Elimination Diet Wrap-Up

I neglected to do a timely overview of the results of my elimination diet experience when I finished it, mainly because life got in the way. But overall I loved doing it because it gave my diet a much-needed injection of clean living with vegetables and protein sources. I only ended up losing a few pounds as a side effect, but I'll take it! :-)

About the results. I was expecting a gluten sensitivity. But I could not detect one. My naturopath thinks that if I still have thyroid antibodies, I might try to go gluten-free again for a while. But that's going to require time and testing. I'm up to the challenge though!

I am not surprised that I have a little sensitivity to chili peppers. I think we all probably do to some extent. It's kind of like a necessary evil living in Mexico. It's one that will have to be consumed in moderation though.

The big surprise from this diet was that I discovered that I have a sensitivity to eggs and potatoes. Both give me gastrointestinal symptoms, but I'll spare you the details. I even tried challenging them a few times afterwards, but it's really true. No more french fries, mashed potatoes, and omelets. I almost feel like I should be crying as a type this, because these were two totally cherished components of my regular diet (I even raise egg-laying chickens!) and I was NOT expecting to be sensitive to them. But I was also not expecting to feel as indifferent as I do about letting those two foods go. I still have small amounts from time to time as they are often ingredients in commonly-served meals (pancakes, for example...). But gone will be the days of having these as my main course. Oh well!

I was also happy that as a result of having done this, I have more empathy for folks who are gluten-free, and I have something to contribute when people talk to me about food issues they have or if they too are considering trying the diet. The coolest thing perhaps was being able to examine my own self without having to go to a lab for tests.

To that end, here is the wrap-up of several go-to recipes I made while I was on the total elimination diet, as well as a few from when I started to challenge. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I hope to keep coming back and adding to it as time permits. Happy Food Trails!

During the total elimination phase

• Black bean soup
• Raw food chocolate pudding (can be adapted as a superfood smoothie)
• SPRING ROLLS
• Baked figs with cinnamon 
• Red Quinoa and Lentil Pilaf
• Homemade Sesame Rice Crackers
• Homemade Hummus

During initial Challenge Phase (these recipes are not all 100% elimination diet, because they include one or more challenged ingredients):

• Coconut Tapioca Pudding (maple syrup)
• Crunchy Cumin-Chicken-Celery Tacos with Tahini Dressing (corn), a Nicole original ;-)
• Spinach-Walnut Pesto (vinegar or lime) also by yours truly.

Elimination Diet: Days 4-7

I DID IT! I made it one week on the elimination diet.

I wasn't sure I was going to make it...especially around Days 4 or 5. I was having a hard time, mainly because I was feeling a little bored with the options and craving sweets. So I tried mixing up meals and ingredients again (reaching further back into the fridge, looking up new recipes). I also took spirulina which helped with the sweets craving.

I can definitely say that I feel a difference. At first it felt "edgy," then it felt "clean," and now I feel like I've just plain had more vegetables in the last week than I've had in the last month. I think that's a good thing... :-) I will be curious to see if any weight was lost in the 1st week. To be clear, this is *not* a weight-loss diet, but my doctor said almost everyone who's on it does.

For the 1-2 weeks to come, I am ready to move on to new horizons, like getting some local meat, i.e. lamb. My brother-in-law has sheep, and lamb, a meat I really like, is on my "ok" list. But as for how to get it to my plate... well that will take some investigating. I think it's a bit more than what's involved with butchering and skinning a rabbit, or taking the feathers and gizzard out of a chicken. We shall see if my quest will be fulfilled.

But in the meantime... new highlights from the last few days:

• Black bean soup
• Raw food chocolate pudding (cacao with avocado and banana)
• SPRING ROLLS... YES! By far the most exciting acquisition to the meal plan this week.
• Baked figs with cinnamon (surprisingly delicious)

Stay tuned...

21 Days to a New View of Food | The Elimination/Anti-Inflammatory Diet

From my Facebook wall this past weekend:

"I'm finally taking my naturopathic doctor's advice and going on the full elimination diet for 3 weeks to see if I have any food sensitivities. I got the allergy prick test panel >10 yrs ago and no food allergies other than soy showed up, but I did register mega allergies to pollen and a mild soy allergy. 10 years later, I still have the hayfever, and I also have IBS and reason to suspect that Hashimoto's might be causing my thyroid dysfunction. So I figured it's about time to take a closer look."

