A Pregnancy and a Miscarriage

So, if you recall a couple posts back I was very emotional over giving up food. I mean, who cries over forgetting a smoothie at home or freaks out over people eating taco's around them? A pregnant woman, thats who! 

4 weeks ago, when Dan and I were sitting across from the doctor hearing that we may want to start searching out infertility treatment options we were at the time PREGNANT, we just didn't know it. How amazing our God is. Through the next two weeks I began to get emotional and cry all the time, was on this crazy diet and was not losing any weight (in fact I was gaining weight), and was hungry ALL the time! On March 24, a little over a week after my appointment and 4 days before my missed period, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Dan looked at me like I was crazy and told me "you can take your 1 for this month." Yes folks, he has me on a pregnancy test limit since I seem to be convinced every month that I am pregnant. 

Well, I took the test, hopped in the shower while I waited the 3 minutes, and when I got out I saw a faint positive sign. At this point we were not convinced since back in December (new years eve to be exact) I had a false positive test. We left for the airport an hour later keeping our hopes in check, and 3 different brands of pregnancy tests in my purse. We were very early for our flight, so I snuck in the bathroom to take a second test. I waited for the result and was shocked when the second one came out a DEFINITE positive. I proceeded to grab the test and go running down the terminal screaming "Its positive! Its positive! I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant!" While waving the stick I had peed on only moments ago above my head. We decided we were only going to tell parents- that was it, until we could get back to Colorado Springs and see our doctor, so we called our parents to share with them the good news.

Well, our whole "not tell anyone" pact lasted about 5 minutes after we got to the house we were staying at. Dan was very excited about getting to eat sushi, and I looked at him and said "I cant eat sushi.. remember?" Which of course brought the question from our friends "Why CANT you eat sushi?!" We told them, called our siblings- because if friends new, siblings should know as well! 

The next day, my mood was off and I could tell Dan seemed down. We spent some time in prayer, talked about it, and realized we were both starting to prepare for the worst. We knew that I had hormone problems and health issues, so we were both refusing to be excited. Once we realized this was our mentality, we began to pray because we did not feel we were thinking about this in a healthy way. God really pressed it on my heart through a couple encouraging texts from my mom that He loved this baby more than I could ever, and the body of Christ is around us to rejoice with us when we rejoice and mourn with us when we mourn. There was a life in me, and whether God gave us this baby to celebrate for 75 years or 2 weeks, we felt we needed to celebrate. 

We then began to tell everyone we ran into. The morning sickness started, the exhaustion, and all hormonal changes began. We discussed names, planned what life would be like over the next 9 months, and just started dreaming, because, well that is what you do when you find out you are expecting. You hope. You plan. You fall in love with that life inside of you.

When we got back to Colorado I went to the doctor to confirm the pregnancy and get my blood work done. I was definitely pregnant. The blood work came back a few days later, my progesterone was a little bit low, so I was put on progesterone pills. My temperatures had been dropping a bit at that point, but they went back up after I was put on the pills. I was beginning to get food aversions... mainly mayonnaise and fish... and was craving pineapple and chicken all the time. 

Monday, April 8 I began having moderate to severe cramps. I had been getting really mild cramps for weeks, and I figured my uterus was just continuing to grow. I called, researched, and prayed like crazy. I knew the pregnancy was out of my hands and began to pray for a miracle. All research told me was there was nothing that could be done if I already began to miscarry, and some cramping is normal. If I began to bleed, go to the E.R. immediately, but they would not be able to do anything. By Tuesday I knew something was wrong. My cramps were not going away, and they continued to get worse. I called the nurse hotline again and got the same answer- nothing could be done, wait for bleeding. Hopefully it was just normal cramping. Tuesday was the year anniversary of my Uncle Paul's death and it happened to be a snow day. We went to my parents house to hang out. The whole day I could not shake the feeling that something was not right. I began to tell God (TELLING God what to do is not ever a very good idea...) that our family had been through enough this last few years, there is so much pain, so much hurt. This baby was supposed to be the joy in our family. A blessing to lift our spirits. New life. He couldn't take that away! How would taking this baby be for anyone's good!? 

I fell asleep that night after reading Psalm 30 and 31. I apologized for my selfish banter with Him earlier, and I knew that whatever happened, he was in control, and I would choose to trust him.

Wednesday morning I woke up, bleeding. I decided to still get ready for work, but during my shower I began to double over in pain. I walked out to the kitchen and told Dan it was time to go to the emergency room. We were immediately admitted. 

