"I am a 42 year old mother to five children,
ages 16 - 4. I have been married for 20 years. In September 2009, I was diagnosed w/ Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
(MCTD) which is a rare, auto-immune, umbrella disease that includes: Lupus, Scleroderma & Polymyocitis. Finally, a
label for the constant pain I had been in since May 2009. My specialists kept offering narcotic pain medicines to 'keep
me comfortable', so I could try to function at my old levels to keep my family & home running. I refused all of
them, fearing an addiction on top of the already debillitating pain. I started down alternative avenues for other options
- I needed help, I needed relief that my specialists couldn't offer. My wonderful family Doctor referred me to his nutritionist
for a workup. The nutritionist immediately suggested the elimination diet to me, because of the many, many triggers
with auto-immune diseases. I had never dieted in my life & I was scared of the 'starving deprivation' to say the
least. However, knowing it was my chance to not only extend my life & be here for my family - AND be pain free (plus,
hopefully drop the 20 lbs. that the failed Prednisone therapy packed on me in such a short time) - I was committed to trying the Elimination Diet.
I am on my 7th
week of the Elimination Diet... I have learned more about my body in 7 weeks, than in 42 years. I have learned
what it feels like to eat, feel full & satisfied, what it feels like to NOT be bloated, to NOT have constant pain in my
gut & to feel a new found 'clarity' in my head. I had come to believe all my previous discomfort to be
normal & not question it - just pop Tums, Gas-X & Protonix as needed. THAT was my first revelation. The
second - I have lost 16 pounds in 7 weeks - no exercise, just feeding my body the way it wanted to be fed. My sleep
has also improved, WITHOUT using a sleep aid every night. I have also learned through this process - in combination
w/ blood food allergy testing - that I have Celiac disease, as well. Which was a HARD thing to hear for a woman w/ a one year supply of professionally
stored wheat in her basement that was used to make all my family's bread! I have also learned that I actually feel really
good when I eat chicken - I had stopped eating chicken a few years ago, because I realized I felt sick & terrible after
I would eat it. It was either what I was eating it with or the way I was preparing it - it wasn't the chicken!
However, the most important discovery has been - my tendons & joints are rarely in pain anymore! No drugs, no pain
shots - just eating foods that aren't triggering my disease. I have a long way to go in re-introducing foods back into
my diet. But, the difference that I have felt on this diet has been a firm confirmation & testament to me that we
need to get back to the absolute, pure basics in this country in regards to our diets & the diets of our children.
As we strengthen the health of those in our homes & educate ourselves & our families on healthy eating practices,
we can erradicate & avoid the plethora of health issues & diseases that have ravaged our country & start our children
on the road to a healthier generation.
Sincerest thanks for this opportunity,
Angela McCleery Miller"
"When my daughter was very ill from Celiac, before we even knew what it
was, I did a strict elimination diet with her. I lost weight and felt great. I maintained that eating plan at home, but over
the years I would eat a cookie here and a tortilla there, away from home, not really noticing the ill effects. I didn't have
the same symptoms as my daughter after all. I began to put two and two together, after one to many tortillas, and realized
that gluten was having a very negative effect on my body. Even then I would still succumb to temptation and pay the price
in my stomach, intestines, joints, head (both foggy and painful,) mood, and who knows where else!
I decided to
embark on a green smoothie cleanse and strict elimination for myself in February of 2008. I love the elimination diet in the
Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook! It was the easiest to follow of any cleanse I have ever done, and I not only was I able to
release some weight, about 10 pounds the first 2 weeks, I was also able to create some new habits for health. Green smoothies
are my new favorite convenience food! I take them everywhere, they give me tons of energy and have helped me to eat more regularly,
which was always a challenge before with my busy schedule. I highly recommend this cleanse over any others I have experienced.
It goes by really fast and has plenty of food choices from day 3 forward. I have to say, I felt so fantastic that I did not
crave or want to eat anything else."
Sincerely,
Jenna Boudreau
"When I was a kid my mother made me a big bowl of Cream of Wheat cereal nearly every morning before school.
