Killoggs : Is having an affair at work with a Chinese seamstress

It's been awhile since I've said much about my life, but I feel better physically and mentally now than I have in a long time.

I have an illness called "ulcerative colitis." Right now, I'm in remission, and hopefully, I'll be able to stay in remission for a very long time. But when I'm sick, it can be very taxing and debilitating. I won't go into the nasty details, but feel free to do your research. My first flare-up happened when I lived in Santa Cruz. It was pretty mild, and it didn't last more than a month. One and a half years later, I had another flare-up, this time pretty severe, and I decided to see a doctor and was diagnosed with it. However, 2 weeks after the colonoscopy, when I got the call from my doctor saying that I have it, I had been symptom free since a day before the colonoscopy, so I decided not to get on medication, as he recommended. Another 2 years passed before I had my recent flare-up, this time moderate in severity, but enough to be annoying. Not having health insurance this time, I did a lot of research online and decided to fight it myself, mainly being very careful about what I ate. It lasted about 2 and half months, I guess, and I've been more or less symptom free for the past month. It's hard to say how much bearing my diet had on the healing of it, but when I really started to feel and see a change for the better, this is what I was ingesting:

CHAMOMILLE TEA: Chamomille has a calming effect on the body and seems to be good as an anti-inflammatory aid. It also aids in digestion. If this isn't good enough, you might want to try aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve, etc., but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

PINEAPPLE ENZYME: To aid in digestion.

ACIDOPHILUS: For healthy bacterial balance.

VITAMIN A: Good for healing and healthy organ function.

FISH (specifically herring and tuna): Omega 3 fish oils are supposed to be very good for healing, and high in vitamin A.

POTATOES: I'm not sure if potatoes are especially beneficial, but they're easy to digest.

BANANAS: Potassium in bananas is beneficial for several reasons, plus bananas are a nice soft food. I recommend well ripened bananas, as greener ones may be too acidic.

ORGANIC FOOD: Regardless of what I ate, organic foods always seemed to be easier on me.

PURIFIED OR SPRING WATER: The tap water in your house might be fine, but I think it was a good move to stay clear of the water here at the Dirtfarm. At any rate, with purified water, you know exactly what you're getting, and with tap water you don't.

FOODS I DIDN'T EAT, WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN HARMFUL:
Coffee, all meat but fish, all dairy except natural cheese (sparingly) and dairy with good bacterial flora (yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream), foods high in fat, highly spiced food, raw fruits and vegetables that are hard or coarse and the skins of those.

DEFINITE IRRITANTS:
1) Alcohol: Beer seemed to be worse than hard liquor. And if you insist on drinking, I wouldn't drink to get drunk. A single glass of red wine is probably best. Now that I'm better, alcohol in any quantity doesn't seem to hurt.
2) Psyllium: Psyllium is a natural colon cleanser, and I thought it would be helpful. However, if you have ulcerative colitis, it's also an irritant. STAY AWAY! I mixed some in a glass of juice and drank it in the early stages of my remission, and I had a brief relapse, so I immediately discontinued it and went back to normal.

Also, even though I'm not really sick anymore, I haven't completely reverted back to old habits. I'm hoping that by eating healthier I can stay in remission much longer, if not permanently.

I feel even better now than before I was sick, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I'm eating better. In fact, I can't remember the last time I felt this good. I have so much energy now! Maybe it's just a placebo effect, but I definitely feel much better, so regardless of the reason, that's all I really care about. Beyond physical health, I've just been more mentally driven to do things, and I'm seeing things in a much more positive light than before. So much of my irritability, depression, sluggishness, awkwardness, anger and pessimism are gone. It's just amazing.