A healthy body has very few needs.
1. Real food.
2. Exercise.
3. Sleep.
The better you do at each of these, the better you should feel.
But what if you don’t feel better?
Then you’re me.
I have food intolerances. They hold more power over my health and energy than almost any of the previously listed things. I can get plenty of sleep, exercise, and real food, but if any of that real food came from something that goes MOO or ever was an Amber Wave…I’m down for the day. Fussing at my kids, wondering why the house is so messy.
I know that I’m super sensitive, but it’s estimated that 75% of the world is intolerant to dairy, fructose, gluten, wheat, or yeast. So, here’s my recommendation. If you do all of the above but you don’t feel GREAT most days, KEEP A JOURNAL OF FOOD AND MOOD. And note that food intolerances take one hour to three days to finish their reaction.
If you suspect that you or your kids (like my oldest with eczema head-to-foot) may have a food intolerance, head to the allergist first. Histamine reactionsfor food are dangerous. I had no “real” allergy to anything. My son, however, had soy, peas, and almonds. (three things I had DUMPED down him since birth, I might add.)
Next I headed to THIS SITE. I turned up FOR SURE that I’m gluten and lactose intolerant, but there’s had to be another because my energy soared if I avoid all milk and wheat.
Then a friend of mine directed me to THIS BOOK. Finally, my digestion repaired and magically, my OCD symptoms abated.
Two years later, I am NOT crazy, bloated, and I *can* indulge in a weekly potato, but in the words of my husband,I eat mostly “dirt and sand.”
Deanna
I know how you feel.
I was born with allergies and was told they would improve as I aged.
*Beeep* Nope, they only increased.
Soy could be a culprit too Ivory as a high percentage of people who are allergic to dairy are double intolerant to soy.
Thank you for the link to the diet…think I’ll check it out since I’ve been irritable and tired all day.
Hope you feel better…
Good luck on your journey. Four of my kids and I have been wheat free and dairy free for a couple of months now. It gets easier and you find there is more to eat than twigs and bark though at times it seems like there is nothing to eat.
The day I have to give up dairy is the day I just roll over and die.
My body doesn’t like plants–anything raw results in an anaphylactic reaction and the rest just *indisposes* me for a few hours. I don’t miss the carrot sticks, but I do miss raw cookie dough (uncooked grain), fresh little wild strawberries, and avocado.
Give me dairy, give me meat, give me bread.
I, too, can’t eat any dairy. Casein gives me fits, too. You know, there’s testing for food allergies. It’s done with a blood draw or simply a finger stick. They can test for fast-acting allergies (those that cause anaphylacsis) and/or for slow-acting ones, like what you described. I know within 30 minutes of eating dairy and the real show begins two or so hours later. But I just avoid it all and am much happier. Go get yourself tested. It’s much faster than trying to figure it out on your own.
Sage
Wish I had $120 bucks lying around…!
Welcome to my life! I’m not the actual one with the intolerances, my husband is; gluten, corn and we avoid animal products most of the time for overall health. Because he can’t eat any gluten we don’t at home. So that eliminates all the usual food but the upside is we feel great (as long as we do!)n’t envy too much what other’s are eating – ha!)
Have you ever tried the failsafe diet? I found it more reliable than the diet you linked. Have you looked at nitrates, amines or salicylates? These are all talked about in Sue Dengate’s books. I identified my intolerances over a year ago so I can’t remember the names or links right now. I wish you all the luck in the world to finding your intolerances. They make life so much easier. I’m intolerant to nitrates and amines if I’m eating nitrates. Really, I can live without a hot dog if it means my sanity is intact. Again, good luck.
There is a book called the Ultimate Healing System by Donald Laypore (I might have spelled the last name wrong sorry). He talks about food intolerance and vitamine defficiency. He believes that all food (natural food anyway) intolerance is due to defficiency. He also links up each food allergy with vitamine and how to test for it (although that is a little bit confusing).
We’ve been experiencing this at our house too.
The 3 year old had eczema and is allergic to eggs. He was also breaking out with anything fermented, vinegary, and sugared (even fruit). He went off eggs, all the foods listed above, added cod liver oil, probiotics, zinc and copper, and his multi, and his skin is clear. It took a while, but we keep a close eye on his food. I think he had a candida overgrowth.
Our 5 year old had lactose troubles. He takes the same supplements as the 3 year old now, and is doing better. He can have cheese, but does better without it. No powdered cheese and little wheat.
I have trouble with wheat and dairy, but the troubles have been milder since I eat them rarely now.
What do we eat? LOTS of veggies, seeds, and other grains. Millet in oatmeal, and quinoa is a favorite. If you need any help getting started on an allergen-free diet, I have a bunch of websites and blogs that helped me. I can post them if you like.
Good Luck! May the journey ahead be filled with happy surprises and treasured finds. There’s a world of food out there for us to enjoy.
I found that when I diligently avoid wheat/gluten in my diet that the leaky gut (holes in the intestines) heal and the larger food molecules from dairy, etc., can’t get through anymore to cause allergic reactions.
