MTHFR & Plexus

A couple of years ago after my third of four miscarriages I was advised to have genetic testing.  The results came back confirming that I had two copies of the MTHFR gene.  What this means is that my body does not rid itself of toxins that enter into the body like a normal non-MTHFR person.  Those toxins store up and lead to a higher risk of heart problems, miscarriages, allergies, asthma and the list could seriously fill a page.  Just trust me when I say it's not a good thing.

If the body cannot rid itself of the toxins that "enter into it" then, the way to control MTHFR is to focus on what is "entering into the body".  How do most things "enter into the body"?... By eating and taking vitamins and supplements that you may be consuming.  The biggest thing to watch out for is folic acid and B12.  These vitamins are mostly synthetic (man-made) and are being added into our foods.  If the food label says the word "enriched" that means vitamins have been added in.  That means the MTHFR person can't safely eat those items.  That's a lot of items! The only safe thing to do is eliminate those things from the diet and consume only foods with natural forms of those vitamins.

Vitamin supplements are mostly made with "folic acid" rather than natural "folate" and even if they are made with natural they are often labeled incorrectly and you just don't know anyway.  A good example of the labeling faults is to look at the nutrition information for green beans.  It will list "folic acid" but we know this is actually the naturally occurring "folate".  For this reason unless it says it is natural folate in the vitamins and supplements these items should be avoided.  I haven't taken vitamins in over two years because it is really so confusing.  I am now taking Plexus X-Factor vitamins.  This vitamin supplement has been specially formulated and is not made with synthetic vitamins.  I am not only taking it, I have decided to join the company so if you are interested you can order through my website at www.littlethingstx.myplexusproducts.com .  Read more about X-Factor on the website.  I am thrilled to finally be able to take vitamins, again. 

My New Venture: Plexus

Have you heard of Plexus? I would love to introduce you. I am starting a new venture as a Plexus Ambassador (that's fancy talk for a "representative"). I have researched it, prayed about it, tried it, and discussed it with my husband. What I have found is that it fits well with the health journey I have been on. It is my belief that overall health and wellness leads to the goals we want to achieve. Based on my research, Plexus can take us to the next level. Feel free to message me if this interests you. You can also explore my website at www.littlethingstx.myplexusproducts.com but please allow me to guide you through choosing products and explaining the details. ‪#‎plexus‬ ‪#‎alwaysroomforimprovement‬ ‪#‎itsstartswithhealthyinsides‬ ‪#‎drinkpink‬ (Did I mention it tastes really good?!!!)

Miscarriages, MTHFR, Food Changes, and Health

Sierra when first trying beans & rice many years ago.
She would only eat them blindfolded.
I forced her to try it and she said she could not
stand the way the beans looked.
Now, at eleven years old this is her favorite food.
~This is kind of how I felt at first about the food changes I needed to make.~

Through my journey of four miscarriages I was told I should have genetic testing after the third miscarriage.  I did and it turns out I have MTHFR... It's a gene.  I have TWO copies of the gene which means that I got the gene from EACH of my parents.  It is really complicated to explain but the short story is if you have MTHFR your body does not rid itself of toxins like it should.  Instead it stores up the toxins.  This becomes a problem with SYNTHETIC vitamins.  Synthetic vitamins are made in a lab are not the same as NATURAL vitamins.  The MTHFR person can not process these properly.  These synthetic vitamins are almost all food products.  If it says it is "enriched", that means it has these synthetic vitamins in it. 

Enriched... Now, there is an interesting word:

    Enriched        ENRICH'ED, pp. Made rich or wealthy; fertilized; supplied with that which is desirable, useful or ornamental.


That all sounds good... unless you are talking about the enriched flour, enriched pasta, enriched cereals, enriched crackers, enriched cookies, enriched puddings, enriched cake mix, enriched everything...   The problem is that most everything you buy has something enriched in it.  For the MTHFR person that means TOXINS.  This means the only safe thing to do is eliminate everything enriched. 

I started health journey with eliminating the "enriched" foods.  I seriously cried over wanting pretzels in the chip aisle.  I was giving up so much.  I really just wanted some pretzels to eat with a healthy dip.  It was hard to adjust to.  After the fourth miscarriage I felt like all I was doing to fix my body was in vain because I still lost another  baby.  I quickly started letting my health diminish.  That went on for a few months and then, I finally realized I had to make a change if I wanted to be around for my children.  I had gained 30 pounds from January 2014 through January 2015 (exactly one year).  This was not a pattern I could continue and expect to have good health.  I decided to order the Trim Healthy Mama book that I had heard so much about.  So, in mid-January 2015 I started Trim Healthy Mama.  I also continued my MTHFR dietary restrictions.  This was truly the beginning of my new health journey.  I will stop here for now... but I will not end there... I will update what I have done over the last year.

