Change to Vegan

On Sunday, I accidentally and without realizing it, got swimming pool acid on my hands.  I did not immediately wash them, as I did not know it happened.  About 30 minutes later they were white and chalky.  They did not begin to burn until hours later.  I woke up Monday morning with hives all over my face, arms, hands and a few other spots that I must have touched while the acid was on my hands.

Now on Friday, I am in my fifth day of hives.  This has been quite miserable and trying.  But, yesterday I did what I knew was the best thing, moved to an all raw vegan diet.  Eating raw foods helps get waste matter out of the body and, more specifically, out of the cells.  In this way, I can refuse to take steroid treatments – the common remedy for such a strong and lasting allergic reaction.

The key for me to get rid of the hives, is eating cooling foods.  Hives are hot.  They are burning hot and itchy.  Eating spicy foods will not help me rid my body of the hives.  Eating raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will help get the toxins out of my body and will help cool my body down.  It is easy to do this.  I made a large salad with lettuce, cabbage, carrot, avacado, tomato, purple onion marinated in lemon juice, cucumber, sunflower seeds and a homemade dressing of lime juice, Braggs Liquid Amino Acids and Olive Oil.  I am eating this when hungry along with fruit – especially watermelon, a cleansing, cooling fruit.

We will see how long it takes, but I feel like my body is responding to this raw diet in a positive way.  Yesterday I made a smoothie with a peeled cucumber, aloe vera (from my garden) and a mango.  It was refreshing and cleansing.  Aloe vera is another wonderful addition to a raw diet.  You don’t want to take enough to cause diarrhea, but adding some for cooling, soothing and clearing is good.  I cut one large leaf and filet it, removing the skin, using the gel.

The healthiest diet you can have is a raw foods diet with nuts and seeds, in my opinion.  You cannot, however, suddenly change from a carnivorous diet to a raw foods diet overnight.  I have been vegan for years, so for me, it is okay, not a huge change.  I am just eliminating things like pasta, rice, breads, and am eating all veggies raw instead of steamed or stir fried.

There are many wonderful books out there with helpful information on going raw.  One of my favorites is the Raw Food Revolution Diet by Cherie Soria with recipes like “Broccoli-Tahini Pate,” YUM!  Eating raw does not have to be boring, to be sure .  You get more enzymes and plenty of protein.

Along with eating a raw diet, I am using aloe vera on my skin, taking arnica homeopathically and using Bach Rescue Remedy Cream.  I’m hoping for  a reasonably quick recovery.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am and is filed under Books, Food, Health, Life, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.