pH so tightly regulated, by peeing out the excess either way, as it were. Gastrointestinal losses are the most common, so for example, if you have a stomach bug and are throwing up a lot, you’re losing that stomach acid which WOULD leave you too alkaline. So your kidneys pee out the (alkaline) bicarbonate, alkalinizing your urine and keeping your blood in balance. Same the opposite way, if you have diarrhea and are losing too much of your alkaline intestinal contents, your blood WOULD become too acidic, so your kidneys pee out the (acidic) hydrogen ions, acidifying your urine and keeping your blood in balance. Or for less common examples, if you accidentally drank, say, antifreeze, aka propylene glycol, it would cause inappropriate acidification of your blood, despite your kidneys working their darnedest to pee out the acid.
I’ve not heard of saliva pH, so I don’t know the implications, but I do know it could NOT indicate your blood/brain pH is below 6. Because you would be dead. Truly.
I’m not trying to be antagonistic, and I don’t claim that Western medicine understands everything. And if eating less acidic foods makes you feel better, then go for it! I’m just trying to clear up the misconception that our entire body is one single pH.
(Pediatrician here by the way.)
Great clarification, Emily! I was testing urine ph which was 5.25 before I started eating more alkaline and now it’s between 6.5 and 7. But depending on what time of day you test it can vary, so they recommend taking the average and testing in the morning and then afternoon.
PS- I didn’t mean that in a snarky way, aka “well if it makes you FEEL better…” I really meant, if it improves your symptoms. Just wanted to clarify the sometimes tone-deaf internet communication so you don’t think I’m a total jerk!!
I love acupuncture! It has helped me so much to have a second opinion on my own auto-immune disease. My acupuncturist has helped me connect the dots on all the symptoms – even ones I wouldn’t have thought were connected. Prayers to you!
Yes! It has really taken a lot of stress away to have someone else to help me figure out what’s most important to prioritize with food, etc. It’s such a different way of looking at my issues, but it’s been SO helpful. Thanks for the prayers! And sorry you’re dealing with crummy auto-immune stuff, too!
Hi Haley! I love your blog. Thank you for all the wonderful things you write. I admire your faith and your family values. I know that when one is in a lot of pain, one is desperate to find relief. However, I wanted to make you aware, perhaps you already are, of the Church’s teachings on these types of “alternative” therapies such as acupuncture. You may be interested in reading this brief blog post from Women of Grace: http://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=309 where they quote the Church document on New Age practices “Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life”. I’d be interested to read what you think. In case the link doesn’t work, the blog article is entitled: Church teaching on New Age Healing Techniques. God bless you. I pray for your healing!
Hi Alejandra! The Church is, as you said, against the practice of New Age religion. However, acupuncture’s widely accepted as effective treatment, not just in Chinese medicine and the Church has not made any definitive statement on acupuncture itself. The US bishops have, however, made a statement on Reiki energy healing which has not been backed up by scientific studies as acupuncture has and which relies on “guidance” by spirits (not hard to see why it would be problematic). The use of herbal supplements and acupuncture treatment does not need to be at odds with Christian belief and the only acupuncturists I’ve ever been to were Catholics, not believers in New Age. (In fact one was a deacon!) While I would be concerned about receiving acupuncture treatments from someone involved in New Age, I feel pretty comfortable whenever the acupuncture office has images of Our Lady displayed 😉
Of course there is no way to assess the credibility/veracity of these sorts of reports, but I came across this article regarding Pope Francis a few months ago:
“He believes in alternate medicine. Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh says in 2004, the Pope, then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, began treatment with a Taoist monk named Liu Ming. Regular sessions of massage and acupuncture helped Bergoglio conquer symptoms of diabetes and gallbladder problems.”
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/09/20/pope-francis-five-facts/
What a great post- although I haven’t struggled with it, my mom suffered from fibromyalgia for years. After being told by several doctors that she should seek psychiatric help because the crippling pain, fatigue, hair loss, and about 100 other symptoms were all “in her head” she finally struck out on the natural route. She found a great herbalist, got into acupuncture and reflexology, the whole shebang! She has been successfully managing it for about 15 years now.
I really like your outlook on health- you can’t just take these supplements or do acupuncture for a short season and then be good for the rest of your life. My mom always says, “herbs are really just healthy foods-not medicines. You take medicine when you’re sick- you’re going to eat food for the rest of your life!”
Completely worth the read, just for the hip-college- Stewarts pic! You guys look straight outta of a college brochure- look! We have young, hip, beards and coffee drinkers!
One of our best friends from college had fibromyalgia and her is now under control, too! Glad your mom is feeling better 🙂
When you learn to make your own tinctures from the natural weeds and herbs growing around that farm, your true inner crunchy will be released:)
You will be amazed working in your garden to see what medicines/remedies God plants and grows along side the seeds you sow.
The education of natural tinctures vs oils is enlightening. (And lightning on your wallet:)
Praying for your healing:)
Totally could have written the same post. I always feel so odd being so odd but it works for us. Thanks for sharing!
I was diagnosed with IC about 6 years ago. I have been very careful about my diet, and my known triggers including the worst ones – soy and gluten – but a move from CA to UT last year set me off and I’ve been in a severe flare since September. I’m so glad that you have found things that work so well for you! I am on the road to recovery, but it seems every time I flare, I need Elmiron to kick it. Would love to live on a farm and grow all of my own food! I’ve been having a terrible time finding food here in UT, so I started raising my own chickens for eggs. Unbelievably, they’ve been laying all winter in the almost 0 degree weather! I’m so sorry that you have to live with this awful disease, but I’m so glad to know of a great Catholic blogger who can relate to the same struggles. Thank you for this!
My Dad suffered from Interstitial Cystitis for years and tried lots of traditional treatments and finally started making and drinking kefir and no longer has any symptoms (for past several years).
My friend: crazy goats milk girl. haha 🙂
I have that green smoothie straw and it is in fact fantastic.
Hope you’re feeling better Haley. Hope 2016 you get to a good normal. I’m a little wary about the year ahead, but like it or not here we go eh?
Hey. Reeeeally would love to see a farm grown cook book on just veggies. I need help! Growing advice and recipes and LOTS of farm pics. It’d be awesome. poke poke.
Happy new year you guys.
I laugh because I was NOT going to be one of “those” people. I just going to make an all purpose cleaner that might ease my mom’s chronic cough. At each step hubby & I said “enough. We aren’t getting any weirder”. And now, we are water-birthing , vinegar drinking, GMO hating fruitcakes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post; thanks for sharing! I have gradually been ditching toxic cleaning supplies over the past few years, been learning of natural alternatives, and have recently become much more invested in using all sorts of non-toxic products beyond cleaners (like cosmetics, for example). For Christmas I was gifted my first set of essential oils and a diffuser – and I have SO MANY questions!! With a baby and toddler at home I want to be really careful about what I’m diffusing in our home and want to learn more about other ways to use the oils. Have you thought about writing a post on this topic? I’m in dire need of some good resources beyond the basic Young Living guide book and an app that I have on my phone. How did you get started and what resources do you love?