conflicted

i really feel passionately about the whole body approach to health. i think that many of the chronic illnesses that plague our society today are a result of poor diet and an unhealthy lifestyle (heart disease, cancer, atherosclerosis, etc). i think the trouble most of us have, is when we are knocked down by bugs, stress, or whatever, we want a quick fix. we go to the doctor, get our prescription and head home feeling better already. how much of that is psychological? it takes a long time to notice the effects of a change in diet and lifestyle, so long that we often get discouraged and lapse back to our old habits.

i've been really trying to get to the root of the skin problems i've been having - a couple rashes around my wrists - and i've been seeing a naturopath to help me along. a lot of the dietary information she's been giving me coincides with what i'm learning in my courses and i find it really interesting. i really want to follow her guidelines, but it is hard sometimes, especially not knowing if i'm going at the problem from the right direction. are the bath and beauty products i use irritating? is it allergies?

less than a year ago i had an allergy test with a conventional allergy specialist. a few skin scratches later and i was given the all clear - no allergies. a few months ago now i had an allergy test (blood from a finger prick was tested) from my naturopath. i reacted strongly to dairy, sesame and strawberries and to a lesser extent to wheat, olives and cinnamon, of all things. who do i believe?

i'm not a milk drinker. not since reading fast food nation and learning about how dairy cows are treated, the hormones they are given to increase yield, and the antibiotics they are given to treat the infections from irritation to the udders from the increased milking. there is pus in your milk. yuck. not to mention the fact that humans are the only creatures that consume milk post-weaning. cheese is my weakness, i can buy organic and feel ok about it, reduce my consumption and maybe lose a couple pounds too! great! i can avoid dairy if it's going to clear up my rashes, but if it's not? how long do i wait before i try something new?

the past few days i've been dealing with another outbreak on my hands (this is different from the rashes on my wrists). what the hell's the deal? the aches and pains, chills and sweats i've been having indicate to me i had a virus, which is how these flare-ups usually start. the timing was suspicious though... a big bbq, ate too much, had a bit of dairy... which led to digestive system upset on my part. did that weaken my immune system so that i was more susceptible to any roaming bugs? or did it send my immune system into overdrive and confuse it enough to start turning on me? this is an autoimmune problem... i just don't know.

what i do know is that prednizone is my fix. i went to the clinic up the street yesterday and the doctor wouldn't prescribe me any because she felt the risks were too great. risks for who? was she worried there would be complications and didn't want to be held responsible? for me, if i don't take it, i basically lose the use of my hands for about 2 weeks and that's not a risk i really want to take - especially with a super camping trip coming up this weekend! my hands swell (i barely got my rings off this time), they itch and they burn. then the blisters appear... tiny little patches, the blisters get blisters on top of them. eventually they dry up and crack and then a thick layer of skin peels off - it hurts and the new skin is very sensitive. prednizone can be dangerous, but it's dangerous for people with chronic conditions that are forced to take it daily for years to deal with their symptoms. prednizone is a steroid and is used to treat a ton of different ailments. i take it for 5 days and i'm done.

i'm conflicted though. i rarely take medication. have a headache? drink some water. back aches? use a hot pad. i know that's not for everyone, and that's fine, but i really think my body is trying to tell me something, and just dealing with and masking the symptoms isn't getting at the root of the problem. however, when my hands flare up, i'm first in line to see the doctor asap and i probably won't bring up my recent dosing with prednizone to my naturopath. she probably would have some suggestions, but as with any holistic treatment, i need time and time is not on my side when i'm trying to bring down swelling and prevent what i know can turn into a miserable 2 weeks.

so pick and choose your remedies? find what works best for you? i still think diet is key and that disease prevention through adequate nutrition isn't given the attention it deserves. and who really to promote this idea? well i hope to do my part with my new website (jencloss.ca is under construction), but who am i up against? there is a lot of money in drugs. pharmaceutical companies will make a lot more money treating someone for life than for curing them with one pill. of course it's not always that easy, i realize that, but i really think the focus should be on fixing the diet and thereby giving the body the nutrients it needs to repair and maintain itself, rather than just treating the myriad of symptoms that pop up, treating the side effects of the drugs with more drugs and so on.

my Mental Health and Nutrition course takes the controversial opinion that mental disease can be cured through proper dietary adjustments and supplements. that's a bold statement to make, but not entirely unreasonable when you look at the supplements suggested and how the nutrient and chemical balance in the body is affected. we aren't made up of separate organ systems and tissues; everything is connected and reacts together to stimuli. we really truly are what we eat. i think the holistic approach to nutrition and to general health deals more with looking at the body as a whole. a rash may not just be a rash, but may be an external manifestation of an internal imbalance.

which brings me back to my present conflict. i'll treat my most irritating symptoms with the harsh prednizone, but at the same time be sure to nourish my body appropriately so that it can efficiently process the drugs and heal itself and bring itself back to neutral. perhaps over time, as i get better at figuring out the right and wrong foods for me, good stress management, and just generally maintaining the right balance, my outbreaks will become fewer and farther between and i won't have to make this choice as often. :)