Page 51 - Winter2017

Homeopathy Journal
The Wise Traditions Pantry
HELP FOR THE F AMIL
HEALING “INTRACTABLE” DIGESTIVE DISTRESSY DEALING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS
By Joette Calabrese, HMC,CCH, RSHom (NA)
By Maureen Diaz

Today, it seems hardly a family escapes lost with a more restrictive diet. In many cases, It is my
some form of potentially debilitating chronic therefore, the diet of the affected person may
ailment, be it an autoimmune disorder, diabetes, need to be quite different from that of the rest of opinion that
digestive ailments, food allergies or, increas- the family. That does not mean that it is impos- no illness or
ingly, cancer. Dealing with such illness on a sible to change out some ingredients for family health
day-to-day basis can be extremely stressful meals in such a way as to satisfy and nourish
for the entire household, but especially for the everyone. For instance, if gluten is a problem, problem,
mom, who is often the one to take charge of her it is very easy to substitute spaghetti squash or whether
family’s meals and health. soaked or sprouted brown rice for traditional acute or
Our family has had to face several rounds pasta. Cauliflower “rice” is also a wonderful
of serious illness, including Lyme disease, substitute when it is necessary to eliminate all chronic, can
rheumatoid arthritis and severe gut issues. In grains for a time (as with the GAPS diet, Spe- be overcome
each case, we have chosen to treat the condition cific Carbohydrate Diet, or Paleo Autoimmune without first
primarily with dietary changes, making adjust- protocol). Pulverized pork rinds work very seriously
ments to our otherwise quite excellent tradi- well in place of bread crumbs in many recipes.
tional diet. We implemented these changes after This substitution is my go-to for dishes such as addressing
carefully considering the family’s overall needs meatloaf or as a topping for casseroles. I simply dietary
and desires. Although this path was sometimes toss the pork rinds into my food processor and
difficult, we developed strategies that worked process for a few seconds to reduce them to changes.
well for us. I hope our experience can furnish crumbs.
inspiration and ideas for other families who may When it is necessary to avoid dairy, coco-
be encountering similar challenges. nut milk or cream are delicious replacements.
It is possible to whip coconut cream like heavy
ONE DIET FOR ALL? cream and also culture it for yogurt. Ghee is
It is my opinion that no illness or health nearly always a good replacement for straight
problem, whether acute or chronic, can be butter. Some people may want to try to include
overcome without first seriously addressing a small amount of twenty-four-hour, cultured,
dietary changes. The changes might be as full-fat raw yogurt every day. Once the indi-
simple as adding fermented foods to the diet or vidual tolerates the yogurt well, adding extra
eliminating irritants such as conventional dairy raw cream can make it even better.
products, commercial vegetable oils or grains. Often those suffering with arthritic condi-
Dietary changes can be of great benefit to the tions, as my husband does, may benefit from
entire family and may bring about unexpected eliminating grains (even when properly pre-
results for other family members besides the one pared), as well as sugars (other than raw honey),
suffering the illness. all non-traditional fats and nightshades (toma-
Although feeding the whole family the toes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers). When we
same restricted or special diet can work in some make meals that normally contain any of these,
situations, an across-the-board approach will I remove a portion for my husband before I add
sometimes be met with resistance, particularly the offending ingredients (such as tomatoes in
from children. Moreover, some family members chili or sauce). In this way, he can enjoy a meal
may actually need the nutrients that would be that is similar to what the rest of us are eating

WINTER 2017 Wise Traditions 51