Plateau

When friends ask how I'm feeling, lately I've been saying better but I still have a ways to go. I describe my progress as five steps forward and then three steps back. I'm never back to ground zero but I never reach nirvana. Lately, I've felt like I hit a wall. My sinuses are still getting inflamed when I eat even the most basic foods like brown rice.

Right now I'm reading Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko. She writes about how her family's ailments and health improved after switching to a raw vegan diet. However, she felt like they had hit a plateau. They all felt better but still had some of the same nagging symptoms. Through her own research and observations, she decided to up her intake of greens such as kale, collard greens, swiss chard, parsley, cilantro, basil and spinach. If anyone has ever tried to eat a bowl of greens you know how long it takes. You'd have to set aside a couple of hours just for chewing. She added greens to her diet in the form of green smoothies. I've been drinking smoothies a few times a week since June. This is when I began to notice some of my symptoms slowly disappearing such as extreme fatigue, congestion, itching and the slight lightening of the dark circles under my eyes. 

As of yesterday, I decided to amp up my greens intake. Typically I put about three leaves of kale and half a cucumber plus fruits in a smoothie. Today I put half a bunch of dandelion greens, half a cucumber, a big handful of parsley and a big handful of spinach along with a small banana, apple, cup of grapes, one lime peeled, a teaspoon of each spirulina and maca plus ice. And I always use organic, except for banana. Today's smoothie tastes pretty darn good as I sit writing this post. I also began my day with a large serving of spinach, cucumber, lime, apple juice. I plan to make another smoothie tonight. My sinuses are feeling pretty good so far.

I get daily emails from Dr. Weil. Today's was about increasing one's intake of dark. leafy greens.  It was an informative post but neglected to hit on the fact greens are a powerful source of protein. Now that I'm immersed in a vegan diet and wellness, I'm well aware of this fact. But, the general public thinks you have to eat cows and chickens to get protein. If there are any Kale Marketing Directors or Swiss Chard Communication Strategists out there, I'd happily work on a campaign to increase the awareness of the amazing protein packed in greens. Oh, by the way I'm an advertising copywriter with 13 years experience. So, there you have it. I'm right by the phone. Go ahead. Give me a ring.