Category: vegan
It’s 2017 y’all!!!
So we’re a little over a week now into the new year! How has it been treating you all?! I for one (probably like most people) was happy to see 2016 go. It’s been a rough year for sure, but I’ve learned a lot and was pushed out of my comfort zone many times, forcing me to grow.
Happy Holidays!
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve put a blog post up, but I shall be posting more frequently soon!
I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and spreading love and giving thanks! It seems like we need an overflow of love more now than ever.
I’ve especially been giving thanks for all that God has brought me through this year. 2016 has been a rough road for sure. It’s been a year and 3 months since I’ve relocated to Florida and I’m so amazed at how far I’ve come! From September 2015-December 2015 I was in such a state. Just flying down from Nyc to Florida was difficult and I barely left the house because of the terrible shape my feet were in. I experienced intense pain, nerve tingles, oozing and extreme shedding from my legs down. Thankfully these symptoms started to taper off, and I was able to go out and be more active around springtime. This past summer I experienced even better healing progress! I’ve stayed with clear skin pretty consistently since the end of summer, with the exception of a few spots on my feet that occasionally get irritated, with some discolouration taking it’s time to even out. (I’ve been using a diy essential oil lotion for the discolouration which you can find more info about here…number 6)
Just last month I progressed to comfortably wearing socks and sneakers…something I haven’t done since spring 2015! Thankfully I live in a warm enough climate where I can get away with sandals in the fall/winter 😂 I even started driving again, something that I haven’t done since 2010!! I’ve been sleeping better, not experiencing any oozing (except for those few spots on my feet), very little shedding of skin, zero pain, and only itchiness from my knees down! The wrinkling or elephant skin has gone down a lot and will only continue to go down (although it still persists on bends of my feet unfortunately). I remember last year having such torn up fingers that just water alone would irritate them, leaving me in an itch fest. Thankfully the skin has gotten stronger and doesn’t irritate me like before! (I shall post healing photos in a separate post before the end of the year)
All of these wonderful progressions came at the exact right time as my mother has been dealing with her own health issues. I know God has a plan because as I was struggling with my health, my mother was there to see me through. Now that I’m doing much better, I’m strong enough to reciprocate and help my mother through her healing process. She was diagnosed with Meningitis and it progressed to swelling and a lot of scar tissue on her spine which started to effect her walking, gave her intense numbness and nerve pain. 3 spinal surgeries later (due to complications), and she’s been slowly healing with the help of physical therapy and the assistance of a walker & a wheelchair. I hate that this is the current situation, but I give thanks that I am strong enough to take on the day to day responsibilities. It truly shows that everything happens at it’s right time.
It’s so hard to see her like this, especially when she is in such pain. She has been my strength through all of my health trials & exhibits that same strength to battle through her own healing process. Even as she experiences set backs like recently, she still keeps such a positive attitude and keeps the faith & hope. She knows that this is temporary and that she WILL heal. I keep reminding her of what I have come to know with my healing journey that “healing isn’t linear” that there will be many ups and downs, just because the body takes awhile to repair, but to trust it because it WILL repair. She reflects that exact same faith that she has instilled in me all of these many years, even when she isn’t having such a great day or as the medical bills continue to pile up. She knows to give thanks and to keep continuing to praise God as he has brought us through struggles before and he WILL do it again! She’s doing the work, staying postitve, eating well (she’s been vegan for a year now!), and even using her own home remedies for cell regeneration and scar tissue with the helichrysum and frankinscense essential oil along with many other oils for pain, numbeness and weakness.
I just want to send this message out to all of you who come across my site and who are suffering. I’m thankful for all of the kind words and emails that I receive and I continue to strive to be of service to you all in any way that I can. I know how hard it is to heal your skin. I know first hand the excruciating pain and suffering. I know the excitement of waking up pain free, or showering pain free! I’ve experienced the many many ups and downs of this healing journey and as I’ve said before I am so thankful that I’ve endured it and never gave up, going through topical steroid withdrawal is the best decision I’ve ever made! Now there were many times where I just wanted to throw in the towel, but I knew that I had to keep my trust and faith in God, and keep believing deep down that this is temporary and it will end…that it is only a fraction of my life taken to heal and I will be much stronger, healthier and appreciative for life afterwards. When you are feeling like you cannot go on, just dig a little deeper. Just make it through the day and know that tomorrow will be better, that seeing tomorrow means one more day closer to a healthier you! Look towards the future and all of the awesome things you will do, and how you will never take anything for granted. Have gratitude every single day, even when you are in extreme pain, because the pain has to happen for the body to heal and repair, give thanks that your body is cleansing properly to get you healthy again.
