I found that most days I was really thirsty and started to recall that after a few times of being in the hospital that I would be given and IV drip to help rehydrate myself and how much better it made me feel for that day. I started putting 2 and 2 together and finally realized “Duhhh…Electrolytes!” So came my next side research project. The rehydration IV’s usually have a saline solution (salt), sugar and depending on the severity of dehydration, electrolytes. Water makes up 70% of our body fluid and amongst that solution is electrolytes consisting of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. The electrolytes in our system controls many bodily functions such as; memory, neurological functions, digestive functions, our five senses and transmission of those senses to the brain, our heartbeat patterns, body temperature, bladder and oh my gosh soo much more. It became clear to me that starting to drink an electrolyte solution could also help decrease my migraine patterns and hydrate my body. I made it a daily ritual to start drinking more water at least 4-6 glasses with diluted Gatorade or an Electrolyte solution I purchased from the pharmacy… everyday.

All of these little pieces to the puzzle helped and with each new implementation I could start doing things that I used to enjoy again. I was able to read more without becoming so nauseated, I could knit a little bit and even watch the news, (TV), without urging, even my memory got a bit better. I still would not leave the house without a note of what I had to do, but if I forgot it, I could remember a few items a lot easier then previously. I’ll mark that under a positive outcome.

I also found great information about the Liver and how Milk Thistle could help the liver to clean itself out so it could regenerate itself. Which then would also help the liver make Serotonin that the brain needs to calm migraines so, off to the pharmacy I went to purchase milk thistle. Serotonin is like the “happy” chemical that your brain needs to keep you feeling positive and to calm other muscles reducing the pain your body feels. I will also do a blog on serotonin, which I will be able to get into much more detail then about this amazing little “monoamine neurotransmitter.” The deficiency of serotonin in our bodies contributes to many mental illnesses.  This is just a tiny bit of info to get us started.

While out enjoying my new found non-nauseated, hydrated person, in my favorite book store, I found a cookbook called “Oh How She Glows” by Angela Liddon and saw a “Classic Green Monster Smoothie” made of Kale, spinach, almond milk, and a few other ingredients and thought well can’t make things worse then what is happening now in my brain and digestive system. I’ve always liked spinach and ate spinach more then lettuce, but I never had Kale before. It really was not widely available where I live.

I FOUND MY NEW LOVE!!

My body came alive like it was thirsting for this for years. I could not believe the way I craved this new green, leafy, vegetable and added it and avocado to my new health remedies.  I even made a comment to my husband that I knew it was helpful just by how my body reacted to it. He tried it as well and we became Green Smoothie Addicts! The more kale and avacado I ate, the better my head and digestive system felt. Could this be true? I drank it like water, it felt like my blood was osmosing into this green smoothie mixture. It felt soooo nourishing and right that I started substituting new ingredients; prunes, pineapple, mango, avocado, blueberries, black berries, straw berries (the berry seeds I had to be a bit careful about though because they did feel like they built up in my gallbladder). I took out the chia seeds form the original recipe because it caused a build up in my gallbladder too but I can definitely see the value of omega-3’s in the smoothies and wished I didn’t have to cut them out.  I knew omega 3’s are another amazing oil for our bodies and brain, I just needed to find a different source that was not in a seed for me.  The protein powder from the original recipe had to go as well after a while because it was too heavy on my digestive system making my liver work too hard to break down the extra protein I was consuming.  Once again I will make sure we do a blog on omegas. (Wow we will be friends for quite a while I think by the time I get all these blogs out). I changed my cow’s milk to soy and felt different again; less bloating and pain in my lower digestive track and then I made a change from yogurt to greek yogurt. When I started adding greek yogurt to my smoothie, I felt again, wow, there is something different happening in a good way. These small changes were making significant differences in my digestive organs and my brain.

The days I missed this wonderful green, smooth, delicacy, I found my headaches somewhat returning. With the addition of greek yogurt my neurons started getting excited and the word of the day became probiotics. Hmmm… must find info on probiotics and I’m thinking the gluten really gotta go. I was learning to trust my instincts and I was feeling positive changes.

Electrolytes, water, liver damage, milk thistle, dairy, soy, new recipes, kale, new veggies, greek yogurt, probiotics…I was about to give my iRewards card a good going over.