Primal

Something that I have toyed with in the past has finally become something I am committing to.  Last week I removed all grains, sugar, dairy from my diet.  We have done paleo/primal stints before, but this time I think I finally jumped in with both feet- and boy am I happy I did!

I haven't posted much in this last year, but if I had you would have really noticed a change in my mood/outlook.  Something must have happened to be physically/hormonally during this pregnancy, combined with some situational stressors, but I would say I was depressed, overly anxious, and unable to move past it with my usual techniques.

I have to say that within this last week (yep, juts one week), my mood is markedly improved, it's more stable, and my focus, ability to be mindful, is back.  I'm just an n of 1 but this makes me want to sing the diet changes praises.  I thought it would be harder then it has been, and I think what makes it so much easier this time is due to the fact that I had reached a bottom with how I felt.

Fortunately E is just naturally a primal baby- her favorite foods are eggs, turkey, butter, bacon, green beans, and rice cereal (not primal).  Yep, she loves proteins, fats, and veggies, oh and of course she is still nursing for most her food sources.  She dislikes most fruits, and oatmeal, although we keep trying to introduce new foods.  It seems sweet is a flavor is dislikes.  Now L, he will be our challenge.  L would eat cookies, cake, ice cream, and chocolate every day all day.  He dislikes most meat except deli meat occasionally.  But we are working with what we have, offering berries, nuts, eggs.

It's fascinating to me the connection between mood and mental health- depression and diabetes are heavily correlated, and I can not deny that blood sugar swinging contributes to mood instability.  And the addictive power of sugar, wow.  This experience has sparked a strong desire to learn more about the science behind this and to understand nutrition as medicine.