Getting Twisted: Pretzel Time

I have not made pretzels in a long time... a VERY long time.  In fact, I am certain it has been so long that my kids have no memory of it.  So, when a dear friend made pretzels recently I started feeling a little guilty that my kids have not gotten to enjoy the experience when they love soft pretzels so much.  

Savannah, 13

I wanted to use my own freshly ground wheat so this would be something I could eat for my MTHFR dietary restrictions.  Knowing that the Heavenly Homemaker blog would be a good place to start for a tried and true recipe I went straight to her blog under recipes.  She quickly won me over by introducing the recipe noting that she used to actually sell these pretzels.  I mixed up the recipe and left the dough to rise. I came back later and punched down the dough and got busy with my older two girls rolling out some yumminess.  Sahara joined us (not pictured unfortunately) and was a pro at rolling out the dough and she loved it. 

Sierra, 10

Not long after, we were enjoying salted butter pretzels and buttered cinnamon sugar pretzels... And they tasted just like the ones at the pretzel shops.  

Yummy Healthy Pizza & MTHFR

Lately, I find myself scrambling to figure out meals that are healthy but also quick.  The set of "healthy" rules I am trying to follow is pretty extreme since finding out I have the MTHFR.  I am not going to ramble on about all the "rules", but just trust me when I say it is extensive.  Lucky for me I was already grinding my own wheat for a lot of things.  I am not supposed to have anything that is enriched because of the synthetic vitamins that are used to "enrich" the health content of the food that is being over-processed.  For my body it is like taking a poison and it stores up that poison.  Nobody needs a little poison floating around in their body now do they? {insert sarcastic laughter}  Being that this is a genetic thing I feel that my children need to be learning how to eat healthy because they are likely to have it, also.  

This pizza fits all the "rules".  Yippee!  And, of course, some yummy veggies would be even better but my kids like things really plain.  

I usually make a crisp thin crust but I wanted a softer slightly thicker crust... maybe 1/3 inch thick.  

Healthy Soft Wheat Pizza

4 unpacked cups Wheat Flour (not enriched) *I used Spelt.

1 cup water

2 Tbsp Yeast

1 Tbsp Honey

2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

Jar Pasta Sauce (I use Great Value brand because they do not add HFCS - high fructose corn syrup.) or make your own sauce

Mozzarella Cheese & Fiesta blend cheese ... Or whatever you like.

Start with oiling your pan with a little Olive Oil of choice.  This will make it easier if you have this done first.

Fill one cup of water and warm it slightly.  If it is too warm it will kill the yeast.  After it is warm add the yeast and honey.  Stir.  Set aside.  Grind your wheat (or use previously ground wheat) and place the remaining ingredients in your mixer (wheat flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder) with the dough hook attachment.... or you can hand mix and knead.  Add your water/yeast/honey mixture to this and mix.  This should be a sticky dough.  The more moisture you have the more soft your dough will be.   Rather than turning this dough out on flour surface I oiled my hands and place it directly on the pan and starting spreading it out with my hands.  You might want to use a rolling pin.  If so, oil it liberally.  I have found that I like kneading things our with my fingers when possible.  Place this crust in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  You do not want it to start browning.  This is just to let the inside cook some so you do not end up with a doughy crust.  Take it out and spread on your sauce and any toppings that you want including cheese.  Put it back in the oven and bake on 400 degrees until done.  Serve!!

Going Raw Again! & MTHFR

Well, we are going back to raw milk.  We tried it in the past and our drive was so far for pick up.  We only had a couple of us doing the trips so we had to each go every other week.  I found it to be overwhelming.  After discovering I have the MTHFR gene this is one of the many recommended dietary changes.  Now, their are five families so the trips per person are less frequent.  

So, this is the stuff!  The lids are ugly, but this is truly a thing of beauty!!!  It is $6 a gallon which is almost twice what I pay for store milk per gallon, but I can skim the cream off for making butter.  In reality that makes the cost about the same I was spending at the grocery store... And, this is much healthier!!! 

Savannah, 13, is skimming the cream off.  

All that cream came from 4 gallons!!

This is the cream churning away that my daddy found in someone's shed that was  going to be thrown in the garbage.  I am thankful grabbed it for me.  You just plug it in and watch it whirl. We the blade stops turning it is tome to unplug it and your butter is done.  

This is me cheating a bit to strain the butter.  And yes, that butter was YELLOW.  No additives!  I was told this is what you get when your butter is from cows that are eating a natural grass fed diet.  It looked almost like scrambled eggs!

Once the butter was strained and put in a pan the final step is to take that milk that is under the strainer and strain it through a cloth and reserve the buttermilk for other uses.  

I wish I had taken pics of the finished butter.  I guess I will do that next time.  I spread it in a small baking pan to rthe thickness of sticks of store butter and place it in the freezer to firm up. Once fairly frozen I took it out of the freezer and sliced it into sticks which I placed it a gallon zipper bag.  I store this in the freezer.  I learned the hard way that this butter will go bad sooner since it does not have preservatives in it. 

