Tuesday, July 11, 2006

My greens make me gag

I had tentative plans to see a naturopath for eons (just ask Erin Coulter), and I finally went this year because it was covered by my UVic health plan. I learned a bunch of stuff, but in the end I didn't like my doctor. On my third visit I told her I was interested in balancing my pH (I had done some research on my own) and she basically said not to bother - that interest in pH is a fad that comes and goes. She didn't want to follow my lead, and since I felt that my acidic body was the root of all of my problems, I wasn't too happy with her reaction. I didn't go back.

Time passed and my problems didn't get any better. So, last month I made an appointment for a live blood analysis. The doctor is so popular I waited until last week to see him. We looked at a drop of my blood under a microscope and he told me what's wrong with me: I'm really acidic. He prescribed a ton-o-supplements and told me to eat an alkaline diet for two months until I see him again. That means I'll be eating a lot of fruit and vegetables - and most of them raw at his suggestion. But it turns out the diet isn't the hard part; rather, the supplements are causing me serious anxiety. I've never been a fan of taking pills, but I'd take a million if it meant I never had to drink gross liquid concoctions again. I'm such a baby I actually plug my nose as I'm drinking my greens supplement or liver cleanse, and Michael can attest to the awful face I make when I'm done.

I'd like to say that this diet has changed my life, but I'm only on day three and still experiencing headaches from (refined) sugar and coffee withdrawal - once I wrap my mind around drinking my coffee black I'll be enjoying my daily cup once again. I don't feel so hot right now, but trust that I'll keep you updated on my adventures in alternative therapies. You can share too.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I’ve had tentative plans to do a cleans for a long time now. Two things worry me: first I am already quite a smelly person and I have heard that cleansing can exacerbate this in the beginning and second I really really like drinking beer.
Maybe I’ll get around to it one day.
Hay Erin, aren’t a lot of fruits and veggies quite acidic (tomatoes, citric)?
Emily
P.S.
I am a blogging virgin. I hope I did this right, or should I say correctly for you grammar and spelling gals. I’ve never been a subscriber to this dogma but I can see how this blogging thing could make you a bit paranoid. I feel so exposed.

Erin Riley said...

Interestingly enough lemons and tomatoes, etc. are acidic when they go in, but alkaline when they come out, if you catch my drift...so they count as alkaline in the long run.

Also, I can still drink beer - just not a lot of it - so we can still meet up for drinks.

Hooray for your first interaction with a blog!

Anonymous said...

Do you know of any online resources about this alkaline diet thingy? I'm always interested in learning more...

sarah

Erin Riley said...

I did a quick search on google and found many sites that talk about pH balance, but I don't really want to recommend any because they all say something slightly different - I have yet to find one that explains it really well. I also did a search for live blood analysis and I'm surprised that there's barely any information out there...