I recently was linked to Sarah Wilson’s article “How to Heal Autoimmune Disease, by Someone Who’s Been There.” And y’know? It’s nothing I haven’t heard before. Well, mostly–I’d never heard of the notion that our bodies are over-acidified. But eating well (no refined sugar, less alcohol, no gluten), exercising intelligently, sleep, meditation–those concepts are nothing new to me. I’ve tried some of them (see also my couple forays without sugar or gluten, none lasted more than two months). I know I function better with more sleep. But doing them, adopting them as a permanent part of my life, that’s the hard part.
The thing that stuck out to me the most in her article, though, is this:
Don’t do dramatic shifts – they don’t suit our constitutions and make AI worse. Keep it soft, kind, gradual.
That has been my problem in the past. I’d try the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, hardcore, but only for a month. After a while, and without support, it becomes really hard to keep it up–especially when my body complains about all the vegetables that constitute its fuel.
So. My new attack plan? One thing at a time. I’m going to start with sugar, because I have the most experience with it. I know that it’s easier for me to adapt to life without it, and I know that giving it up is much much much better for my body. But this time, I’m only going to cut out refined sugar (previous times I’d gone the SCD route and cut out everything but honey). I’ll let myself eat natural maple syrup; I’ll try agave nectar; I’ll dive into that pot of local clover honey I bought last year.
I want to give myself a little time to acquire that maple syrup, so I have a safety net for when I begin to crave sugar (and I know I will). My deadline is Sunday, February 28.