I pray that everyone has a blessed holiday season and healing success and continued blessing for the new year! Never give up, just take it all one day at a time and have constant gratitude. Reach out to others who are suffering are in need of love, it will ease you out of your pain and give you a boost to keep going. Encourage someone who is in a tough spot and spread love whenever you can, not only in this holiday season but every day of the year!
God bless you Eczema Warriors! Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like at my email address: eczema.holistic.healing@gmail.com
❤ Jen
Health through Nutrition
Hey guys!
Check out this super informative lecture my health coach Donia did called Health through Nutrition. She’s a pretty amazing woman, and she’s the one who inspired me to take control of my health and heal my eczema naturally once and for all. Just her sharing her healing story on her site, gave me the courage to begin this blog many years ago and document my journey for you all to see. I’ve learned a lot from her, and because of it, I can share my info with all of you across the world! If you are interested in the products that she is talking about in the lecture, feel free to shoot me an email at eczema.holistic.healing@gmail.com and I can provide you with more info as well as my store site 🙂
Take care & God bless!
Jen ❤
Summer 2016 healing!
Here it is finally, my summer 2016 healing update! I guess being that today is the first day of fall, it’s better that I get it in today, better now than never! It’s been a little while since I’ve given an update with pictures and such, so here it is!
Testimony – Arizona Star’s Healing Story!
I would love to share with you a healing testimony of this beautiful little girl named Arizona Star! I’m so glad that her mother Lindsey contacted me for advice on healing her eczema. I’m also so thankful that she didn’t have to experience the rough journey of an intense Topical Steroid Withdrawal. Her healing time happened pretty rapidly, by following the protocol that I recommend. Check out the interview I did with her mother Lindsey, as well as progress pictures below!
Continue reading “Testimony – Arizona Star’s Healing Story!”
The Great Protein Fiasco
Yessss! Once again Dr.Greger is droppin gems! We cannot be protein deficient, in fact most people eat an excess of protein everyday! An over excess of protein does more harm than good to our bodies, especially if we’re getting it from animal sources.
To figure out how many grams you should be getting, take your weight x 4 and divide it by 10. So for me 130 x 4 / 10 gives me = 52 grams, and I can even get away with ten grams less than that amount or even less than that! I eat a vegan diet and I hit that amount and sometimes more on a daily basis! I like to keep my macro levels to where I’m hitting 80% of calories coming from carbs, 10% of calories from protein & 10% from fat. I’ve found eating high carb low fat vegan to be the healthiest and most balanced way to live. My digestion is top notch, my skin benefits greatly (less itchy & dry, more hydrated from the inside out, less red, less inflammation, wounds heal faster & better rest at night!) and I feel lighter and more energetic throughout the day (*note to self, need to make a blog post on this soon! 😜). Eating lots of fruits gives me all the carbs and energy I need (remember our bodies run on sugar 😉 the sugar in fruits are not the enemy!)
- Check out Dr.Greger’s article by clicking the link: The Great Protein Fiasco and make sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel nutritionfacts.org
- More info on protein HERE
- Simple Steps to Going on a Plant Based Diet
- Here’s an example of my meals in the link below. This is an older post, and as I mentioned my diet has changed more to an 80/10/10 style (and currently I’m eating raw vegan). In this post I got waaaaay too much protein, and with my macro breakdown you can see exactly the sources I got it from…What I Eat in a Day – Vegan
Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions or need advice on transitioning to a plant based diet, or if you need advice in general on naturally healing eczema! eczema.holistic.healing@gmail.com
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Recipe! – Watermelon Juice
🍉🍉🍉Try out this super hydrating, refreshing drink!🍉🍉🍉
Fill up your blender with…
- fresh watermelon
- add a handful of fresh mint (Great herb for the digestion)
- the juice from 1 lime (balances the ph in the body with its high alkaline ash residue)
- and about a 2×2″ or 3×3″ square of fresh aloe (soaking it in water for like 20 min or so takes down the bitterness)***
- add a few cubes of ice…
Blend and enjoy! 😋😋😋
***Aloe is great for the skin, it helps support the immune system and helps to regulate your digestion! It also has antioxidant and antibacterial properties!
