book review: Meals that Heal Inflammation

Today I’m doing something a little different on the blog.  I decided to participate in Hay House’s offer to send a free book if I review it on my blog.  I thought that was a pretty good deal.   I chose Meals that Heal Inflammation as I am always looking for new ideas and more information about food and how it relates to health.  This book in particular piqued my interest as cancer is known to be related to inflammatory conditions in the body.  Further, since treatment, I have found that I have had joint issues and it looks like arthritis is developing; and of course arthritis is an inflammatory condition too.

Meals that Heal Inflammation (http://www.amazon.com/Meals-That-Heal-Inflammation-Eliminate/dp/140194034X/) is a thoughtfully written book.  I appreciate how it is organized with easy to find information that is recapped and referenced.  I have tried out a number of different diets since I was diagnosed with cancer.  I certainly think the ideas behind the book are helpful.  Author Julie Daniluk states that there is no right diet for anyone, everyone is unique. What Julie provides is a method to figure out what your own food sensitivities are.  She covers the various reasons why inflammation may occur and addresses lifestyle aspects that can help reduce the impact of inflammation.  The book has point form summaries of each chapter and the layout is easy to read and easy to find information.  There are quizzes and easy tables to quickly assess your needs.  Then, Julie provides a plan to slowly remove foods from your diet that are likely culprits of inflammation – whether allergen based or a health condition.  Also, given the wide variety of sensitivities people have, Julie includes practical suggestions to accommodate, say a soy based sensitivity/allergy so recipes can be altered to individual needs.

I tried out some of the 120 recipes that are included in this book.  I think the recipes fared well.  My four year old son liked the pesto (cheese and nut free) and the African Nut Butter Stew. The Dijon chicken recipe didn’t fare as well with my son, but my parents both liked it.  The only one I tried and didn’t get feedback on is the best carrot cake ever which I brought to friends but we didn’t get to eating it; however I’m looking forward to trying out the recipe again soon along with many more of the recipes. It can be hard to come across good recipes that are dairy, wheat, gluten and nightshade vegetable free; all of the recipes fit these criteria. What a delight.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for review purposes.  The opinions are completely my own based on my own perspectives.

Reiki

I am convinced that Reiki (a Japanese form of energy treatment that has many `schools`) works for me.  Or at last the Reiki that I have been trained in and that I receive through a local United Church Healing Centre; the minister is a Reiki master and does training and the trainees volunteer to offer services on donation to the church.  There are two notable post Reiki experiences that I have had.  First, I did a Reiki treatment before my last chemo and found albeit I was incredibly tired, that I did not have the excruciating joint pain that I have had on the past two treatments of this drug.  I just had another treatment yesterday and my extreme fatigue (sleeping 20 hours each day on Monday and Tuesday) which started to slowly shift seems to be lifted completely today.  I`ll see if my energy level maintains itself this weekend. If so, this has been the best I have recovered on this drug.  I could say that perhaps my body has become accustom to Taxotere, but really that is the only possible explanation other than the Reiki. As far as I understand, typically the fatigue increases with each chemotherapy treatment and the side effects may shift here and there, but they don`t really change.

I understand that one's openness to the Reiki Treatment makes a difference.  The more open you are to "receive" the more likely you are to experience its healing. I know I was very relaxed during the treatments and was able to still my wandering mind. At very least one has an hour to relax and be with oneself while receiving treatments.

Shifting the View

On my last entry, I was writing about my fears and concerns with chemotherapy. Even as I wrote that entry, I knew that I needed to change my attitude to be more favourable.  I just couldn't figure out what would be a positive spin on what was about to occur.  In studies, there are indicators that the more positive the patient is, the better they respond to chemotherapy and the less side effects the experience. To me, this is a challenge to then find a way to view the chemotherapy in a positive manner before chemo starts.

I think I have finally come up with a visualization with the help of some friends.  I am thinking that the chemotherapy drugs are entering my body to find the last dregs of negativity and of ill health.  I am going to view this as a violet liquid - I've been advised violet is strongly associated with healing - and imagine this as the injection occurs.

Now I am picking up on this post the day after chemo.  All in all considering, I think it went well.  Definitely feeling nervous to go in, not knowing how the drugs may affect me and the various side effects that may arise. How did it go? Well, I think. This is what I ended up doing during chemo. I went with my parents, several people have advised me never to go alone.  We waited awhile, I think for the hospital pharmacy to mix the drugs.  I started reading my Bernie Siegel book, Love Miracles and Medicine.  I also had prepared a cd of me reading one of his visualizations.  The day before the chemo treatment I met with a woman who does hypnosis, reiki and other alternative healing who gave me a combination of flower essences that she has used with others to help manage in impact of chemotherapy. 

When I went into have the drugs injected, we were sitting by a gregarious older man and his daughter.  He had a great sense of humour and kept a lively conversation, asking why I got special treatment by the nurses (upon receiving a popsicle and blanket to help manage side effects) while he had been coming for almost a year.  I joked back it was because I was a newbie. So not as much visualization as I thought, although I did imagine the injections and drip being able to clear any remnants of disease or negativity out of my body.  If I have bad side effects, then that is just my body emptying the "yucky bits" from my body.  So far, so good, only mild nausea and tiredness.