Self Care is Much More than a Fad, and gluten may be causing some of your problems

Dear Reader,

Life is stressful!

There are the usual responsibilities, of course. Added to that, we all just lived through a once in a century pandemic. Now there are climate disasters.

People seem out of sorts. That’s because we’ve collectively been through a lot these last few years.

It’s so important to take care of our health right now, for immune system strength in the face of flu’s and viruses, and also for mental health.

One good way to care for yourself is to cook delicious, healing food and enjoy eating it.

Next week I’m going to talk about homemade broth, how it heals, and how to make it.

Another way is creating a boundary around bedtime. Sleep is imperative to good health.

Ayurveda teaches us that we are intimately connected with our environment, and with nature.

Nature’s rhythms include: daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly rhythms.

Staying in a natural daily rhythm is so healing. When the sun sets, it’s time to begin winding down.

Easier said than done, I know!

If you can, find an open evening, and try it. Turn the screens off by 9. Take an hour that you may normally be looking at screens, and do some self care.

A hot bath with Epsom salts works wonders.

If you like tea, brew some chamomile or sleepy tea. Drink it slowly, really enjoying the warmth. While you drink, you could read a book you enjoy, write in your journal, or simply breathe.

Going to bed by 10 PM is healing. The energy changes at 10 PM and is not as conducive to falling asleep.

If you feel exhausted, give yourself some grace. There’s a lot to deal with.

Make some time for yourself to let your thoughts and body unwind.

I’m sharing a picture of me when I was in a Hashimoto’s flare up:

It took me years to get a diagnosis.

I dealt with two major flare ups that lasted like a year each.

No one could figure out what was wrong. They said ‘Hypothyroid!’ and they said ‘Allergies, but we don’t know what to, so take Benadryl.’

Miserable!

And, when I finally got diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, that was just the beginning of figuring out how to heal.

I’m so grateful to understand the mechanism of autoimmunity now!

It’s possible to calm the immune system, heal the gut, and find true relief from the miserable symptoms.

According to the article published in Pub Med entitled “The Gluten Syndrome: A Neurological Disease” by Rodney Phillip Kinvig Ford, “Gluten can cause neurological harm through a combination of cross reacting, antibodies, immune complex disease and direct toxicity.”

It goes on to describe symptoms of this to include “dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system”.

Basically, this is saying that if you’re sensitive to gluten, then eating it can cause issues with your autonomic nervous system. And so we must take a multi-pronged approach.

We must remove the gluten for a period of time and monitor if you start feeling better, and we must heal the nervous system.

Once these factors are addressed, the immune system can unfurl its fist and relax its attack against your thyroid.

I’d love to know your experience with eliminating gluten, let me know if you’ve given it a try.

Wishing you a restful weekend,

Amanda Rose Baker

Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant