My New Health Journey - Part 1

For the last 8.5 years, I've been battling Stage 4 breast cancer; in that time, I have, unfortunately, developed a few more health concerns. In the next few blog posts, I'm going to focus on the other health concerns; sharing with you the research I've done on how to manage/care for them.

The newest health concern of mine is a peptic ulcer; I had to have abdominal surgery, to repair a perforated stomach, because the ulcer had become a life-threatening situation. I didn't realize I even had an ulcer, until I was told my stomach had ruptured. That's what's known as a "silent ulcer"; they're caused by overuse of NSAIDs; and there are no symptoms.

For years, I've been taking too much Ibuprofen (1K mg at a time), too often (multiple times a week); you could say I was addicted to it. It became the only pain reliever I could use, that didn't make me feel loopy, like narcotics do. Having become addicted to it, my stomach reacted and formed the ulcer. The only thing that I can say was a potential warning sign, was the fact that I had more and more GERD flare ups than normal. At one point, it almost felt like water caused a flare up!

In this blog post I highlighted what I've nicknamed "The No-No List"; these are the foods I will no longer be able to enjoy. If I eat any of them, ll risk opening the ulcer back up, or cause another one to form; and I'd rather not go through that, again!

Here's a list of foods that possess healing properties, when it comes to ulcers; they either cause your stomach to produce more mucus, or they literally heal the ulcer, itself. The mucus your stomach produces shields the lining of your stomach, and protects it from being damaged.

Ulcer Healing Foods

• cabbage (cabbage juice)

• Berries 

• apples 

• grapes

• pomegranates

• cherries 

• Leafy greens (like kale and spinach)

• red vegetables

• red cabbage 

• radishes 

• radicchio 

• red leaf lettuce 

• rhubarb 

• red onions 

• red skin potatoes 

• orange vegetables 

• carrots 

• butternut squash 

• pumpkin

• sweet potatoes 

• hubbard squash 

• Spaghetti squash 

• bell peppers (all colors)

• broccoli and broccoli sprouts 

• cauliflower

• artichokes

• nuts and seeds 

• oats 

• quinoa 

• farro

• millet

• turmeric

• cinnamon

• ginger

• garlic

• honey

• dried beans (especially pinto beans) 

• beets 

• licorice (root)

• decaf green tea 

• Aloe vera juice

Notice, it's a much bigger list than "The No-No List"? I can eat as much of them as I want, and more than just these! The trick will be creating recipes from all the foods I can eat, while intentionally leaving out the foods that will hurt me. When I come up with my own recipes, I'll share them with you. I may even share recipes from other sites, when I discover what my tummy agrees with, when I eat.

One of my favorite breakfasts is a scrambled egg and avocado sandwich (sprinkle some Everything seasoning on it!), with a banana. Yes, I'm eating eggs; I eat honey, too. Eggs don't bother my tummy, and honey is on the above list; it's an ulcer healing food. There are quite a few foods that I am thrilled to see, on that list; like raw honey, because it is so beneficial, in other ways!

I've even learned to tweak some of the recipes my daughter makes, so that I can still enjoy those meals with my family; rather than making her cook two separate meals. One of those meals we call "Deluxe Spaghetti". She makes a typical meat sauce; and adds Worcestershire sauce, green bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. My tweak is to saute the veggies in garlic and olive oil, and coat some pasta in that; no meat, no tomato sauce. I can't wait for our next spaghetti night!

All this talk about food has me getting hungry, my loves! I think I'll go see what's on the menu for lunch. I hope this day finds you blessed!