Food Allergies

In July, I did a cleanse.  It was a three-week program based on the book Clean by Dr. Alejandro Junger.

It's a gentle cleanse, which is why it was three weeks instead of one.  It is designed to eliminate all allergen possible foods, and simplify the diet to give the body time to detox while still providing enough nutrients and sustenance to operate on a daily basis without feeling completely depleted.

I've tried other cleansing diets in the past, most with the intention of losing weight more than detox.  This was the first time I just wanted to feel good for a while.

It was enlightening.  Some of the other diets I've tried have shown me that I do have sensitivity to certain foods.  This one completely eliminated them all, and allowed me time to experience what my body feels and looks like when it is isn't reacting.

My problem is that there are some foods I have a stronger reaction to than others, and some that I can't really identify.  Most of the reactions are mild, generally bloating, mild discomfort, or gas.  Some come with a more intense pain, along with those other symptoms.

And that's the thing.  What the difference between an allergy and being sensitive or having reactions?  Is it just a milder allergy?  Or is it something less?  "Allergy" seems to be a wildly overused term.

The one thing I have identified for sure is that I am sensitive to gluten.  Gluten can cause intense pain now that I've been avoiding it for a while.  It can feel like I've eaten ground glass in some cases.  And I feel that pain through the entire passage through my body.

Sweets give me migraines, but since I don't have much of a sweet tooth, that is much easier to avoid.

I also seem to be sensitive to dairy.  At least, I get bloating, gas, mild discomfort from it.  I thought for a minute that I might be able to substitute goat's milk or sheep's milk cheese for the real thing, but I think that might not agree with me either.  There are some very tasty goat and sheep's milk alternatives.  And they are plentiful in my area.  I'll have to try this experiment again and see if the reaction is to one or the other or both.

And therein lies my problem.  If I eat "clean" for a few days, I feel amazing.  By clean, I mean fish or poultry, veggies, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fruit.  That's about the extent of it.  Then I add in something and see if I get a reaction.  If I do, it is almost immediate, so it's easy to tell.  The problem is it then takes at least two days of eating clean to get it out of my system and back to feeling right.  Therefore, the process of finding out these foods is tedious and long.

Besides the fact that I sometimes just eat whatever because I want to (like today).  Or when I am trying to eat well, and don't pay attention to ingredients.  This happens most often when eating out.  I order sautéed fish or chicken, and although it's described as not being "breaded" they do still coat it with flour before sautéing.  Those kinds of things slip me up.

I find it easier to eat well when I'm home and surrounded by good foods.  It is harder when out.   I love to eat.  I will gladly choose a healthier option when given the choice, but it gets tricky when everything on the menu has something in it that I know is going to bother me.  I'm much more inclined to just forget it and eat whatever.

I'm still in the learning process, and it is getting easier to recognize with practice, but this is difficult!  

Food

I've been exploring the idea of understanding my body and what makes it feel badly.  Last year I paid a lot of money to go to a holistic naturopath.  First he did a preliminary body test to check sensitivities, weight, fat %, etc.  Then he sent me home with a hormone saliva test, and a strict diet of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, along with a cleansing drink to use three times per day.

Prior to this, my diet consisted of proteins (mostly meat), grains (mostly breads), potatoes, and some fruit.  Oh..  and Diet Pepsi.  That's it.  The diet part was going to be rough.  None of those things (except maybe some potatoes and some fruit), no soda, no milk, juice, or any other palatable drink.  Strictly water, and this nasty cleansing drink.

But, like I said, I had paid a lot of money, so for 3 months, I did as instructed.  I felt completely weak and without energy after 6 weeks, so I added eggs and a small amount of meat to the diet as a source of protein.

I felt really good.  I don't think I noticed it right off the bat, but eventually I did.  Especially after I completed the 3 months and decided that as healthy as that probably was for my body, I could not live like that long-term.  So, I started adding things in, one at a time.

