deirdra
07-31-2006, 09:07 PM
Deirdra, how did you track down your food allergies/intolerances? I've been reading "The False Fat Diet" by Haas, and it has my mind spinning. I have the same physical reactions you outlined, so I need to start working on this, but elimination diets aren't easy. If you took that route, did you eliminate the usual suspects "plus" foods you normally ate every day? I'm stumped right now at how to make salad dressing without dairy, vinegar, or lemon juice--and I thought I've been eating good PP foods--scary. I started with Haas' book, which had my head spinning too, as so many of the problems described sounded like things I had experienced, but thought I'd first try eliminating the usual suspects and the foods I crave and those that I've noticed make my ears, eyes, throat or palms itch or give me round red spots on my cheeks that look like clown makeup and then go the full elimination route if I needed to. So far I haven't needed to go the full elimination route. I suppose I am "lucky" that I have very fair skin and react quite obviously, even if I do find myself looking clown-like at times. I had also been keeping track of things that seemed to affect me in some way over the past few years.
I also read all the books on the subject (~25) in my public library and bought the ones that I found most useful: Haas' "False Fat Diet" & "Detox Diet" (I don't follow the diet, but like how it makes "families" of foods with similar properties obvious); William Walsh's "Food Allergies - The Complete Guide to Understanding & Relieving your Food Allergies"; Brostoff & Gamlin's "Food Allergies and Food Intolerance" and photocopied a few key lists & charts I found in the library books. Although the elimination diet is the "gold standard", these books recognize how hard it is to do and discuss other approaches like getting rid of the most obvious culprits first to see how much improvement you can gain (w/PP I was about 40-50% of the way to being symptom-free; I am now symptom-free ~95% of the time) and then work on eliminating other suspects, like things you have an abnormal attraction to. By eliminating the biggies, it is easier to notice subtle effects when you re-introduce suspect foods.
An easy way to start is with a plain meat/egg diet approach to determine whether you have any meat, poultry, fish, shellfish or egg intolerances (for me, just slight problems with some shellfish & past inklings that eggs affected me if I ate several every day). Eat only one type of food for a couple of meals or the full day. If you don't suffer anything but boredom, try another. It took me less than a week to confirm that plain meat/poultry/fish were not my problem, nor were a couple of eggs eaten a few times a week. Once you know what protein sources work for you, add some additonal fat from other sources - 1T of butter, coconut oil, heavy cream etc.. That way you have a lot of known "safe" foods and can then try things like mayo, salad dressing, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds, etc. What I do is try a normal to big serving (up to 10g ECC) of one new food at a time (on top of my safe foods since I need protein & fat with my carbs and see if anything happens (almonds...nothing; sunflower seeds...clown cheeks & itchy eyes in 20-30 minutes; avocado...very slight itchy throat in 20-30 minutes; wheat...stuffed up head, wheezing & fatigue 1-4 hrs later; citrus...my facial pores turn into mini-blisters hours later). If I'm not quite sure whether it was the food or the day's circumstances that made me feel tired or odd in some vague way, I re-try the food at the next meal. I do of course write everything I eat down so that I can detect longer term symptoms.
In the long run it may have been easier to just do the elimination diet and start with a perfectly clean slate rather than a mostly clean slate, but since I travel 1 week a month, my approach seemed more doable. I try to stick to my so-far-safe food list when travelling or too busy to carefully test foods, and each month the safe list gets larger so it becomes easier. I might try some new foods but in very small quantities and note if anything suspicious happens so I can try a more controlled single-item test in the future (e.g. was it the calamari, its coating or seasonings or the wine or talking too much that made my throat scratchy?).
Although many "experts" think rotation diets don't work, I've been making an effort to not eat the same thing every day (I was the Queen of eating the same 10-20 foods every day - starting with cheerios for breakfast and PB&J for lunch every day during most of my formative years). This actually made the transition into maintenance more interesting as I have been trying more veggies, seeds, nuts and new recipes, and thinking of what I make to nourish myself, not what can I make that takes the least amount of thought & effort. I recently added lamb to my rotation of beef, chicken, pork, turkey, fish, egg & cheese. I'm not obsessive about the rotation - I'll eat steak two days in a row if offered - I just ask what haven't I had in a while. I now keep leftovers of 3-6 different things in the freezer rather than eating one thing until it is all gone and then making another. This takes no extra time or effort.
Incidentally, I did not give up my 1 mug of caffeinated coffee w/heavy cream each morning since I had previously quit cold-turkey and abstained for 2 months and it didn't change a thing. The vinegar in mayo and creamy salad dressings may affect me ever-so-slightly, but such miniscule amounts don't worry me enough to eliminate these enjoyable condiments. But miniscule amounts of MSG have a big enough effect that keeps me reading labels and eating very small amounts of anything suspicious in restaurants. As they say, moderation is the key.
The only thing I am not moderate about is learning & spreading knowledge about allergies & intolerances. And I keep learning new things that link to other things. A few weeks ago I was describing my melon allergy & how it is related to latex allergy to my sister and she said, well grandpa (a doctor) was allergic to latex, something I never knew. No wonder I never have a reaction to my regular dental hygenist (who is allergic & wears latex-free gloves) but was coughing up a storm when she was on vacation and a substitute filled in, and my whole arm itches when I have an IV.
