A few things before we get started; first, I am not a medical professional. Second, I am eternally grateful to modern medicine. Without it, my second son would not be here. The things I have seen modern medicine accomplish in the life of my child will forever blow my mind and fill my heart. Getting to kiss this boy goodnight every night is not a privilege that I take lightly.

That being said, I am seeing a growing movement toward finding a balance between modern medicine and a holistic approach. WebMD defines holistic medicine as a form of healing that considers the whole person — body, mind, spirit, and emotions — in the quest for optimal health and wellness. According to the holistic medicine philosophy, one can achieve optimal health — the primary goal of holistic medicine practice — by gaining proper balance in life.

(NOTE: Holistic medicine would not have saved my son. Please consult your doctor and do your own research.)

This has come up for me in a few ways over the last 5 or so years. Most recently, in the form of headaches. I am still in the discovery process but I’m writing this to share information with you and possibly empower you to do your own research for any ailments you may be experiencing.

In December, I started noticing that I was getting daily headaches. I medicated with Ibuprofen and moved on. After about two weeks, I started to wonder what was going on. I thought back on the last few weeks and what might have changed. Well, sweets had certainly changed. As in, I was eating sugar every single day. This was a relatively easy fix. I cut out sugar and the headaches went away. I hate this, guys. I love sugar. But it is BAD news.

I’m never going to cut sugar out completely. Because, birthdays and special occasions and because brownies. But I’ve cut way back and most days go without.

In June, I started getting a new kind of headache; exertion headaches. Anytime I participated in strenuous activity, I would get a splitting headache that would almost knock me out. I was unable to speak or open my eyes for about 10 minutes, then it would dull and last another 24-48 hours. Needless to say, this is a challenging situation as a mom of 4 and just as a human. I feel for anyone who has chronic pain.

When these first started happening, my husband was worried. He took me to the ER for blood work and at CT scan. Everything was normal and he cried real tears. I’m thinking he was terrified of raising all these babies by himself. I would be too.

These headaches can happen for no reason. They can come and go over the years. My options, as presented by the doctors, were to take an NSAID, possibly forever, or refrain from physical activity. Obviously, I would take the medicine if I had to but I decided to try and figure out a better solution.

I checked out “Brain Maker” by David Perlmutter from the library. Dr. Perlmutter discusses the relationship between a healthy gut and a healthy body, specifically the brain. He’s a neuroscientist so much of what he said was a little above my BS in Elementary ED but the major concepts were easy to comprehend.

He describes how the different bacteria in our stomach affects everything from our weight to our skin to our likelihood of developing cancer or Alzheimer disease and more. He discusses the relationship between inflammation and brain health. As I had been prescribed an anti-inflammatory, I knew there was likely a connection. Much of what he said, I had heard before but it all had more meaning now that I was struggling with these headaches. I highly recommend this book. I made many of the changes he suggested and haven’t had an exertion headache in a month or more. They could have mysteriously disappeared but I’m sticking with these changes because I think they’re related and I don’t want to get those again.

Here are the changes I made:

• Cut back on gluten, around 80%. This has not been as hard as you think. I still eat bread or pasta occasionally but not daily, as I used to. This means no cereal, no sandwiches, corn instead of wheat tortillas, etc.
• Cut back on alcohol. I cut back about half immediately and have since cut more.
• Added probiotics.
•Eating more pre-biotics. These are like super foods. The easiest ones for me to eat are garlic and onions. But ginger, turmeric and raw asparagus are good too. Sometimes, I just take a garlic supplement.
• Eating more fermented foods like yogurt and drinking kombucha. This stuff doesn’t really taste good BUT it’s full of probiotics. I want to learn how to make it, message me if you have any tips.

Anyway, I truly hope this helps you. If you are struggling with anything, ask your doctor, ask trusted friends (not the naysayers), read books, find relevant articles, use common sense. You are your best advocate. Find whatever information you can and follow your intuition about what you think might be best for you.

XO, Lauren