Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hidden Dangers in Foods

Eliminating allergens from my diet seemed easy at first.  But that all changed with a trip to the grocery store.  There was sugar, corn, wheat, soy and/or gluten in everything!  My spare time was spent reading labels and yet I was still making mistakes. Some things were obvious no-no’s, but others seemed okay until I tried them.  I generally paid a heavy price for not understanding the mysterious language of ingredients.

Food manufacturers are extremely skillful at hiding potential allergens behind unusual, relatively innocent-sounding names, like hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP).  We tend to overlook the “hydrolyzed” and focus on the “vegetable protein,” which sounds like a good thing.  Well, it’s not, especially if you’re allergic to MSG, soy, corn, or wheat.  In fact, whenever you see the word hydrolyzed connected to the words “vegetable, plant, or whey,” beware.

Hydrolyzed proteins are created using a chemical process called acid hydrolysis, which breaks down the protein into amino acids.  These hydrolyzed proteins are used as flavor enhancers in everything from soups to hot dogs and pose a real threat to people like me. 

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

What Will I Eat Now?

There are no recipe books for people who can’t eat anything normal!  So I’ve spent many hours searching for ideas and foods that I could add to my very limited diet.  My basic diet includes fish (with scales and fins, no shell fish or scavengers), rice (preferably brown), sweet potato, olive oil, rice milk (West Soy and Whole Foods 365 brands are the only two I've found that do not contain soy!), most vegetables, red bell peppers, most fruits (but no oranges, strawberries, grapes, or pineapple), beans and water.  I can’t have garlic, onions, most sweet peppers, sugar, corn, or black pepper which presents a tremendous challenge in making anything taste good.  Interestingly, I can eat any type of hot peppers and I can also use white pepper.  Unlike black peppercorns, white peppercorns are allowed to fully ripen before it's picked, which results in a milder flavor. 

Friday, February 5, 2010

Elimination Diet - Food Allergens

Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds.  No staying close to the porcelain throne waiting to be humiliated.  This "elimination diet" involved foods that would never even get to see my digestive tract! The Ultra InflamX powder came with a booklet which detailed what you can and can not eat for 30 days. It eliminates all potential food allergens, whether or not you think you're allergic to them.  That might not seem too bad until you read the full list, which included orange juice, corn (what doesn’t have corn in it!), wheat (and most other grains with the exception of rice), soy, beef, pork, processed meats and foods, dairy, mayonnaise, alcohol, coffee, tea, tomatoes, condiments, and sugar, just to name a few!  I assure you, it is not easy to enjoy a meal devoid of some of these essentials!  But somehow I managed.  Fortunately, I had become a vegetarian about 20 years earlier, so some items were not a problem for me.

Most “normal” people would have to stay on this elimination diet for 30 days, but I had the privilege of suffering with it for 3 months!  My over-stressed body clung to the debilitating toxins it had stored up over the years and it would take 90 days for me to start feeling better.  At the end of the 90 days there were no more migraines, no more tingling in my arms and legs, no more itching, no more IBS, no more joint and muscle pain, no more brain fog…no more suffering!  For the first time in years I actually felt pretty good.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Stress, Stress and More Stress

Years of pain, suffering, and eventually, total disability forced me to seek alternative health care.  Conventional medicine seemed to be creating more problems for me than it was solving.   While I never expected to find a cure for my health problems, I did have hopes of reducing my level of pain without using the recommended anti-seizure medications.  I was also hopeful that my quality of life, which was reduced to merely existing, might improve.

One consultation with a very special compounding pharmacist, Baylor Rice, at his Wellness Center in Midlothian, VA would turn my hopes into reality.  After reviewing my medical records and blood test (which I brought with me), he patiently listened to my assessment of my situation.  For the first time I really believed someone understood what I was feeling.  He explained in layman’s terms exactly what was happening in my body and why.  He also recommended specific herbal supplements to support my internal systems, which were being bombarded by the stress of my chronic illness and life.