How has TF helped you?

[MountainMamaGC]

I am curious how TF has helped you. Please share your stories on what conditions it has improved and how it has made you feel better. I want to show this to my DH when I get some answers. Also it will encourage me and give me more hope, which up until recently I was running low on. Please share.

[Magelet]

I'm not sure I was that sick before I started TF, however:

Me:
strongly reduced depression
reduced cholesterol to "safe/normal" levels (my hdl was over 200 at 16)
lost a lot of weight (went from chubby to a good weight for me, a little slender but not skinny)
more energy
i feel so much better

DP:
reduced deppression
lost weight and easier to maintain that weight (he used to yoyo. his weight has stayed off the last year since starting TF)
cured lactose intolerance. (used to be, eating a 2 in peice of cheese would cause him BAD trouble for 3 days. Today, he drank a whole glass of pasturized milk no problems.)
increased strength despite decreased exercise
overall feels better

[ursusarctos]

I was just thinking about this. Not to tempt fate, but for me it seems to manifest in almost never getting sick *knocks on wood*. I've been eating more or less TF (I'm not strict if I occasionally crave junk food, but the majority of my food is homemade and TF) for about 8ish months now and I haven't been sick at all since July (I used to get at least a cold several times a year), and that sickness was caused by a very obvious non-TF thing (ahem, getting wildly drunk with a girlfriend and walking home while eating fried grill food and a jar of nutella in cold windy weather at 5 AM... ). I also have lots of energy and am not depressed (last year at this time I was very depressed - and surprise (not) I was also not eating well and very run down). Oh, and I can eat whatever I want (including occasional crap ) and not gain any weight. So I didn't have any major disorders to fix, but overall I feel much more vital and energized than I ever have even when eating a mostly whole foods but not TF diet. For me going TF has meant starting to use bone broth, eating mostly sourdough/soaked whole grains, including quality meat or eggs in my diet every day, cutting out all "vegetable" fat and refined sugar (I had already mostly done this), eating ferments regularly, drinking only raw milk when I do drink it, starting to include liver in my diet, and being as seasonal as possible in my food selections.

[mom61508]

we haven't been TF for that long. And with moving all the time sometimes we fall off the wagon but TF is our main stay. For me I have noticed my blood sugar doesn't drop like it used too and I stay fuller longer which is nice because eating every 3 hours gets tiring. All that fat and protein has really helped me

[MyLilPwny]

I've also done other things like internal cleansing, getting amalgams removed and stop using the microwave, so I don't think I can contribute it all to just eating TF, but ever since I was a teenager and into my early twenties, when ever I would get the slightest bit hungry, I would become miserable and start getting a headache. In 2004 when I was 22 years old, the year when I first started working full-time, I remember regularly getting headaches every day, and some times they were so bad that I would vomit as a result. I also remember going to the doctor in 2004 because I was having some constipation issues and sometimes bleeding from a hard bowel movement. This was on Standard American Diet, of course. I started doing internal cleansing, got my amalgams removed and stopped using the microwave in 2004 (and I'm sure there are other things that I did that I'm forgetting to mention here), and started switching to more organic foods, but I didn't discover TF until 2006, which I started about 6 months before I became pregnant. I'd say I'm about 80-90% TF currently, and the rest of the food is from eating out (I was super strict and only eating my own food for about a year, but that really sucked socially and I missed eating some things that I don't cook myself) I never get headaches anymore, aside from maybe a slight headache once or twice per year that doesn't last very long. Now, I can go without eating for quite a while, be hungry and not be miserable and not get a headache. I don't have any more constipation issues and no more bleeding from hard stools (mine are all easy to pass now). I haven't been sick at all the past few years, except last year, I felt tired and achey for a day, so I just stayed in bed and was fine the next day. I used to be chubby and had 3 fat rolls on my stomach when I sat down during my college years (when I ate a lot of white bread and pasta). Now my stomach is almost flat. I didn't have any PPD. I'm sure there are other positive things about my health changing, but I'm just fortunate to have discovered these things about natural health when I was relatively young (22).

[barefootmommy]

My daughter will be 1 year in two weeks. Neither her or I have had a single day of sickness this past year, since starting TF.

That's one full year without a single cold, sniffle, fever, infection, etc.

It's boosted the immune system of my son too, he's only had 2 days of the sniffles in one entire year (he's 3 yrs).

We were all around my husband who has gotten sick 5 times this past year and none of us got sick.

It's taken care of my childrens skin conditions, and I can see it's improved my daughters physical development. She is a TF/Primal baby. No vaccines, no grains, TF foods.

It's given me confidence that I'm doing the best for my health and our families future. It requires a LOT of prep work and time in the kitchen, and that can get exhausting, but eventually you get used to it and figure out how to do it on a budget as well. But it is expensive. My favorite cheap TF foods are bones bought from farmers (from grass-fed animals) to make broths, and bulk coconut oil. Also free-run organic eggs.

My husband is starting to get more into it too... he's lost a ton of weight.