The doctor was very reassuring. He said that 1/3 of pregnant women who come in here have bleeding, and of that 1/3, 1/3 go on to have a miscarriage. He was trying to use these stats to comfort me until I informed him that I was a statistics teacher and was very aware of what that meant. He ordered some lab work, an I.V. to pump me full of fluids, a pelvic exam, and an ultrasound. The pelvic exam went well, my cervix was closed which was another positive. He said I was probably fine and would carry this baby to full term. I went in for my ultrasound next. We waited for the results, praying and hoping for the best, the doctor had raised our hopes, and we were in good spirits... planning the rest of our day.

2 hours later the doctor came back in. He informed us that the stats he gave us at the beginning of the day actually meant nothing in our situation. The ultrasound results showed no baby, no gestational sac, no sign of baby or life. My BHGc results came back at 386, which for my time of pregnancy should have been over 10,000. He explained that either their is a pregnancy somewhere, it is just an ectopic that they couldn't see on the ultrasound, or, I have already lost the baby. He said either their was no implementation, or their was a normal implementation with a baby that did not fully develop. 

The news was crushing. I began sobbing uncontrollably. I still have to go in for more workup Friday to ensure that my body is not still acting like I am pregnant. I took the rest of the week off work to mourn, heal, and just spend some sweet time with Jesus and my husband. 

We cannot escape trials. Every time I have approached big news, I always ask myself what my biggest fear would be. When I got pregnant my greatest fear was miscarriage. I then ask myself: What can I do about it? and What will happen if my fears come true? The truth here was: I cannot ultimately do anything to prevent this, I can eat well, rest, take progesterone, and yet I am completely out of control. What will happen if I lose the baby? I will cry, mourn, pick myself up, and rest peacefully knowing my baby is with Jesus. My life will go on, more babies will come, and if more pain comes, well I will take that when it happens. We cannot live in our worst fears. We cannot live paralyzed by them. We have to keep moving forward, knowing that the peace of God surpasses all understanding. 

Psalm 31:7-8 "I will be GLAD and REJOICE in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy, but have set my feet in a spacious place." 

Psalm 30:4-5, 10-12 " Sing to the Lord you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment but his favor lasts a lifetime, weeping may remain for a night but REJOICING comes in the morning... Hear O Lord and be merciful to me. O Lord be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with JOY, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord, I WILL GIVE YOU THANKS FOREVER"

I will choose, today, and each day ahead of me to praise the Lord for what he has done, knowing that my feet stand firm in a spacious place. He sees my wailing, my anguish, and lifts up my head. There will be rejoicing. I will rejoice. 

It is amazing how verses come back from a time when you memorized them. The very first verse I remembered when I knew I had lost the baby was Matt 7:9-11 We memorized Matt 7 our Jr. year of highschool in bible class. Thank you Dr. Gordon for being so strong and pushing us to such high expectations. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" My baby is a precious and good gift from God, and I will hold tight believing that. 

Baby Yoder's first Present

Traveling with Allergies

Our whirlwind Seattle/Portland trip is over, and it was so amazing! We got to see friends and family, attend our old home group, and eat lots of food! Traveling and dealing with dietary restrictions can be very difficult, but I was about 95% successful! So I have some tips that got me through the week.

1. Do your research- most chain restaurants have their nutritional menu's online. Know what you can order at what restaurants. For instance- I know that I can order the Pasta Fresca at Noodles and Co. If I get rice noodles and no cheese, while I can order nothing substantial at Chili's or On the Boarder. 

2. Know how to instruct your waiters- Most waiters can do a GF meal no problem- ask them to do GF, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Egg Free, chicken dish and they normally have no idea where to begin. They are also probably mostly clueless on what "cross contamination" means, or what different things have hidden ingredients (red robin seasoning has both soy and egg in it, and I have had many waiters not know this). I know at most places I can order a grilled chicken breast, no seasoning, and no oil used on the grill if I need to. I can also (if I want to "fudge" and eat beef) order a hamburger- no bun and no seasoning. If you need to, ask for a manager to help. Also, many times I just hand the waiter a list of my allergies and let them go talk it over with the head chef- I have gotten many unique dishes not listed on the menu this way.

3. Ask about restaurant procedures- this one is extremely important for those who have severe allergies. Ask about cross contamination. Ask about what oils they use on the grill, and if they will clean it for you. Ask them if the frier they make their "GF" fries in also makes their chicken nuggets. 

