I have been having some minor issues over the last couple of months. To be blunt, I just feel crappy. No energy, sluggish even after a full night's sleep, joint aches, tummy issues, moodiness, small bouts of depression. Nothing huge but definitely annoying, and definitely not right. This is not me. It's been getting progressively worse over the last couple of weeks, so it needs to be addressed. I did what I tell my clients to do - really evaluate their body. I've noticed that every time I eat beets, I pee pink for a couple of days. Definitely iron deficient, which could relate to sluggishness. If I eat a lot of simple carbs, particularly bread, I get a bit bloated, my joints swell and ache, and my digestion slows down to a crawl. My shoe size can go up a full size after a couple of slices of pizza. Two beers can give me a hang over, but I'm okay if I drink wine so it's not the alcohol. I took my findings to a nutritionist friend of mine and had her look over my results. She did an assessment as well, and came to the same conclusion - I'm developing a wheat sensitivity and need to up my iron intake significantly. Neither of us believe that iron supplements are the way for me to go, as they have a tendency to make me constipated, so I'll be doing it with diet. I've already got beef stock simmering, made with marrow bones, and I'll be roasting beets for a snack later. (Pink pee be damned!) Actually, I'll be eating a lot of beets, because they are such a good indicator of iron level in the body. (When my pee stops being pink, I'm where I should be.) I have a craving for chicken livers, so out of the freezer they came and will be make into pate with some smoked chicken that The Man did, lots of fresh herbs from the garden and a little green onion from the windowsill, with hard cooked egg as binder. On cucumber rounds as crackers, it should make a wonderful lunch.
I'm entering a world of having to read labels on everything, avoiding a lot of my favorite foods and drinks, and learning a whole new way of cooking and baking. I've sent a few people on this same path, and they are thriving. I don't have the strongest will power, but I think this is the right path for me. I guess I'll be keeping you all posted!