[tngirl11]

The first major thing for me has been a huge improvement in my menstrual cycle. When I was trying to get pregnant years ago for the first time, I would only have my period once every few months or so. I had to take Clomid in order to ovulate. It was actually the fact that my dr wanted to put me on Metformin that made me start changing my diet--cutting out sugar and refined carbs. Eventually, after lots of research and constantly refining my diet, I ended up on a (mostly!) TF diet about a year or so ago. For the first time in my life, my cycles have become basically normal, and I was able to get pregnant without much trouble (finally!)
The other thing that I'll mention because I just happened to be noticing it the other day is that the condition of my skin has never ever been so good. I've struggled with acne since I turned 13 and have always thought my skin looked kind of dull. I was looking at some old pictures and realizing how much clearer and more radiant my skin looks now, even though I'm older. I was actually complimented on my "great skin" for the first time ever several months ago!
Oh, and like others have mentioned, I rarely get sick any more and neither do my kids. I used to get colds all the time, and I honestly haven't had a full blown cold since I began my TF diet.
Oh wait! I thought of one more interesting thing: I had gestational diabetes in both of my previous pg, but I have not had any problems with my blood sugar at all so far in this pregnancy (and I'm six months along now). I guess it could be a coincidence, but I don't think so!

[MyLilPwny]

^^Ohh, that reminds me that I used to get menstrual cramps ever since I was a young teenager, but now when I get my period (been getting it since 10 months pp about a year and a half ago and I can't tell when my period is coming anymore because I can't feel it and there is no cramping at all (that was the one good thing about getting cramps before...I could tell when my period was coming). I'm always regular every month too. I also didn't have any fertility problems (I got pregnant right away in early 2007) and same with another friend of mine who follows more of a TF Primal diet...we got instant pregnancies.

[Llyra]

I used to take immunosuppressant drugs for moderately severe ulcerative colitis. I went off those in June, so it's been almost nine months, and I'm still in remission, which I attribute to the changes we've made in our diet the last few years-- we're not all TF, but getting closer all the time.

[wholewheatchick]

Now, I am really not all that TF...I'm slowly getting into it, like I do soak my grains now, and I have absolutely fallen in love with Nourishing Traditions, but we still do eat pasta about 1x/week (whole wheat) and we only eat meat 2 - 4 x/week. I do take CLO, and eat full fat dairy (not raw) and cheese. No soy protein in the house! I used to be vegetarian, so this a huge change for me. I make 95% of our food from scratch...the exception being pasta, Ezekiel bread, tortillas, pitas, and sugar-free pasta sauce.

Some major things that eating more TFish has done for me....
I just ovulated on CD 21!!! That is the closest to regular my cycle has been in 3 years.
I no longer fear fat! I had an eating disorder for 2 years, and truly it has been seeing the information on this board and reading more and more that has convinced me, FINALLY, that fat does not make you fat!
I used to "shed" the hair on my scalp quite a lot, and I don't anymore.
I am currently trying to be sugar-free (honey and maple syrup included) and I think that recognizing the inherent sweetness in things like almonds has been due to re-training my tastebuds to be more TF.

[MountainMamaGC]

Thanks ladies. Keep em coming.

I esp like what Llyra said as I have crohns and I am trying to settle down a flare with this diet.

[tanyalynn]

For us it's been more subtle stuff because I'm dealing with our underlying issue with a long list of supplements and diet is more supportive than curative for us. It's more tools to help deal with problems but not a root cause solution. I mean--DD's gut tends to get yeasty, but homemade kimchee does a nice job keeping it mostly in balance. And homemade stock has helped with a lot of illnesses--my kids get sick a lot, esp DS, and soup with homemade stock has helped us get through a lot. Until I deal with our underlying issue, which is mercury from my amalgam fillings, DD's gut won't be stable and I think DS will still tend to get sick more than most kids, but these are helpful.

And the fat, oh the fat! That has helped me a lot--I didn't realize moderate/high fat was a possibly healthy choice before TF, but it turns out that I feel best with high fat and fairly high meat/egg consumption. I think that's part of me being a recovering sickie, that's eased off a lot in the past 2 years, but I've found both meat and fat very restorative.

[MountainMamaGC]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

For us it's been more subtle stuff because I'm dealing with our underlying issue with a long list of supplements and diet is more supportive than curative for us. It's more tools to help deal with problems but not a root cause solution. I mean--DD's gut tends to get yeasty, but homemade kimchee does a nice job keeping it mostly in balance. And homemade stock has helped with a lot of illnesses--my kids get sick a lot, esp DS, and soup with homemade stock has helped us get through a lot. Until I deal with our underlying issue, which is mercury from my amalgam fillings, DD's gut won't be stable and I think DS will still tend to get sick more than most kids, but these are helpful.

And the fat, oh the fat! That has helped me a lot--I didn't realize moderate/high fat was a possibly healthy choice before TF, but it turns out that I feel best with high fat and fairly high meat/egg consumption. I think that's part of me being a recovering sickie, that's eased off a lot in the past 2 years, but I've found both meat and fat very restorative.

I am finding the fat is helping me too. Eggs with runny yolks. Chicken broth, chicken with the skin on it, pork ribs cooked in saurkraut (I even drank the liquids in the crockpot) I totally thought it would make me feel ill and instead I enjoyed it like a baby at the breast. It felt so good to eat it and I felt so good afterward. I did not get any symtpoms from the food. Oh and cutting grains seems to have helped too. Its only been 4 days now so I am cautiously optimistic. I am about 15 lbs under my normal weight and I think my body really appreciates the extra nutrients and calories.

I am eating lots of veggies too.