don't stop here The collection of stories in this publication should give you some food for thought.
Maybe you
discovered something new, or maybe not. in any case,
remember to regularily take
some time off for yourself and remain positive!
Use these pages to fill in the table, in order to arrange your thoughts.
positive
Add some colourful decorations, to make these pages much more attractive than they are now!
more positive
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ASHLEY IS A HEALTH AND MINDSET COACH. SHE SPECIALIZES IN TEACHING CLIENTS HOW A WHOLE FOODS DIET AND MINDSET TECHNIQUES LEAD TO A BEAUTIFULLY HEALTHY LIFE.
Your website, illestoptimist.com, concentrates on personal coaching, healthy food and dieting. Were you always cautious about what you ate, or did your passion for healthy lifestyle come after the diagnosis of Lyme disease? I was never concerned with my health and only my weight prior to becoming ill. I would eat fat free and reduced fat processed foods, believing that was healthy, and not knowing the healing nature of whole foods. When I became ill I was still eating poorly. As my muscle and joint pain increased and my energy levels depleted I began researching healthy lifestyles and what foods assisted in the healing process. I read about the powerful effects of green juice. My Omega juicer was the first step in my healthy lifestyle. I began juicing every day and started to feel improvements. After that I cut out dairy, gluten, and sugar. Once I cut those out and had a diet focused on vegetables, fruit, raw nuts/ seeds, fish, eggs, and oils I saw myself drastically improve.
To continue the subject of eating healthy, I wish to ask you about the destructive effects candida has on our health. Candida is a huge problem in our current society. Candida is a type of yeast that lives in all of our bodies, but when immune systems become compromised the candida can grow out of control. An overgrowth of yeast can be the result of antibiotic use, an impaired immune system, stress, oral contraceptives, chlorine and fluoride in water, a diet rich in refined carbs, alcohol, and sugar. Because so many people eat a diet of processed foods, many individuals are living with Candida without being aware. Because of this overgrowth, individuals begin experiencing symptoms that can vary from mild to unbearable. Some of these symptoms can include acne, anxiety, headaches, intense food cravings, exhaustion, brain fog, irritability, allergies, stomach pains and bloating. Many people are not aware that candida affects them. What would you
ASHLEY STROMMEN ON CANDIDA OVERGROWTH
AFTER YEARS OF SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC LYME DISEASE, ASHLEY DECIDED TO TAKE HEALTH INTO HER OWN HANDS. SHE FULLY RECOVERED WITH THE HELP OF NATURAL TREATMENTS, DETOX, DIET.
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recommend is the most effective way of keeping it under control? To not get a Candida overgrowth in the first place I recommend staying away from processed foods and only take antibiotics as necessary. When you already have Candida the goal is to restore the healthy bacteria and to do so it is recommended to take a daily probiotic from 25-100 billion units. I also advise people to abide by the Candida Diet for 1-2 months which is the best way to completely get rid of symptoms. to do so stay away from all sugars, caffeine, alcohol, fruit juice, and grains/gluten. Instead eat vegetables, low sugar fruit (green apples, lemons, limes), live unsweetened yogurt, meat, fish, nuts/seeds, non-gluten grains (millet, quinoa) and unrefined oils. You put a lot of emphasis on the power of detox. How do you encourage people to put more thinking into getting rid of toxins in their organism? I believe detox is a huge component in staying healthy or healing ones body. These days our bodies are inundated with so many toxins creating a buildup which can lead to chronic disease. Because our detox organs (liver, kidneys etc.) are bogged down they aren’t able to get rid of things quick enough. This is due to pesticides on our produce, antibiotics in our meats, and harsh chemicals in our cleaning and beauty products. When you assist your body in detoxing you
are giving your organs the support needed to naturally rid your body of these toxins. the most gentle and effective way I’ve found to detox is through the use of an infrared sauna. These heat of these saunas permeate your skin 1.5 inches deep and draw out the toxins through your sweat. If you do not have access to an infrared sauna a traditional one will work or even a detox bath with Epsom salt and essential oils. I also recommend people eliminate highly processed foods from their diets (especially if they are suffering from negative symptoms) and incorporate more whole organic foods and green juices/smoothies. Could you number 3 foods that you think everyone should eat daily, for the sake of boosting their health? Number 1 would be greens of all shapes and sizes. These leafy greens could include kale, collards, swiss chard, spinach, turnip, beet, mustard greens, red, green leaf, romaine lettuce, cabbage etc. They have high amounts of calcium, Vitamin A, and potassium. Eat them raw or sauté them with coconut oil and spices. Avocado is another one of my favs that I believe everyone needs to incorporate into their diet. It is well known that avocado is high in healthy fats but this fruit helps you stay full longer and has incredible health benefits including fiber, antioxidants, and contain more potassium than bananas. Cut them up in salads, spread on gluten-free toast, or put in your smoothie
