Back from Lunch

(Out To Lunch by Tammis Keefe)

I've been out to lunch from this blog for a really, really long time. I've thought about you guys a lot, I promise, but I've had such a mixture of thoughts and epiphanies and ahh-hhas running through my head that I was hoping to trod a little deeper before I published my findings.

I did almost post on October 21, 2010 when my holistic doctor showed me on her computer screen how the rheumatoid arthritis pain in my body had dropped from an 800 to a 15 on the scale. WOW is right.

And I almost wrote to tell you guys that since being on this new diet—gluten-free vegan—I no longer take medicine for EBV. After 7 years, it is gone and has been gone since August.

Miraculously, I also no longer needed to take hyperthyroid herbal drops as of July, because my energy levels had stabilized and my thyroid was happy once again. Should've shared that with you guys too.

In September I almost told you how I was starting to read a book called Anatomy of the Spirit and then was gifted You Can Heal Your Life, which led me to even more books and a new way of thinking. I'll most definitely get to talking about that. I stayed quiet through November, December, and January because I was processing.

And I did almost write about those many, many days of pain and utter frustration scattered over the past half a year to show that you're not alone and that I still haven't completely said good-bye to illness. Those blessed days when I can't cut my toast (yes, some of us do cut our toast, at least when there's a fried egg on top) or dress myself or walk without wincing are still familiar to me. Every day is full of surprise moments of gratitude (e.g., Like two weeks ago when I couldn't swallow or even lick my lips because the muscles around the hinge of my jaw were so tight and inflamed and then a few days later when I could eat again—I was suddenly beyond grateful for those muscles I never paid attention to before!). I thank God for those inconvenient days because they're days and not weeks anymore, and because without them I wouldn't be as conscious of what my body is trying to tell me. It's been talking to me for years, but I ignored it. That's why it's screaming now.

Being conscious, being aware is where my journey has led me the past few months. I've been asking myself, "What's really going on up there in that mind of yours, Katie? And what are you feeling?" And then once I became conscious enough to recognize my thoughts and when I was feelings something, I next asked myself, "Why are you feeling that way?" Peeling back layer after layer is no easy job. I'd say this part of the healing process has been ten times harder than giving up Oreo cookies. I wasn't prepared for that. So the majority of my next posts will most likely be about this more spiritual, inner journey I started on when I felt like the healthy food was no longer enough. Body, Mind, and Spirit. We must heal all three.

What's your secret to being more aware of your body's needs?

The Hidden Beauties of Coconut Oil

One of my latest, or Sammy's latest, discoveries is coconut oil. Hold on, because these findings are going to blow you away. My friend Sam told me about this healthy substitute for butter, vegetable oil, margarine, shortening, etc., because as she was researching it, she came across the news that coconut oil helps treat hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, candida, parasites, viruses, and colon cancer. The words jumped off the monitor at her and screamed "Katie! Katie needs to know this!" She apologized to me in advance, explaining that she didn't want to tell me how to eat, but she just had to share what she'd found. That's what friends are for, right? I would've been mad at her if she hadn't told me about coconut oil.


So what's the big deal about this stuff? A lot. Coconut oil has anti-viral properties because it is about 50% lauric acid, which is a major component of mothers' breast milk to help fight infection while babies' immune systems are still developing. Dr. Mary Enig, a Ph.D. nutritionist/biochemist and an expert on fats and oils says, "Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid," (quote found at Alternative Healthzine).


Coconut oil is also the leading oil for weight loss, and it helps the body balance the thyroid. Read more about coconut oil's health benefits by going to Coconut-Info.com, Advance Health and also Green Smoothie Girl. Do some of your own research too and see if you can't find a reason to give coconut oil a try to feel healthier and treat your body better.


So although coconut oil is one of my hot new discoveries, I have yet to try it! I've been dying to get my hands on some, and as luck would have it, the gallon of coconut oil I ordered 5 whole days ago just arrived on my front porch. Who's ready for a batch of kettle corn or some sauteed zucchini. Yum! The only problem, the lid is sealed like the top of a frozen juice can and my fingers can't grip it and pull. So I must wait till another pair of hands comes home. My positive thinking says that by the time I go through this whole gallon of coconut oil and receive the next one in the mail, my arthritis will be next to nothing and my hands will be strong enough to open the lid without the help of no one. I know these are lofty goals.


P.S.– Make sure you get virgin cold press/unrefined coconut oil. That's the best. I bought mine from Mountain Rose Herbs because I'd heard that they sell the cheapest high-quality coconut oil around. Let me know if you find otherwise.

The Green Experiment

I feel like I'm embarking on a never-ending road trip, which is why I'm inviting you along. Who wants to road trip alone on an endless and everywhere adventure? Not me. And instead of gorging ourselves on Milk Duds and pork rinds for hours on end, we're going to be chowing down on fresh sauteed veggies and gloriously green smoothies and homemade hummus. Lots of hummus.

Each one of us is responsible for what we chew and swallow, but how often do we really pay attention to the ingredients we're inhaling until we're sick and in pain and bloated and unhappy with life? Or until our taste buds are raw from eating a whole monster bag of Skittles?

My null hypothesis: Eating more whole and raw foods will eliminate all my health problems, plain and simple. I don't want to be on pain killers or immune suppressants or steroids—I want to get to the root of the problem (pun intended) instead of masking it. To be honest, I don't know if all this green eating will cure me completely, but I have plenty of hope and am ready to try anything. Learn from me, teach me what you know, and we'll see what all this natural eating can do to give us a better quality of life.

My plan is to attack the following: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), bursitis, hypoglycemia, colon cancer, hyperthyroidism, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), candida, Strep G, and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). As the author, I also have the freedom to add to the list as I remember other things that ail me. Hopefully my findings along the way will be of some help to you.