DIET
This isn’t about dieting. It is about my body’s intolerance to starchy foods.
DO NOT DO THIS DIET IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CUSHING’S AS IT MAY LOWER YOUR CORTISOL AND MAKE A DIAGNOSIS MORE DIFFICULT.
Dr. Rona put me on a low-starch diet which worked perfectly to lower my cortisol and eliminate many symptoms. After maybe a year the effects started to diminish. I realized I needed to change to a no-starch diet for it to be effective again. Without contacting Dr. Rona, I started this new diet. But I’m recommending it a little different than what I did. Allow yourself a starchy food every 5 days. Do NOT have starchy foods 2 or more days in a row. This lifestyle is restrictive so, it might be difficult for you to strictly adhere to it. Because of the limited food selections and your body’s natural craving for high carb foods, you may not want to continue for the six months that I found necessary to see and feel a change in my weight and the Cushing’s symptoms. I know this is hard, but you will be amazed at how well you will feel, if you stick to it. If you take all the starchy foods out of your diet and then eat something containing even a small amount of starch, be aware of how your body reacts or possibly doesn’t react. When I accidentally put starch in my body the next morning I woke up to a burning in the vagina. We are all different. Listen to your body. You can find what works for you.
Is eating the starchy foods you enjoy worth giving up the activities you love? It is a push and pull scenario that only you can decide. The pull to eat starchy foods must be stronger than the push to reclaim your lifestyle. And likewise, the pull to get your life back must be stronger than the push to feed your appetite. From a time perspective, the satisfaction in eating lasts minutes, whereas, the enjoyment in reclaiming your life is endless.
Do you want to feel stronger, have more energy and lose weight occasionally or permanently? It is up to you. You decide how much effort you are comfortable with in going forward. Has your body already proven to you how it reacts to starch by the foods you are eating? Is it worth experiencing how your body responds without starches? You are your own science experiment. Is six months too long of a commitment to regain your health? This is a difficult diet. It will change the way you cook by using diverse recipes using fresh foods that will benefit your body. It’s understandable if you have setbacks. If I can stick with this diet and get better than so can you. Believe. You can do this.
It is not easy. Good luck. Anything is possible if you BELIEVE.
Parents with a baby born with Cushing’s did a video on FaceBook. The baby was diagnosed with Cushing’s. The mother said the baby was lethargic and like carrying dead weight. Over time the baby’s features changed and she looked and acted like a normal baby. Then later at the toddler stage, she got Cushing’s features and symptoms back. I found this interesting because this aligns with my theory of how our bodies can’t tolerate starch. But I would have to make a lot of assumptions and would never be able to confirm these assumptions as fact.. When the mother was pregnant, I assume she ate starchy foods thereby feeding her baby starches, which the baby couldn’t tolerate. This gave the baby Cushing’s symptoms. Then once born, I assume again if the baby is on formula, some formulas don’t have starch, the baby is no longer taking in starch and therefore the Cushing’s symptoms disappear. Then when the baby goes on solid food with starch the Cushing’s symptoms return. This scenario re-enforces my belief that starch causes Cushing’s or that starch feeds the tumor to make it grow and bring out the Cushing’s symptoms. I googled baby formula to see if it has starch in it. According to google some baby formula has no starch and some baby formula does have starch. Of course, this is all just conjecture but it is an interesting scenario that makes me wonder if this could have been what happened.