A Natural Foods Journey from Illness to Wellness

I can honestly say that during my 33 years of life I have weathered quite a few storms. The loss of a brother and father, numerous relatives lost to cancer, and my own health issues that have since resolved, but which tormented me through the latter half of my twenties and early thirties. Somehow I survived college and graduate studies at the Pacific College of Traditional Oriental Medicine without a single grey hair, and I entered into the acupuncture profession with enthusiasm and whole-hearted commitment. I've since created a truly successful practice at the Acupuncture Center of New Jersey in Morristown. So essentially you can say that my life has been harder than hard, but at the same time amazingly good. It’s the balance of yin and yang that life throws our way, and sometimes the universe has a funny way of showing us our deepest form of strength during these trying times. My ultimate trying time was an illness that blindsided my husband and I two years ago like a hurricane. I never knew just how hard it would be to deal with a life altering health issue when it was my husband who was the one suffering. It was at this moment that I realized our relationship would either sink or swim, and I would either cower in fear or rise above it.

The issue my husband was facing is not important, but the fact that it was of an unpredictable nature is what really cut me to the core. We never knew when it would strike, or where it was stemming from.  It should be noted that the doctors offered no cure, and a lifetime of extremely toxic medication to control it. I’d wake up every single morning not knowing if he would make it through the day unscathed, and I would cry incessantly at times which really took a toll on my health. I prayed a lot, and thought deeply for an answer as to why God put this in my path, and what the bright side was of him suffering the way he did. I meditated on this for months, and one day I realized something....maybe western medicine wasn't the answer here. Maybe there was another route he could go down, and at this moment I was determined to find it. 

To make a long story a little shorter, I prayed for an answer; everyday, anytime I could think of it, I prayed. And one day I got my answer in the form of an “alternative healer” (who shall remain anonymous) that literally stumbled into our lives. She figured out that the root cause of my husband’s issues stemmed from an extremely permeable gut that had allowed horrible toxins to leech into his bloodstream and brain. It took a solid year for him to be healed full of moments of doubts and struggle, but at the end of that year I saw a visible shift in my husband. I could literally see in his eyes, and even in the way that he acted, that his body chemistry had shifted. His illness was gone. No doctor could explain it, nor believe that he no longer had any use for medications. It was a true miracle, and we owe his newfound life to the alternative avenue we chose to go down. So what was the ultimate healing cure?

Food…nothing more, nothing less. Every single thing he took to heal his gut was made in our kitchen.  Simultaneously he changed his diet drastically. No more soda, sugar, greasy foods or what I like to refer to as “slop.” By eliminating these foods the inflammation in his intestines healed, and the natural food recipes killed off all the harmful bacteria that set up shop in his intestines. He lost weight, his energy increased, and his over the top hyperactive personality became much more subdued. It was AMAZING. 

The point of me writing this is to let anyone out there who is going through a serious illness know that western medicine is not always the cure all. In the words of Hippocrates "let food be thy medicine." In many cases, what we eat can not only help prevent disease, but it can bring the body back to homeostasis and rid the body of many serious issues. Eat whole and organic foods, without the use of pesticides and antibiotics which can destroy the delicate lining of our guts. Eat a health variety of foods, focusing on foods in season and locally grown when possible. Our bodies are made to eat what nature provides, and if we leave something out there can often times be mineral and vitamin deficiencies in our bodies. But if we do the right thing for our bodies, disease can never set in and medication will never be needed. We are all capable of living a happy and healthy life, no matter what cards we have been dealt.   Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are excellent therapies for many illnesses. I regularly combine these therapies with what I’ve learned about natural foods nutrition and detoxification to help my patients like I helped my husband. 

If anyone is interested in knowing some of these healing methods, come make an appointment with me the Acupuncture Center of New Jersey and we’ll discuss how food can be the missing link to your health. I would love to share my knowledge with you. 

Post by: Rachel DeMattio Specht  - L.Ac., Diplomate O.M.

Contact Rachel and our staff for your appointments today at 973-984-2800