23 may - during day

Feeling tired. Back of brain feeling heavy, have a slight dull ache in my forehead and temples and my eye sockets slightly hurt. Went to bed at 10pm and up at 5am - it's taking a toll on me. Plus I've just started my period, so I have that to contend with too.

It is feeling painful this month - all down my legs as well as my tummy, although it's not quite at the level that I need to take a pill - will decide later on whether I can hold out. (it's getting worse as I write this with some stabbing pains in the middle of my belly).

23 May - morning!

Woke at 5am, coutesy of my DS!

Felt ok. Slightly achey around my eyeballs. Poo = D. Sneezed a few times - have been feeling a little hay fevery lately - the first time in my life. Must nip this in the bud - literally!

My skin's looking much clearer though. The kefir and coconut oil combo (kefir inside / coconut oil outside) is definitely having an effect - overall clearer; pores reduced in size - amazing!

I am on the hunt now for some fresh kefir granules so that I can make it myself! How exciting! Apparantly, you only have to buy them once and, if looked after, will last forever! Wow - there's not much that can offer that claim in this throwaway society - this is MUCH more like it!

Diet 22 May 10

2/3 pint goosegrass water
1/3 pint coconut water
1 shot aloe gel
1 pint green juice: cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, spirulina, barleygrass, vitamin powder, mineral powder
1/2 pink grapefruit
1/2 avocado, with himalayan crystal salt and flax oil
2 bitter apricot almonds
1 medjool date
1/4 pint kefir

1 plum

Chicken sandwich from fair
1/4 pint Water

1/4 pint goose grass water
3 chocolate biscuits (moment of weakness)

Delicious salad: greens, avocado, sprouted mung beans, spring onions,
Quinoa
Home made cereal: oats, coconut oil and honey
1/8 pInt kefir
1/2 pint water

also had delicilous hawaiin massage, courtesy of Mr Mitchell - mmmm! Went to bed with lovely coconut oil on face - gave my jaw a light lymphatic drainage massage before heading off to a blissful sleep.

My skin

My skin has never been that great - tiny spots under the skin, especially around my chin and jaw area. Also, it has never felt very soft, even as a child.
>
> I have read that Kefir is good for the skin, so I have ordered some > from the health food shop. Also, on my wild food walk, a South > African lady said that she had suffered from terrible 'acne' as a > child / teen / adult and had finally discovered after many years > that it was her lymphatic drainage that was the problem. She said > that she massaged her jaw area every day to clean the lymph around > the jaw that was failing to drain away and that did the trick and > her skin finally became clear. So, I'm going to be incorporating > this into my routine.
>
> The lady in the health food shop recommended skin brushing and > saunas to deal with my IBS and get my body extracting toxins more > efficiently. The kefir should also help. I may also take other > probiotics, but will not do so yet.
>
> Donna Gates also talks a lot about cultured vegetables. i am in the > process of making some, so will keep you posted!

Kefir

One of Donna Gates' recommendations is Kefir (cultured milk). Kefir contains loads of beneficial bacteria and is meant to have very beneficial effect on the skin. - apparently, Russian women drink it every morning, which accounts for their extreme radiance.
>
> I have ordered it from my local health food shop and will consume it > on a daily basis. (This one is made from organic, but pasteurised > milk - it's obviously very difficult to come by unpasteurised milk).

Wild Food Walk

I went on a wild food walk the other day in my local woods. It was run by a herbalist at my local alternative health centre.
>
> They took us through the numerous edible plants that were growing > wild on my doorstep and their nutritional benefits.
>
> I have taken a supply of goose grass (also known as sticky willy), > and have soaked it overnight in purified water. this I plan to > drink in the morning.... will let you know how it goes!

Background

I have just turned 40 years old and it is a good time to review my life practices and decide what is working and what is not. My Heath, whilst by no means terrible, has been declining, with the odd ailment that flares up now and again.  I've let my weight slip - I'm just over 10 stone (at 5'3"), have quite a large behind and quite often feel quite sluggish and find it difficult to 'get up and go'.  The very slim waist that I was always proud of has disappeared after my 1st baby, and I haven't seen it since! 

I have been finding lately that I get extremely tired just after lunch.  As I am a full time mum, I feel so 'spent' that I can't help having a daytime nap at the same time as my 3 year old boy - refreshing, but I would rather be doing more contructive things with my free time!  I also find that I have to go to bed by 9pm and even after an 8 hour sleep, I wake up tired.  I haven't been doing very much planned exercise, apart from the normal running around after my boy. 

I have always been quite an anxious person (especially in social situations) and 2 years ago, I also discovered I was sufferering with depression.  I have also recently been diagnosed with Irritatble Bowel Sydrome (IBS).

I have had psoriasis at the back of my beck for the past 20 years and an odd rash on my leg that never quite goes.

So, thankfully nothing life shattering, but I do think I am in the need for quite a drastic change in my lifestyle!  My family history is not great: one parent dying of bowel cancer; the other of a stroke, and my brother suffers from a stomach ulcer and gout. Over the past few years I have read a lot about diet and how food is the most important determinants of a healthy body, and I am convinced that as far as disease is concerned (particularly he state the nhs is currently in) prevention is better than cure. Western medicine pays very little attention to diet as a means of caring for ones body, but the more I read, the more I am convinced of it's importance - after all, food BECOMES you).

I am therefore taking up a challenge to really alter my eating habits, eat as much raw vegan food as I can, also incorporate wild plants into my diet and introduce some modertate regular exercise and meditation. Now, I am not completely new to raw food: I have been increasingly using it for the past year or so, as my knowledge has grown. However, I am starting this posteous as a commitment to a full a change as possible. It is also a means to (hopefully) record my successes, as it is said that it is hard to recall what you were like beforehand! I am not going to be completely raw - I'd love to aim for 60-80%.

I have been doing quite a lot of reading on the subject.  Most recently Donna Gates and I'll be introducing some of her 'Body Ecology' recommendations into my diet.  I have also following the likes of Shazzie and David Wolfe.