The Doctor and Theory Behind the Book

The book I am basing my organic way of life on is called The Maker's Diet. The author is Jordan S. Rubin, a naturopathic doctor and a nutritional consultant. Dr. Rubin almost died from Crohn's Disease until his father encouraged him to try to supplement his diet with soil organisms, while simultaneously eating holistic, healing natural foods. In addition, Jordan also followed his Jewish dietary laws, avoiding foods that were not considered kosher.

Jordan not only had a true turnaround of medical health, but he has been disease free for years now. In his book, he gives compelling scientific evidence that the modern day foods we eat  have been stripped of nutritional value through pesticides, fungicides, synthetic fertilizers, and herbicides. This has led to producing crops in soil that is barren and stripped of essential soil microorganisms  (called HSOs). These HSO's are key to maintaining a healthy internal immune balance of good "friendly" bacteria to fight off disease and infection. He quotes the scientific study showing that the microorganisms found in dirt influence maturation of the immune system so that it is either functional or dysfunctional. Dr. Rubin credits his turnaround in medical health by adding these HSO's back into his diet. In The Maker's Diet, he promotes the use of supplementing your diet with HSO's to help regain an immune balance and treat the so called incurable disease process, whether it is Crohn's or another autoimmune disease you are experiencing.

Dr. Rubin also talks about the way our meats have been produced and have contributed to our widespread diseases faced today. Unless the food you are purchasing has been specifically marked as "free-range", "grass fed" or on a "vegetarian diet", as well as, "organic, with no antibiotics or hormones used", it has been liberally "enhanced"  by the use of steroid and hormonal injections to grow larger animals to sell (think bottom line- larger profits for the meat industries). A cause of concern with Dr. Rubin is the antibiotics that have been consumed in mass quantities by these animals. In one of the many research studies Dr. Rubin talks about in his book, it has now been estimated that drinking just one glass of commercially processed and packaged milk from your local grocery store will provide you with the residues of up to one hundred different antibiotics. A daily exposure to these antibiotics has paved the way for the new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacterias and super bugs that are difficult to treat. While these antibiotics can be helpful in killing off bad bacteria,  they also will blindly kill off all the good bacteria as well. This creates an internal imbalance as the normal "good" bacteria in your body is destroyed. This beneficial bacteria in your gut has the key purpose of defending your body against foreign harmful substances which lead to disease.

Dr. Rubin also goes into great detail to promote the use of a kosher diet. This diet is based off of Old Testament Biblical laws that under the New Testament we are no longer legalistically bound to follow, BUT if we study the why behind the reason God gave us these laws in the first place, we will see they were actually for our own good. The kosher laws that are recorded in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 show which animals are considered clean to eat and which animals should not be eaten. In other words, animals that have a cloven, split hooves and chew cud (cows, sheep, goats, oxen, deer, buffalo and more) are clean. Animals that do not fall in this category are horses, rats, dogs, monkeys, pigs, etc. Dr. Rubin makes an excellent point by pointing to the fact that many truly heinous disease such as Ebola, AIDS and SARS have come directly from the transmission of eating these animals. Other guidelines cover seafood, and can be found more in detail in his book. Dr. Rubin also points out how the Jewish Nation was the only nation in the entire world that escaped the bubonic plague. Over one-fourth of the entire population in Europe did not survive this devastating illness, while the Jewish people remained completely unscathed. Perhaps, there is more to the kosher dietary customs than God just banning food to be overbearing and controlling.

In a nutshell, the widespread use of stripping our soil of HSO's and injecting meat with added steroids, antibiotics and hormones (with no added benefit to the consumer) has led to many people having an imbalanced immune system, with very little beneficial bacteria left to fight infection and disease. The added food options in our diet that do not conform to kosher dietary laws, has really only served to bring more disease to our already faltering immune system. Dr. Rubin speculates that this diet is the beginning of the cause of wide spread diseases such as Crohn's, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cancer and many other diseases that are autoimmune in nature. In his book, he goes into great detail, using many studies that are both horrifying and provocative to read. If you have not already read it, I would encourage you to get a copy of it at the store or your local library. It may change your life...or save it!

Welcome to My Organic Life

In 2000, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a digestive disease that is theoretically assumed to be caused by a malfunctioning immune system and/ or is of a genetic nature. Crohn's Disease is considered "incurable", although with various treatment options can be "managed" to help those suffering with it to have a "normal" life. Since that time of diagnosis, I have faced many painful obstructions, hospitalizations, botched IV attempts, and challenging side effects from these so called helpful treatments ranging from weight gain, migraines, nausea, and widespread bodily bruising, to name a few. Finally, in 2008 I agreed to a very painful bowel surgery so that I would be able to be healthy enough to start a family following surgery. Thinking the surgery would also help me find a peaceful state of remission for years to come, I was devastated when the disease came back 13 months following surgery. In denial, my husband called the doctor for me who sent me in for some testing and confirmed that the disease had woken up from its brief slumber and was showing the beginning signs of inflammation again. I became depressed at the thought of facing more hospitalizations, long emergency room waits, debilitating symptoms and more intrusive testing. With the help of my doctor we began to search for a long term drug that would be able to put the disease back into a state of remission. The Remicaid treatment left me struggling to breathe. The Immuran pill left me with severe joint inflammation that left me unable to walk, bend over, or move my fingers without great pain and difficulty. There is now one more treatment option left, Humira, which can also have some very scary side effects. Feeling like we would be trading one evil for another by taking our chances with yet another drug with unique side effects to me and my body, my husband and I began to pray and research for alternative medicines. I read a copy of “The Maker’s Diet” by Jordan Rubin and was inspired to try his organic and kosher way of life. Like me, Jordan had been diagnosed with Crohn’s, but had been on his deathbed at a very young age. His radical approach to eliminate all toxins from his lifestyle while incorporating healthy soil microorganisms into his diet to help his immune system become more efficient at fighting infection and disease, not only “cured” this “incurable” disease, but left him healthy for years to come. I was inspired. In this blog, I am going to document my attempt to follow this extreme way of life for three months for me and my family. Since I was recently weaned off my maintenance steroid medicine (Entocort), I should normally expect to get sick pretty quickly without having a drug to fight the disease off in my body. I am going to, for the next 3 months (starting January 1, 2011) follow an organic and kosher way of life as recommended by Dr. Rubin's Maker's Diet. I hope this blog is helpful for those of you who are struggling with the same feelings of hopelessness and frustration I have felt. Here’s to My Organic Life…and hopefully yours!