Sleep Apnea? Here's a Solution!
How one man ditched his CPAP machine
By Kathy Peters, Holistic Nutrition Educator
Brian,
a counselor in his 50’s, first became aware of his sleep issues when
his wife mentioned that he snored. This was not welcomed news that,
in fact, was rather carelessly ignored. In spite of Brian’s refusal to
consider the implications of loud and persistent snoring, he was aware
that he was not sleeping well and would wake up frequently at night
and rarely felt rested or refreshed in the morning.
To fight the fatigue, Brian was drinking more coffee and diet coke throughout the day.
He would often catch a nap at work between counseling sessions in vacant offices.
The
final straw came when Brian’s colleagues began mentioning to him in
passing that they could hear him snoring through the office walls.
This got Brian’s attention.
He
scheduled a physical and saw his doctor who suggested a sleep study
(used to diagnose sleep apnea). Sleep apnea was not a foreign idea to
Brian whose dad had used a CPAP machine.
Severe
sleep apnea was the diagnosis from the sleep study and a follow-up
study was done to determine the proper positive pressure for Brian and
to fit him with a mask. Despite some discomfort from using a CPAP
machine and mask, Brian liked it because he experienced immediate
relief from the fatigue and no longer snored.
Brian’s weight had been slowly creeping up
while he had been figuring out his issues with sleep apnea so he was
ready to try something new. He liked the whole food aspect of this new
way of eating because it was easy to follow and did not require exotic
or hard to find ingredients.
Some
of his dietary changes included eating a good breakfast, eliminating
fast food, cutting bread and diet pop out of his diet and reducing
coffee to 1 cup per day, at the same time he increased the amount of
water he drank.
Dinner
was frequently a stir fry with chicken, brown rice and lots of fresh
vegetables. Brian found that he was able to comply with this new way
of eating about 80-90% of the time.
28 Pound Weight Loss!
Brian
experienced a 10lb weight loss during the first several weeks and then
lost another 10 lbs more slowly and then stopped losing weight. At
this point, he committed to 90 days of exercise and the weight slowly
began coming off again. Brian was feeling more energetic and fit than
he had in a long time and was sleeping so well that he decided to try
to sleep without the CPAP machine.
He
found that he no longer needed the CPAP after only 4 months of
starting to eat whole foods and beginning an exercise program. Brian
admitted that this was not just a short term diet - “my body enjoyed
the food”.
Brian lost 28 pounds, got rid of heartburn, increased his energy levels and ditched his CPAP machine.
If
you also have sleep apnea, you can get off of your CPAP machine by
choosing to eliminate empty processed carbohydrates from your diet –
bagels, doughnuts, breakfast cereals, juice, pop, crackers, cookies,
bread, pasta, muffins, candy, sweetened yogurts or anything that comes
out of a box, can or bag.
These
foods raise glucose levels quickly, causing an energy surge followed
by a big drop when you start feeling sleepy, drugged and lethargic.
When you react to this drop in energy by reaching for something sweet again, a vicious circle is created.
Instead eat whole foods.
Shop the perimeter of your grocery store and concentrate on bringing
home bags loaded with fresh spinach, kale, Swiss chard, carrots,
peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, Romaine lettuce, beets, turnips,
avocados, broccoli and cauliflower. Once you’ve stocked up on the
vegetables, add a few fresh fruits, especially berries and melons. Find
the aisle with raw almonds, walnuts or pecans or raw sunflower,
pumpkin and sesame seeds and buy some of these.
Then
get some wild caught fish, organic chicken and eggs. Use whole grains,
like brown rice, quinoa and steel cut oats sparingly. Last but not
least, include healthy fats by choosing extra virgin olive oil, organic
butter and raw unrefined coconut oil.
Toss out your junk food supply and
start eating whole foods that look like they do when they are
harvested. With every meal, include a small portion of protein (about
the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand) and lots of whole,
fresh vegetables and an occasional fresh fruit or whole grain.
Include a small portion of healthy fats from olive oil, organic butter
or coconut oil. Then start cooking.
Build
meals around vegetables instead of large portions of meat. Have a
couple of eggs with sautéed spinach, mushrooms and onions with a slice
of cantaloupe for breakfast. Enjoy green tea instead of coffee loaded
with sugar and artificial creamers. Have a bowl of homemade vegetable
beef soup with a salad with 3 or 4 vegetables and a homemade olive oil
dressing.
For
dinner, roast a chicken and have steamed broccoli, pureed parsnips and
a carrot salad for dinner. Treat yourself to a bowl of fresh
strawberries or raspberries for dessert. Keeping cut up veggies ready
in the refrigerator will help when the urge to snack hits. Dip veggies
in homemade hummus or raw nut butters. Drink lots of purified water
and try adding herbal teas.
Do you want to lose weight, increase your energy and ditch your CPAP machine for good?
The
choice is entirely under your control. Why not see what happens when
you decide to take matters into your own hands and make healthy
decisions that will impact the rest of your life.
