Understanding My Food Restrictions

Unfortunately, I don't even understand my food restrictions, but I thought it might be helpful to share what I do know about them.  I've had several people, even doctors, question whether my restrictions are necessary.  Some people are concerned that I am not getting enough nutrition or variety in my diet.  Others simply think I've put too much stock in alternative and naturopathic therapies, and should lighten up a bit - in other words, they think I've allowed certain naturopaths to convince me I have more food sensitivities than I really do - it's all in my head.  Others just don't understand how sensitive I am, and when trying to serve meals to me forget how important it is to be very careful to follow my restrictions.  I understand I'm the odd one out, and that although food sensitivities are increasing in our population, they are very uncommon.  This fact alone can lead to many misunderstandings and false judgments of my condition.  I hope I can shed some light for you on my experience of food sensitivities, especially since it is a growing problem and you may one day face this issue yourself or in your own family.

I first started discovering some of my food sensitivities in 2006 when I went on an elimination diet.  At the time I was very unwell, struggling with great amounts of fatigue, body pain and stomach pain.  I felt bloated all the time.  I even knew that something I was eating was hurting me, but had no idea where to begin to figure out what.  I went to a naturopath for the purpose of figuring out if I had any food sensitivities.  She eliminated all the most common food sensitivities from my diet for a couple months, then had me add each food back into my diet one at a time.  This is when I discovered my gluten intolerance (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut) and my tomato sensitivity.  When I added gluten back into my diet, I felt like I had eaten 2 cakes in one sitting (in other words I was very bloated) and was struck with a very intense and strange muscle weakness/fatigue that would last 4 days.  When I added tomato back into my diet, I experienced extreme muslce inflammation all over my body.  On the other hand, when I eliminated tomatoes, I stopped having knee pain (which I had had for years).  My reactions to these things are not in my head, because I have reacted to them when I didn't even know I had eaten them (I would discover after experiencing pain that the problem food had been a hidden ingredient).

As my health has declined, I have found my food sensitivities are increasing.  I have learned to be very aware of my body, and what causes it harm (whether it be food, environmental, electromagnetic, etc).  This is part of the reason I know what my restrictions are.  However, in the last couple years, I have also had some tests done through my naturopath which have verified that I am actually sensitive to the foods I have restricted from my diet.

Now, if I eat a food I am sensitive to, my body immediately pays the consequences.  I will usually be unable to sleep because the pain in my stomach is so severe.  I will suffer from constipation.  Sometimes, I feel as though I have been punched hard in the stomach.  I will often experience widespread muscle inflammation for a few days, and increased fatigue.  My mood will very often be affected, and I'll be more susceptible to anger.  The culprit food can debilitate my body for several days.  I keep trying to convince myself that if I just keep trying these foods, I will get over my sensitivities, so I cheat frequently.  Sadly, every time the reaction to that food gets worse and worse.  My husband Sony gets quite exasperated with my experiments, because he's the one who has to live with me when the pain hits.  He knows better than I do myself that these food restrictions are real and necessary.  Obviously, I'd prefer not to have them...life would be SO much easier!!!  But I do have them, and even though some people doubt them, I need to stick to this strict diet and press on.  Thankfully God is gracious, and helps me bear with all these things, and gives me much hope for heaven where I will have my pick food for eternity!!!

Here's a list of my restrictions to give you an idea of all I have had to give up.  Some people have it far worse than I do, so I am thankful that it's not worse and so far I have been able to manage them.  It is a complicated business trying to prepare meals for myself, but I have learned and am learning.  So here's the list:

• Dairy
• Gluten
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Eggplant
• Soy
• Caffeine (chocolate, coffee, tea)
• Eggs
• Lentils/beans
• Seeds (chia, sunflower, sesame, etc)
• Quinoa
• Sugar
• Honey
• Maple Syrup
• Preservatives
• Additives
• Food Colouring
• Peanuts
• Vegetable oil (really am only able to have olive and coconut oil)
• Beef
• Pork
• Shellfish

There's probably more, but you get the picture.   One thing all these restrictions have done for me is to actually force me to have a more balanced and healthy diet.  My husband tells me he doesn't know anyone who eats healthier than I do.  I eat a lot of veggies, and a variety of them.  I eat a variety of meat and other proteins (lamb, chicken, turkey, goat, bison, cornish hen, fish, nuts).  I eat whole grains, and very healthy ones at that with lots of protein and other good stuff in them (millet, buckwheat, rice, amaranth).  I eat several fruits, concentrating on the most potent ones nutritionally (berries, pomegranate).  I rarely eat sweet desserts, and when I do, they are made from very healthy ingredients (agave syrup, nuts, fruits, whole grains).  So in fact, I am thankful for my sensitivities and limitations because they have transformed what I put into my body, and taught me a lot about health and nutrition.  I hope all that information was helpful, and will give you a head start if ever you or someone close to you develops food sensitivities.  God bless!