4. Look for restaurants that promote "Gluten Free" or "Vegan" or "Allergy Friendly" I have much better luck at these restaurants, because they understand what dietary needs are and serve people with restrictions more often. I get much better service at these restaurants.

5. Find a restaurant that works and stick to it! I can not tell you how many times I went to "evolution fresh" this week. Seriously once a day. 

6. Carry snacks with you- The FIRST thing I always do when arriving at my destination is find a whole foods and stock up on protein heavy snacks that I can put in my purse. Cashews were my snack of choice this week :-) If I am staying somewhere with a fridge, I also buy cereal I can eat and Almond or Rice Milk

and last but not least

7. Know where you can fudge. It is vacation for pete's sake!! I was very careful NOT to fudge on soy or gluten while I was gone. I did steal a bite of Dan's ice cream one day, and a sip of his clam chowder.  Also, at P.F. Changs, all their meat is pre marinated in a marinade containing egg. I needed to eat protein more than I needed to stay away from the egg, so I ordered their Lemon Chicken. It also had sugar in it. I also ordered vinaigrette dressing on my salads. Sometimes, my need to eat and keep my blood sugar up surpassed my need to stay away from beef or sugar or even corn. I did not do this when I had an alternative, but a girl has to eat!!! This is why I can only claim 95% when it came to sticking to my diet. 

All in all, I am proud of how I did on the trip. Dan was super supportive and did not take me to a sushi restaurant or eat things I was craving around me. I hope this was helpful to those of you dealing with this as well! 

Don't Cry over Spilled Milk- Or a Forgotten Smoothie

Cutting out all of my comfort foods has been a really emotional experience for me this time around. I have been brought to tears multiple times just because of food. I am going to share my favorite crying story with you.

Last Wednesday I got up early enough to make my smoothie with enzymes and protein  packed my lunch, got ready for my day, and pleased my husband by actually leaving on time. Mornings are always a little rough for us because saying I am not a morning person is the understatement of a century. Typically I snooze for about an hour, jump up with 10 minutes left until I have to leave, shower, grab whatever food I need for the day, and leave the house about 5 minutes late. Dan typically makes me a smoothie while reminding me often that it is time to go. If Dan tries to talk to me until we are half way to school his words are met with grunts and glares.

So you can imagine why I was so excited to have gotten up when my alarm went off and made my own smoothie! Only problem was- we got half way to school and I realized that my smoothie was still home. I asked Dan if we could turn around, but because it was a testing day we really needed to be there on time. At this point I began to cry. Seriously?! I am typically a somewhat even keeled person, able to keep irrational emotions to myself, but I was so mad at myself for forgetting the only food that would hold me over until lunch. I was upset that there was no where I could stop that would truly be on my diet, and I was just tired and emotional. I also realized that each smoothie I make costs me $9.00 worth of products!

Dan proceeded to stop by Keva Juice and get me a smoothie. I was on the verge of tears the rest of the day. I know now to never forget my smoothie at home!

Anyways- with this being such an emotional experience, I have been searching for guilt free comfort foods. I have also been cooking multiple meals a night to keep me busy and full.

One thing I have been making a lot of is ICE CREAM! I can hear you all exclaiming "What? How is there any way she can eat ice cream?!" For those of you who are just tuning in let me give you a quick recap: I cannot eat any dairy, soy, or any fast processing sugar which includes sugar, honey, or maple syrup. There is not much left to resemble any sort of ice cream. What I CAN eat is coconut milk, agave, and coconut nectar. We got this awesome half pint sized ice cream maker for our wedding, and it has saved my emotional, comfort food craving soul.

Now, before I give you the recipe I have to warn you- I tried this out on my family- Dan says it is okay, my brother politely ate a few bites and then went for the real dairy free ice cream (with sugar), and my mom said "well, that tastes alternative.." But for me, it is frozen, somewhat sweet, and won't spike my blood sugar. For those of you who have dietary restrictions- I know you know what I am talking about! Nothing ever truly tastes like the real thing, but sometimes you need something that resembles the real thing!

So, here is my ice cream recipe
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 teaspoons light agave
1-2 teaspoons coconut nectar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

I start with just a little bit of each of the flavorings and add to taste. If you don't have to cut out sugar- you can use real sugar with this, or honey, or any sweetener you like! I choose light agave because the darker the color, the stronger the taste.

