An update on my raw food diet and cholesterol

Here are my old numbers (July 2008):

Total Cholesterol 241
HDL Level ("Good cholesterol") 51
TC/HDL Ratio 4.7
LDL Level ("Bad cholesterol") 156
Triglyceride Level 170
Glucose Level 97
HbA1c Level 6.2

And the new numbers from today:

Total Cholesterol 148
HDL Level ("Good cholesterol") 33
TC/HDL Ratio 4.4
LDL Level ("Bad cholesterol") 77
Triglyceride Level 186
Glucose Level n/a
HbA1c Level 5.6

I still have some areas to work on but all in all it is so much better. Total cholesterol down 93 points!

The Bells Palsy is gone though I live in constant fear that it could happen again. The minute I burn my tongue on something I freak out and wait the day or two for that sensation to go away - since that was the first sign of the BP for me. The only tell-tale sign that I had it is the crease (or lack of crease) from my nose to the corner of my mouth on the right side. When I smile there is no crease on that side but I have one on the other. My brother's girlfriend keeps telling me that people pay a lot of money for botox to make that happen. Snort! No one seems to notice it unless I point it out and even then they don't see it like I do (or they are trying to be polite).

Day 27: Smiling all the time

Well, my smile is nearly back to normal. My right cheek muscle is not working as well as my left and I don't have the crease from my nose to my mouth like I have on the left side but I am sure it will be back to normal very soon. And frankly, I don't even notice unless I look at myself. My brother's girlfriend saw me the other day and said 'people pay a lot of money for that!'. LOL, it's like I've had botox on half my face.

I would encourage anyone with Bell's palsy to get the standard prescriptions but also focus on great nutrition. I believe the supplements I am taking to boost nerve regeneration, reduce inflamation, etc. (you can see the list in my earlier posts) and the plant based raw vegan diet I have been eating is responsible for the amazing speed of my recovery. I am also working with a fantastic holistic nutritionist, Emily Hubbell, to get my body and mind into the healthiest state possible. She is wonderful! She respects my wishes to maintain a raw diet but has also showed me how to improve it. I'm going to be the healthiest raw foodist out there, no kidding!

I watched and interesting documentary the other day called Food Matters that talked about how doctors are not well trained in nutrition therapy. I highly recommend the film. I also watched Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. I don't have diabetes but the film was still interesting. Could have been done better but still worth watching. I hope a lot of people get the chance to see this film because it really shows the power of raw food.

Day 21: The Bell's palsy is just about gone!

My eyebrows go up just about evenly and I have most of my smile back. It's such a relief. I can tell that my nose and bottom lip seem to go in different directions but I'm sure that will be back to normal in no time. I also do not fully have my sense of taste back even though my tongue no longer feels numb. But I did wish for that to come back last so I'm not complaining.

I can finally go out and not have people look at me odd when I speak. In fact, I don't think anyone even notices any longer. Looks like I should start wearing make-up again.

Day 17: I actually forgot I had Bell's palsy!

And it's not that my memory is going... I woke up and did not immediately think about the more stoic side of my face. It was at least 15 minutes before I remembered. That was a fantastic feeling!!

Daily Changes
My eyebrow definitely goes up a bit and my forehead wrinkles nearly evenly all the way across. It's really twisted that I am liking my forehead wrinkles right now. My eye crinkles up at the corner when I smile and I can whistle in either direction much to the pleasure of the African Gray that lives with me.

I really think I owe this fast recovery to my raw food diet. I have seen big changes in my entire body. My skin in incredibly soft. I never thought I had rough skin but about 4 days into raw I had baby soft skin on every part of my body. I have also dropped 19.4 pounds since July 7th. I started watching my weight a week before the bells palsy struck but didn't go completely raw until my face was became paralyzed. It is certainly easier to eat less without a good sense of taste but I am eating extremely delicious food in any quantity I want and losing 5 pounds a week. I guess when you a chubby pumpkin and there is lots to lose this is how it goes in the beginning.

Yesterday I did not have the flash of fever or extreme tiredness that I had been experiencing every day for a few hours. Today was the same. I think that bizarre phase is over. My face is also less tender when I touch it. I am a little disappointed about that. I equated the healing with the tenderness and figured I would have it until the muscles had all their movement back. But I guess that is not how it goes. I have a little more movement each day so I am still healing and improving.

Day 15: A one direction whistle!

