A couple of years ago was when I was first diagnosed with a blood clot. I’m fairly young. No illnesses run in my family. I was shocked. The process of being treated following the diagnosis left more than a little to be desired. I had to get my blood drawn twice a week to monitor my INR levels, for 6+ months. For the first two weeks after I had to take Lovenox injections twice a day on top of the Warfarin I had to take for 6+ months. Beside the most obvious side effects of bruising easily and excess bleeding (a cut in the shower would continue to bleed for 24hrs) Warfarin interacts with pretty much every other drug/vitamin/supplement there is. I was also warned off eating dark veggies. Nothing high in vitamin B. No blue berries. Nothing high in iron. It was really hard to even begin to make healthy life decisions. Plus the nausea it gave me along with constantly making me tired and ache-y made it impossible to do anything active. Needless to say I gained about 20lbs since my initial diagnosis. I was diagnosed again about a year after the initial diagnosis and was devastated when they decided to repeat the whole process again, including keeping me in the hospital for 3 days. When they told me that people who are diagnosed with blood clots more than once were prescribed Warfarin for life I vowed to find a way to continue to live my life without it.
I took the medicine as prescribed for several months but after making a big move with my son earlier this year I decided I couldn’t live my life feeling so sick all the time…. so I decided to start eating better and see if it helped. Part of that is having 2 smoothies a day, everyday. I also stopped taking my medicine. I mix it up but the majority of my smoothies consist of fresh fruit. There are several fruits and veggies I’m allergic to so it’s not all beets, cucumbers, and kale. And you know what? That’s ok. I’m not trying to supplement meals or lose weight at lightening speed. I’m just trying to feel good, honestly. And the good news is, I do! I really really do. So I decided to take a picture of my lunch time smoothie today and share it with everyone.
I always use a couple of frozen ingredients. I’m allergic to strawberries and pineapple when they aren’t frozen. For some reason freezing them takes the itchiness of consuming them. I’m not violently allergic, so don’t misunderstand. (It was an allergy that arose after being pregnant with my son.) The rest are all organic. I mix it up occasionally and sometimes use other ingredients such as: milled flax-seed, sometimes I use purified water in place of almond milk, kale, occasionally I’ll throw in a tangerine or an orange, or more or less of something shown in this smoothie. The only things I always include are grapes, blueberries, and spinach. I don’t claim to be an expert or even overly educated in regards to nutrition, but this combination is what works for me. It also fills you up pretty good so naturally you eat less. I still have a normal dinner and snacks or a brunch if I feel like I have to. But this has worked amazingly for me. Normally my leg (where the clot is) would begin to ache after a few days without taking my medicine but it’s been two months now with absolutely none of the pain I suffered with before. No stomach pain, no leg pain, no swelling. It’s been pretty awesome. I don’t measure out my ingredients. I use the Magic Bullet to mix all of my smoothies, giving me the full benefit of juice, flesh, seeds, and skin.
Hopefully someone finds this helpful. (Sorry, Tiff. lol Blue berries are magical! I love you.) I should also mention that I went from consuming an obscene amount of caffeine and artificial sweetener a week to none at all with the aid of these smoothies. They give me more natural energy than any soft drink or energy drink I’ve ever had.
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