Millet

Yesterday I wrote about how I had discovered some new foods and new flavours because of my dietary restrictions.  One of those foods was millet.  Millet is a gluten-free grain, that has a lovely nutty flavour.  It looks like little yellow pellets, smaller than rice.  You can find it in natural health food stores, and even in the natural food section of many grocery stores (Uncle Bob Brand).  For me, the discovery of millet was a wonderful surprise and comfort.  I had recently discovered that I was extremely sensitive even to gluten-free oats, and I was devastated.  You may think I'm weird, but I LOVE oatmeal porridge, as well as granola, and baked goods made with oats.  If I had to choose between being able to have wheat, or being able to have oats, there would be no contest!!!  Oats would be the hands down winner.  Anyway, I had a pretty heavy heart over this matter of losing oats from my diet when I tried millet.  Now, don't get me wrong, millet is NOTHING like oats.  However, the new flavour and texture of millet delighted me.  It was like a gift from heaven, God comforting my soul and telling me that my life wouldn't be completely devoid of enjoyment in food.  I realise I may seem a little melodramatic, but before you judge, please imagine your favourite food and then finding out it significantly hurts your body with great amounts of pain to the point of being unable to function when eating it.  Imagine your future without your favourite food, but having to see it all around you, enjoyed by everyone else but you.  It's a big deal, isn't it!!!  Well, God used millet to soothe my soul, and help me to submit to my circumstances.

You cook millet like you cook any other grain.  Put in a pot, put plenty of water over it, bring it to a boil, then let it simmer until the water is soaked up by the grain (just like with rice).  I usually add some salt and oil to the water to give the millet an extra fluffiness (otherwise it can be rather dry).

Ways I like to enjoy millet:

1. I like it just straight, with a good dab of butter or oil (I use coconut oil) and some salt.  I'll eat it like this at any meal.
2. For breakfast, my whole family likes it cooked with raisins, and then we add almond or peanut butter, and again some salt.  It's delicious!!!  If it seems dry, I'll also add some oil.
3. As a salad, I love to add grated carrots, parsley, brocolli and a homemade lemon vinaigrette (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and sea salt).  Sometimes I add tahini to the vinaigrette which gives it a different flavour.

Food Restrictions: Trial or Blessing?

I have many food sensitivities that seem to be ever increasing.  This can make food preparation VERY challenging!!!  I have had to say goodbye to many of my favourite foods over the years, and trust me, the tragedy of this reality has been difficult to accept.  I keep pleading with God, 'Oh please just don't take away dairy from me', or 'Please don't take away honey, black tea, or maple syrup'.  The list goes on and on, and God's answer is, 'How much are you willing to deny for Me, will you gracefully give up your most beloved foods for My purposes even when you don't yet know what those purposes are?'  I could refuse, and cling to those foods, harming my body more and more so that I am harming the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Or I could give in to the food restrictions, but be filled with resentment, envying everyone who has the privilege of eating an ice cream cone, granola for breakfast, earl grey lattes, cheesecake, creamy pastas, croissants, vietnamese deep fried spring rolls, pad thai, green curry, and all my other favourite foods.  But that would be a miserable existence, especially since I am always around people who eat what I cannot eat.

