About 4  years ago after starting into my digestive reconditioning, I started having bad heartburn (aka GERD) especially at night.  It was frightening because I was concerned about doing damage to my body. 

I started taking a product at night called Licorice GI.  These are chewable tablets and work immediately.  Licorice has the ability to build the muscle or valve at the base of the esophagus.  I like this product though it does have Sorbitol.  Unfortunately this only kept things at bay….I just knew there was something that was causing this problem but I didn’t know what!  About 4 months ago I went to visit Dr. Yost for this main reason.  He “reminded” me (though I don’t remember the first time he told me) that I should not be eating high fructose fruits (bananas, grapes, etc.).  So I stopped…….heartburn disappeared immediately!  Amazing, right?!  Well 4 months later I no longer take the licorice product unless I’ve eaten late at night (very rare) or ate something I shouldn’t have. 

Just wanted to share that………..diet can have such a large affect on your body.  Not an earth shattering concept but a simple reminder.

Greetings all!  Sorry for the delay……life is busy BUT good!!!!!!

I discussed the detoxifying the digestive tract and the results, now comes the discussion of the fun part.  Rebuilding!!!!!!  I started about three years ago and continue to take them (they are so easy) the following two products….
1. Endefen
2. Dr. Ohhira’s, Essential Formulas Inc., Probiotics 12 PLUS Original Formula, 60 Capsules
(I typically buy this at iHerb since they have the best price).

After taking these two products, the results were amazing….
1. Most allergies were gone – food, synthetics, carbon, etc.
2. If the allergies weren’t gone, then they were greatly reduced.

Added benefit – oral herpies symptoms have disappeared for years.  Who would have guessed!!!

Next time I’ll talk more about the progress and other dietary changes I continue to follow……..Happy Eating!!

Yes….this isn’t about Candida today or recovery in that area.  This is an area near and dear to my life (me in crisis??!). 

As a wellness coach I’ve begun to notice that my clients are primarily men who are entering or are deep in mid-life crisis.  I was speaking with another coach today and I came to the conclusion that men’s energy and focus starts moving from below the waist to areas like the heart and head during the mid-life change.  Speaking for myself….it’s a relief. 

What does that look like for men?  They begin asking:
-What can I do to get more out of life?
-Is my life on the right path?
-How does my path and my families path intersect or not?
-How do I see my body at this phase of life? 
-Am I okay with different or less sexual energy?  If not, how am I handling this?

What other issues do you see from a wife’s, partner or your own male point of view? 

Healing the system by detoxifying took ~ 4 to 6 months. The most important aspect of this regime was being consistent. I had to take these “potions” at certain times of the day depending on meal times. That meant hauling around bottles of products (let’s hear it for butt packs!!!). My next Smokies Mountain test revealed that although the bad bacteria was basically under control, my good bacteria was almost non-existent. I just want to emphasize that it was extremely important that I repair my health using non-drug techniques……If you want to no more keep reading as I uncover my path.

Next steps
First I started following a diet type called The Alkaline Way (which I still do to this day 4+ years later with a bit more flexibility). If you follow the “Fit for Life II” book by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, it basically is this diet type. Immediately I had a lot more energy, slimmed down a bit where I wanted to and loved eating again.

Next time I’ll talk about further ways that I built up my good intestinal flora…..

Healthy Eating!!!

Sorry for the delay in continuing my story……

About two weeks after making my conscious decision that I no longer wanted to be “different” in reference to my diet, a friend told me about a local doctor here in Tucson.  His name is Dr. Yost.  I made an appointment with him and the first thing we did was Great Smokies Diagnostic test for Bacteriology.  Based on those results we started a treatment for detoxification.  Using Metagenics products – AdvaClear and Glutagenics for a period of months – we started down the road to recovery. 

Next time I’ll share about building up my digestive tract…..

First, I’d like to give you a bit more history on this topic and how it affected me. 

I mentioned foods I was allergic to but I didn’t identify them……let’s see, bananas, nuts, dairy products, corn, wheat or wheat based, vinegared products (WHOA, there are lots of those), synthetic fibers, perfumes or strong scents (even flowers)……I believe you get the idea of how restrictive life was. 

One positive note – I learned to eat far more healthy foods than most.  I have my first colonoscopy soon so we will see if healthy eating paid off!

SO………now I can deal with most foods and have VERY few allergy reactions.  WHAT CHANGED!?   Short answer > My Attitude.  One day I was thinking about my life and realized that “I didn’t want to be different than others and I was okay with that”.  That single thought changed my life……I also realized the power of thought and consciousness…..and how I had been holding my life.

What happened next?  Tune in soon……

After realizing that I had Candida (based on Dr. Crook’s book), I didn’t feel so much in the dark about my condition.  Challenge, of course, was what do I do about it.  I made all the dietary changes and stayed away from self and Dr. identified allergic foods and conditions.  I felt so much better but life was a complete drag.  There was so much I couldn’t do or eat.  I felt like I should live in a bubble.  Mind you, this was taking place in the early 80’s and there weren’t a lot of non-wheat, gluten, etc. products that I needed. 

My life stayed status quo until 2003, then I had a major break-through!!!  Two things lead to this breakthrough:
1.  Losing my job (incredibly unhappy and stressed out at this company)
2.  Going back to meditation

So what was this break-through?   Stay tuned for the next installmentl

I’ve decided to start a series about my experience of health for several reasons:
1. To catalog my progress
2. To share my path
3. Make a difference
As a wellness coach (see  www.coachingyouwell.com) I suppose this makes sense!

The EARLY Years
My childhood wasn’t exactly horrible but it could have been better…….Growing up gay was tough enough but having acne was a real drag.  I pleaded with my Mom to go to a dermatologist and do something about it.  The acne wasn’t actually that bad but I was overly sensitive to it and maybe just a wee bit vain!  Thus began the path to ill health for so many years.  Why?  I got on a 4 year cycle of taking antibiotics.  Very bad decision.  Once I finally got off of them, my health went downhill quickly.  After SO many trials, strange diets (that’s a story in itself), I was finally diagnosed with a newly identified malady – Candidiasas. 

What did that mean for life moving forward?  Look for the next installment soon!!!!

I’ve been wanting to do a blog for some time and the universe keeping pointing me here.  So…..here goes. 

My blog will focus on what my wellness coaching is about (and maybe even some technology thrown in) – See  http://www.coachingyouwell.com for more information on my coaching.