Wednesday, November 13, 2013

are you serious?

Where to start...

I thought my diet was already pretty restricted, what with no gluten---no grains at all, really, no dairy, no legumes, no FODMAPS, few nightshades, almost nothing processed in any way, certainly nothing artificial or "food-like." I really thought there was nothing much left to remove. What can I say? I was wrong.

In the short time between her receiving the results of my blood tests and our appointment to go over those results, my doctor sent me a quick message. She said she thought I'd find the results quite interesting and cautioned me against doing too much advance food prep because much would be changing. My first thought? She must have forgotten I've already removed most offending foods. We're just fine-tuning. There's not much left to change or remove. Again, I was wrong.

When we met, she smiled at me gently, took a quiet breath, and handed me the paperwork she'd prepared with my results and recommendations. She explained I had one primary food intolerance and one combination issue, foods that were okay as long as they were not consumed at the same time. For me it's a need to allow a full four hours in between potato, including sweet potato even though they are different plants, in any form and grains or their derivatives. Okay, I can do this.

But, but, but---fruit intolerance, I'd never heard of such a thing. And, trust me, I still wish I hadn't. Apparently, my body doesn't treat fruit as food, to oversimplify a bit, never has, never will. This isn't short term. This is a lifetime reality. When I first viewed the list she gave me, I'm sure I was still in a fog of disbelief and relief. After all, we'd done the tests because I had not been able to resolve digestive issues completely---ever. I wanted---still want---to fix that. But...all fruit?

I've since asked a million questions and pretty much divided the fruit list into the four different categories below.

1. Well, this isn't so bad.
pears, plums, cranberries, bananas, berries, kiwi, apricots, mango, fruit barks, citric acid, acetic acid, malic acid

2. Darn it!
Oranges, pomegranates, apples, cherries, grapes, cashews, cloves, nutmeg, mace, allspice, cream of tartar, palm oil

3. You're joking, right?
lemons, limes, fruit peels, avocado, honey, wine and apple cider vinegar

4. Okay, now this is just mean!
all coconut products: shredded, flour, cream and oil, olives and olive oil, wine

And again, I am so far out of water, it's laughable. I must laugh, or I'll cry. I'm starting to do what I advise others. I'm looking at what I can eat and choosing what I truly, truly love for now. I'm being a bit indulgent and gentle with myself as I make this adjustment, while adhering vigorously to the guidelines. I've also given away almost every fruit-related food in the house, except for those that GK particularly likes, as he will eat those. This is far easier than getting rid of food-like products because these should not harm the recipients.

My blog posts will likely focus on the ways I'm making this work, while I'll continue to share lots of general Paleo-friendly food ideas on my Facebook page, Aseafish Out of Water. My attention right now is on a Thanksgiving Day treat. I'm determined to create a foodie-lovers' sweet potato pie with maple syrup and a nut crust. I can do this.

8 comments:

  1. You absolutely CAN do this!! :-)

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks for the support. I sure hope you're right.

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  3. Well, I feel for you. I just received the same diagnosis! I have been adjusting my diet for a long time and started adding more coconut and fruit to my diet thinking it was a good thing - not for me! Since eliminating the fruit 4 days ago I feel SO much better! I have had to throw out/give away a lot of things (most vitamins, "good" oils, etc.). It will be a definite challenge, but so worth it! I wish you all the best.

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    1. Isn't it crazy? I was reeling at first. I would usually tell people that the very worst part was how much better I felt. You know, if I hadn't felt better, I could discount the test results and recommendations, but...

      While I'm truly sorry you're dealing with this, too, it's good to have company. I will be posting more ideas and recipes soon. The last few months have been rough, but I'm slowly coming out of it.

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  4. I feel for you. I was just diagnosed with the same intolerances! Since eliminating fruits (4 days ago) and the rest of the list (still going through my cupboards), I feel SO much better! Luckily, I was used to changing my diet to try and figure out what the problem was, but already eating out has definitely become even more complicated. We can do this!

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    1. Oh yes, I know just what you mean about eating out. I mostly just don't even try, though I do whine about it a bit.

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