Although celiac.com & books on the subject spend a lot of time talking about IBD & other gut problems that I don't have, they do provide very useful breakdowns of things like milk and cheese into the various components a person could react to - lactose and certain key proteins. While following PP I noticed that some cheezes & dairy products stuffed me up and others did not even though I am not lactose intolerant (and doctors told me it was all in my imagination, but a decongestant would help). So I looked at what allergenic proteins each was high or low in, and not-so-surprisingly I was able to narrow down the specific proteins I have problems with and the ones I don't and test other cheeses in the same family. Although I had to eliminate or restrict quantities of some dairy products, it got me trying cheeses I'd not purchased before that fall into my "safe" families. So now I have a new hobby as a cheese connoisseur. So it is not all about eliminating what could be your current favourite foods, but adding new favourites to your menu.
I also read all the books on the subject (~25) in my public library and bought the ones that I found most useful: Haas' "False Fat Diet" & "Detox Diet" (I don't follow the diet, but like how it makes "families" of foods with similar properties obvious); William Walsh's "Food Allergies - The Complete Guide to Understanding & Relieving your Food Allergies"; Brostoff & Gamlin's "Food Allergies and Food Intolerance" and photocopied a few key lists & charts I found in the library books. Although the elimination diet is the "gold standard", these books recognize how hard it is to do and discuss other approaches like getting rid of the most obvious culprits first to see how much improvement you can gain (w/PP I was about 40-50% of the way to being symptom-free; I am now symptom-free ~95% of the time) and then work on eliminating other suspects, like things you have an abnormal attraction to. By eliminating the biggies, it is easier to notice subtle effects when you re-introduce suspect foods.
An easy way to start is with a plain meat/egg diet approach to determine whether you have any meat, poultry, fish, shellfish or egg intolerances (for me, just slight problems with some shellfish & past inklings that eggs affected me if I ate several every day). Eat only one type of food for a couple of meals or the full day. If you don't suffer anything but boredom, try another. It took me less than a week to confirm that plain meat/poultry/fish were not my problem, nor were a couple of eggs eaten a few times a week. Once you know what protein sources work for you, add some additonal fat from other sources - 1T of butter, coconut oil, heavy cream etc.. That way you have a lot of known "safe" foods and can then try things like mayo, salad dressing, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds, etc. What I do is try a normal to big serving (up to 10g ECC) of one new food at a time (on top of my safe foods since I need protein & fat with my carbs and see if anything happens (almonds...nothing; sunflower seeds...clown cheeks & itchy eyes in 20-30 minutes; avocado...very slight itchy throat in 20-30 minutes; wheat...stuffed up head, wheezing & fatigue 1-4 hrs later; citrus...my facial pores turn into mini-blisters hours later). If I'm not quite sure whether it was the food or the day's circumstances that made me feel tired or odd in some vague way, I re-try the food at the next meal. I do of course write everything I eat down so that I can detect longer term symptoms.
In the long run it may have been easier to just do the elimination diet and start with a perfectly clean slate rather than a mostly clean slate, but since I travel 1 week a month, my approach seemed more doable. I try to stick to my so-far-safe food list when travelling or too busy to carefully test foods, and each month the safe list gets larger so it becomes easier. I might try some new foods but in very small quantities and note if anything suspicious happens so I can try a more controlled single-item test in the future (e.g. was it the calamari, its coating or seasonings or the wine or talking too much that made my throat scratchy?).
Although many "experts" think rotation diets don't work, I've been making an effort to not eat the same thing every day (I was the Queen of eating the same 10-20 foods every day - starting with cheerios for breakfast and PB&J for lunch every day during most of my formative years). This actually made the transition into maintenance more interesting as I have been trying more veggies, seeds, nuts and new recipes, and thinking of what I make to nourish myself, not what can I make that takes the least amount of thought & effort. I recently added lamb to my rotation of beef, chicken, pork, turkey, fish, egg & cheese. I'm not obsessive about the rotation - I'll eat steak two days in a row if offered - I just ask what haven't I had in a while. I now keep leftovers of 3-6 different things in the freezer rather than eating one thing until it is all gone and then making another. This takes no extra time or effort.
Incidentally, I did not give up my 1 mug of caffeinated coffee w/heavy cream each morning since I had previously quit cold-turkey and abstained for 2 months and it didn't change a thing. The vinegar in mayo and creamy salad dressings may affect me ever-so-slightly, but such miniscule amounts don't worry me enough to eliminate these enjoyable condiments. But miniscule amounts of MSG have a big enough effect that keeps me reading labels and eating very small amounts of anything suspicious in restaurants. As they say, moderation is the key.
The only thing I am not moderate about is learning & spreading knowledge about allergies & intolerances. And I keep learning new things that link to other things. A few weeks ago I was describing my melon allergy & how it is related to latex allergy to my sister and she said, well grandpa (a doctor) was allergic to latex, something I never knew. No wonder I never have a reaction to my regular dental hygenist (who is allergic & wears latex-free gloves) but was coughing up a storm when she was on vacation and a substitute filled in, and my whole arm itches when I have an IV.
Although celiac.com & books on the subject spend a lot of time talking about IBD & other gut problems that I don't have, they do provide very useful breakdowns of things like milk and cheese into the various components a person could react to - lactose and certain key proteins. While following PP I noticed that some cheezes & dairy products stuffed me up and others did not even though I am not lactose intolerant (and doctors told me it was all in my imagination, but a decongestant would help). So I looked at what allergenic proteins each was high or low in, and not-so-surprisingly I was able to narrow down the specific proteins I have problems with and the ones I don't and test other cheeses in the same family. Although I had to eliminate or restrict quantities of some dairy products, it got me trying cheeses I'd not purchased before that fall into my "safe" families. So now I have a new hobby as a cheese connoisseur. So it is not all about eliminating what could be your current favourite foods, but adding new favourites to your menu.