Thank you for the inspiring responses. I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in facing this "twilight zone" experience. [Thanks for that image, Margaret. So true.] It seems nearly impossible to explain it to those who haven't been there, done that. To this day, if I need a laugh, I reach into my memories of some of the response MDs and others gave to me as their assessment of the source of and solution to my problems. Bless their hearts: glad I didn't listen to 90% of them.
As for Zeolite [Patty] I use the powdered version sold by HealthForce. I have found it very effective. Not having tried any liquid version, though, I can't speak to its effectiveness in comparison. Also, I consume HealthForce's Intestinal Drawing Formula, which contains a small amount of Zeolite, Charcoal and Bentonite as well as other ingredients. If the charcoal seems wrong to anyone, I suggest Sonne's 7 Bentonite, combined with the straight powdered zeolite and psyllium husks, if desired.
I'd like to comment on diet because I've spent so much time studying and practicing various forms. While I agree that extremes often result in a shock to the system, I don't believe that choosing a diet that is well-suited to our DNA can ever be extreme, though it may be quite different from our usual diet. Also, it may or may not be encouraging to mention that my career centers on getting traditional whole food products to market, and I spend much of my time speaking to individuals who are using these foods (not "mine" as we are not yet to market) to heal from every type of illness. I've worked as a farmer and am now a value-added food product developer, having started my present company on the tails of healing from vegetarianism, veganism, and raw veganism. Returning to a traditional, ancestral diet, including copious amounts of animal fats, saved my life and brought me from an emaciated average (for many years) of 127.5# back to my normal 165#. I'm still rebuilding from starving myself for all those years, thinking that i was doing the right thing. Now, I feel fully satisfied when I eat and am getting stronger each day. I never crave sweets, not even fruits, because I always feel fully satiated.
Fats are nearly completely misunderstood in our culture (and media). We've nearly forgotten what our ancestors knew: that animal fats are absolutely required for survival. We once only cooked in tallow, lard, or clarified butter (Ghee); we once ate plenty of whole butter and whole raw milk (from pastured, not grain-fed animals); and we once regularly consumed organs from ruminants. Our organs are composed of 40-60% fat, the brain being the key one (@ 60%). There are just so many things that animal fats supply to our body that literally nothing else does that the subject is, at least, worth your time and energy to investigate. I point you to the Weston Price Foundation for the relevant materials. Simply, I eat the way my Scottish-Irish-German ancestors ate, minus glutenous beer. I don't require much protein, and I always consume fat with any and all proteins and the few carbs I do consume. I get my daily ferments from miso, suerkraut, kimchi, wasabi, or kombucha. I stick to only those foods that I could raise myself were I still farming the old-fashioned way, pasturing everything. The lymies don't like my present strategy, but I'm okay with that. ;-)
On a completely different subject, I think storytelling is a very important part of helping others [and thanks for your comments GardenPeace and Traveler, wise indeed]. I, for one, can't receive information, especially when delivered in an emphatic way, nearly as well as I can via stories or testimonials. So, I think a story in regards to diet may be helpful to others. I will start a new thread (somewhere) titled, "An animal is reborn: my dietary recovery." I hope you'll read it. Thank you.