ASHLEY STROMMEN ON CANDIDA OVERGROWTH
for a creamier consistency. Lastly, I love berries. Fresh frozen or in between they are an important addition to peoples diets. Reason being many people have awful sugar cravings. It has been proven that sugar is more addictive than cocaine and because of this it is important to have foods on hand that satisfy your sweet tooth while providing you relief. Berries also have been known to keep you mentally sharp, boost heart health, help control weight, fight cancer, and lower blood pressure.I also want to add water as an honorable mention (although it isn’t a ‘food’). Most of the population are chronically dehydrated which leads to headaches, fatigue, and digestive trouble. Chug water, your body will thank you! I read that through your long-term illness, you realized that the recipe to get through it alive was to remain positive and keep a smile on your face. How did you manage to do so, no matter how much you suffered? I believe mindset is an incredibly important element when it comes to healing that many people do not focus enough on. It has been shown that 75-98% of mental and physical illnesses come from our thoughts. This means only 2-25% of illnesses come from our environment and genes. This also factors into healing. Toxic thoughts lead to stress which affects our body’s natural healing capabilities. Once I found this staggering fact out I knew I could beat this
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disease. I had everything that I needed to gain wellness and most of it was in my head. I began doing everything possible to continue a positive mindset. I only allowed myself to watch and read things that made me laugh or inspired me. I wouldn’t speak about my illness unless I was at the doctor. No matter how much pain I was in I would get dressed in regular clothes (not PJ’s) to give me some pep in my step even if I was in bed all day. I cranked up my favorite tunes and sang when I could. I used meditative exercises to imagine myself well again. I would find when I’d do this I couldn’t help but smile a huge grin. I’d write down at least 50 things I was grateful for each day and thank God for all he had given me. Even though I was suffering for years I knew I would get better. I didn’t think or believe, I knew. It was that mindset shift that started my true healing and where I predominately work with people now in my coaching practice. Could you tell me about your your natural treatment protocol? What was special about the treatment at Sunridge Medical Center, Arizona, and how did you enrich it further? Sunridge is a miracle center who mostly treats late stage Cancer and Lyme patients and they truly perform miracles. I’ve seen people in wheel chairs who have been bedridden for years walking within a matter of weeks. I’ve seen cancer patients who’s traditional doctors had told them they had weeks to live go into
ASHLEY STROMMEN ON CANDIDA OVERGROWTH
remission. This is due to their natural approach at wellness which sets your body up to heal itself. I was given natural IV’s of Vitamin C, Hydrogen Peroxide, Glutathione, and other vitamins and amino acids. I also was given vitamin injections (due to certain deficiencies) and took many supplements to assist in the flushing out of toxins and assimilation of nutrients. What did Lyme disease teach you, that you think you would not have discovered or understood, without having experienced this illness? Before chronic disease I was incredibly focused on myself. I was incapable of viewing others life difficulties and only had a drive for success. I didn’t realize how unhappy I was or what I wanted in life. I would say I was simply floating about partying and working partying and working. I look back and see that I wasn’t actually living. It was a very shallow life. Once I became bedridden and had to rely upon my family and boyfriend entirely I saw what true love is. That the only thing that matters in the world is helping others. And one cannot begin to help others without health. I believe God gave me this disease because he knew I would fight it. That I would stop at nothing to find a way to heal and share that story with others. And although I have won my personal health battle I am still fighting every day. I fight for others health. to spread the message that there IS life after chronic disease. There is
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hope. There is magic. There is a beautiful world awaiting them. Please share a positive thought, quotation, remark related to health or well-being. “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”–My absolute favorite quote, not sure who it is from.“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” – Ann Wigmore. “H.O.P.E., Hold on pain ends”–Unknown.
draw yourself, any way you wisH. (use a pen, or a pencil, or a marker... whatever you like most).