God has called me to put these 'earthly treasures' on the altar, to sacrifice them, and peacefully submit to Him.  Therefore, I want to honour God by joyfully accepting even these small sufferings.  In God's grace, He has in turn blessed me by giving me access to a whole new realm of food.  It's like I've discovered new colours, each one uniquely beautiful and alive!!!  When people have food restrictions, they often try to replace what they used to like with something comparable (like replacing a grilled cheese sandwich with gluten free bread and soy cheese).  However, I've discovered that trying to mimic foods is often very disappointing, and only makes me want the original more.  Instead, God has shown me how to love to food I am able to eat, without comparing it to something else.  I am able to enjoy it for what it is, something filled with new flavours to experience!!!  I am learning to enjoy my new foods more than I every enjoyed the old foods.  These new foods are filled with flavour, but are also far healthier so they are guilt-free!!!  Now I rarely every feel guilty about what I have eaten, even when I have dessert!!!  The only time I feel guilty is if I have cheated, and had a bit what will hurt me (even 'healthy' things, like tomato, piece of cheese, lentils).  But this guilt is not so much because I fear weight gain or high cholesterol, but because I know I will experience lots of pain in my intestines, and will be prevented from giving all my attention to my family because it will take time to heal.

Anyway, I just wanted to praise God for teaching me submission in this matter, and blessing me with love for the broad spectrum of foods He has created!!!  If any of you like adventure, I challenge you to try some new ways of eating your foods!!!  It's amazing what variety is out there to be enjoyed!

Here is a recipe for a Cauliflower Pasta Sauce that I whipped up last night.  It is vegan for those who are vegetarians (I can't have dairy, and I am taking a small break from meat for the next couple weeks).  My whole family went crazy over it!!!  Very delicious, filling, and a new way to get in your veggies, as well as eat lighter.

Cauliflower Pasta Sauce

• 1 head cauliflower
• minced garlic 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• juice of half a lemon
• almond milk (or water, or other 'milk')
• optional: onions, diced

Steam your head of cauliflower until it is just tender. Lightly saute your onions and garlic for a couple minutes.  Combine the cauliflower, onions and garlic into a blender.  Add remaining ingredients and blend. Add more liquid if too thick.  Pour on top of pasta (I used buckwheat noodles, which adds a lovely contrast in flavour.  Buckwheat noodles are high in protein, so you don't even need meat).  Enjoy!!!

An Introduction

Welcome to my blog.

I suspect my time on here will be limited considering the severe limitations of my body and mind. However, when I am able, I wanted to share my struggles in order to shed light on the reality of suffering in God's people. Especially in this country, life is pretty easy for the vast majority of people. Traffic jams, lineups at the grocery store, relational conflicts, flus, colds and headaches are often the extent of suffering on an average day in the average person. Don't misunderstand me, I know everyone suffers to some extent, and I do have compassion for any suffering, no matter how small. And every Christian must experience greater degrees of suffering. However, not everyone experiences longterm, widespread suffering. I share my story, not to say that I suffer the worst. There are many who suffer far more than I, those who have lost loved ones, those who are frought with far worse diseases, those who are lonely, those who live in war torn countries, etc. I share my story to encourage Christians to consider others, to enter into their pain, and to have a better understanding of how to pray and provide for them. I am just one example of one who experiences longterm, widespread suffering, and it is mild compared with many others.

I struggle with lots of things. I have struggled with a lot of things. I am extraordinarily sensitive, in body and soul, and have been aquainted with a broken heart as well as a broken body. I will be focusing on my broken body, and the consequences that has had on my heart.

I have have had fibromyalgia symptoms (widespread intense pain) and profound fatigue since the fall of 2003. Since then I have discovered I have many food and environmental allergies/sensitivities. I have been to doctor after doctor seeking help and seeking answers. It was only last year that I found a doctor who would really help me. That's 7 years of struggling completely on my own. In that time, I had no choice but to work. My family was unable to support me. For several years I worked in a shoe store, which demanded a lot of physical activity. There were many days I was in tears as I worked, struggling to keep customers from seeing my agony. I yearned for rest, but no matter how much I rested, my body was still exhausted and in pain. I didn't share the extent of my struggles with anyone. On occassion I would call home and tell my dad I couldn't do it anymore, the pain was unbearable. He would convince me to press on, and so I would at great physical cost. When a receptionist job became available, I jumped at it, even though I had a pay cut. I quickly discovered that the pain and exhaustion would consume my life, no matter what kind of job I worked. My health has been going downhill, and now I am unable to work, in fact, hardly able to leave my house. Much of the time I am bedridden. There is nothing I can take for the pain. It used to be I would sleep, but never feel rested. Now I have difficulty sleeping and the lack of sleep kills me. The nights I am unable to sleep terrify me as the pain rages unrelentlessly. The days following I can barely walk.

