Aloe Vera

It's not just for sunburn.

Recently, I was in a local health food store, and there was a woman there sampling her company's flavored aloe vera juice. It was touted as being 100% natural, organic, cold pressed aloe vera juice. We bought it. My husband said he overall felt better, but I am so sporadic with taking stuff like that, I can't really give an honest opinion.

I DO know, however, that aloe vera juice is regarded as not only a topical healer, but also a digestive aid and internal healer. It's pretty well known that if you suffer with the BIG C (or constipation), aloe vera juice can help to resolve that. Ironically, if you have diarrhea, it will help with that, too. So I guess it's kind of a cure-all.

It has naturally soothing properties, so if you feel "inflammed", and any of you who suffer with any sort of GI disorders know that feeling, start out with about a tablespoon of pure aloe vera juice. I don't recommend going higher than that on the dosage to start with until you know exactly how your body is going to react to it. Generally, people need somewhere around 1/4 cup, but you know yourself, so gauge it accordingly.

Aloe vera would be appropriate for most GI disorders, providing you don't have an intolerance to it. This would include, but not limited to, colitis, ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, Crohn's Disease, celiac disease, and ulcers.

I'm SCDing

I think.

So I've decided to try this alarmingly cult-like diet called the SCD, which stands for Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I figure I will stick to it at least a month, although the guidebook suggests at least 6 months to a year. That's a long time to commit to, ya know.

So the basic principle behind this diet is that those of us with intestinal drama, and you all know who you are, have an imbalance of gut flora and that this specific diet will help to put things all back into balance again. Here's the hard part: No sugar, no grain, no alcohol. Does anyone understand this??? NO chocolate or wine... you see why I'm not committing for even six months. But, if this helps me return to my normal self, then I guess I'll live.

Essentially, if you have celiac, colitis, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's, you can be sure that your intestines are NOT in good shape. But with the help of food, and I do believe a lot can be cured by the very things we choose or do not choose to put into our mouths, we can help to get our intestines healthy again and therefore return our bodies to a normal state of health.

So I started last night with dinner. Chicken sauteed with some mint leaves and salt, and Spinach Dal, which is lentils with garlic and onions, some sauteed spinach, cilantro and some cumin and tumeric on top. YUM! So far so good, but we'll see what happens when I want to bake cookies or something. I have a feeling that I may have to have the "occasional cheat".