MoonMan’s Mistress is an award-winning, artisanal paleo-centric edible company committed to taste worthy products that are also healthy for the body. This week Liz Rudner, a Co Founder of MoonMan’s talks about how she healed her body with food and cannabis.
Food as Medicine
You’re gluten-free? Is that just a new diet trend? Why are you paleo? Are you a Cross-Fitter? What do you eat? What do you mean you don’t eat soy? What do you mean you use cannabis everyday? These are the questions I’m asked on a daily basis when I tell my story about how I cured myself with food as medicine…
I was diagnosed with Celiac and Hashimoto’s disease in my late twenties. Through most of my teenage years and in my twenties, I was over-medicated for depression, on numerous birth control to help regulate my body temperature, and was prescribed Synthroid for low function thyroid activity. Every pill that was added to my daily regiment either made me gain weight, made by hair fall out, or would cause me to sleep for 14 hours a day. After spending all of my twenties on medication, I woke up at the age of 28 at the end of my rope, feeling the worst I’ve ever felt.
Diet: the Key to Health
I was diagnosed with numerous autoimmune diseases. Never during all the exploratory surgeries, numerous allergy tests, and countless therapy sessions did anyone offer me alternative therapies or recommendations when it came to changing my diet. It wasn’t until I went to Breckenridge, CO, where I met a holistic healer who proposed that maybe I might have a gluten allergy. From that day on, I became obsessed about finding answers around diet and autoimmune issues, as well as how cannabis could be used to help relieve so many of my inflammation issues that ran rampant with Hashimoto’s and Celiac disease.
Living with more than one autoimmune disease is just like being on a non-stop rollercoaster ride. I was at a point in my life where I had been gluten-free for ten years, but still had flare-ups with many days of not being able to get off the couch. When I relocated to San Francisco six years ago, I discovered the paleo-centric lifestyle, which has been a game changer for me. As soon as I eliminated all of the foods that are prone to cause inflammation – soy, wheat, gluten, dairy, corn and legumes, I felt like a brand new person.
This new feeling of freedom from my old self allowed me to fall in love with exercise and movement. I thank my business partner Jamel (who is a personal trainer) so much for opening my eyes to quick, efficient ass-kicking workouts. For so many years, my chronic fatigue and the feeling of being constantly swollen caused me to become stationary. Just taking a yoga class was a huge accomplishment.
The Game Changer
Not only was becoming paleo-centric a game changer, but cannabis was another key element to help get me off the couch and moving. If I ate an edible before a workout, I was able to commit to keeping my body moving through intense physical exercise. The more I moved, the quicker inflammation declined throughout my body. Ultimately, my depression subsided and I felt more balanced and alive.
With autoimmune diseases, I had to define a new type of norm for myself. I quickly learned that there would be good days and bad days. Following a clean diet, exercising and daily cannabis consumption has allowed me to have more good days than bad. I’m extremely fortunate to be a resident in a state that allows for me to be a cannabis patient.
On those bad days where flare-ups are unbearable, I’m able to medicate with cannabis and ease the pain. Many people I’ve met along my holistic healing journey have inspired me to give back to the community and help other people heal. That’s why Jamel and I created MoonMan’s Mistress. We strongly believe there was a need to create a product that aligns with the philosophy of healing with the medicinal benefits of food and cannabis. I am living proof that food and cannabis is medicine for the body.
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If you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 post. HelloMD can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it’s 100% online, private and efficient.
