The Paleo Diet

naturopathy /na·tur·op·a·thy:  A system of therapeutics in which surgery and prescription medications are avoided, and preparations such as vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbs and a healthy diet are used to treat and prevent disease.   Whose purpose is to treat the whole person to stimulate and support the person's own innate healing capacity.

Shortly after Jim's ALS diagnosis, Jim reached out to his sister who lives in Colorado. Karen was one of those moms who didn't believe in vaccinations for her children, all 3 of whom she gave birth to with a mid-wife (yes, one of those).  Jim and I had always thought this was a little crazy, not crazy in a bad way, just something we would never have considered for our own children.  I now know that the only reason we might have thought it crazy was because we were completely uneducated on anything outside of the world of Western Medicine.

Karen is a naturopath warrior, and she is also a woman of strong faith and we are so grateful for both.  Needless to say she was thrilled Jim was reaching out to her, and from that day on she has been on a mission to help Jim heal through prayer and natural healing.  We were off the road to despair and on the road to HOPE. 

Her first instructions for Jim were sent to me by text.  Jim was to stop putting toxins in his body immediately, (wait, no more In-N-Out??).  We were to get a copy of the Paleo Solution book by Robb Wolf and the Paleo Diet Cookbook by Loren Cordain, Ph.D., and follow it to a T.  High nutritional intake only, nothing "dead" or out of a box, nothing out of a can, no gmos (genetically modified foods), hunter gatherer meals only, no carbs, no dairy, no coffee, no salt and definitely no sugar.

"OK", was my only response.  I honestly didn't even know where I would start with this type of meal planning.  How would I even prepare him a meal of such standards?  The poor guy was going to starve to death.  Sure, I can whip up a mean salad, but could a man, used to pasta, potatoes, tacos and burgers live off salads every night?  I think not.  Fortunately, there was a whole world of healthy food choices out there we knew little about.  The healthy "Paleo" meals we have created are some of the best tasting meals we had ever eaten. Jim is 100% committed to the Paleo Diet (me, well I did give up diet coke 3 weeks ago, it's a start), he has lost weight that he could afford to lose, and fills his body with the nutrients it needs.  I am inspired by his unwaivering determination to beat this disease.

Good bye Costco, hello Whole Foods!

(I know what you're thinking, Whole Foods is SO expensive, yes, it is more than a grocery store, but the money we are saving by rarely eating out, makes up for it!).

Next Step... Detox.