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I tried a few dietary protocols over the Fall and Winter with varying degrees of success. I discovered that, for optimal health, I had to combine several protocols, which left me a very limited amount of foods I could eat. Even with these protocols, I struggled with significant bloating and unexplained weight gain. I was so frustrated and didn't know what to do! I let myself relax my dietary restrictions slightly as it became apparent how much stress impacted me physically. I let myself have some raw dairy again and added in one pseudo-grain, buckwheat. I tried a high-histamine/AIP-forbidden tomato here and there and used a little onion in my cooking. It was really hard to tell how these foods affected me because my bloating and intestinal pain was constant.
As I struggled with these problems, I tried to figure out WHERE TO GO from here. I've had a milk fast in the back on my mind for almost a year now and decided now would be a good time to try. Thanks to blood work a few months previous, I knew that my liver was overloaded, not working properly, and that my body was unable to process the histamines that digested food produces (some foods are higher histamine than others which is why I maintained a low-histamine diet). A liquid diet could help give my liver, and digestive system, a break and let my body concentrate on the healing it needed. Unfortunately, the traditional resource, bone broth, was not in the cards as it is a high-histamine food. I'd read about the healing properties of a raw milk fast, especially regarding Lyme's disease. I decided it was time to take the plunge. I knew, however, that this probably wouldn't be a cure (hence using the term "fast" or "detox" instead of the linked article's use of "cure") for me. I don't have official diagnoses to "cure" and didn't have blood work done at the beginning and end. I simply intended this to be a help to flush my liver and aid my body's healing.
Why (raw) milk? First, for any detox of this type, the milk must come from grass-fed cows and must be raw. Otherwise, don't bother! You will probably make yourself sicker. Pasteurization denatures the proteins in milk, making it difficult to digest, and depletes the nutrition in the milk. Grass-fed cows eat their natural diet (grain is not a natural food for cows!) so they are healthier and, therefore, provide higher quality milk. Grass-fed cows, usually, come from hygiene and sustainably-conscious farms, but, of course, you should always check and know your source (this is really important with raw milk - most of the milk on the shelves MUST be pasteurized because the cows are fed bad diets, kept confined, and have infected udders - think mastitis pus in your milk - eww, and are pumped with antibiotics, killing their gut and any beneficial bacteria you would get in the milk)! Ok, now we can talk about milk's benefits. Just like human breast milk, cow's milk is a complete food containing essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and fat-soluble vitamins. This article gives a good summary of raw milk's benefits. This article gives you a basic background on why raw (most of this paragraph is a summary from this article).
So, the plan. I would drink 3/4 - 1 gallon of raw guernsey milk each day. I would drink water, if necessary ('cuz that's a lot of milk - not much extra hydration needed!). That's it. I decided that, as I went, I could tweak things, but this was my starting point. I signed up for Golden Valley Guernsey's milk share, essentially buying a share in a cow that is collectively owned. The farm handles all the work (hence the "boarding" fee) and delivers my milk to one of the drop locations. There are a couple raw milk share farms in our area (this is the only way to legally buy raw milk in Virginia), but I chose GVG for a simple reason: their breed. Guernsey cows provide better milk than Jersey and Holstein breeds. Their milk contains almost 100% of the A2 milk protein (the protein in goats milk which makes goat milk easier to digest) instead of A1 (hard to digest cow milk protein), has a higher fat content (important since I've had blood sugar issues in the past), a better balance of omega 3 to omega 6 (this imbalance is killing America), and higher vitamin levels.
Here's what happened. First of all, their milk was absolutely delicious. Secondly, their milk was incredibly filling (I thought I would be hungry and craving food - this was not the case). I ended up only drinking about 1/2 gallon per day. Initially, I started drinking 16-30 oz 3-4 times per day. I had significant gas for a couple days and decided to warm my milk instead - that really helped (warm milk is supposedly easier to digest - worked for me!).
