Baby In The Check-Out

Picture from Google Images

It was a busy day at the grocery store yesterday.  I usually go to one of the self-checkout lanes because rarely do I have more than a few items.  Most of my food comes from local farms, even through the winter.  But this day all the self-checkout lanes looked full, and some were two or three carts deep.  Scanning down to the end, it looked like only one cart in the furthest self-checkout lane, so that's where I headed.

Pulling up behind what looked like a young mother, father, and infant child, as evidenced by the little legs and feet, sitting in one of those carrying car seats in their cart. They had just begun the checkout process, mom scanning and dad bagging their items.  It looked like they had done this before, worked as a team at the grocery store, while their infant waited.

Within minutes I could sense the child becoming restless, his little legs beginning to stretch, pushing his little feet out, and raising his little arms as if he was reaching for something.

So I stepped around my cart and started talking to him,

"Hi there!  Aren't you a sweetheart!  How are you doing today?  Nice day, isn't it?  Out shopping with mom and dad, are you?  It can get a little boring, waiting for them and all.  But they're almost done."

The infant immediately turned and looked at me, his eyes widening, as if he was curiously scrutinizing me, and listening intently.

Mom looked up and smiled at the two of us for a moment, while she continued scanning her grocery items.  I asked her how old he was, then turned to him again, 

"You're four months old?!  You've been on the planet for four months now!  So how do you like it so far?  Looks like life is going pretty good for you."

Again mom looked up with a slightly surprised smile, and told me that he had a six-and-a-half year old sister who adores him.  That she loved to play with him.  Again, I turned to him and said,

"A six-and-a-half year old sister?!  How cool is that?!  You two probably got together before you came here and planned this all out, didn't you?  Yup."

At this point the child was beaming with smiles and beginning to "talk back."

"You're probably going to miss that sister of yours when she goes back to school.  But, you'll still see her.  And besides, one day you'll be starting school too, unless, of course, your mom decides to home-school you, which is a possibility too."

Mom looked up again, and she was smiling and nodding.  She and dad were almost done with their checking out.  She told me that her son was usually a very good and happy child, except when they weren't "moving."  So checking out at the grocery store, where he has to just sit for several minutes, was the most challenging time for him, and them.  She thanked me for "occupying him" for the last several minutes.  I told her that it was truly my pleasure.  

With warm hearts, we said our goodbyes and well-wishes, and they headed off on their next adventure as I began mine.

Smart Meter - Radio Transmitting Devices

Here is my speech, given at the City of Battle Creek City Commission meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2015:

The legal minutes from the July 21, 2015 City Commission meeting state that I “questioned the safety of the City’s new analogue meters,” which is neither true nor correct.  The City’s new water meters are radio transmitting devices, not analogue.  I questioned the safety of the City’s new “radio transmitting devices, also known as smart meters.”
Has the City’s Water Department routinely been asking for property owner’s permission and consent to install these smart meter/radio devices on private properties?
I personally know of several instances where these devices just appeared on water meters after the Water Department requested access for other reasons.
Why has the Water Department not been totally up-front regarding these devices?

Speaking of American’s with disabilities, an estimated 3-5% of the population are like me, hyper-sensitive to radio frequencies, and that includes the radio frequencies used in the devices the Water Department has been installing on private properties.
Current regulations only deem radio frequencies harmful if they heat up the flesh.  But radio frequencies operate on a cellular level, too.  It has been shown that they cause the cells in the body to vibrate.  Studies show damage to cells, damage to the blood-brain barrier, damage to sperm, disruption of hormones, disruption of brain signals, and many other problems.
When questioned about the safety of these smart meter/radio transmitting devices, the Water Department responds with two documents from the manufacturer, stating that they are safe.  Of course the manufacturer is going to tell you they are safe; they want to sell you their product.

I just want to clarify that my concern is about smart meter/radio transmitting devices, that emit low-level radiation which causes mild to debilitating effects on 3-5% of the population, and who’s long-term effects for safety has yet to be proven by independent 3^rd party testing.
When 3-5% of the population experience harmful effects from smart meter/radio transmitting devices, expecting those people to pay a fee to NOT be harmed by these devices, to keep them off of their property, is akin to extortion.
Thank you for listening.  May we all be blessed.   

(End of speech)

Here is the video of that meeting.  I speak at 8 minutes, and then again at 38:38 minutes:

http://battlecreekmi.swagit.com/play/08052015-917

For more about my smart-meter-saga, please see my Canary In The Coal Mine blog.  Thank you!  Bless you!

