food sensitivities

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I have a list of things to talk about, I just haven't been in a very wordy mood lately, I guess.

For a long time I had some skin issues that I just could not get rid of. The doctors were no help and I was growing very frustrated. I'm talking years of these issues. No lotions or potions made any difference.

So, my chiropractor/nutritionist at the time offered a blood test that determined what food sensitivities a person had. It claimed that food sensitivities could be behind a number of symptoms including stomach upset, headache, dizziness, rashes and more. So I decided to go for it in the hopes that maybe something I was eating was behind my problem.

The test wasn't cheap, but they take the blood and expose it somehow to fifty different foods. It doesn't measure allergies. Those produce a histamine reaction and people usually know right away when they have a true allergy. Sensitivities on the other hand cause more insidious symptoms that may not occur until several days after the offending food is consumed, so a link isn't always obvious.

So, when the results came back I was given a list of things that tested positive for sensitivity. It was a longer list than I would have liked. The top thing on my list -- the worst offender -- was yeast. My list also included chocolate, cabbage, pork, tuna, tomatoes, millet, cane sugar, wheat, and more. So, after getting the results I had to eliminate all of the listed foods from my diet for ninety days. Then, I had to add just one at a time, eating some for three meals in a row and then stopping it again for four days. During those four days I had to be alert to any symptoms I might have. Then do the same thing with another food.

Well, it turns out that most of the things on the list really do cause symptoms of some kind. The ones toward the bottom of the list, like beef and wheat, don't bother me too much. But if I eat yeast, my skin problem comes back. It's gone otherwise! I also get bloated, gassy and tired when I eat yeast.

Chocolate seems to make me dizzy. Pork gives me gas. Etc. So, I have learned to live without most of the things on my list. I would not have thought it possible when I first got the test results back, but I have.

I miss those foods, though. My hubby is probably tired of hearing me longingly say, "I miss chocolate. I miss pizza. I miss bread."

But it's been a very good experience for me because I am not one to deny myself anything I want usually. I've had to learn how to do that, and it's been good for me. In all kinds of ways!

Recently, I've lost ten pounds for no reason and the only thing I can think of is because I've not been eating those foods, (for the most part). Weight loss is one of the claims they make. Plus, how can I not lose weight when I can't eat chocolate or bread!