IF YOU’re done with the drawing, now identify any parts of your body that were ever injured
are they still sore, or did you manage to heal them well?
remember to always take good care of yourself! your body needs your attention.
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SHELLEY WHITE WORKS AS WRITER AND EDITOR AND IS TRAINING TO BE A MASTER HERBALIST SPECIALIZING IN LYME DISEASE AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Your book "Cannabis for Lyme disease and related conditions" was publishedin 2015. What was your goal in writing a book and openly sharing your experience? My goal was to pass on the knowledge I had gained, in the event it may help even one person. I feel that’s one of our main duties in this life–to go out into the world and learn, and then take what we learn and share it with the world. As beautifully stated by Julie McIntyre, Clinical Herbalist, in the Foreword of your book: "Once one has walked the arduous, terrifying and lonely journey a chronic illness is, the person emerging from the tangled forest of illness is not the same as the one who entered. Chronic illness has a function and that is to change us.", from a time perspective, what did Lyme disease change in your life in a positive manner? Lyme disease brought me back into alignment with my empathic
nature, and helped me view basically everything differently. It awakened an appetite for wonder in me that I didn’t know existed. That’s kind of what happens when you’re forced into years of isolation. It inevitably leads to soul searching and the unveiling of passions that make you feel more alive than you knew possible. I am just a much different person than I was before Lyme disease. A perfect example is how I interact with others now. It’s almost as if I don’t know how to, or should I say care to, have surface conversations. I don’t care about what a person is wearing or what is happening on reality TV shows. I care about what a person is feeling and what is in the present moment ...you know, our actual reality. As a publisher and editor of the magazine "Public Health Alert", that covers stories about Lyme disease and related conditions, you have a vast experience on this topic. Could your share your thoughts on the current state of play on Lyme disease?
CONTROVERSIAL TREATMENT OF SHELLEY WHITE
SHELLEY IS PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT, A MAGAZINE COVERING STORIES ABOUT LYME DISEASE AND RELATED CONDITIONS. FIND OUT MORE AT THE MAGAZINE'S WEBSITE
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I have since passed Public Health Alert on to a dear and brilliant friend. However, I can still say the state of things pertaining to Lyme disease remains highly polluted with ignorance, and I think the root of that ignorance is fear. Your decision to reach for cannabis was, in fact, an attempt to end your life, and, ironically, it helped you fight a chronic health condition. How difficult was it to apply such a controversial treatment? Choosing to do a controversial treatment was one of the easier choices I’ve made. Lyme disease itself is controversial, so I was pretty accustomed to the nature of controversy by the time I tried cannabis. I literally did not care what anyone else thought of me doing it. I didn’t have the time or energy to. If you could move in time and say something to your chronically ill self at the time, what would it be? I would tell myself to quit resisting the pain and trying to run from it because whatever you resist you amplify. Instead, learn to surrender and act as an observer to the pain and darkness. Do not perceive yourself through the eyes of illness, and never, ever, ever call yourself a Lymie or anything else that implies you are one and the same as Lyme disease. Not only is that not conducive to healing, it is also literally impossible and, thus, insanity.
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You are someone healing from Lyme, not someone who IS Lyme. Illness is something that happens, it’s not who you are. Control your mind, don’t let your mind control you. The opportunity to go back to life, that cannabis treatment gave you, occured unexpectedly. Do you have an idea why the universe waited so long before guiding you towards such solution? I believe the universe reveals things to us when we are ready. I also believe in duality. I had to surrender to the fact that I had hit rock bottom and allow myself to face all the darkness and turmoil head on before I could see the light. Where there is darkness, there is always light. Sometimes we just don’t see it until we move through the darkness fully. Have you worked out a recipie for staying healthy and in a positive state of mind daily? I am a big proponent of the mind, body, spirit connection. When one of the three falls out of balance, they all do and "dis-ease" arises. So, on the physical leveI I use an ozone machine and cannabis oil, and I stretch daily and do cardio 3-5 days a week. For mind and spirit, I incorporate a few different techniques into my daily life–emotional freedom technique (aka EFT or tapping), dynamic neural retraining system (DNRS) by Annie Hopper, Qigong, meditation,
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LEADING A HEALTHY, BALANCED LIFESTYLE AND KEEPING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM UP IS CERTAINLY A GOOD PLACE TO START.
