New member to the list - introduction

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm glad to have found this list, I'll give some background as to my

situation. I live in Northfield. Over the last few years I got feeling

worse and worse, especially accelerating after I started college in

the fall of 2004, although I ried for the longest time to write it off

as a nuisance that would go away on its own as it came. I realized

first that I reacted to the food in the school cafeterias, and when I

found out about MSG and all its hidden sources, I realized I reacted,

and thought it was the whole problem. I grew up in a family that ate

very little processed food, and so the food at school was a big shock.

However by last summer I had gotten feeling bad enough that even when

I ate whole foods and no MSG, though I realize now the predomiantly

vegetarian diet I had wasn't good for me. I went back to school last

fall and avoided the cafeteria by joining an eating coop, but even

though I (mostly) avoided MSG and the other additives I'm intolerant

of, I still felt rapidly worse because the diet was vegetarian and

mostly vegan with lots of grains and beans that I now know weren't

prepared properly. I got so sick that I had to drop out at the

beginning of October. I had many different symptoms, to describe a few

are fatigue, nervous system problems like tingling, burning and

itching feelings along with strange hot and cold feelings, sore

muscles and knees,heart palpitations, very difficult to concentrate

like being in a fog, irritable bowel, losing weight, and others that

would take a while to list.

I had many conventional tests done which showed no significantly

abnormal results. I tested by elimination for food sensitivities to

many common foods, thinking since part of the problem was definitely

food sensitivities, the rest would have to be, but soon I realized

that it was a more general problem and the specific food sensitivities

were just a symptom. About this time I got really interesten in the

Weston A Price foundation and started using the book Nourishing

Traditions. I have done lots of cooking and feeling significantly

better than before, and my family has been supportive despite the fact

that my dad's a vegetarian. I have been fermenting, making sourdough

bread, kefir from the real kefir grains, sourkraut, and doing much

other cooking, as well as taking the cod liver oil. I have felt

significantly better with the diet change, and as well seeing a

chinese medicine with acupuncture and herbal medicine, and b12

supplements, but still have major ups and downs.

I just recently read Ron Schmid's book the Untold Story of milk which

has made me really want to get a source of raw milk, I have been

making kefir from grass fed and unhomogenized but still pasteurized

from whole milk from cedar summit farm which is available at Just Food

coop in Northfield, but if I found a source of raw milk I would switch

to that. I did look at the database and saw the sources in Wisconsin

and far Western Minnesota, but if anyone knows any closer I would like

to know. Also, especially after just reading Ron Schmid's book and

then his article at the Weston A Price foundation's website, I've been

wondering if I might have lyme disease, I got tested for that before

and it was negative but now I learned that the particular test I had

is pretty much worthless and picks it up less than half the time,

especially if you had it for a while. I need to get a better test, but

no matter what it actually is I was encouraged by Ron's story how he

got back to feeling 100% through his diet.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what any more specific dietary

changes would be best, I alrady know the Noruishing Traditions

principals but have realized that even some things suggested in the

book make me feel bad, especially anything sweet even if it is raw

honey, rapadura or even more than a small amount of fruit. Also any

suggestions to gain weight, although I've gained a few pounds back in

the last few months that I lost earlier, I'm 20 now and still weigh

less than when I was 15. I just want to be able to get back to my

normal life, I've thought for a while about going into sustainable

agriculture, while I was at school I was also working on the college

farm which includes a grassfed beef herd, although I didn't get nearly

as much out of it as I should because of feeling sicker, and also

taken a few slasses on sustainable agriculture, and I've always liked

to be active and outside and learning about the natural world. I'll

answer any questions and post more when it comes up.