I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been diagnosed with an auto-immune condition called Alopecia Areata which causes random bald spots to form on your head. I only have one so far, thank God, but have been under threat of more.

Auto-immune conditions are not very well understood. The first thing my doctor told me was that she wasn’t able to help my condition, only monitor it. That I might get lots more spots or none. That it might take years for my hair to grow back. Oh, yay!

A lot of medical professionals blame hair loss on stress but in my experience that’s one of those lame catch-all excuses they use when they just don’t know the answer. And sure, stress may be involved, but there’s no hard clinical evidence to suggest it pulls the trigger.

Anyhoo, I told you I was going on a restrictive eating program which meant I had to give up my addiction to milky tea (sob). It was the only treatment I was able to discover (courtesy of Doctor Google) that sounded like it had a chance of success. The program I’m following is called the Auto Immune Protocol and the guru is this really cool chick on the web who goes by the moniker of Paleo Mom. It involves giving up grains, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds and alcohol. What’s left you ask? Well, seafood, meat, veggies and fruit. You’re also meant to add weird stuff like sauerkraut, bone broth and organ meat. Not an easy ask. However, I was kinda ready to go hardcore. My digestive system has been in meltdown for a few years and I was already on the path to change. Not that I was happy about it.

And then this amazing thing happened: My hair started to grow back within two weeks.

Now, I can’t prove that the hair growth and diet are related but I surely won’t be changing my new regime anytime soon. The strange thing is my body is telling me loud and clear how much it loves the food I’m eating. I actually crave liver pate for breakfast now and don’t get me started on this new drink I’ve discovered called komboucha, a fizzy fermented tea. It doesn’t taste that great, kinda like fizzy ginger ale, but I find myself driving to the health food store everyday to buy a bottle. I’ve even found a new tea to drink: warmed coconut milk with tumeric, ginger and cinnamon. I think I like it even better than milky chai. So it’s a win all round.

This is very much a Six Of Wands win.You don’t just get given stuff with the Six Of Wands card. Each of those wands represents skills or initiative. You have to work at it. And boy, have I been working hard this past month, spending hours researching recipes, driving to other towns to buy grass-fed meat and organic veg, cooking bone broth in my slow cooker for days at a time. It’s my new obsession. But a healthy one.

On top of which, the rats in the roof who have been tap dancing on my head for the last six months have finally danced away, courtesy of a friendly pest control company.

Where have you had a win lately?