For more information:

• EMF Scientist - International EMF Scientist Appeal
• The BioInitiative Report - A Rational For Biologically Based Exposure Standards for Low-Intensity Electromagnetic Radiation
• Take Back Your Power
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan

Smart-Meter-Free, Please!

Image from http://www.smartmetereducationnetwork.com/how-to-tell-if-I-have-a-ami-dte-smart-advanced-meter.php

A lot of people don't know what smart meters are yet.  I didn't know until a few years back when a friend talked about being sensitive to them.  In a nutshell, smart meters are radio transmitting devices that utility companies have been installing on customer's homes and businesses.  The radio frequencies communicate with the utility companies to let them know when and how much of their commodity customers are using, eliminating the need for meter readers.

Sounds okay, right?  However...

It's estimated that 3 to 5 percent of the population are what's called electromagnetically hyper sensitive.  The National Council on Disability Transportation Report from May of this year, is calling for radio frequency free zones, plus reduced radio frequencies in public transportation, because some people experience very debilitating effects from them.

About six months after I got my first cell phone, I discovered that I had some kind of sensitivity going on.  My "phone ear" started becoming warm as I held the phone to my head.  Shortly after that I started experiencing constant pain in that ear.  The pain would go away only after not using the phone for several days.  But as soon as I held the phone to my ear again, the pain returned almost immediately.

So I completely stopped the practice of putting the cell phone to my ear, and the pain stopped, for over two years.  That is, until about six months ago...

We had allowed SEMCO, our natural gas provider, to install new gas meters because both the installers assured us that they were not installing radio transmitting smart meters.  However, about six months later, the pain in my "phone ear" returned.

I knew that I was not putting the phone to my ear, so what was causing the pain to return?  The new gas meters did not have a digital read-out, like most of the smart meters I've seen, so I did a little investigating, and Googled images of gas smart meters.

Image from http://www.semcoenergygas.com/Default.aspx?id=121&b=201

Sure enough, SEMCO had installed radio transmitting gas smart meters without our knowledge or consent.

We haven't communicated our desire to SEMCO, for them to remove their radio transmitting meters and replace them with traditional analogue meters yet, because we've been corresponding with the City of Battle Creek Water Department regarding their radio transmitting smart meters.  However, SEMCO is next.

The City of Battle Creek Water Department "radio devices" without our knowledge or consent also.  After being confronted by that fact, the Utility Administrator at the City of Battle Creek Water Department, did apologize, so I must give them credit for that.  And from most recent communication, it sounds like they are willing to remove the smart meter radio devices.  So I am intending that they stand by their word, and the removal process proceeds peacefully and easily for all.

Some people say that we sensitive ones may be akin to the proverbial canary in the coal mine - an early warning sign of the effects of increasing amounts of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.  Perhaps we are...

There is a plethora of information on the internet about people like me, who experience mild to debilitating effects from radio transmitting smart meters.  I've even heard that the non-wireless "opt-out," or digital meters, can be just as harmful, if not more.  Many studies are surfacing by doctors, scientists, researchers, PhD's, engineers, and other professionals, pointing to the negative effects smart meters have on some people.  Over 190 professionals have now signed an appeal to the United Nations, its member states, and the World Health Organization, calling for tighter regulations around radio frequencies and electromagnetic radiation.  And even the American Cancer Society has stated, "Smart meters have not been studied to see if they cause health problems."  

Then why, I ask, are they being installed all around the world?

The fact is that we have not gone one generation with the level of radio frequencies most people now experience in every day life, so we really don't know about long term effects.

What I do know is that I am affected by these devices, and that is why I desire to live in a smart-meter-free-zone, thank you very much!

My smart-meter-saga continues in a new blog called Canary In The Coal Mine.

Abundant Blessings to You!

Image from http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/action-now/ 

For more information:

• EMF Scientist - International EMF Scientist Appeal
• The BioInitiative Report - A Rational For Biologically Based Exposure Standards for Low-Intensity Electromagnetic Radiation
• Take Back Your Power
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan

Healing and The Long Road

I believe in spontaneous healing.  I believe in all possibilities and have heard of people who have suddenly and miraculously healed themselves, sometimes of "incurable" diseases.  I hoped that would happen to me.  Twenty years is a long time to go with growing numbers of food sensitivities.  Every time I tried something new, I thought, "This may be it!  This may cure me!"  But I went down that road many times.  So, for whatever reason, I took the long way to healing... long yet very rewarding.