So, for the next 21 days, this is the list I'll be following:

WHAT I CAN'T EAT:

Gluten (wheat, barley spelt, rye)
Sugar (sugar/sweetener of any kind)
Dairy (cow sheep goat)
Beef, pork, chicken with skin, eggs (duck ok), shellfish
Peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter
Canola oil, cottonseed, hydrogenated oils
Juices (veggie or fruit) and oranges & grapefruit
Corn & corn products
Soy & soy products (soy sauce, tofu, tempe, edamame)
Alcohol, coffee, and black teas
Nightshade veggies (eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes)
Processed foods and food additives (flavorings, colorings, what you can’t pronounce)
Allergens or irritants

WHAT I **CAN** EAT:

Organic Vegetables- all colors and lots of them (fresh or frozen)
Organic Fruits (fresh or frozen, NOT dried)
Legumes
Rice, Quinoa, buckwheat, Gluten free oats
Meat hormone free, grass fed, wild: skinless chicken, Lean lamb
Nuts and seeds (especially walnuts and fresh ground flaxseeds)
Fish: salmon (wild Pacific or Alaskan- Not Atlantic), halibut, sardines
Fats: olive oil, flax oil, walnut oil, avocados, coconut
Herbs and spices (especially tumeric, ginger, cumin, garlic
Tea (herbal)
Water

Also from my FB wall: "I love natural foods but am on a tight budget, get stuck in ruts, and I have 2 other people in the house to feed... so I'm looking for the easiest, cheapest, yummiest recipes with ingredients from the 'what I can eat list.' "

I'm really interested to see what will happen or what I will find out about myself as a result of going on this diet. I'm guessing it will be at least a little hard to eat many of the foods I normally eat, and maybe a little harder when I'm at parties or when my husband and daughter are eating something I'm "off of." But it will probably be good to have to mix up my food routines and eat more of food I don't eat as often. Later on, when I introduce foods back in, I might discover some foods I'm sensitive too.

I will be trying to post daily with any new recipes I am creating or trying. Wish me luck and post recipes if you know of any good ones... they need to adhere to the list I'm working with, at least for the first 21 days. In the meantime, I look forward to a new view of the food I eat.

Discoveries around "The Diet Cure"

I posted a while back about a fascinating book I read, "The Diet Cure" by Julia Ross. Ever since I read this book, I've made a number of discoveries about my health.
Inspired by the book, I was testing out several specific food groups to see if I had any adverse reactions to them. I did a week without refined sugar and white flour products, a week without any gluten products at all, and a week without dairy. At the end of the weeks without the specific foods, I introduced them back into my diet gradually in order to observe if any adverse reactions such as headache, weight gain, bloating, digestive complaints, etc. arose.
The first thing I discovered was that sugary and white flour products did have some slight to moderate reactions for me, including headache and some bloating. I also lost several pounds after the week without them.
Then I went on to "test" for a gluten reaction by eliminating all foods containing gluten (wheat, oats, and rye). At the end of the trial gluten-free week, I was expecting (perhaps dreading) bells and whistles when I re-introduced them (in the form of whole grains) back into my diet. But to my surprise there really were no noticeable symptoms. The same happened with dairy—no problems that I could notice. I was sort of relieved because wheat and dairy are big parts of my diet and I wasn't looking forward to possibly having to eliminate them. My naturopathic doctor isn't 100% convinced of my self-testing results because I did the tests one at a time rather than all together. But for me, it's a good start. I say this because when I first heard about checking for this kind of stuff, I was very closed off to the idea of an elimination diet. In fact, I remember almost laughing at my doctor when he suggested the idea.
Now, however, the few things I discovered about my reactions to refined sugar and white flour/rice products were enough for me to start making an effort to avoid refined sugar when possible and replace white flour products with whole wheat, and white rice with brown rice, etc. I'm happy with the results, and also knowing that I'm getting more fiber into my diet.
I'm also interested in doing a week without corn, to see what happens.
Perhaps the most interesting discoveries were two things I found out about myself around the time of this self-testing. In her book, Ross suggests that once your diet is balanced in favor of proteins and vegetables, with just enough healthy carbs and fats for satiation, the pounds should begin to melt off. The caveat is that this can only happen if you're biochemically stable. And should the initial weight loss peter out (or never occur), you might need to get checked out for imbalances such as low thyroid. I noticed my weight loss occurred when I removed the refined products from my diet, but then tapered off. It didn't bug me too much because I am more in favor of exercising than dieting, but it did catch my attention.
It just so happened that I had decided to get my thyroid levels checked during my yearly checkup, around the time I had finished this elimination diet. When I went to discuss the results with my doctor, he told me I had thyroid dysfunction. I was sort of shocked because I've been getting my thyroid checked for years because both my parents have low thyroid, and I've always tested normal. But according to my doctor, it's often underdiagnosed, and in my case, although my T3 and T4 levels are normal, it's the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) that's too high—working harder than it ought to trying to stimulate an underactive thyroid, in his words.
There's more: he ordered a test of my cortisol levels, which apparently are also connected to thyroid function. I just found out that they came back "low," but have yet to discuss the implications of the results with my doctor. Rather than feel upset, I'm actually relieved that there may be some underlying reasons for my sluggish metabolism (and my cold extremities, and possibly even joint pain among other things). I'll have a lot to learn about how all these puzzle pieces fit together: diet, metabolism, hormonal levels, stress. But I'm up to the challenge and grateful to have found a practitioner who seems to be willing to think outside the box and find the root of the problem (finally).