And that direction would be "in". I can whistle when I suck in!! It's the little things in life. I am really surprised at how quickly I am getting better. I think I just look quirky to the average person on the street and not full on disabled like I did a week ago.

Daily Changes

Things I could do today:

• get some slight wrinkles in my forehead
• make a better pucker
• whistle when sucking air in
• close my eye if I try (but it's still open when blinking - definitely the most noticeable flaw)
• drink hot coffee without dribbling or even having to "hook" the cup into the corner of my mouth

I had another surge of 'break out into a big sweat for an hour' fever at 11:00am today. But for the last few days I have not woken up in a puddle of sweat. I'll take the daytime fever over the nighttime any day. The fever is followed by extreme tiredness and then that passes after a few hours. I also make a point today to eat as much as I could to make sure this fatigue was not caused by lack of food. I am confident it isn't.

Daily Mood:

Flinging, flanging fantastic! I went to the Farmer's Market and the Isla Vista Coop today to stock up on food and it was a wonderful outing. The sun was warm, I didn't need my baseball cap. At some point I have become able to look straight ahead with the light sensitivity I had for a while. Not sure when exactly that changed but it's been a couple days at least.

My face is tender to the touch in many places as if it is bruised (though it looks fine). But it is not a terrible pain and it is easy to forget about it completely until I touch my face.

My tongue is still slightly numb feeling and my sense of taste is very weak but those things don't bother me. I'm vain!! The non-blinking eye is the worst thing. My mouth has relaxed so my smile almost looks like a smile - kind of a cocky, half smile but that's okay.

Time for sleep. I really am making a point to get as much as possible.

Day 14: Another good day

The flashes of fever keep happening though I only had one today around 12:30pm. It is followed by extreme tiredness and limb fatigue. I've never felt anything like it before but luckily I can rest any time I like.

When I touch parts of my face it feels bruised and tender. Hello little nerves and muscles! I am so happy to feel you. My eye closes fairly well and I think I won't have to tape it shut tonight for the first time - I'll just use my little sleep mask. Peeling that "gentle paper" tape off each morning is brutal. :::shudder:::

Tomorrow I want to venture out to the Saturday Farmer's Market and stock up on herbs and veggies. I have been craving my version of crackers inspired by Juliano's toast recipe with Rawvolution's mock tuna salad. So yummy... and I should be munching it by Sunday if I get those crackers going early tomorrow. Planning to make more raw dolmas too (my grape leaves are already marinating). I must have eaten 30 last week and I still want more. But now, it's time to sleep.

Day 13: It's my lucky day!

Daily Changes
I'm spacey, dingy, having slight balance issues, arms are dead tired and feeling like 50 pound weights, and I'm taking the stairs at less than half speed. I guess it wasn't the medicine making me feel like this. Darn. I also had another flash of fever today around 2pm that lasted over an hour. I just let it go and figure my body is trying to fire itself up and kick this thing. I don't have a thermometer but I can tell the fever isn't in the danger zone.

But on to the good changes! There are 3 little dime size parts of my face that have movement! This is unheard of in a case like mine in such a short period of time from what I have read so I am tickled pink. Just above the thickest part of my eyebrow will slightly contract when I try to move the brow. Below my bottom eyelid and slightly out towards the edge the skin will flutter when I try to smile. And the corner of my mouth is cooperating again and making a little movement up. It also opens up more and I don't have to "hook" a drink glass in the corner as severely as I did just 2 days ago in order not to dribble everywhere.

My hearing went in and out/loud and soft a lot today and I eventually had to just lay down and take a 3 hour nap in the afternoon when sitting upright was just too much effort.

Daily Mood
Fantastic of course. I wish I wasn't so tired and listless but there's not much I can do about it.

I added a new supplement today. A chewable Methylcobalamin B12. I am replacing my old B12 with this new one since it is more potent and has better absorption... supposedly. I'm doing the 1000mcg dose and not the 5000. Gotta keep myself in check and not go off the deep end with all these pills.

I am feeling very fortunate right now. I am glad I did the prescriptions right away and I am going to keep taking the supplements until I am completely healed or someone makes me stop. But I really think that a key component of getting better is my raw food diet. I have not put one thing in my body that is not living, organic, and full of available, necessary nutrients. Every sip and bite has a purpose. There are so many stories of raw food healing cancer and other diseases that doctors are not able to cure. Unfortunately, I do not know a story first hand but I still think it is possible. I've ordered the documentary "Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days" as some fun viewing for next week.