Diet Week One

Well, last week I went into this rather stranger little place near Fremantle called Remede Wellness Centre. I went in feeling more confident than I have in a while, and came out feeling...worried. I had been led to believe that the people at this place have a professional medical outlook on life, and the people they treat, and discovered instead that they are all about 'negative waves of energy' and similar amusing anecdotes, none of which are really going to help me. However, On the off chance that they have any ability to help me, or to diagnose my problem, I agreed to go onto an extremely healthy diet for them in exchange for them getting a hair sample analysed so we can figure out what, if anything, I have too much or too little of. It's honestly not that much different to my current diet, however there are a few key differences, one of which is that for the duration of my time on this diet they ask me to not have margerine, butter or cows milk, and to either completely eliminate black tea from my diet, or limit myself to two weak cups a day. They also ask that I have no fried foods at all, eat only brown wholemeal bread and rice, and cut out red meat in favour of fish. So, here's my impression on this new diet so far:

Tea: I hate not being able to mainstream this. I am the sort of person who will go through between 3 and 5 cups of tea on a normal day, however in a stressed day I may get as high as 8 or 9 cups. Now, I am not drinking more than one cup a day, and am suplimenting with some dreadful tasting organic green tea. My mood has the ability to become foul when I am in the process of drinking this stuff, and I am yet to find a suitable substitute.

Organic: When I was discussing diet with the clinic, they asked that I move to a completely organic diet. Now, I don't really see the benefits with this. I would be paying 3 times the price for my weekly shop no matter where I buy it, and I cannot see how the veggies are any better; I know all the arguments for organic veggies, but I cannot see how buying from a farmers market is anything but 'unanounced organic' and hey, I'm in refusal to up my grocery bill. They also want me drinking goats milk which I am allergic to. They do not want me drinking cows milk, and so far no reason has been given.

Diet: I already had a very healthy diet. I ate a ton of vegetables as my husband is vegetarian, and I rarely ever ate red meat, prefering chicken on the occasions that I did eat meat. I don't eat much at all in the way of sweet things, and I don't drink any coffee, or an excess amount of alcohol. SO really, all this diet has served to do is highlight how healthy my diet was, and to cut out all the good things in it. That couple of squares of chocolate every week. The tea I love. The drink or 3 on a saturday night. White rice. Cheese. Milk. A porterhouse steak every now and then. All gone. And I honestly cannot see how it is meant to have any effect on my fertility, cutting out a major source of iron (red meat), calcium (cows milk and cheese), Zinc (red meat) and a carbohydrate source (white rice). In fact, the more work I put into looking into this diet, the more ludicrous it seems.

My Doubts: Look, I'm all for getting help here. But when you look me straight in the eyes and say I should be very careful about my diet as no matter what I eat, or even what air I breathe, there are tiny chemicals that I will take in that will mimic other hormones and cause a 'huge hormonal imbalance', my main response is to laugh so hard I cry and cannot breathe. Sure, those chemicals exist, but not in anywhere near the numbers you're trying to scare me into thinking, and they do not have the effects you doomsday'd me about. The sad thing is I have more facts with a tiny bit of research than the clinic did.
Also, telling me that egg cells are 'made of and surrounded by zinc, therefore you need LOTS of zinc!' is a bad idea. I know I need lots of zinc, the menstrual cycle uses a lot of it, and zinc is imperative to fertility in both genders, however egg cells are not made of, nor are they surrounded by, Zinc. Check your facts. And if you cannot tell me WHY living next to high voltage power lines is ''very bad for your fertility!'' then I will: It isn't. Sure, in 20 years or so I may develop Leukemia, if I choose to live here that long, but a) thats not even a hard fact, and b) the power lines actually ARE proven to have no effect on my fertility. So suck it.

HOW is cutting out some major suppliers of dietary needs going to help my diet? How does cutting out an iron source and my main calcium source *help* my fertility in any way? ANd on top of all this, I fail to see how organic only food will help me any more than my already healthy vegetarian lifestyle was. However, considering the views of the doctors in this city, I guess I'm helpless to do anything about this yet as I need the help, and these people, while I have money, are willing to help me. Ah, how cynical am I...

Because I Can