M.E/C.F.S and Nutrition

Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine - JayHell

First of all, please, please, PLEASE don't mistake this post for medical advice. Although I hope to offer advice and help in my posts, the best thing for you to do to help your recovery is to see a good doctor. That's what I did and it's a key reason I have recovered so well. The content of this blog is based purely on personal experience, as we all know everyone's experience of M.E/C.F.S is different, as are their experiences of recovery strategies. Okay, are we all clear? Good.

As you will know if you are a regular reader, or Twitter/Facebook follower, I have currently completed 30 days of vegetarianism. I had toyed with this idea for a long time, even before I got ill, and once I heard and talked with my friend Julia's juicing and eating/change of diet exploits, I became even more inspired. Julia herself has suffered with M.E, and now considers herself fully recovered. She told me that the key to her recovery was tackling her diet. I decided that trying vegetarianism for a month wouldn't do me any harm.

Hydration:

I was already drinking around 4 pints of water a day. Good hydration is a basic thing and extremely important, you might think about investing in a water filter. I find that if I don't drink at least three pints of water in a day, my brain fog comes back immediately, my aches and pains (which admittedly are minimal now) are exacerbated, and I get a horrid tension/pressure headache. To drink more was a basic rule which I strictly adhered to during the first few months of my recovery, and it quickly became a habit that has now become the norm for me.

Mindful eating:

Personally, I'm not into the idea of elimination diets. Of course, if you have a severe food allergy, perhaps the best thing to do is to go and speak to a professional. But I knew I had been born intolerant to cow's milk, and these symptoms returned in my adult life; also I had always been suspicious of a yeast allergy because of my candida symptoms. So I simply stopped eating things with cow's milk and yeast in them.
The key for me was to be mindful about the food I was consuming and vegetarianism really brought this home to me. I had to think about the food I was preparing, and how I could make a filling, tasty meal without absent-mindedly throwing together a couple of chops and some steamed vegetables. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, but what if the meat has been processed, or pumped full of chemicals? Has the animal had a stressful life and even worse, a stressful death? Are the vegetables processed or freshy prepared?

I watched the River Cottage series "Veg Every Day", and a lot of what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said in the programmes made a lot of sense to me. Inspired by Hugh's words, from now on I will try to apply the following in my eating: animal flesh is the most precious of food resources, as another living being has given it's life so that we can be fed, and ultimately carry on living ourselves. So, if you are going to consume animals, perhaps it is a good idea to make sure you know the source of your meat and fish, use it as a "treat" meal, or a special occasion, and in general just be mindful of everything you are consuming. Don't feel guilty about eating things like chocolate-just know that you are, and what the consequences may be if you eat too much!

Being a "veggie" with M.E:

I haven't told many people about the last 30 days. I rarely eat out. I have no family or dependents to cook for. Perhaps you think I've had it easy. But remember I am recovering from M.E, and I still get very tired from time to time, and my body still lets me down occasionally, both physically and mentally. I have thought about little else other than food in the last month (it doesn't help that I work in a supermarket) and how my diet affects my health. Cooking fresh food every day, thinking about meals, and food shopping takes effort. Adapting to a new diet takes mental strength. But after a month, I really don't feel like I'm craving a steak or a sausage sandwich. We're more than half way through the day and although I've had plenty of opportunity to make a fried breakfast or add tuna fish to my lunchtime pasta, I've chosen not to; and this makes me wonder how much of a shift has really been made in my outlook on food and diet. I'm just not that enthralled by meat or fish any more.

I'm not saying in this post that anyone should become vegetarian, or do what I did, or that if you do you will suddenly recover from M.E.
People still ask me if I am "better" now. I tell them I am getting there. Some days I wake up and feel brilliant and full of energy, some days not so much. The difference being I can tell the difference between one day and the next, and I whether I have the energy or not, I ALWAYS get out of bed. I didn't do that nine months ago.

I repeat once again, I am not telling you what to to with your life, I am not offering medical advice, I am just offering an honest point of view. I will say this though. I STRONGLY believe that looking into your diet can help you tremendously in your recovery. I say this because it has definitely helped me and my friend Julia, and I want to share my experiences in order to offer help and support to others.

Also, I lost 6 pounds doing this! Although (yes, another disclaimer) this is NOT a diet plan!!!

Get inspired and have a look at some of the things I cooked myself in the past 30 days (includes cakes!)

Things I Have Eaten

Constructive comments are appreciated.

Thanks for reading, sorry it was a long one!

Jen :) x