Saturday, February 10, 2007

Travels in Gastro-Intestinal Health

I realize the title to this post does not bode well. Those of you who know me know that I like to complain that my stomach hurts. Well, I finally went to see a Naturopath. I found out many things, including that our state has one of the most rigorous processes for certifying NDs. Also, my insurance covers it. Yeah!
So. I went in armed with my paper work and my suspicions about what I am allergic to, maybe. My guesses: dairy, wheat, soy. So, my plan is to do an elimination diet and then reintroduce foods, one every two days.
What, you might ask, does one possibly eat when one is not eating anything? It turns out mostly fruits and vegetable (but not corn, and no citrus). Also, I need to eliminate rice because I eat so much of it. But, surprisingly, lamb and pears are two of the most hypoallergenic foods. So I can eat lamb and pears! I can also eat chicken and fish. And potatoes. Yeah potatoes!! I'm also eliminating nuts and seeds. Then after you start to feel better (how long is that?), you reintroduce the food. You have to eat a lot of the food for one day. The part that describes drinking a big glass of milk makes me want to throw up. So I think I'll skip that one, but I may test cottage cheese, etc.
Meanwhile, I'm taking lots of supplements, many of which are supposed to help my stomach and some of which are just for general health. And one to help me sleep. I'll let you know how that goes.
All this to say that if I seem irritable and fatigued, you'll know why. Come Monday, I'll be subsisting on vegetables and fowl. But I might be sleeping more, so it could even out.
And yes, this means no wine. No wine? Somehow I'll muddle through.

4 comments:

ErinAlice said...

Maybe we can just visit electronically while you are doing your food experiment. It is hard to come across TOO irritable on the computer. Good luck with that. You probably don't eat much HFCS but have you considered it- that is what I am allergic to. However, it doesn't make my stomach hurt, just everything else. Happy Eating-or not.

Scorpion's Tail said...

I have a friend who did similarly, but she was from NYC and so did a miso soup diet for 1 month! Really, and then began re-introducing foods. As far as I can tell, these days she eats about 6 things. But, hey, says she feels great.

PS....the Spanish cheese is arriving the 20th. a BIG round of flor de esqueva. Don't let middlebrow hog it all. squirrel some away.

susansinclair said...

The GF doesn't do wheat or many fruits & veggies. I have doubts about describing food intolerances as allergies, but clearly it makes a big difference. And lord knows, anytime I overdo certain foods (milk and seeds/nuts, particularly) my body lets me hear about it! That's my gastrointestinal tract's way of reminding me to follow the Julia Child path: fresh food in moderation.

Anonymous said...

Ask your doctor to test you for celiac disease.
Shelly RN