Gabriel (almost 2 months old) and me October 2007

As I struggled with serious gut health issues I have to wonder how much of my lifelong problems were centered around some fundamental mistakes made by my parents who were misguided by doctors and the common opinion that is pervasive even today.

When my son was barely a few weeks old I remember my father advising me to put baby cereal into his bottle so he’d sleep through the night.  My son was always a good baby, only waking up once usually around 3 am wanting to nurse then he’d fall back asleep.  My life at that point was sleeping most of the day and night in 4 hour shifts around his need for nursing and new diapers.  I was recovering from the rupture of my c-section wound and had a wound vacuum in my stomach that was incredibly painful.  I was on strong pain medication because the constant sucking of the wound vacuum in my stomach was incredibly painful  though the bandage changes every other day were the worst part.  Sleeping was about all he and I did together but I had no complaints.  He was a happy baby and rarely restless and never had “colic”.  It mystified me at the time that my father thought I should make my son sleep more.  And I was horrified by the idea of giving a newborn any kind of solid food especially grains that I was figuring out were a major problem for me.  Thanks to the work of Sally Fallon Morell, and the book Nourishing Traditions, I had a healthy formula to make for my baby when I lost my breast milk early on.  I also had her advice not to give him any solid foods, especially grains until he was older.

It makes me wonder now how  many adults with gut issues, asthma, allergies, emotional and psychological disorder and more were created by this over-use of grains and pushing by doctors, pediatricians, and other “experts” put really young babies on inappropriate foods.  Of course we must not forget when it was considered taboo to nurse your baby and soy based formulas were born.

Now we have the work of people like Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride that are showing us not only that these inappropriate foods fed at a young age can cause problems but also how to heal them.  Maybe there is hope for me yet.  My gut seems to be in very poor shape, even though I’ve been on major doses of probiotics for years and have now been gluten free for a year.  Some say I need to give up casein too and perhaps they are right but I think it’s time for a major overhaul.

So I’ve been reading and learning about the Milk Cure for almost a year now.  I had heard about it years ago when I first became involved with the Weston A Price Foundation.  A nutrition friend of mine uses it often to clean house and recharge his body and recommended it to me.  It is a scary prospect but also an exciting one.  I have been so sick for so long, all of my adult life.  Maybe this could  be the new beginning I’ve been searching for all these years.  It seems somehow fitting that I go back to my days a an infant, take it easy and drink only milk letting my gut rest and clean house.  Then perhaps can start over.

I’m reading the Milk Diet as a Cure for Chorinic Disease by Charles Sanford Porter.  Parts of it seem intimidating and not really feasible.  I will certainly not be able to set up a screened in outdoor room for fresh air not stay in bed for the 40 days of the milk fast.  I have a toddler, husband and pets to care for but overall I find hope in the pages of the book.

Milk

It’s not to be taken lightly and could be a bit dangerous as my body goes into overdrive to detox toxins and who knows what else.  But I will take it one day at a time and will document it here.  I plan to start soon barring any more financial or physical issues.  The sciatica attack seems to be abating finally though full feeling hasn’t returned to my foot and leg.  For the 40 day fast i will be using grassfed raw milk from my local farmers, drinking it as directed – room temperature every 3o minutes.  I am not a big fan of milk so this is going to be very difficult and a real trial but my health is worth it.  If i only make it part of the way through then I will have to try and try again.

Wish me luck? =)

Dawn

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.  I am not advising anyone to follow the milk diet just sharing my experiences.  These statements are for entertainment purposes only and are not meant to diagnose or treat any disease or condition.  Seek medical and professional help if you are considering any diet or health changes.