By Anna Von Reitz
This is Day Fifteen of our initial three-week countdown while following the Back Restoration Program pioneered by my friend, Wilfred, who successfully overcame old injuries and osteoporosis.
Three of us have embarked on this venture together, me, because of an injury to my left arm and elbow last month when I jammed into a stair railing, my young friend Shannon, who fell off a roof and broke his back this past summer in a work-related accident, and Harold, my ExO, who is suffering from arthritis in his shoulder and knee.
I got pain relief --for the first time in six weeks-- within four days following this combined anti-inflammatory and bone/cartilage replacement program. Since then, I have had no similar pain in my arm --- only the kind of weariness that comes from using muscles that have weakened from disuse.
There have been lots of odd "shadow aches and pains" in other locations throughout my body, in places where I have been injured in the past--- back, neck, knee, both ankles--- and then, it's gone, all of it. No pain at all.
While we have our attention drawn by pain to specific areas where inflammation is occurring right now, it's really a systemic condition, impacting your entire body. Those old injury sites of mine were probably still in an otherwise undetectable low-grade state of inflammation, even years after the bone injury itself had healed.
Once the overall condition of inflammation was alleviated through diet, it makes sense that all those old injury sites and any low-level inflammations still ongoing, were revisited and released, too.
The upshot after the sixth day is that I feel wonderful. My posture is effortlessly improved. Energy levels are high. And my clothes are sagging in a way that assures me that my weight is headed in the right direction.
Thanks to the helpful know-how of my Vegan friends, and especially Delisa Renideo's The Barefoot Gardener Cookbook, it has been easy to wean off dairy, and thanks to the availability of gluten-free bread and crackers, avoiding the inflammatory aspects of wheat has been simple, too.
In terms of the pain, my problem is already resolved -- but I plan to stick with the diet and evaluate what I've learned and experienced after the three week intro.
We chose three weeks because it took three weeks for Wilfred to get pain relief when he first worked all this out. I had far less serious damage, so, apparently, I got relief in the much shorter time period of four days.
Shannon, who has serious long term injury to his lumbar vertebrae, is a different story. We had no illusions about the seriousness of his injuries or the likelihood of a long slog before he could expect real pain relief. Yet, as of yesterday, some minor miracles had happened for him, too.
He sneezed and in the process, his back "cracked". He could feel the whole vertebral column releasing without pain. And he stayed without pain for hours afterward. Like me, he later suffered the kind of pain that comes from working atrophied muscles, but that is nothing compared with the pain that has wracked his body since the accident.
Last night, he was able to sleep in his bed instead of a recliner, and he slept late without being awakened by pain. All of this is very encouraging. If similar gains come in the next two weeks, he will be back to near-normalcy and able to work, pain free----and that, alone, is a miracle.
Harold, too, has been moving around a bit easier, though left to himself he tends to cook recipes he learned in Scout Camp -- Beanie Weenies, for example. Nonetheless, he has adapted his diet--- no dairy, no wheat, no booze, good oils, limited caffeine---- and his pain has eased off, too.
Three out of three. Coincidence? Following the same diet that had the same effect on Wilfred? I don't think so.
I think we are onto something here that can help millions of people live pain-free lives and even reconstruct damaged joints, end arthritis, and reverse the ravages of osteoporosis. Without drugs. Without pain-killers.
Stay tuned.
One thing that I didn't mention about the Back Restoration Program is that oils are important and we need to choose good oils and avoid oils that are inflammatory or which easily denature.
Avocado oil and avocados are especially good for this program. One study found that eating a small to medium-sized avocado every day for a week increased mobility by a factor of 45%. If not avocado oil, Wilfred recommends olive oil for lower temperature applications like salad dressing.
Another thing I didn't mention is that new research at the University of Utah has discovered that Nutritional Yeast, one of the key ingredients in Vegan "Cheesy Sauce" has been found to have a stunning anti-inflammatory healing effect on patients with arthritis.
This alternative to dairy-based cheese sauce is delicious and easy to make and can be endlessly varied. I served some with chiles and Mexican seasonings with corn chips during the Sunday football game and got nothing but applause from the Manly Men.
Here is a standard recipe for it, so that everyone can treat their loved ones who are suffering from arthritis:
Cheesy Sauce
2 cups water
1/4 cup raw almonds or cashews (cashews are easier to blend).
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 tsp. onion powder or granulated onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (less lemon equals milder cheese)
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. This will thicken to a cheese sauce consistency.
If you want it to look even more like cheese, you can add red bell pepper or pimentos or paprika.
Most people don't notice the difference and wolf it right down; those who do notice stop to inquire ---and then continue wolfing anyway.
Sharing recipes isn't my normal topic, but if you had a recipe that could give someone near-instant pain relief, and just in time for the holidays---- I think you'd all be out there sharing it, too.
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