May of 2014 is when I "officially" started GAPS Intro phase and changed my diet to mostly local, mostly organic/natural whole foods.  That means absolutely nothing processed, except for what I've done to process foods (like cooking and fermenting).

I owe my health to a lot reading and research, wholesome foods, a few supplements (probiotics, essential fatty acids, and fermented cod liver oil), detox baths, coffee enemas, and natural personal care products.

In 2012, when I had allergy and food sensitivity testing done, I was given this card, printed with a partial list of foods to avoid.  There was actually over 50 foods that were "suspect."

However, after a year on GAPS, I have added most of these foods back into my diet.  Grains and beans are more difficult to digest, so I haven't added them back yet.  And cow's milk is still questionable, though I am loving my homemade raw goat's milk yogurt!

Gratitude to Ginny Stein at Two Thumbs Ranch for introducing me to GAPS.  That book has changed my life!

Gratitude to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the author of the GAPS book (Gut and Psychology Syndrome).  She is one of the growing number of doctors advocating natural treatment for all kinds of maladies.

Gratitude to local suppliers of organic/natural and wholesome foods, including Green Gardens Community Farm, Pleasant Hill Farm, Wooly Acres, EarthSmith Food and Forest Products, Gale Acres Farm, and Long Valley Farm!

Gratitude to ITSAN (the International Topical Steroid Awareness Network) and their website, which I found with the help of my guides, as I was going through the worst of Red Skin Syndrome, a withdrawal symptom from topical steroid addiction.  Yes, my skin had become addicted to topical steroid cream!  You can read about topical steroid cream addiction here, if you're interested.

Gratitude to Penny Kelly, ND, for her encouragement to do coffee enemas!  I know they sound, well, different, but they really work.  They are said to be one of the best ways to detox the liver.  I believe that my withdrawal from the topical steroid addiction would have been much worse had I not already been doing my "coffees"!

Gratitude to all my friends and family, who have supported me during this process.

May health be with you all the days of your life, if you so choose!

Playing Human

"Who are you and how do you know all this stuff," she looked at me as if I was from another planet or something.

That was after I told her about fermented vegetables, and how ferments may help her digestive and overall health.  We were standing in the parking lot of People's Food Co-op, and had seen each other several times before because we both had a "share of a cow" from the same dairy farmer, which means we both picked up raw milk on the same night, and we both usually shopped at the Co-op, either before or after.  Our conversations often centered around health and the healing properties of certain foods.

Cabbage/Carrot Ferment

How did I know all this? about ferments? and healing?  That was easy to answer.  "It's all been a part of my healing journey for the last year or so,"  I explained, "learning about fermented foods and making them myself.  Most fermented vegetables available in grocery stores have been pasteurized, which kills the good bacteria in them, so if you want the real benefits of fermented vegetables, you must either make them yourself, or look for fermented products labeled 'unpasteurized' or 'raw.'  But it's very inexpensive and rather rewarding to make them yourself."

Fermenting was one of the ways our ancestors preserved foods, which also helped to keep them healthy.  And if they hadn't survived, where would we be?

It's an interesting fact that our body is basically a shell for trillions of bacteria.  We are the host for lots and lots of other life, kind of like how the Earth is host to us and lots of other life as well.  The bacteria in our bodies actually outnumber our own cells 10 to 1, which means there are more of "them" than there are "us."

Very simply put, as far as gut bacteria go, there are the "good-guys" and the "bad-guys."  When the "bad-guys" out number the "good-guys" in our gut, all sorts of imbalances can occur in our bodies.  Replenishing the "good-guys" on a regular basis supports good health, and has been an important part of restoring my health.

So that's how I know all this stuff about healing foods, from my own personal experience.

But, who am I, other than bacteria?

That's a good question, and my answer seems to be ever evolving...

When I was a teenager, I remember looking into the mirror and wondering, "If my parents had never gotten together, who or what would I be?"

For some reason, I just knew that I would still be, that I would still exist, though my form would most likely be different.  I realized that my current form was a result of my parent's genetics, yet I knew that there was something eternal and timeless about me, about everyone.  We all have this animating force, this divine spark that, upon the death of the physical body, leaves the body and goes elsewhere, but does not cease to exist.

Recently I've also experienced myself in other dimensions and as other beings...