Pre-detox symptoms: Brain "fog", tired, join pain, bloating/intestinal inflammation
Days 1-3: Significant detox symptoms: sore throat, exhaustion, gas, increased phlem
Day 4: Appetite began to increase and detox symptoms began to disappear
Day 5: Drank 1/2 gallon of milk and had a small snack of carrots and kale cooked in lard w/ lots of salt - could tell adrenals needed salt - stressful day!!!
Day 6 and 7: continued with 1/2 gallon+ of milk - detox symptoms gone, better energy levels, no more brain fog.
Day 8: It was a Sunday in Lent so I let myself have one meal with Mark consisting of small portions of salmon, broccoli, cauliflower w/ parsley and butter, and cabbage. I noticed bloating was significantly down and I was losing about 1/2 pound every couple days.
Day 9 and 10: Stressful days, drank more than 1/2 gallon and had a small veggie snack with salt and fat; inflammation flared up due to stress (the effect of stress on my body was confirmed by this detox). Added fermented cod liver oil for immune boost - kids starting to get sick.
Day 11-14: Increased intake slightly. Unfortunately, we're all sick. :(
End benefits (this is part of the testimony I wrote for GVG the day after I completed the detox): My sleep became more regular and restful and my brain fog went away. Scars and inflammation on my face from the original autoimmune flare two years ago began to fade and I cannot believe how much better my skin looks. My intestinal inflammation significantly decreased and I lost five of the ten pounds of unexplained weight gain. Most importantly, the most frustrating aspect of my autoimmune problems/histamine intolerance, joint pain, is gone. My energy level is, generally, better and I feel, mentally and emotionally, more like myself, not someone “controlled” by pain. Now, at the end of the detox, I plan to incorporate Golden Valley’s milk into my healing diet so that I can continue to heal my gut and reverse autoimmune disease. As I move forward I am very thankful for the healthy relationship this milk detox created between food and myself.
One of the surprise benefits of this detox was what I refer to in the last line - a better outlook on and relationship to food. I feel empowered when I eat. I am helping my body, nourishing it with good food, helping repair damage. This means that I've learned to resist the urge for comfort food and stress eating. I find myself eating slowly, taking smaller portions, and making rational decisions to nourish my body, not my emotions.
I did have a couple negative side-effects. One was slight constipation. I believe this is related to a thyroid issue and I didn't have enough time to help reverse this issue. The second was more significant, candida overgrowth. I knew this was a possibility as I've suspected gut dysbiosis in the past. This, however, was never confirmed so I didn't worry about the increased carbohydrate intake throwing off my gut flora. It is hard to tell if the dysbiosis was entirely from the milk or if a large part of it was from the illness - I didn't notice the growth on my tongue until the day after I completed the detox. Luckily, this is a pretty easy fix. For now I will eat a lower-starch diet to starve the yeast, take a powerful, native probiotic (native means the good bacteria will actually colonize your gut, unlike most probiotics that help and are then flushed out of your system), and take a couple drops of oregano oil with my water each night. Once I am done nursing, I hope to pursue more avenues to permanently reverse this issue, instead of balancing it with food.
Unfortunately, as I suspected, the inflammation has returned, but not to the pre-detox degree. I have yet to see if this is stress inflammation (Rita has been pretty sick and not sleeping - stressful!) or dietary inflammation. I did notice intestinal pain after my first meal - cucumber and liver pate. I've generally avoided raw foods on the advice of the GAPS protocol which advises only cooked foods for a year to help with digestion. I have yet to determine if the raw cucumbers were the culprit - the liver pate was all foods I usually tolerate well.
I am very happy with the results of this detox. The disappearance of my joint pain and fatigue, along with the emotional triumph of controlling how I eat, is life-changing. I hope to find a good, holistic MD in the near future who can give me a proper diagnosis so I can target the specific areas that need to heal. If I get my gut dysbiosis under control I would love to do this detox again. Most days my stress levels plummeted because I did not have to worry about how to fit my complicated meals into a day of caring for two little children. I loved being able to easily pack my lunch in a thermos - no more frustration of what cooked food travels well and can be eaten cold. It was very freeing and, going forward, I will definitely have a raw milk meal (or snack) on occasion.
I am moving forward.
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