Looking forward- my next blog will be tips on how to travel and deal with dietary restrictions!

Chicken, GF noodles, and Fresh Veggie Salad

Well, today is day four of my new dietary restrictions. It has been a rough four days! The last time I had to do this diet I lived at home and my mom cooked dinner, packed my lunches, and made my breakfast smoothies. I did not realize how nice I had it until Saturday when I had no food at home, any food I bought would need to be cooked, and I could not eat at any fast food restaurants. Also, I think my husband took the doctors advise to support me and do the restriction diet with me and ran the opposite direction. Also, I think the junk food demons are plotting against me, trying to tempt me into their sugary and greasy abyss. Let me tell you about my last 4 days.

Saturday Dan and I ran errands. Half way through we were both starving, so I got a carrot juice and banana Jamba Juice and Dan got Arby's. Not only did he get Arby's, I had to keep it on my lap while we drove home. Then, Saturday night Dan picked me up to head to an ice cream party with Taco Bell because he did not hear me say dinner was ready and in the fridge. How I love my husband! Don't worry, we were able to laugh about it.

Sunday Dan and I drove up into the mountains. For lunch Dan ate Jack in the Box and finished it off with a Caramello chocolate bar. I ate a qdoba naked burrito with black beans, no meat, and guac. Lunch was not too hard, but that chocolate bar called out to me the whole way home! By the time I pointed out that Dan had eaten fast food three times in 24 hours, he did agree to start eating a bit healthier.

Monday was staff lunch day and a team brought lovely tacos and toppings. The smell filled the halls and stayed all day. Oh how good it smelled. Plus day 3 was when the caffeine headaches and sugar headaches really hit hard. I was seriously on a war path. The staff also brought in 3 tubs of ice cream, and toppings galore! By the end of lunch I was in possibly the most foul mood I have ever been in, only to remember that my algebra class was bringing in pies to celebrate Pi day! 6 home made pies ranging from a divine looking chocolate, to key lime, to fruit pies. 12 students + 6 pies = lots of left overs! After work Monday, Dan took me to vitamin cottage and let me fill up a cart of snacks I can eat, no questions asked. So good to me!!!

Those last three days taught me that I must get used to others eating around me, and I cannot expect people around me to avoid food I cant eat! I have to find the self discipline and motivation to be content with the food I can eat, and be content with feeling well! I don't wish dietary restrictions on anyone!! Especially not Dan! I also do not want people to feel weird eating around me, so I need to get my attitude under control. I think as I get the sugar and caffeine withdrawals over and done with, it will be easier.

Tuesday has been better, as I have really gotten into cooking and making protein packed dishes that I can eat for dinner and lunch. I find that I need to eat twice as much food to stay full, and snack much more often or I am just a mean, horrible person. "The Healthy Gluten Free Life" Cookbook has been a huge blessing, and possibly the only think keeping me sane. Seriously- it has breakfast dishes, dinners, lunches, and deserts- most of which I can eat! My first recipe is a chicken veggie salad. It is inspired by a shrimp salad in the cookbook, just chicken-ized.

Chicken/Veggie Salad

I diced the following ingredients:

• 2 roma tomatoes
• 4 celery stalks
• a handful of radishes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red onion
• 3 chicken breasts that I poached (use whatever protein you like)
• 3 green onions

I added to that mix:

• 2 small cans of sliced olives
• 1/2 a bag of gluten free pasta
• salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Then I made the dressing:

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp dijon mustard (I like the taste of mustard, so I used extra.. I would suggest less than 2 tbsp if you do not like a mustardy taste).
• 4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 tsp of each: oregano, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together, and enjoy! I added kidney beans after the first 2 times I ate this salad, which really helped make it a full meal in my opinion. It helped me stay full a bit longer. 

What I absolutely loved about this is I can go to our farmers market, pick up the veggies on sale, and throw together a similar dish. I am in love with this salad.

The Doctor's Update

Friday after work, Dan and I drove up to Woodland park to get the results from some lab work we had done last month and for me to get an all around wellness check.

We decided when we got married if we were not pregnant by 8 months, that we would begin the process of getting my hormones checked, due to my past issues with hormones and health. We are in a phase of life where we are not specifically trying to get pregnant, but we are not doing anything to stop it either. Due to my medical history we wanted to make sure we begin this process early so that when we are to the point where we definitely want to start trying, we are set up to.