Post Miscarriage Test Results

I am going to go a little in reverse for now because telling some of my story is going to be quite lengthy.   One thing that happened after my recent miscarriage is that my midwife suggested that I have some genetic testing done since this was my third miscarriage.  There were some other tests we wanted to do, also.  For years every doctor that sees me asks right away if I have ever had my thyroid checked.  Apparently, I have a bulging neck or something, but I also have quite a few symptoms of thyroid issues like a raspy voice and some other minor issues.

The doctor that did my D&C ordered a thyroid test of some sort.  Being that we were uncertain what kind of test that was done the midwife decided to order a complete thyroid panel.  In addition she wanted me to have a CBC (normal bloodwork) and a MTHFR (genetic test).

In all honesty I thought I knew how these tests would come out.  I thought:

• there would be a thyroid issue of some sort;
• the CBC would be all normal (because the hospital had to have done that one already);
• and, the MTHFR would be normal (negative).

 It is funny how we get to thinking we have things figured out.... 

The test results were actually pretty much the opposite of what I thought. 

• Thyroid Screening-- All good (the doctor never let me know the results of the testing she ordered... sigh... doctors!).
• CBC-- My iron level was low (the doctor nor the hospital let me know this either).
• MTHFR-- I am positive for 2 copies of the A1298C MTHFR.  That means I inherited a copy of the gene from my mother and I inherited a copy of the gene from my father.  

So, the thyroid thing is a huge blessing to know.  I have wondered about this for years, but never really invested time in having it fully checked out.  Amongst life and eight pregnancies over the years somehow it just never got tended to.  That is a huge weight off my shoulders.  My raspy voice is something that is probably just an allergy issue since my allergies are really bad... even though I choose not to treat them for the most part.  I might take a little Benadryl a few times a year and I use Lavendar Oil and vapor rub for coughs and the cruddy throat.  And, yes, I know it is weird that I mix the use of essential oils with Vapor Rub, but it works for me and I am not too concerned about a little petroleum jelly.  I just love Vapor Rub too much to give it up.  Back to the result of the other testing...

The results of the CBC show my iron is a little low and is something I think I should have been told about.  This is good to know on those days that my energy level is low.  I know to watch what I am eating or take some iron supplements.  It frustrates me that with doctors there seems to be a breakdown in the doctor/patient relationship and some information just does not get shared that really should.  (I have way more coming regarding that part of my story... way more.)

Even though I am not happy to find out I have a gene mutation, MTHFR, I feel it is a blessing to know that I have this.  Since I know I have it I feel I can better my health by making changes.  It is also likely that my children have it and I feel I have a responsibility to educate them and maybe when they are adults they will not have miscarriages and other health issues.  You can read my last post that has some links to go to to learn more about MTHFR by clicking here.  I want to be clear that I do not think the MTHFR is for sure why I had this miscarriage or my others.  I do believe it could be, though.  If you want to learn more, I suggest you do some research starting with the links on my other post and other sources.  There are way more issues that area caused by MTHFR.  It is worth looking into a bit. 

In the future you can expect to hear how my family is changing our diet.  I also hope to eventually have my kids tested.  We already do some great things for our health regarding diet and I just see this as one more step in the right direction.  There are moments I want to cry because the changes are hard, but I know those changes would be better for any person's health, so it is a win-win situation to make the changes.  The only thing I am finding difficult is that some things are just difficult to acquire, but we do what we can. 

Jumping Back In Blogland & MTHFR Testing

I don't quite no where to pick up blogging.  I want to go back and fill in some of the gaps and share some information that I have learned through the last few months.  And it needs to be shared.  There are medical issues that should be shared.  

And part of me wants to just fill you in on our critters and gardening but that seems somewhat awkward under the circumstances.  And even that topic has many crazy stories.  We have had multiple tragedies including the animals during this time.  

I guess I will tell those stories... later.

For now I want to inform my friends.  If you have had multiple miscarriages you might want to have some genetic testing done.  There is an MTHFR test.  Stop taking folic acid immediately and replace that with natural forms of folate.  If it turns out you are positive for MTHFR it can be controlled by diet, but it is very extreme.  I want to start sharing my journey here, but for now I just want to share some links:

     www.biobirths.com/mthfr-and-your-pregnancy 

     www.mthfrliving.com

Read a little.  Then, take a break.  I warn you it is overwhelming.  When I found out I had the gene mutation I had to sit back and let it just soak in for about three weeks.  After that I was ready to start implementing changes, so I started reading more about it.  I have begun to make some of the changes but when I feel myself getting overwhelmed I have to  take a step back and walk away for a bit.  

Also, I have added little check boxes below my posts.  Even if you don't want to comment will you take a moment to click one if those boxes? This will help me out a little.  Got questions or comments?  I would love it if you will leave a comment.