Sometimes life is just unbearable. My health right now is the worst it's ever been. Sometimes the pain is so terrible these days, that I plead with the Lord to take me home and let me leave this life. I am a huge burden on my husband, and only able to do the bare minimum to care for my baby. I put her on the floor in my living room, and watch her play while laying on the couch every day. You have know idea how this breaks my heart.

I am currently seeing a doctor (Dr. Krop in Mississauga) who thinks I have had Lyme Disease (from a tick bite) since the fall of 2003. From hair analysis and other tests, my doctors say I too have heavy metal toxins. I also have candida and parasites. It also looks like I had a dairy and gluten allergy from the time of my birth which has also aggravated my condition. The Lyme Disease diagnosis has been complicated. I already had those other things I listed (candida, parasites, food allergy, toxins), and wasn’t in excellent health to say the least. I was overweight growing up and couldn’t lose weight no matter what I tried. I had tendonitis in both of my arms that was really hindering life, but that was the extent of my difficulties. Then I moved to New Hampshire in 2003. Within a month or two, I was hit with profound fatigue, which later developed into widespread severe pain, concentrated in my lower back. I didn’t know anything about Lyme Disease when I went to New Hampshire. I lived on a farm on a mountain. loved walking in the woods, and sitting in the woods to do my quiet time. I would go out in short sleeves and shorts. Eventually the other people there told me about Lyme Disease. I think by that time it was already too late. I don’t remember if I got bit or if I got a rash, because I didn’t know anything about Lyme. I was always getting rashes, so it wouldn’t be a big deal. And in the woods, pulling off a little bug is every day stuff. Not the kind of stuff I can remember. They sent me home in July 2004 because I was so sick. Some of them told me to see if I had Lyme. I trusted my doctors to find out what was wrong with me and had no idea that Lyme Disease was not known or understood in Canada (it still isn’t). The doctors told me I had fibromyalgia or that I was depressed and gave me no help whatsoever. I went to a Naturopath a couple times, and that helped me realise my gluten allergy. I got a little better (a bit less pain, a bit more energy), but I wasn’t normal. I started going downhill again (though didn’t want to admit it at first). I was cheap, and didn’t want to spend money on holistic doctors, and I was worried to about naturopaths (some of them are a little too new age). Well, I got desperate, and my husband insisted I see the holistic doctor. I saw Dr. Jaconello who did extensive testing, and he is the one who found the heavy metals. Just a couple months ago, a friend of mine was in touch, and after hearing my story, she highly recommended I see Dr. Krop. She has had a lot healing with him. Plus, he really cares, and she says he’s like a second dad to her. Dr. Krop is a retired MD working now as a Homeopathic Doctor. He specializes in Lyme Disease. He used a Vega Machine to test me (it’s a homeopathic device that is about 80% correct). He tested Lyme disease and all the co-infections of Lyme Disease (ticks often carry more than the Lyme bacteria). He also tested me for a wide variety of food sensitivities. I tested positive for Lyme and all of the co-infections but one. I might have been a little wary of the results, but all the food sensitivities that showed were accurate (I’ve pretty much figured out everything I can’t eat on my own). The few foods that came up as a sensitivity were also correct. As soon as I eliminated them, my stomach issues had greatly subsided. Plus, the heavy metal toxicity was positive (just like Dr. Jaconello’s bloodwork showed), and other severe environmental allergies I already knew about tested positive. So I guess the accuracy of this test in other areas made me more confident about the Lyme Disease.

I am undergoing alternative treatments with Dr. Krop. I am also getting help from a Naturopath who specializes in fibromyalgia. I just found her as well. She worked hand in hand with Dr. Alison Bested, MD who has done a lot of research of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue. Dr. Bested wrote the book Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. I highly recommend this book. She strongly encourages CFS/FM patients to start an activity log, and to re-order their lives so that every activity is surrounded by rest. Rest is feet up and eyes closed. If symptoms are very severe (as they are for me right now), when there is a doctor’s appointment on one day, the day before and after need to be devoted to rest. This has been helping me a lot. It also works on a smaller scale. If I wash the dishes, I rest before and after (sometimes my rest is just sitting down, but feet up and eyes closed is definitely far more effective).

This is the summary of my physical trials. In following entries, I hope to share other ways in which I struggle, give more information about Lyme Disease (it is a growing epidemic in North America), give more information about fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, share tasty recipes for allergy-free living, offer hope to those who suffer, and offer insight into how we as a church can be showing mercy to those in need.