Food Challenges

The Devil’s in the Details

Let me start by saying I’m not a doctor of any sort and I have no medical training of any kind. What I am about to share are my own experiences. If in the telling of my story, you can find an avenue of research to follow, some questions to ask or some ideas to explore, then I will be satisfied that my efforts to share have in some way helped another.

For three years, I have struggled to find solutions to the inflammation and resulting pain I live with every day. Initially, I removed all gluten bearing grains from my diet. My body’s response was immediate and positive. My pain lessened and I felt much better: my energy levels rose significantly, my mind was clearer, my thinking was more focused, my pain level dropped, I could move with greater ease, my seasonal allergies and asthma lessened, my rashes virtually disappeared, my digestive tract functioned better, and my quality of life improved.  However, at the end of the first year, I was still experiencing a degree of inflammation and pain that were not acceptable to me. Although I was better than I had been a year earlier, there were still enough symptoms to cause me concern….

At the beginning of the second year, I requested further investigation into my problems. With the help of an allergist, I was able to discover a relationship between my allergy to grass and my intolerance to all grains. Interestingly enough, that also included sugar cane related products. I switched to beet, date and other sugars that were not derived from sugar cane, which is a member of the grass plant family like all grains. By removing grains from my diet most days of the week and rotating them in on occasion, I was able to take another large step toward further recovery. I chose to rotate the grains into my diet to allow me to interact socially with greater ease. I found that as long as I gave my body a four or five day break from grains, I coped much better than I did a year earlier when I was just eating gluten free.

It was at this stage that I realize that lactose, the sugar in milk and other dairy products, was also an issue. As I began to re-examine the roll of all sugars in my diet, I discovered the writing of Elaine Gottschall. From her, I learned about the different types of sugar molecules and how they interact with intestines that have been compromised by eating grains. I switched over to using raw honey, and like grains, I rotate other sugars into my diet on special occasions.

As my research entered its third year, I began to investigate the connection between food sensitivities and liver function in relation to inflammation and the resulting diseases such as Metabolic Syndrome: a precursor to diabetes, heart disease and stroke. In consultation with my doctor, I decided to eliminate as many food and environmental sensitivities as I could, while boosting my liver function with therapeutic doses of Vitamin C. The results have been amazing and I continue to make excellent progress.

Now that I have eliminated the use of gluten bearing grains, restricted the use of other foods to which I am sensitive, and added several vitamin and mineral supplements to my daily regime, I want to turn my attention to fine tuning my diet.  In anticipation of this fourth year in my recovery, I have tried to understand more about the roll starch plays in my medical problems. I know I am sensitive to members of the Nightshade family of plants: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco. I either eliminate or rotate them in my diet to avoid over exposure. As a result, the starch in potatoes is relatively easy to deal with. However, I was still struggling with other flours made from grain like seeds. When I was introduced to the video, “Gluten Sensitivity, Intolerance, Syndrome and Celiac Disease”, created by Dr. Peter Osborne, the light finally went on. I believe I am so sensitive to the prolamines and glutelins that go together to make up gluten in grains and seeds, that I am getting an inflammatory response from all of them. I have been genetically tested and do have the marker that would indicate a predisposition to gluten sensitivity. Dr Osborne’s video encouraged me to do more research into seeds such as quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat, which are not gains. I found a very interesting article on pseudocereals that did in fact identify the presence of prolamines in these grain like seeds. At this point, I felt a number of my questions had been answered. This latest information certainly underlines the need for me to use all grains and seeds sparingly on special occasions. Every time I challenge this reality, I pay for it with increased inflammation and pain. Fortunately, twelve hours off the offending grains and seeds, I feel the relief.

I will continue to explore this aspect of my research until I am satisfied that I have all the knowledge I need to feed my body the diet that is most appropriate for it to maintain optimum health. It has already begun to challenge me in the kitchen. I’m getting creative about making crackers and bowls from cheese. For me, the most important thing is to have food available that will allow me to interact socially with family and friends on special occasions, while maintaining a diet that is in the best interest of my body and its health!

Tags: Celiac Disease, food allergies, food intolerances, food sensitivities, gluten free, grain free, lactose free, legume free, Liana Brittain, SCD, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, wheat free