This pic was from day two of “watermelon island”. It’s basically when you do a mono meal of a fruit for an extended amount of days (a fruit fast), I did two days on “watermelon island”…watermelon goodness allll day long! It’s a great way to cleanse the body because fruits are super hydrating, and very easy on the digestion. They clean out the system because of its water content and fiber. You can do a banana (“banana island”) fast, grape fast etc. Fasting with easily digestible fruit like watermelon (digests in like 30 min or less) allows your body to only use a little bit of energy on digesting and the rest on healing the body! Just doing the 2 days alone gave me more hydrated, less itchy and red skin! For even deeper cleansing I could’ve gone 3-5 days or even a week or more! Check out this Dr.Morse video on Fasting with Fruit! Also check out the ebook The Fruit Cure by http://www.DeHappy5.com on healing eczema with a raw food diet!
Simple Steps to Going on a Plant Based Diet!
As I mentioned before in the acid/alkaline page it is best to avoid animal products and processed foods to heal your eczema and to stay eczema free. Animal products are highly acidic, and take forever to digest in the body (anywhere from 24-72 hours!) which that energy could be used on healing the body. Optimal digestion is so key in healing your eczema, as our gut holds 80% of our immune system and is one of the main channels of elimination. Alkaline foods (plant based foods) give us all the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and energy our body needs to repair and restore from our organs, bones, tissues and skin!
This post is to provide some easy tips to make a transition to a plant based diet fool proof. It’s not as hard as you think, and once you get the hang of it, it will be like second nature!
Continue reading “Simple Steps to Going on a Plant Based Diet!”
Tips for Optimal Gut Health!
In his article, “Skin Health, Eczema, and Preventative Strategies”, James Barker, N.D. sums up the importance of protecting the GI integrity for eczema patients by saying: “If the eyes and the skin are the portal through which we may observe the body’s internal health, the gut then is the door through which a majority of disease initiates its entrance into the body… It goes without saying that… the first area of treatment then for the patient displaying eczema should be the gastrointestinal lining, without a doubt” (p. 58).
Having an optimally functioning gut is key to healing one’s eczema as well as countless other diseases. We must heal from the inside out, and the integrity of the gut is the first line of defense in repairing the skin of eczema. The gut holds 80% of the body’s immunity! When the detoxification systems aren’t eliminating properly (gut, kidneys, liver) then the toxic waste needs to go somewhere, and the skin is the organ it decides to eliminate on. Putting the focus on healing internally with diet, and probiotic rich foods and supplements will put the body back in balance and add good bacteria into the body.
The best foods to put into the body to repopulate the good gut bacteria are plant based foods. These foods are highly alkaline, fiber rich and come with an array of various vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Drinking celery juice first thing in the morning is another great gut healing remedy one can do. Check out this very informative video on why its best to fill up on all kinds of plant based foods in order to heal the gut which will in turn heal your skin as well as other health issues.
Seven signs you should be taking a probiotic
- Antibiotics – If you’ve taken antibiotics in the past year or even five years and you haven’t re-cultured your good bacteria you should look into taking a probiotic. Birth control and anti-inflammatory drugs like NSAID’s (over the counter pain meds like Tylenol, Ibuprofen etc) will also destroy the gut.
- Food Poisoning – This is a shift in the equilibrium of the gut, meaning that you have more bad bacteria than good. When this happens you will definitely want to re-populate the gut with good bacteria.
- Digestive Disturbances – Such as bloating, excessive gas, constipation, diarrhea etc. If this is occurring, you will want to look into supplementing with a probiotic.
- Skin Conditions – Once you start to fix what’s going on in the inside of the body, the outside will reflect more harmony and balance of your health.
- Mood Disorders – If you are having mood issues, such as depression, there’s a good chance that a good probiotic will help bounce up the seratonin levels. 95% of the seratonin is in the body is actually made in the gut and it’s the “happy molecule” in the brain. Once you start fixing your gut, you will notice that your mood will start to enhance!
- Weak Immunity – If you’re the type of person that gets sick two to three times a year and you’re wondering why, there’s a good chance that over populated bad bacteria is holding you back and you should look into considering a probiotic.
- Yeast Overgrowth – If you’re dealing with any type of yeast infection or yeast overgrowth on the inside, rebalancing the good gut bacteria will definitely help you.
For more info on the whole food based probiotics I use, check out this link HERE and shoot me an email for more information and how to order at eczema.holistic.healing@gmail.com! I also do health coaching with eczema sufferers where I send them a health questionnaire to get to know them better and offer tips, diet advice and natural remedies. ☺️
Eczema Holistic Healing 