My husband is gluten sensitive. Since going gluten-free he has improved 100 percent. It has also helped me lose weight which in turn keeps me from becoming a diabetic. Which runs in our family. We eat a small amount of meat with vegetables for our dinner and a lot of fresh fruit and nuts. It is a much healthier diet. We also get our milk (raw), eggs and meat from an organic farm. It was an adjustment to our cooking habits but well worth it.
Gluten is hidden in so many forms of food. It is in zinc tablets, garlic powder, etc. You really have to search out all the ingredients and read up on everything.
You really are what you eat. If all you eat is junk, than junk you will be.
I look forward each day to reading your articles. Keep up the good work!
You MUST read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. If I lived near you I’d drop off my copy for you today. It completely changed the way I feed myself and my family. I’ve struggled with food my whole life and this was the answer. After all the food programs and detection diets, it all came down to this one book. Read it!!! We are eczema free, mood swing free, everyone is really healthy and satisfied.
The incidence of food allergies has skyrocketed within the last few years. I think it is really important for us to start asking why. Why do so many people react to food that humans have been eating for centuries? Maybe because it’s not the same food anymore. Now it’s hybridized, grown with pesticides, loaded with hormones, irradiated, refined, genetically modified, etc. We need to take a hard look at how our food system is killing us and make some serious changes. That’s why this is such a great blog, we all need to have some chickens and goats in our backyards again. We all need to be trying to grow at least some of our own food or get friendly with the farmers who grow it for us.
Here’s to healing your gut.
I hadn’t ever thought about it affecting my mood, but just this summer I found out I was allergic to soy and peanuts. And after I thought about it for a while (and tested it, to make sure the Dr wasn’t a quack) I get icky-sick every time I eat a substantial amount. I’m not terribly allergic, but if you head to an allergy clinic, they can do a quick skin test (no needles! Yay!) to see. I’m also lactose intolerant, which is one main reason we got goats, and my husband just figured out that he is too. I don’t always stay away from peanut butter (chocolate peanut butter cookies are just too tempting), but I do feel better when I do. For me, it was definitely worth it to get the skin test.
If you’re actually allergic or intolerant to gluten and casein? Giving them up is *totally* worth it. I gave up wheat and dairy due to an allergy diagnosis 6 1/2 years ago, and gave up the rest of gluten (rye, barley and triticale) in January of this year after a celiac disease diagnosis.
It gave me back my life. Really. I was too sick to function for years, and now I’m more or less back to the me I was when it all blew up on me. In fact, I’m better, because my chronic asthma and seasonal allergies are nearly gone, my blood sugar is stable, and my rashes and skin infections are gone.
To put the bark and twigs idea to flight, visit these blogs:
http://www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/
Because, really, there’s a lot of yummy stuff you can eat and enjoy on a gluten free, casein free diet.
I’ve worked on food sensitivities for a few years now, and have been able to go back on a few foods after eliminating them for several months (like eggs and some dairy). More recently I’ve eliminated wheat, soy, and corn and continue to stay away from those most of the time or I notice fatigue and “brain fog”.
Like “Suseon” said above – food allergies and sensitivities have skyrocketed in recent years because our food is so messed with and modified; not to mention all the corn, wheat, and soy, etc. added in multiple forms to everything. I’m not a political activist type, but I sure wish somebody could convince our government that if we stopped allowing all the practices that are changing the way our food is grown and treated, maybe, just maybe, we could actually become a healthier nation and not have to spend billions(+) dollars on “health” care for diseases & disorders that were caused by practices the FDA has allowed!! It seems so simple to me!
hi, love checking in to your blog! i have a friend who has a candida infection which is causing her to have rashes and be allergic to everyting it seems! main culprits are wheat, gluten, yeast( which feeds it). you will have to go to a naturopathic type doctor to deal with this and get diagnosed though cause mainstream doctors do not recgonize this type of infection- they are too jaded by “medical” stuff and big pharma! it may be worth checking into, hope this helps! i wish you better health and may you find the reason for your suffering soon!
I’m a recent gluten-free gal, as well. I got the complete GI work-up from Diagnos-techs b/c I had no idea what was up–parasites? dairy intolerance? ulcer?–and it tests for everything but ebola. I came up seriously gluten intolerant with very little in the way of good flora in my gut. I’m reading “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” by Natasha Campbell McBride–terrific book. A lot of it is dedicated to how a leaky gut can lead to things like Autism, ADD, and schizophrenia (none of which are issues for me) but it has great info on gut health and healing. Seconding “Nourishing Traditions” as well. Often if you go GF, you will be able to add dairy back to your diet before long. Many cases of dairy intolerance are due to a gluten intolerance.
Big Note: A mistake a lot of people make when they go GF–oh, me for example–is to replace all those processed wheat foods with processed GF foods: rice pasta, GF cookies, new baking mixes, etc. Your gut needs to heal and to do that you need to avoid even the righteous processed foods and sugars.
Deana, you mean all that white rice flour frozen pizza crust isn’t good for me? Dang it. I like the term Righteous Processed Foods. NICE. And my dairy actually came first. I have congenital lactasis. Couldn’t even have breast milk!