I realized almost immediately that sugar was the source of my migraines.  It wasn't until I had a chocolate chip cookie, and had a migraine within 5 minutes that I realized that I hadn't had a single migraine the whole time I had been on the diet.  Prior to that, I had been getting them pretty regularly, at least 3-4 times per week.

I did the same thing for other foods, little by little.  I realized I am probably lactose intolerant, because milk gives me terrible gas.  I think I'm also gluten intolerant because any amount of bread makes me feel bloated, and gives me abdominal pain.

I haven't done any actual tests, although I have found a website that will test for all of those things, along with some others.  I think I eventually will, when I can justify the cost.  However, even still, knowing what I know, I try to avoid those food types.

But...  no dairy, no sugar, no gluten??  What else is there?  What am I supposed to eat!?!

And with that, I find it very hard to stick with it.  How does one go forever without eating a cheeseburger?  And let me tell you, a cheeseburger isn't a cheeseburger without the bun!  And besides that, now that I'm constantly thinking of food, what I can and cannot eat, I can't stop eating.  Even if it isn't something I shouldn't be eating, the fact that I'm eating constantly is making me gain weight at a considerable rate.  None of my clothes fit.

So I have to figure out how to come to terms with this, and come up with food choices that I LIKE, or just accept the fact that I will always feel yucky.  Before going on the diet I didn't realize there was any other way to feel, so maybe it's not so bad!

Food, Inc.

I just finished watching the documentary, Food, Inc. If you haven't watched it, you should.

It's not enough to be aware of what you're putting into your mouth. That's important. The fact that what you eat may be destroying your body and contributing to the healthcare crisis that everyone seems so concerned about is important.

But what is more important is the fact that our government is doing EVERYTHING THEY CAN to make it as close to impossible as they legally can for you to do anything about it.

The government is in bed with big business. I think the most recent decisions coming out of the Supreme Court have demonstrated that. But this movie illustrated just how insidious this encroachment has become. Many of the heads of the government agencies designed to protect the interests of the consumers are now being run by ex-employees of the very businesses they are supposed to protect us from!

And not the types of employees that understand what it's like to be a average consumer, and might have just enough experience in the industry to want to affect change. These people are the ones that made huge amounts of money from their ex-employers as CEO's or VP's or attorneys. They may still (I'm speculating here) have an interest in keeping those bridges unburned for future reference or employment. Hell, they may even still be making money from those jobs (still speculating, so you don't need to send hate mail).

So how are they supposed to be objective? What incentive do they have to think about you and me, rather than their own bank account?

Did you know that the FDA actually tried to shut down a production plant for consistently producing infected food products, but that company sued the FDA and WON!! There is now legal precedent that states that the FDA does not have the legal authority to shut down a food production facility. I thought that was their JOB!

I'm sorry I'm shouting. This boils my blood like nothing else.

Land of the free... That is the country that we are supposed to be living in. That's what our young men and women are fighting and dying to protect. Would they fight for the right of major corporations to value profit over people?

What happens when you don't get to choose (in this case) the food you put on your table? It's already difficult to know what you're eating. What happens when the choice is taken away? That may sound dramatic, but large corporations have staff dedicated to finding ways of putting competitors out of business. Especially if they know their competitors are small and unable to fight back. Soon there won't be a choice to make. What then?

We can't all be farmers. We can't all be self-sustaining entities. We must depend on others to provide for some parts of our life. I have no problem with those companies, that are providing something for me that I need, to make a profit. I am a capitalist at heart, the kind that believes in the balance of economics. (Wikipedia tells me there are many kinds.)

What I don't agree with is bullying, and the government jumping on the bully band-wagon.

The basis of capitalism as I understand it is for demand to drive supply. Consumers demand what they want by choosing the items to purchase, and the corporations do what they must to meet that demand or die trying. When the corporations get big enough to decide what they want us to buy, and then squeeze out anyone who might offer a different or better option, capitalism dies.

Government was designed to protect the people from oppressors. Who's fighting for us? Where are our representatives?