In one brief yet exhilarating experience, as I was falling asleep one night, I jumped into another reality that was so real I only stayed there for a few moments because I was so shocked and surprised by it's reality.  I was in a male body, yet it felt as though I fully embodied my feminine side as well.  Wearing silver armor, like a knight, holding a silver and gold sword with rainbow colored sparkles dripping from the tip, I looked around and saw a female figure who was also doing something with rainbow colored sparkles.  And I knew that even though I was a separate being, I was also that female form and everything I saw.  That was when I jumped out of that reality and back into Jeanine.  And for about an hour afterward I was filled with astonishment from that experience.

Henry Kissinger

And talk about astonishment, in another experience I jumped into Henry Kissinger's body and literally became him.  In that brief experience, I knew his history, his life and his experiences because they were also my history, my life and my experiences.  I was him.  I totally understood him and why he thinks the way he does.  It's kind of like how a goldfish is a goldfish, and no matter how much others want the goldfish to be a lion, it's simply not a lion.  It's a goldfish.  I left that dimension knowing that Henry Kissinger is playing his role, being himself, perfectly! 

An eternal, multi-dimensional being, connected to everything that is because I AM a part of All That Is, playing my human role, perfectly.  And so are you!

Blessings!

Blowing Kisses

Thursday evening I went for a walk in my daughter's neighborhood with a friend, my daughter and her dog.  

My friend and I had plastic bags and rubber gloves on and were picking up trash as we slowly walked along the city streets and through the park.  

We were passing a house with several people sitting on the front porch, perhaps a mother, a father and a couple of young children.  The father was bent over and had his head in his hands.  Mom had a somber look on her face and seemed to be staring blankly above our heads, and the two children looked like they were longing for something.  The sound of a dog barking was coming from within the house as we were passing. 

The screen door opened and another woman, perhaps the grandmother, walked out and apologized to us for the dog barking inside, to which we responded with kind assurance that we were not concerned.  She then proceeded to tell us how beautiful my daughter’s dog was.  

I was already sending silent blessings to them all, but here was my opportunity to actually say something out loud.  So I looked at the grandmother and said, “YOU are beautiful!”  Feeling now the attention of the children, I looked at them and said, “You are ALL beautiful!”  And as I said this, everyone lightened up!  The grandmother, mother, father and children were all looking at me with big beautiful smiles.  And as we continued to slowly pass by their house, I blew kisses to the children and they blew kisses back. 

Evolving Diet

Before the Ice Age, when the "Tribe of Man" was small, it is said that humanity survived on what they could gather from forest and field, a vegetarian-type diet.  Sensing the approaching Ice Age, Antelope knew that humanity would not survive without their help, and so they approached the Tribe of Man, communicating to them:

"If you kill us, you can eat our flesh and thereby not starve, 

and you can use our hide to help keep warm."

Whether that story is true or not, I would imagine there were times when plant-sourced foods were scare, and humanity had to eat animals to survive.  And so, perhaps, began our journey into an omnivorous diet, eating both plants and animals.

I've also heard that humanity is now evolving away from an omnivorous diet, and will eventually complete the circle by returning to a "lighter" vegetarian-type diet.  A vegetarian or vegan diet of whole, unprocessed foods can be very cleansing and healing for some.  However, some people, myself included, actually (still) need animal products to heal.

Several years of going between a vegetarian diet, a vegan diet, a raw vegan diet, and raw juice feasting, only made my food sensitivities worse, not better.  Back then I "knew" all the reason why everyone should be eating a vegan diet, or at least a vegetarian one.  I had even given an impassioned speech at Toastmasters about the consequences of eating meat, and how it affected both the earth and the animals.  However, like Penny Kelly, the author of the book, "Getting Well Again, Naturally, From the Soil to the Stomach," says, if what you are doing isn't working, then try something different.  And following a vegetarian diet was not working for me; my food sensitivities were growing.  So eventually I went back to eating more of an omnivore diet, and within a few months of focusing upon healing foods, such as homemade meat stocks rich in high quality, nutrient dense meats and animal fats, well cooked soups and stews, and homemade ferments, my long-awaited healing had finally begun.  That was when I started the GAPS diet Intro Phase, a gut-healing diet.

If you are concerned about cholesterol and animal products, please do some research about that.

"The diet-heart hypothesis is the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century." ~ George Mann, eminent American physician and scientist

The diet-heart hypothesis has long been dis-proven, and there is actually little correlation between the amount of animal fat a person eats and heart disease.  In fact, if there is not enough cholesterol in your diet for your body's needs, your body will manufacture it.

