Back in October, just before I embarked on this raw food experience, I had some blood work done. One of the tests showed the amount of inflammation in my system. I was thinking that, more than 3 months into this process it would be good to see if the inflammation had gone down any.
Note: An acidic environment leads to inflammation. A raw food diet, which is basically akaline, should lessen the acidity in my body and therefore the inflammation as well.
Back in October, 2009 my blood work result was 935.
Normal is less than 120.
In February, 2010 (using a muscle test) my "reading" was ((correction) 545,
which suggests that the raw food diet is quite effective.
(If your not into behavioral kinesiology, i.e. muscle testing, I will be getting the regular blood work done once I get back to Edmonton in April and we'll be able to compare apples to apples.)
I met with an MD, whose has decided to pursue Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) full time. She was very helpful and explained that TCM has a very different philosophy from Western medicine. This modality sees things in terms of various concepts such as chi; the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water; excess and deficiency; cooling and warming foods; dampness, or heat.....
She said that I was damp and that I should be eating more cooked food (for the heat), and lots of grains, which are a condensed form of food, (that have more heat qualities.) I was confused as this is virtually the opposite of what my current health practitioner was advising.
With some exasperation, I shared that information with my sister. It turns out that my naturopath studied TCM for 3 years and agreed with the doctor's assessment of my condition. His point was that it boiled down to a question of priorities, and dealing with the cancer is the priority at this time.
In the short term, getting my body to an alkaline state trumped dealing with dampness, because cancer can't live in an alkaline environment. Because most grains are acidic, he suggested avoiding them. Once the cancer is gone, then modifying my diet to deal with the dampness would be an option to consider.
Makes sense to me.
Overall, I'm glad I got a second opinion. There's no doubt that getting advice is diametrically opposed can be frustrating. The trick is to see beyond the language (and baggage) of each modality, and try to make sense of what is being said.
Not easy. Certainly it takes time and effort, and the willingness to deal with ambiguity. Most of all it takes a certain level of confidence in whatever decision one makes, balanced with a willingness to remain open minded about any new information that may come along.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it -until something that makes more sense comes along.