So, wellness check wise, the Pneumonia wiped me out again, so I am back on a very restrictive diet to bounce back. My vitamin D is barely adequate now (which is better than crazy low), but I am still taking 10,000 IU's a day. I am also trying out a new probiotic mix, back on an enzyme protein powder, and taking extra enzymes. Other then that, my health is pretty normal for someone with Adrenal Fatigue. He said next time I start getting sick, to start taking my cortisol again, as it can be used to prevent the fatigue from kicking you while you are down and taking advantage of your immune system.

On to hormones:
 Each month, when a girl ovulates her basel (waking) body temperature will drop, then spike high the next day. Her temperature should then stay elevated until her period when it drops again. Also, during that time, after ovulation her progesterone rises and stays elevated until the end of her cycle when it drops and her period starts. A great resource on all of this is "Taking Charge of your Fertility." Seriously, I love that book. Here is a picture that shows all the changes that happen in hormones and temps, because there is way more going on than what I described.

So, my estrodial and estrogen were within normal range, or at least did not bring up any concern. My progesterone on the other hand was on the very low end of "normal." That, coupled with the fact that after my temperature low day, my temps do not spike high or remain high it seems I am either not ovulating or having some progesterone issues. In fact, my temperature charts look sort of like a 5 year old's drawing of a mountain range. There is no definite sign yet that we will have issues getting pregnant, but there are signs that point that direction. He also talked about Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and irregular periods- he explained that I could be conceiving and have early miscarriages- as there are definite signs this may be happening, or my PCOS could just be really out of whack right now. His suggestion was that we start doing all the research we need to do so that when we start proactively trying, we know who to go see, and what to start doing. He also said I could start progesterone cream from a whole foods store on day 14 of the month and stop on the last day of my cycle. If this is unsuccessful, then I could start taking a higher dose of progesterone during those days, but the concern of carrying a full pregnancy is still there. He also wants me on the elimination diet to regulate my hormones. Apparently a sugar free, gluten free, low carb, dairy, soy, and egg free diet can help your hormones regulate themselves, and many couples conceive after starting an elimination diet.

So, my diet is not low gluten, there will be no binge days, and I am going to be really strict. I am now free of dairy, gluten, soy, oranges, eggs, processed sugars and sweeteners, all meat outside of fish and chicken, caffeine, and chocolate free. I am also low carb, potato, and tomato. We are not going to try the progesterone just yet, but we will be looking for a fertility doctor for the near future.

On the positive note, I got a new cookbook! More cooking recipes to follow!!!

Post Pneumonia

Hmm, so after a week of being home sick and then 3 weeks of just trying to catch up at work and survive the day, I am finally feeling pretty normal.

Pneumonia really wiped me out completely. Illness and Adrenal Fatigue tend to really like each other and keep having parties in my body.  Fatigue affects my immune system allowing me to get sick, keeping me sick for longer then normal, and then because my body spent so much energy getting me healthy again, I am back to the bottom of the fatigue pit. Add in the antibiotics that trash my intestines and, well yeah... it is a vicious cycle, really. Getting sick is a huge setback in the whole healing process.

After the antibiotics started kicking in, and I could walk around again without feeling as though I was dying, I was really disheartened. I felt like I did last year when I was diagnosed, like everything I had gone through- all the restrictive diets, rest, stress management- it was all for nothing. I had to go back on the Cortisol pills, could barely get myself out of bed, and had all the major stomach issues that caused me seek help in the first place. I really was super disheartened for a while there! All I wanted to do was sleep and not eat anything, because everything made me sick! So, what did I do? I knew I needed the cortisol, so I called my doctor and got a new prescription. I took it twice a day for 2 weeks, then as needed for the last 2 weeks.  I upped my probiotics, actually followed my diet quite well, and rested ALOT! Like going to bed at 6-7 pm and sitting as much as I could at work.

The results? Success! For the last two days I have gotten up with my alarm, been early to work, had enough energy when I got home to do the laundry and cook and clean up a bit. I honestly thought that when I hit the bottom again, it would be a long haul to be normal, but what I found is that my body is much more resilient now then it was a year ago. Pneumonia would have probably hospitalized me last year, but I was able to come back so much quicker than I ever imagined! I still have bad days, and there was a while when I thought the Pneumonia was coming back and I almost screamed, but I actually feel well, normal, human even! I am so thankful!