One-hundred-percent of the animal products and about ninety-percent of the vegetables and fruits I consume are from local farmers and ranchers, people I know and trust, who treat their animals as the gifts to the "Tribe of Man" that they are.  It's the way our ancestors used to eat, before processed foods and factory farms.  They use natural and sustainable practices that actually can help to restore farmland that had been ravaged by previous factory farming practices.  Restoring farmland can be a long process without the gift of farm animals and the replenishing "fertilizer" they deposit upon the earth.

"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." 

~ Hippocrates, 460-370 BC

Eating more meat at first worked wonders in healing my gut and curing me of dozens of food sensitivities, something a vegetarian and vegan diet did not do.  Now, about a year after starting the GAPS diet, I am consuming less meat, and use it mostly to "season" my vegetables with, though bone broths and organ meats are still a staple in my diet.  I've heard that when large cats (lions and tigers) kill their prey, they eat the organs first because they know that the organs contain the largest concentrations of nutrition.  Perhaps that is why organ meats are so important in a gut-healing diet.  When the gut is damaged, the body is not absorbing nutrition properly.  I remember before starting on the GAPS diet, my complexion was becoming more and more gray, probably because the nourishment in my food was not being properly absorbed through my damaged gut.  That has changed tremendously now.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the author of GAPS book, states repeatedly that there is no one-size-fits-all diet, that we are all unique in our dietary needs, and what works for one may not work for another, and, what the body needs today may not be needed tomorrow.  That is why muscle-testing and listening to my intuition regarding nourishment has become a valuable daily practice for me and my evolving diet.

I feel that all of life is a gift from Creator, both plants and animals.  What is important is how and why I use the gifts given.  Local, high quality animal products have been a very important part of my healing journey.  However, if what I've been doing stops "working," then I will know that it's once again time for a change.  And I will continue to listen.

Wednesday Rainbow

"We're supposed to get rain," he said.

"Looks like there's a storm over there," I said, motioning to the west.

The westerly sky was dark and gray, though when I looked to the east there was blue sky.

"Who knows?  Your barometer said rain yesterday, but it never did... I think the weather changes so quickly lately that one minute a storm is coming and the next it's not."

And that was when we saw the rainbow.

Nonnie, Gnomes, and Jesus Christ in the Northern Lights

Nonnie and me

Nonnie was the first person that ever talked to me about gnomies.  She was my father's mother, and according to Nonnie, gnomies most often lived in the country, away from civilizations, though most people rarely saw them anymore, not even people who lived in the country.

Nonnie grew up in Sweden and walked through the woods to get to school every day, which I would imagine is where she first started seeing the gnomies.  Perhaps that is why Nonnie and Gramps had gnome statues around their house and yard in Chicago, and also up at the cottage in Wisconsin, to help educate people about the existence of gnomes.  And maybe the gnome statues also to helped Nonnie feel more at home.

Gramps and me

Nonnie and Gramps lived in a big house on Chase near Sheridan in Chicago, and they rented out parts of their house to mostly people who had just come to America from Sweden.  I imagined that a lot of those renters already knew about gnomies too, being from Sweden and all, where there must have been lots of gnomies to see.  However, Nonnie and Gramps were the only ones I remember ever talking about gnomes while I was growing up.  That is, until one summer at the cottage when I was a teenager...

Our cottage in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin

One quiet summer night at the cottage, while sitting in a boat drifting in the middle of the lake in the company of my dear friend whom I will call Penelope, watching the sky aglow with colorful northern lights, Penelope started telling me about her recent Outward Bound "solo experience."  She started out by asking if I would promise to never tell her parents what she was about to tell me, because she was certain they would think she was crazy and may even send her away to an insane asylum because of it.  I promised that I would never tell her parents.

Penelope then proceeded to describe how, on the third day of her solo experience, while she was sitting at the top of a hill, looking down on a stream of water, at the water's edge she saw what she described as small people washing small clothing and small dishes in the stream of water.  Being very familiar with the existence of gnomes (though never having seen one myself), of course I believed her.  Penelope said that she spoke with the little people, and they said (just as Nonnie had said years earlier) that most people could not see them, and it was because of some kind of veil they had over their eyes and ears and other senses.  I had no doubt that what Penelope told me was the truth, and I felt quite privileged to hear about her experiences.  She and I surmised that on the third day of her solo experience in the woods, her veils had been lifted, and that was why she was able to see the gnomies.