CONTROVERSIAL TREATMENT OF SHELLEY WHITE
earthing... and perhaps most importantly, laughter. As far as I know, you are training to be a Master Herbalist specialising in Lyme disease and other infectious diseases. Could you share a few alternative treatments you would encourage people to consider when fighing Lyme disease? When it comes to herbs, the Buhner protocols are my favorite herbal protocols for Lyme disease and Lyme disease co-infections; and cannabis, of course. I also find Indian pipe and calamus root to be exceptionally beneficial for helping you feel more calm and rooted in your body. What, in your opinion, are the most effective ways of protecting ourselves from the spreaed of Lyme disease? Checking for ticks, of course. Stephen Buhner recently came out with a natural tick repellant recipe, so using something like that when going outside is a good idea. However, we now know Lyme isn’t just spread by ticks and that there are other Lyme spreading vectors like spiders and mosquitos. We also know some people have Lyme in them but don’t get chronic Lyme disease symptoms either for a long time, or at all. Most likely, there are numerous factors at play here that determine whether a person is more susceptible than others, but leading a healthy, balanced
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lifestyle and keeping your immune system up is certainly a good place to start. Please share a positive thought/ quotation/remark related to health or well-being. "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up." –Stephen Hawking
OMNO TAKE A BITE OUT OF LYME CAMPAIGN
Data comes from: • Take a Lyme disease Challenge official website: lymediseasechallenge.org
Ticks can carry many different types of bacterial, viral and parasitic infections – some life-threatening – which can further complicate tick-borne disease diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
There are no tests available to prove that the bacteria that causes Lyme disease has been eradicated or that the patient is cured after treatment.
Over 63% of patients treated for Lyme disease continue to suffer symptoms that can be debilitating.
Studies show that standard laboratory tests recommended by the CDC to diagnose Lyme Disease miss approximately half of actual cases, leading to misdiagnosis and an infection that is more difficult to treat.
Research suggests that Lyme disease and other infections can be spread from mother to baby during pregnancy.
Lyme disease has been called “The Great Imitator” and can be mistaken for ALS, MS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, and other illnesses.
of minutes, particularly if the tick is not removed properly.
Transmission of Lyme disease and other infections can take place in a matter
Lyme Disease has 6 times more new cases each year than HIV/AIDS, yet it receives less than 1% of the funding.
Children are at the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease and are more vulnerable to central nervous system infections.
Want to know the facts? Here are just a few facts chosen to highlight for the challenge.
LYMEDISEASECHALLENGE.ORG
Take a bite out of lyme is a worldwide campaign initiated to raise awareness on Lyme disease. Many celebrities are involved in it. They all suffer or suffered form the illness, and therefore, are much involved in helping ofthers.
TAKE A BITE OUT OF LYME CAMPAIGN
The purpose of the Lyme disease Challenge is to raise awareness and funding for improved Lyme Disease diagnosis and treatment. Are you in? Great! Then follow the three easy steps below and donate $10. Prefer not to take the bite? That’s okay too! Donate $100 instead. All donations accepted by ILADEF (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society’s 501(c)(3) non-profit educational fund). 1. Take a bite: bite a lime and take a photo or a short video of the act – the more sourpuss your face, the better (and funnier!). 2. Share a fact: state one brief fact about Lyme disease, such as the facts provided below. You can say them in your video, write them on your photo, or include them in your post. Help us spread the true facts about Lyme disease!
3. Pass it on: Keep the campaign going — challenge three other people – your friends, family, whomever! – to take a bite! Mention them in your video or if you do a photo tag them in your post. Then! Very Important! Post it all to your favorite social media outlets. in your posts tag your video or photo with #LymeDiseaseChallenge so we can find you! You may even be featured here on our website! Then check back to watch the challenge live! You may catch yourself in the live feed!
THE CHALLENGE
if you could swap lives for one day with anyone you wish, who would that be and why?
Are you done writhing? how about you imagine your day as this person–what would you do, where would you go, who would you meet, etc.? express it on the opposite side–write, draw, or scrapp-book around.
video interview what did you always want to ask the author of this book? scan the portrait on the left to watch the “question box” interview
if you can't remember Ar instructions, take a look at them again.