She thought she was giving me a healthy start to the day and I thank her for that. But everyday at school I sat
with gut-wrenching pain during my morning classes. It didn't get any better after lunch. I thought this was normal.
Last
year I saw Tom and everything has since changed. I ordered the Entero Lab tests as he suggested and then started the 28 day
elimination diet. The diet actually took much longer than a month but that's OK because I was feeling so great. The tests
and the diet discovered that I was intolerant to gluten (we suspected that) and dairy. I am happier now living gluten and
dairy free and could not imagine going back to my life before seeing Tom. My digestion is strong and I feel great!" Thank
You, Sarah
"I
started the elimination diet to appease my wife. Our daughter was allergic to gluten which I have been told can be linked
genetically. Her great grandma, grandma and my wife are all allergic to gluten. (they all worked with Tom earlier)
I thought I had it made and was only trying this for the occasional upset stomach. Everyday
I would get a mildly gaseous belly and some days it would turn into a very uncomfortable round of cramps. About twice
a week I would have trouble sleeping because of it. No big deal, if it makes her happy, I will try it.
By day three of the elimination date, I started to drop a few pounds. By day five the rosacea (red peeling skin
on the face) I have had since my early twenties disappeared. In the middle of winter in Idaho, my hands and feet stopped
cracking and my lotion use went down. My internal thermostat dropped five degrees. (I have always been very hot)
For the first time I can remember I put on a sweatshirt in the house. By day seven I realize I am losing close to a
pound a day. I have lost much of my hunger cravings and am really happy with the food I am eating. My only thought
was "if I can add goat cheese back into this diet, I can eat just like this forever" The dark circles under my eyes
disappear. By day fifteen I am down twelve pounds and feeling good. On day twenty I realize that when I wake up
my limbs are not asleep nor have I woken up to them falling asleep for awhile. My wife says I have stopped snoring and
I have gone down one pants size. On day twenty seven I get my haircut. My stylist freaks out. My hair has
grown much faster and I have no flakes on my scalp, eyebrows or face. I notice my nails have been growing faster as
well. By day fifty people start telling me what a good mood I am in. I don't notice it much, but they sure do.
By day sixty, I know what they mean. I tested bananas and was in an instant bad mood. Towards the second day of
testing them I was almost depressed. (I have had rolling dark clouds about every three months since my early twenties)
By the end of the second day, my stomach jumped in with the upset and I took them out of my diet permanently.
Now
at day 115, I am down 41 pounds and two pants sizes. I am no longer a xxl. At 6'2 I am by no means skinny but
I am wearing a large. When I test something that I am allergic to, everything mentioned above reverses. I am hot,
don't sleep well, retain weight, get dandruff, my hands and feet crack, my stomach is upset, my face peels and I am
either angry or depressed or both. A coworker describes me as a hot mess. I am being incredibly diligent with
the diet at this point since it seems to have more of an impact on me than I had guessed. Since starting this, more
than twenty friends, family, clients and coworkers have started as well. They must be seeing the value. I am no
longer eating, grapes, gluten, coconut meat, cayenne pepper and bananas. I am actually looking forward to finding out
what else I will be taking out."
-Mike
"A
few months ago I went to see Tom for nutritional counseling. I have been to many doctors and specialists and finally a
Naturopathic doctor suggested I try to get an appointment with Tom. It seemed to be apparent to him right away what was going
on but he suggested I try the elimination diet to find out for sure. My main concerns were fibromyalgia like symptoms, frequent
headaches, sleeplessness, and well, uncomfortable digestion, to say the least. At 28 years old I felt these issues shouldn't
be going on or debilitating me to the degree that they were. I felt so great the first day I started the diet that I called
to thank him! My headaches went away almost instantaneously. I have since discovered that I cannot eat walnuts, gluten, eggs,
yeast, dairy. Now I recommend this diet and Tom's cookbook to everyone who doesn't feel healthy! Thank you so much!"
-L. R.
