The Consequence of Bad Food Choices
Well I made it through hell yesterday. The start of my period came with a vengeance with pains and outwardly symptoms (I won’t go into specifics here, Lol) that I have not felt or experienced in a very long time — far back as I remember — before really committing to changing my diet.
And today, as I look back and recount what was different this past month, the correlation is clear…..
Bad food choices = VERY bad period pain.
I am first to admit that I have not been as disciplined this past month. In fact, I broke just about everything on my do not eat list — gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol. Eek.
I’ve eaten out too much and have ingested pesticides and MSG (yes, yes ’tis true), not to mention my fair share of hormones and other chemicals.
I drank full gluten-ess beer and a little gluten free beer which preceded a trip to Waffle House to devour a gluten-ness waffle with butter and syrup. I’ve had bits of dairy here and there…. Oh and not to mention the big ‘ol box of Boulder potato chips from Costco (oh potatoes, my weakness).
So basically I had a month of eating things that I have not eaten in a long time… and surprisingly they did not have an immediate effect on me like they did in the past. Perhaps my gut is healing? I thought, with pleasure, devouring another beer, Lol.
Or perhaps I just wanted to see what would happen when I broke the rules. When I let free and let myself be a “normal” person again who ate like the average American does — who enjoys a nice cold beer at a concert and eats gluten and fast food.
Well I saw what happened yesterday, or more so felt it with every nerve in my body — unyielding pain that no natural method could touch. For the first time in a long time, I considered how great it would be to have a pain killer.
Then my rational mind reminded me of the seven years that little pill would sit in my intestines (and I didn’t have one on hand, Lol).
Re-Connecting to the Breath
I did have a few moments of tears yesterday. For when the pain levels hit, it is a hopeless feeling, and it feels like the only fitting thing. Of course the act of crying only intensified the pain. So after allowing the tears to flow and the hatred of endo to rage….
I found my breath.
For the past week I’ve listened to daily meditation lessons sent to me from a Healing Rhythms Course put on by Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra. It has been awesome 🙂 The lessons have taught simple meditation exercises that connect to the breath.
One of the lessons included a visualization exercise in which you visualize white light entering the body. With eyes closed and breath deep and relaxed, this light is then focused on different parts of the body — as healing energy. It is meant to help reconnect to the feelings in the body, and find peace with this light.
Well you bet my light was focused on my pelvic region. I imagined it surrounding my uterus and ovaries, encapsulating the pain. I focused on the pain, felt its depths, then suffocated it with light, as my breath fell in a calming rhythm. This did help relax me and lessened the pain a bit.
Regardless of this quiet ripple of peace, I was stuck dealing with the pain all day long, breathing and doing my best to calm the stronger pain pulsations ripping through me…..
On the Positive Side?
So my little experiment proved to me the power of food in connection with my endometriosis pain. And I suppose when you think about it, it makes sense.
With each menstrual cycle, the uterus lining fills up. What is this made of? Blood. Well the food that we eat becomes our blood, which becomes the makings of our cells and tissue, including inside our little storage box of pain (i.e. the uterus, Lol).
So if this food is crap and chemically laden then what happens? Our uterus is filled with pain. The bad oils and chemicals also lingered in my intestines, causing me to puke on multiple occasions (OK I did go there, Lol).
OK, so back to the positive side….
We can control what we eat. Filling the body with whole, organic foods is what the body needs to function properly. When I eat clean, when I follow the rules, this pain of mine has been nearly omitted.
As I sit here today, relieved that I can function normally again — that the pain has dissipated — I realize that I have another chance this cycle — to build my uterus with a healthier lining, to give my body the fuel that it needs to fight pain and inflammation — not cause it.
The memory of the intense pain lingers. This is definitely motivation to step back on track. And that is the thing with healing. While we make bad choices, we don’t have to continue. We can stop anytime and get back on track.
Sometimes it takes a strong reminder of why it is best to be disciplined, why being the “normal” American is not what endo warriors should be. The pain is a strong reminder.
Reminder for both me and you: the body has an amazing capacity to heal, but it needs the right ingredients to do so. Food does matter.
With much love,
Aubree.
