Guest Post: LittleOwlCrunchyMomma - Superfood Series #3: All About P**p!

Those of you who know me know how I love a good conversation about poop. So, talk about great luck, when I invited Jacquelyn with LittleOwlCrunchyMomma to join us here at Axiom at Home she decided to share a post about, of all things, poop! Actually, this article is about way more than just poop.... It is a wonderfully eye-opening and candid article about Jacquelyn's experience using the power of food to heal her own body.

You are going to love this blog as much as I do, so I hope you head over there to check out all the wonderful content. In addition to this incredibly informative and interesting third installment in her Superfood Series that she is sharing with us today, you will find a host of other information on this blog, from helpful to humorous and enlightening to heart warming. I've recently started incorporating spirulina in my diet after reading Superfood Series #1 and my family loves all the delicious meals and treats I've made from her recipes! And, her post on Coconut Oil (15 Ways I Use Coconut Oil Every Day) is a great reminder of the wonderful benefits and daily uses of this amazing oil. If you haven't already, be sure to like her on facebook or follow her on Twitter and Pinterest.

So, without further ado, please welcome Jacquelyn, LittleOwlCrunchyMomma....

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Hello everyone! I am super excited to be here on Linda's site today. I am sharing the third installment of my series on Superfoods with y'all!

Previously in this series I let you know all about Spirulina and about my source for natural Vitamin C to help fight of colds this season. Like what you read? I would love for you to join the LittleOwlCrunchyMomma community on Facebook.

And now onto part 3 of the series...

 

Lessons from A Soured Relationship

The moment I decided I didn't trust my doctor was the moment she told me "we can't really learn anything from stool". Wait. What? Excuse me? You can't be serious. She was.

That was the same day she diagnosed me with "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" and gave me a sheet of what foods to eat which consisted of white bread, white flour, and easy-to-digest vegetables. She told me no one really knew what caused IBS and, oh, by the way, there was no known cure.

 

I sat there staring across at her, dumbfounded. The sheet in my hands was basically everything I was avoiding because I knew it wasn't good for me--highly processed, low fiber, low nutritive value foods.

 

She had diagnosed me with a disease with no cure. I was just over twenty.

If I hadn't already started studying nutrition on my own I would have gone home despairing and started crying. Instead, I became incredibly angry. That's an understatement. I was FURIOUS.

 

I knew she was wrong. It was a simple as that.

 

About a week later I checked in with an herbalist who lived down the street from me on the off chance she had any advice. When I told her I had been diagnosed with IBS she rolled her eyes and said, "Have you tried an elimination diet?" I didn't know what that was, but I followed it based on her instructions and low and behold... no more IBS.

 

Essentially, what I did was eat only meat and vegetables for three months... no sugar, very little fruit, no grains. I ate paleo before that was a "thing". That was over five years ago. Now I am a subscriber to the work of Weston Price and eat a little differently, but that experience has shaped me (literally...).

 

I was diagnosed with an "incurable" disease and cured myself within three months. I was one of those "miracle stories" I read about and never believed. Now, granted my supposed "IBS" wasn't extreme and I don't know all the factors that went into it but one thing I took away from it is that we can, in fact, know a lot about our health based on our stools.

Have you ever heard of the Bristol Scale? It was developed by Heaton and Lewis at the University of Bristol. Originally published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997 I learned about it through Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's book Gut and Psychology Syndrome.

 

Here it is:

Our stools vary depending on how long it has spent in our colon. Type 1 has spent the longest, type 7 the least. Ideally, according to Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride,

What type of stools are best?

• The feeling you need to go is definite but not irresistible

• Once you sit down on the toilet there is no delay

• No conscious effort or straining is needed

• The stool glides out smoothly and comfortably

• Afterwards there is only a pleasant feeling of relief

• All this is most likely if the stool is Bristol Stool Form Scale, type 4

Is she describing your stool? Prior to me "curing" my "IBS" this definitely didn't.

Where do you fall on the Bristol Scale?

Of course there are a myriad of different reasons ones stools could be "un-ideal"--including have a GAPS condition, allergies, parasite, flu or cold, etc. etc. etc.

 

I am not suggesting that your stool analysis will be the same as mine, but it is something to pay attention to if you don't already and it is good to know that we can learn a lot about the state of our health based on our bodies and our stool.

 

The reason I went into the doctor's office to begin with was because I knew something was off in my body--because of my stool. How did I know I had "cured" myself? Because of my stool.

 

What does this have to do with Superfoods? (or, What is Azomite Powder?)

(Warning: definite TMI to follow...)

 

What does this have to do with Superfoods? This is not typical dinner conversation, but since we are talking about p**p I wanted to share with you a little trick I have found to help make my, typically alright (no more "IBS" thanks to diet change!) BM an even better bathroom experience.

I eat dirt.

 

Yup, that's right. Dirt. And no, I am not suffering from pica. Sold as a fertilizer (yes, you read that right), I take Azomite powder. Ever heard of it before? This is what it looks like.

 

Azomite powder is an alkaline silica clay mineral powder mined from volcanic deposits in Utah. It contains trace minerals that have been depleted from our soils worldwide due to poor agricultural practices.

I first learned about Azomite powder from Nouishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. She suggests taking it as a nutritional supplement. Why? It is LOADED with minerals. Check out this analysis chart:

Loaded. "Chalk" (pun intended) full of nutrients.

I take about a tablespoon a day. I mix it with a little water and drink it. It has a slightly gritty (it is dirt after all...) taste. Call me weird, but I actually enjoy the taste. And, it is one Superfood I take where I DEFINITELY can sense a difference just within a few hours. Where and how? You guessed it... in my stool. It really makes a difference.

You can also add it to smoothies or put a little in when you are fermenting vegetables. (I haven't tried this yet but I am going to. Will let you know how it goes. The fermentation process is supposed to make the nutrients even more bio-available...)

Now, a couple things to understand, Azomite powder is sold as a fertilizer. It is not "recognized" by the USDA (but since when do I trust their judgment...???) as being safe for human consumption. I would encourage you to take it. But, I don't want you to take it just because I do. Like they say on Reading Rainbow... "Don't take my word for it...". Do your own research. If you decide to start adding it to your "Superfood regime" I would love to know what you think.

Here's to happy p**ping everyone!