Right about then, Penelope and I returned to looking up toward the sky to see a colorful configuration of the northern lights in the silhouette of Jesus Christ.

True story.

Photographer John Hilmarsson, from abcnews.go.com

PS ~ It's important to note that areas of transition, from field to forest, or shore to water, are natural doorways to the other-worlds, where encounters with other dimensions may be more likely.

PSS ~ Penelope's parents have both passed-on, and I would imagine they know all about the gnomies by now.

Listening, Healing, and Change

Interesting... my last post was on a Friday the 13th, and we just had another Friday the 13th.  Thirteen represents change to me, and indeed, things have changed.

This is a description of my journey into the gap of common medical knowledge; from food sensitivities, to topical steroid use, to real healing.

After twenty years of not knowing why I had so many food sensitivities, and five years of using topical steroid cream to mask the symptoms of  the food sensitivities, I am done with the steroids and well on my healing way.

When eczema first developed on my face, about twenty years ago, I narrowed it down to a reaction to milk products.  For a while, as long as I avoided anything containing milk, my face remained clear.  But then wheat started causing a reaction, then citrus, then...  At some point I lost track of all the foods I needed to avoid to keep my skin clear.  I tried all kinds of things also: different diets, different fasts, different detoxes, different supplements, yet none of it cured the eczema.

Food sensitivity tests showed that I had dozens and dozens of them.  I had even gone to a reputed clinic and all they had to offer was experimental shots at $300 a piece that insurance would not cover and had no guarantee of actually working.  So I said, "No thank you," to that!

A few years back I was talking to the woman selling pasture raised chicken, beef and eggs at a Farmer's Market.  Telling her about all my food sensitivities and using the topical steroids, she insisted that I was never going to get rid of the sensitivities until I healed my gut.  She told me about a book on how to do that, and eventually I bought and read the book.  What a life-changing blessing that has been!

A damaged, or "leaky gut," allows undigested food particles into the blood stream, which causes an immune response because the body looks at those large, undigested food particles as invaders.  For me, the immune response manifested as eczema on my face.  Eventually just about anything I ate caused a reaction in the form of eczema on my face.  That is why about six years ago I started using topical steroid cream, to mask the symptoms.  And I used it regularly for about five years.

Topical steroid cream was a quick and easy "fix," but not without consequences.  Unbeknownst to me, my skin became addicted to the steroids, and when I stopped using it in May of 2014, the withdrawal process was horrendous.  The skin on my face quickly became so bright red and swollen that I refused to leave the house for about two weeks during the worst of it.

About that same time I had started a form of channeling, and I was desperate for answers to what was going on with me, so I asked for help.  My Team lead me to the ITSAN (International Topical Steroid Awareness Network) web site, which totally explained what was happening.  I found out that the "Red Skin Syndrome," as it is called, would not last forever, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other people had gone through the exact same process of topical steroid withdrawal.  Despite my flaming red and swollen face, I literally cried for joy when I read about how this condition was only temporary, and was a detox symptom from topical steroid addiction.  It takes about three years for topical steroids to be completely eliminated from the body, I read, but the good news is that the first "flash" is the worst.  Since then, I have had a few recognizable "flashes," but nothing in comparison to the first one.

Back to the gut!  How does the gut get damaged and leaky?  Lots of ways, but for me it was probably a number of things: Lots of rounds of antibiotics when I was younger, plus a few years of birth-control pills, plus stress, plus a huge sweet tooth, and the topical steroid cream use was like the icing on the cake.  Antibiotics kill beneficial microbes in the gut, as do birth-control pills.  Pharmaceutical drugs damage beneficial microbes in the gut also, and I had been taking thyroid medication for a number of years as well.  Plus, I had a huge sweet tooth, and sweets feed opportunistic microbes in the gut.  Opportunistic microbes can damage the gut wall, causing a leaky gut.

Finally, after about twenty years of dealing with food sensitivities and eczema, I had the answer to what was going on in my body.  I had a leaky gut, and needed to heal it.

In May of 2014, after taking my time reading the GAPS book, (GAPS stands for Gut And Psychology Syndrome), and backing my way into the very strict Intro Phase of the diet, I started on my journey out of the gap of common medical knowledge, and into real healing.  And once through the worst part of topical steroid cream withdrawal/Red Skin Syndrome, and strictly following the GAPS diet (also called GAPS healing protocol), my skin looks better than it has in twenty years.  I am now able to eat just about anything, including some milk products, with no reaction!  And for this, I am truly grateful.

Blessings!