Process of elimination – Part I

As most of my readers probably know, I have food sensitivities or intolerances, whatever you want to call them (not allergies – allergies are different). I know I cannot have gluten, due to the celiac (see my ‘health’ page for more info on that). I have figured out that chemical-laden foods bother me, and I know that corn and corn products make me ill. However, after ridding myself of those things, I continue to have symptoms. So, since I cannot afford to get an ALCAT test done, I am going to do an elimination diet, the particular one of which I have lost the link so I’ll link you up later when I feel like looking for it. 

Basically, I can only eat certain foods for a while (probably between 2 weeks and a month, depending on how long it takes for my symptoms to disappear), then I’ll be able to add in one food at a time to see if it bothers me. Since intolerances, unlike most allergies, sometimes take a little while to show symptoms, I’ll be introducing each new food twice a day for about four days before I can move on to the next new food. I’ll keep a chart, and if it bothers me right away, I obviously need to never eat it, if it bothers me the 2nd day, then I can probably have it once every four days, and if it bothers me the 3rd or 4th day, then I can probably have it once every other day. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. lol. I’m actually excited to figure it all out. I’m going to keep a record of it all on the blog for those who are interested. If you aren’t, then you can just skip these posts.

The symptoms I’ve been experiencing lately are these:

• more frequent headaches. They had slowed down a LOT after getting rid of the gluten. However, a lot of people with celiac have other food intolerances as well. Getting the gluten out of my system was wonderful, but then my body became more sensitive to the ‘smaller’ (for lack of a better word) things that were bothering me. I got rid of the chemicals next, then the corn. Now that those are out of my system, whatever else is bothering me is amplified. So the headaches are back. Not like they were a couple of years ago, but enough to where  I’m ready to do something about them.
• more brain fogs. These are usually due to the fibromyalgia, but fibromyalgia can be controlled by diet, and I notice that the fogs get worse when I have something in my diet that does not belong. If you’ve never had a brain fog, trust me, you don’t want one! Your head feels full of pressure and is sometimes accompanied by dizziness, you can’t concentrate on anything, you become irritable, it’s hard to focus or even get out complete sentences, it takes much effort to try to remember simple things, etc. Not fun.
• my fibromyalgia pain and also my myofascial pain are worse than ever. I’ve had to take pain killers much more often lately, and I wait until it’s really bad before I start popping pills since me and chemicals don’t really get along.
• arthritis-type pain, which accompanies the above – it’s not actually arthritis, it’s from the fibromyalgia, but it’s been super bad lately.
• I’m tired all the time, and seriously lacking in energy.
• I’m irritable (and it’s not just me being moody – I’m only irritable when my health is uncontrollably causing it).
• My senses have all been heightened lately. Noises are louder, smells are stronger, the sun is brighter, etc.
• I’m sure any digestion/stomach issues I’ll ever have now or in the future will never compare to what they were before I gave up gluten (!), but my stomach has been bothering me more lately in the form of (warning: tmi ahead) gas and constipation.  Woo hoo!
• Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble waking up once I finally do get into a deep sleep. This has always been an issue for me – my entire life, but it’s been worse again lately.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, and many of the things I mentioned are bothering me right now. Some of my issues I know are due to a lack of sleep, but I’m sure that there are foods that are still bothering me. I’m crossing my fingers it’s *not* dairy. I think that’ll be really hard to give up – as hard as giving up gluten.

Starting June 16th, I will only be eating the following foods that I stocked up on yesterday and today:

• lamb
• wild fish, not farm-raised (I bought several types)
• a myriad of vegetables, but no white potatoes, tomatoes, and a couple others that I’ll have to consult my list again to see
• some fruits, but no citrus fruits, and no bananas
• sea salt
• extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil
• sunflower seeds
• a few spices

A couple of nuts are allowed on the diet, like almonds and, I think, pecans, but just the thought of consuming those makes me want to hurl, so yeah – I wont’ be eating them. Yuck. I SO wish I loved almonds, but alas, I do not.

I have never eaten lamb before, so I just bought one package of it, which is supposed to be about 4 servings. I’ll let you know how I like that.

Basically, my plan is to eat for breakfast – fruit, some fish, and my daily garlic, for lunch – a salad and a fruit smoothie (not my old recipe, which included yogurt and milk, but an all-fruit recipe) and probably a handful of sunflower seeds, then for dinner – fish or lamb with lots of veggies. I’ll snack on veggies, fruit, and seeds. I’m planning on feeling very hungry, especially at first! lol. Today, I ate lots of things I love and will miss, like gluten-free pancakes, Trader Joe’s bacon, Kettle barbecue chips, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, and an extra glass of green tea. I figured I’d go out with a bang. I think my morning green tea will be difficult, but the stuff I read about the diet gave a convincing argument that I needed to eliminate all that sort of stuff and start from scratch for this to really work. I don’t think green tea bothers me, so I’m sure I’ll be adding it back in as I believe the health benefits of green tea far outweigh anything negative from the caffeine.

Wish me luck, or rather, pray for me. I’ll need it!