I do have 2 pretty awesome recipes to share with you. as I mentioned previously, I have actually been cooking! No taco bell for the Yoders! :-) Now, I must warn you... I am not an excellent cook, nor do I understand the art of plating a dish to make it look pretty... I know nothing about technique or fancy cooking, but I can throw things in a pot and pray they dont burn! These two both turned out really well!

The first recipe is FAJITAS! yum :-)

I found Chicken for $1.59 a pound, peppers for $.88 each, threw in one onion, a ton of cumin, chili pepper, cayenne, garlic, salt and pepper in a pan and sauteed it up! I am all for quick and easy 1 pan dishes. This fed Dan and I for 2 days! I don't really use measurements for my spices, I just make it to taste... sorry if that does not help you much...


The second dish is a complete creation that I made just because I was craving white pepper. I am actually really proud of how it turned out!

So, I cooked some ground turkey, while boiling my favorite rice pasta- Tinkyada brand... I love their shell pasta :-) and a bag of frozen veggies- a medley of celery, onion, and carrots. The spices I used were white pepper, thyme, garlic, and a little bit of oregano. White pepper is one of my new addictions, and I wanted to make a meal where I could really taste it. Once the turkey and veggies were done, I mixed in the pasta to make like a warm pasta salad type dish. I thought everything went together really well, plus it has my veggies, carbs, and protein all in one bowl. So easy, plus super affordable.


Well, tomorrow the PTO is buying us pizza, and I probably do not have the self discipline to say no, but the great thing about getting better is I can fudge a bit here and there and not feel like my intestines are staging a mutiny against the rest of my body.

Well, that is all for now! If you try either of those spice mixes, you should let me know what you think :-)

Kombucha!

So, being out with Pneumonia and not being able to hold food down has helped my diet.. if I cant eat anything, then I cant each gluten... right? Pretty much. Yesterday I ate applesauce, a handful of popcorn, and half of a red potato. Yum.

SO! My blog post today is on a non-medical remedy- KOMBUCHA!

For those of you who don't know, Kombucha is a fermented drink that claims to "detoxify and energize the mind." I first heard of it in high school when my mom would buy me a bottle when I was sick and make me chug the whole thing in 5 minutes. I didn't realize how important this became to me until I was married and Dan got sick. I went and got him Kombucha and made him drink it. He has since then sworn off Kombucha and refuses to be in the room with an open bottle of this lovely aromatic drink, which a friend described as smelling like dirty socks and pee.

I decided to do some research on Kombucha since anytime I feel a little under the weather I drink a bottle of Kombucha. I searched the Kombucha website, wikipedia, and google for any medical proof that Kombucha "restores the alkaline levels in the body" or anything that told me to drink Kombucha when you are sick. I found a couple Kombucha lover's  blogs raving about how Kombucha has cured them of every ailment and an NBC article that mentions that making your own Kombucha has actually been dangerous in some situations due to contamination that can happen in the process. Not enough science for me to be impressed either way.

The one thing that stands out in many of the Kombucha claims is that it is a great source of probiotics. Probiotics are super important for your gut, especially for people like me who have intestinal problems. Last time I was tested, my gut showed no good bacteria growing and all the bad stuff just having a party in my intestines. That is part of the reason why I am so sickly. I take (or am supposed to take) a daily probiotic with my enzyme and protein smoothie. Being so low on the good bacteria, when I take an antibiotic, my stomach and gut seem to take 10 steps back in the healing process. Antibiotics, while necessary to kill of things like strep or bacterial pneumonia, also kill off good bacteria. When you are taking an antibiotic it is therefore important to also take something with a probiotic in it to replace some of those good bugs back into your body. Good Belly juice, Kombucha, and yogurts are good for this if you do not want to just take a probiotic pill. Good Belly at least does not taste like death.

I was feeling quite discouraged about Kombucha, so when I went to the doctor for my lungs, I asked him if there was any medical evidence to drink or stop drinking Kombucha. He told me that he did not know of anything specific, but if something may help you get better and contains good nutrients that a sick body needs, why not drink it? I like his thought process. Kombucha may or may not be helping me get better, but it does have probiotics in it (and if you get the green one it has spurlina and other awesome nutrient rich foods in it). If something my help fight off an illness, why not try it? I think I might even be getting an acquired taste for it... no longer does it make me gag. So, I don't know about you, but I am going to go on drinking my Kombucha every day I feel sick.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks while I grade tests. I am bored out of my mind!!!