the meditation prescription

  

I spent the past 10 days on a silent meditation retreat. It was a beautiful experience. It was the fourth retreat of this type that I have attended.

In the type of meditation I practice, you are asked to observe your physical sensations with a calm and equanimous, detached mind. My first two 10-day meditation retreats were spent observing my severe digestive distress, extreme fatigue (especially after meals), anxiety, fear, obsessive thoughts of self-hatred, obsessive thoughts about food, and obsessive worry about my health and other life issues.

Between my second and third 10-day meditation retreats I figured out I had Celiac Disease and would be committing a gradual suicide if I kept on eating gluten; but I could not stay away from gluten-containing foods for longer the a couple weeks at a time. On this third retreat I think I spent 95% of the time mentally battering myself for my seemingly insane, addict behavior with food. This retreat was in Italy of all gluten-filled places to be trying to kick my habit! But part of my mind was continuously observing, during this retreat and since this time I have made a slow, gradual return to health through diet, yoga, meditation, herbs, supplements, wonderful supportive friends and family, and a brilliant female M.D.

The most awesome thing I realized while on this retreat is that my health is better than it has ever been in my life. Sitting for 10 hours a day in meditation, I sat there and basked in the reality that I am actually a healthy and happy person! Going on these retreats and continuing to practice at home (I admit that the regularity of my home meditation practice leaves much to be desired at times) has enhanced my ability to emotionally detach from food. It has enabled me to stop binge-eating, and it has enabled me to be gluten-free for about two years now, which is no easy task for this gal who goes on auto-pilot towards food with every anxiety provoking thought! My meditation practice has enable me to put a good faith effort into living a healthy lifestyle that requires quite a bit of commitment and good old fashioned hard work. The humbling fact is that I have so much more work to do in the area of detaching emotionally from food…and becoming a more mindful, loving, and compassionate human being.

Celiac Disease 101

I found this really great little quiz created by Dr. John LaPuma that can answer the question that comes up in many people’s minds once I explain to them that I have Celiac Disease: Should I be gluten-free? According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Celiac Disease is: an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. What does this mean? Put simply, that the body is attacking itself!Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye.

Many people have Celiac Disease and have no symptoms! Or they have any combo of the following symptoms: joint pain, any digestive problems, weigh gain/loss, anxiety, hyperactivity, autism, neuropathy, fatigue, and the list goes on.

The process of getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease is confusing and controversial.  This can be overwhelming for a sick person with a disease that is characterized by brain fog and depression.  A really easy, painless, and comparatively inexpensize (compared to getting a blood test and a biopsy–all of which have high false negative rates), is a stool test through ENTEROLAB that tests not only for active gluten intolerance, but can also tell you if you have the gluten sensitivity gene.  You can get your family doc. to order the test and often insurance will pay for it. According to a study done by leading Celiac Disease researcher Alessandro Fasano, M.D. of the University of Maryland at Baltimore, 1 out of 133 United Statesians have the Celiac Disease gene. If you have a relative with Celiac Disease, you should get the test.