In an earlier blog post I described how I embarked on an 8 week anti-candida diet a to sort out some health issues. Since then, I have continued to clean up my diet, and one of the most welcome effects of this change was that my immune system improved out of sight. So I would like to share these “immune boosting” secrets with you.
Having always been a “sickly child,” I had a past history of recurrent conditions – bronchitis and chest infections every winter, tonsillitis that kept coming back to haunt me, and I was one of those kids that caught every virus that came along, leading to huge amounts of time off school. I thought this was just how things were for me – the doctor said, “some kids just catch more bugs than others.” Apparently I was one of those kids. No amount of Echinacea or vitamin C seemed to help, and I ended up on antibiotics more often than not. I had no idea at the time that it was all being driven by the foods I was eating. Not knowing any better, I continued to live like this for years to come.
After cleaning up my diet in my late 20’s, winter came along, and the changes were obvious. Sure, I still got one or two head colds, but each one went for only 3-4 days. They didn’t go to my chest. They didn’t stick around in my sinuses and fester away. I didn’t need antibiotics. And I didn’t get the usual fatigue for days afterward that I was so used to living with, year after year.
The concept of “clean eating” has gained a lot of momentum recently (just type #eatclean into Twitter or Instagram and you’ll see what I mean!). The term may sound all new and a bit hipster, but main principle of clean eating is simple and dare I say, old fashioned – nothing processed or adulterated. Just fresh foods, whole foods, and raw foods. I don’t stick to a 100% raw food diet or anything that radical – I have hot meals and cooked food as long as they are free from processed ingredients. When I choose to eat meat, I make sure it’s free from hormones and chemicals, and preferably organic. I avoid foods which are packaged and refined (this includes white sugar and all white flour products, even if they are organic or gluten free) and I steer well clear of anything containing nasty chemical additives. If it contains a number in the ingredient list, I Google it right there and then in the supermarket, or better still, I put it back on the shelf.
I also avoid most gluten, dairy and sugar, because these are known food intolerance triggers for me, but it is different for everyone. An appointment with Emma can help to sort out which foods you should avoid.
So… are you “getting away” with eating those foods that perhaps you shouldn’t be eating? What are they really doing to your body “behind the scenes?” Is your body’s immune system acting as a warning sign that something’s not quite right? I know plenty of people (and I was one of them!) who would have very minor symptoms after eating certain foods. I would feel a little snotty after cheese, bloated after white bread, or a little foggy in the head after sugar. But it was usually short lived so I thought I was getting away with it. But these were just the first warning signs – and when I ignored them my body started to get sicker, and my immune system became weaker. My advice? Don’t wait to see what your next symptoms will be!
The best part of clean eating is that once my taste buds adjusted (which only took a few weeks), real food tasted more delicious than I’d ever imagined! Exploring new types of fruits and veggies is now heaps of fun – I love heading down to my local farmers market and I’m always looking for new heirloom varieties to try. So get out there, embrace the new clean eating philosophy, and see what new, healthy foods are out there just waiting to be discovered!
By Jules Galloway
Hi, my name is Jules Galloway and I’m a qualified naturopath, food and wine lover, beginner surfer and recent seachanger, living just 10 minutes from Byron Bay. My goal is to educate and motivate you to explore a variety of foods, to help you to make small, achievable changes to increase your wellbeing, and to spread the word that it’s easier than you think to feel awesome again! Connect with Jules on Facebook, Twitter or her website.
