So Many Catchy Titles, I Couldn't Decide...

Here are some of the possible choices - leave a comment to tell me your favorite or give me another suggestion!

Parasites: Friend or Foe?
My Parasite Likes Your Parasite
What the Helminth?
The Helminth Within
Should They Stay or Should They Go?

So, I have been researching parasites lately. And guess what - you all have them! There is no way possible that you don't have a parasite right now, unless you have recently been "de-wormed" and by recently that means probably within the last six weeks.

While I would love to write long posts on this topic, I simply can not (my parasites are tired), so I am going to share some of the gleanings of the research and information I have come across via some links below so you can read and research too.

Even if your parasite doesn't want you to know about it (ha, ha!- really them), and so a little voice is saying inside you that you don't need to know this stuff (also called denial), you'll probably want to read the links so that you can come up with some catchy titles for this post and also so you can understand the references I make in my options above. Incidentally, worms and yeast are good buddies, so expect some forthcoming information on yeast-overgrowth.

Enjoy!

First, this post - Parasites: the root of ALL evil?, by a mother of a child with food sensitivities (and more). I really encourage you to go and read this post and the comments. She has done some wonderful research and is/has actively dealt with parasite removal.

This one is so interesting: from the New York Times, an article exploring the links between inflammation and autism (as well as asthma and allergies) during pregnancy and the lack of parasites and it's potential impact on our immune system, as well as information about research being done to restore domesticated parasites - don't you love that phrase "domesticated" parasites?!

I stumbled across the posts at the Real Food Forager blog by chance a couple weeks ago when I was looking for a good roll-out cookie recipe (here's the one we used and it was great! and talk about yeast overgrowth - oof!). Got to reading about helminths - that's a friendly name for parasites - this post reviews some research being done using helminths to treat IBD (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Celiac's), MS and asthma, with improvements shown by the patients in every study; this post discusses the Hygiene Hypothesis and how certain helminths who live in us can protect us from inflammation. Did you know that inflammation is the root of many diseases/autoimmune disorders our society faces today?

From Real Food Forager, I came across this post and this one. Again, another mother seeking health for her child and herself. She is using helminth therapy for both of them. The second link talks more about that.

I reviewed the GAPS FAQs. You might like to do the same (use the Find button to search for parasites). I don't want to misrepresent Dr Campbell-McBride's suggestions on dealing with parasites, so if you want to know for sure, please read her responses; however, she does state in the FAQs that an overgrowth of parasites and worms can keep your gut lining damaged, so you may need to deal with them in order to heal. She also states that their are many natural supplements which can help, including garlic extract, olive leaf extract, oregano oil and grapefruit seed extract. Prescription medication (Mebendazole) is faster than the herbal treatments; however she says worms generally always come back. She mentions that raw meat can be a source of parasites and so can raw fish - such as sushi - so does not recommend people eat it.

Here is a quote "Generally speaking, we all have worms. The important question is: are they affecting your health? If yes, then it is a good idea to fight them. But if they do not bring any symptoms, then there is no need to attack them, as they are a part your inner eco-system and may fulfil some useful roles, such as regulating immunity and preventing autoimmune disease. The typical symptoms of common worms getting out of control are crampy pain in the middle of your abdomen, particularly after food in the mornings, difficulty putting weight on, persistent anaemia (usually hookworms) and bouts of irritating dry cough (the larvae travel up the breathing passages into the throat to be swallowed again)."

and another quote in response to a question about eradicating Borrelia, a bacteria that causes Lymes disease, but I felt it was helpful also in response to thinking about and dealing with parasites.
"What every one of us has to do is to find a balance, a harmony between the myriad of microbes living on us and inside us and our immune systems. So, focus on feeding, nourishing and nurturing your immune system, rather than killing, attacking or eradicating anything."

Obviously this is a topic that is very rich and one that could allow this post to go much deeper, but I am going to stop here for now. Please remember that I am not a medical professional, just one woman trying to take care of her family, so my diagnosis of your parasite is only in jest. But really, my parasite does like your parasite!





 

Dairy Fail

Last week in honor of our six-month mark on the GAPS protocol, I thought we could try the dairy intro. We've already introduced ghee and we do take the High Vitamin Butter Oil, which complements the Fermented Cod Liver Oil.

We did the skin test. It was fine. So last Sunday we all ate a little bit of butter in our soup. The only person who showed a slight reaction was N, with a bit of eczema on the back of her upper thigh the next day. She used to get it there when eating butter once a week at our co-op in WA. On Tuesday, I thought hot buttered muffins sounded good, so we tried some more butter. Perhaps too much?

Both girls woke Wednesday with the sniffles and sneezes and L went on to get runny eyes and the worst allergic shiners! A little too coincidental. So I am pulling the butter for now (back to ghee making) and will hope to try again at some point.

The good news is, I haven't shown any physical signs of reacting to butter - the last time I had a small acidenttal dairy exporsure, I was sick. I am glad we tried because it lets me know that we need to carry on in our healing efforts.

So, now I am very inspired to find good coconut milk yogurt and kefir recipes!

GAPS Diet Three Ingredient Pancakes

Sometimes you don't want soup for breakfast. Sometimes you don't want eggs either.  Sometimes you just want....pancakes.  This might be the simplest pancake recipe you will ever try.  It only has three ingredients... well four if you count the coconut oil used to grease the pan. Keep in mind that the recipe may require some slight adjustment -i.e. if you use a larger banana you may need another egg to balance it out. 

My photo below isn't the best and I slightly overcooked these pancakes - you shouldn't expect yours to be so brown.

Three Ingredient Pancakes

2 eggs
1 small banana
vanilla extract
coconut oil

Blend the eggs, banana, and vanilla in a blender until smooth.  Heat a pan over medium heat and grease with coconut oil. Cook using about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.  Sometimes I cook all of the batter in the pan at the same time and finish the pancake off under the broiler. Then it is one delicious giant pancake.  You can also experiment by adding berries, nuts, cinnamon, etc. to make different flavors.  I typically serve my pancakes with a pat of butter and goats milk kefir... I know...that sounds weird.  It's good, trust me.

If you aren't the goat's milk kefir type then these pancakes would also be nice served with a blueberry honey 'syrup'.  I've made this sauce before sans the honey... essentially just cooked blueberries and lemon zest. It was still good. Of course I imagine it would be better with honey.

Blueberry Honey Syrup
1 c. frozen or fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon of honey
lemon zest (if you want to be fancy)

Gently heat the blueberries and honey until the honey is distributed and the blueberries are syrupy. Add the lemon zest and a tablespoon of water if the berries are too dry. Serve over pancakes.