But i keep promising a "what does karen eat anyway?" post... so here is my current "anti-inflamitory" diet...
The strict-est version of my diet... which i mainly observe at home.
NO:
- Artificial Sweeteners & some "natural" sweeteners
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Caffeine
- Gluten
- Meat (except fish- which at home is rare)
- Nightshades
- Pumpkin Seeds
Low:
- Sugar (mostly use agave instead of sugar, except when baking!)
- High-glycemic foods
Now, when I am out... I cheat a little... but not on everything...
Never Ever:
- Artificial Sweeteners: these cause ridiculous digestive issues for me the second they hit my tongue. i have always had an insane sensitivity to them- to the point that i cannot use "regular" toothpaste or chew gum. when i go to the dentist, i have to bring my own toothpaste to use as polish. recently, some "natural" sweeteners have come into fashion... sorbitol, xylitol and stevia all give me the same reaction as artificial sweeteners. sorbitol to the extent where i cannot use any of its derivatives (polysorbates, potassium sorbates) in lotions/soaps/makeup.
- Alcohol: this is due to POTS. my autonomic system cannot handle it at all. i miss having an occasional beer, but it wasn't too big of a deal. as i have previously said, the worst part of not drinking is not getting to hang out with my friends that drink.
- Caffeine: this is due to POTS and fibromyalgia. my nervous system cannot handle it. i feel it immediately and my whole body tenses up. the almost exception to this is a tea called kukicha- is made of twigs and technically has caffeine. but it is so minimal my system can handle it but not before bed.
- Meat (except fish). i started eating fish again around age 26- was a whole thing about dealing with death i think. i decided if i could kill it myself, i would eat it. other meat i just don't like, and if i am not willing to go slaughter it myself, i have no business eating it.
- Pumpkin Seeds: the one random food that stops me up. past 2 times i have eaten, i did not poop for a week. i now avoid pumpkin seeds at all costs.
Cheats:
- Dairy: the only time I eat dairy, is when I get sushi and there is some cream cheese. I can tolerate about a tablespoon or so of dairy, after that get me to a bathroom quickly. personally, I think dairy is gross. cow juice? mammal juice is mostly lymphatic fluid, I have no desire to eat bovine lymph. except of course when there is cream cheese on sushi. If I could find a sushi place that used tofutti cream cheese, I'd be all over it.
- Gluten: i rarely cheat on this one. i gave up gluten for good last fall. i had tried a few times before- giving it up for a few weeks & not noticing that much of a difference. i had kept reading about it in anti-inflamitory diets but just thought it was BS. but then i gave it up for 30days straight... and WOW what a difference. now it has been over 6months off gluten and things are getting better and better- increased energy, focus & decreased muscle pain. so what is gluten? a protein- mainly found in wheat but also in barley, spelt & rye. in some people it causes inflammation- but not in the way that most do. most foods you notice right away if a food is causing issues, but with gluten it can be subtle and the effects just build up over time. and it is so prevalent in our diets that going off it completely can be difficult & takes some maneuvering around the grocery store. there are a lot more GF (gluten free) products now- and a lot of them actually taste really good and not just tolerable. when i cheat, it is usually at dinner and if i don't have a lot to do the next day... gluten causes me to fall asleep within an hour or two of eating it. and not just asleep, like POW out of it groggy drugged not restful sleep. and then the next day i have gluten hangover, which consists of sore muscles, twitchy muscles, achey joints, brain fog, and grogginess. it isn't fun! so i really don't have a desire to cheat, i did at first- but now it is less than once a month. i also attribute going off gluten to my recent weight gain. at 33 i weigh only about 3lbs more than i did in high school. and that 3lbs was credited to going on birth control. so this is quite literally the first time i have even come close to 90lbs. thanks to my maternal grandmother's genes- my weight has gone straight to my boobs. which is entertaining, yet expensive as nordstrom's is the only place that carries bras in my size. more on gluten:
- http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/04/the-donut-hole-and-the-glutinous-heart-of-the-wheat-monster/
- http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/74083/title/Unnoticed_celiac_disease_worth_treating?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
- Nightshades: this is just a term for certain group of plants... tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant. i had done some reading on diets to decrease fibromyalgia symptoms and kept coming back to cutting out nightshades. so i tried it. and within 2 weeks i noticed a difference. my muscle pain and tenderness really decreased. so now i don't cook with them at home- however they are pretty hard to avoid when eating out, so i often cheat on this one when i am out with friends. i only notice a difference if i eat them more than a couple meals in a row- small amounts don't seem to bother me. for further reading... (i can't find the article i really like, but these will do...)
So what do i eat?? FOOD! what they heck are you eating? i always worry about people that "worry what can you eat with out gluten or meat?" i don't eat a lot of processed "food" i eat actual REAL FOOD. my food does not require advertising let alone any sort of tax dollars to fund advertising to convince me to eat more of it (do you know about dairy management?! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/07fat.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all), lots of rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, nuts, veggies. i don't use a lot of milk "replacer" but i do like so delicious coconut milk. and pretty much anything that so delicious makes. i go through phases with eggs- when i get my own chickens then that will be AWESOME and i will eat all the eggs i want. tho i still enjoy baking with egg replacer- cause then i can eat the dough. i do eat fish, but not often- 2-3x/month. my day to day diet is usually vegan at home. i go through macrobiotic phases- which mainly focuses on how you pair your food & how you cook it. i also eat organic when i can, which to me just seems sensible but i don't want to start arguing that here...just: fertilizer/pesticides= petroleum which i just don't want to eat & we'll leave it at that. as far as drinks... water, caffeine free tea, occasional lemonade & occasional root beer (which i will admit this past week has been crazy craving for root beer that i have totally indulged).
supplements... in EDS & Fibro boards we often talk about supplements... i do supplement a bit just because my metabolism is insane and i tend to need "more" of certain things (this is a trend on EDS boards). Salt- i eat a lot of salt (my cardiologist has ok'd this!) it keeps my blood level & blood pressure up. b12, i do not absorb b12 through food so i give myself a shot once a week. "normal" dosage is one shot a month. i take fish oil- just omega 3's & high dosage. they help with my muscles. when i started on omega 3's my menstrual cramps went away completely, rest of the time just helps with general muscle twitches, skin & hair. lysine- an amino acid, basic building block. found in foods but supplementing can help with the immune system specifically cold sores- if i skip it i get one, when i take, i don't. if i am rushing around and not eating properly for a few days (usually when traveling) then i will take a multi-vitamin and a calcium-magnesium-vitamin D supplement but only when i'm not eating right- rest of the time just puts undo stress on kidneys to flush all the extra out of your body.
There you go. if you want to have me over for dinner and don't know what to make just ask and i'll be happy to walk you through it. or, make it a pot luck and i'll bring my own! or, tell me you want to have dinner and i'll invite you to my house so i can cook! i love having people over for dinner. then of course taco night is always a hit (corn shells, refried beans + plethora of toppings).
Since May is EDS awareness month... i will work on that post & try to have it to you by end of the month!
Time for taco night!
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