It's that time again... my food allergies have taken over, and I'm back to a severely limited selection of foods that don't screw me up. Last spring, out of desperation, I tried the diet recommended in Carolee Bateson-Koch's wonderful book, Allergies: Disease in Disguise. It was nothing short of miraculous! After the diet, I could handle many dairy products, like CHEESE, kefir, yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, and let me tell you, as a person who can't digest meat, soy, dairy, or eggs, being able to add cultured dairy made my body sing!! In addition, I was able to eat strawberries, fresh tomatoes, citrus, and many other foods to which I had developed acute sensitivities.
So, this year, going along fine foodwise, the mold level turned out to be higher than usual over the summer, and bang--back to my old problems with food.* I guess the allergic loading was just too much for my poor body to manage. So tomorrow I am starting the one-month diet again. Here's what it's all about...
The idea is to avoid as many allergens--food and environmental--as possible for a month to 6 weeks, while eating foods and taking supplements designed to give your body a rest so it can heal from all the inflammation caused by allergies. The diet also takes a whack at candida and parasites. Yep, most of us have some kind of parasite that doesn't really give any overt symptoms, but it still wreaks havoc with our systems. So basically, here's what I will be doing for the next month or so:
1. Cutting out foods and medicines that I'm sensitive to, plus foods that are digestive system-irritating and candida-promoting
2. Keeping the house super-clean to reduce dust and mold
3. Eating foods that will help my digestive system heal, reduce candida, kill off most parasites, and add beneficial bacteria
4. Avoiding bad stuff like environmental and body care chemicals, keeping my distance from electromagnetic field generators like appliances, etc.
5. Spending most of my time in the kitchen cooking, juicing, and eating.
6. This time I'm also going to add chi kung exercises, which are excellent for healing.
For the last week I have been preparing for the start of the diet, by weaning myself off coffee, chocolate, and refined sugar. Sigh. It's just gotta be done. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.
* Note: The book recommends a whole class of supplements that I chose not to take, because... you guessed it... I often have allergic reactions to new vitamins and supplements when I try them. I'm sticking with my tried-and-true vitamins, acidophilus caps, and herbal teas. BUT, my first try at the diet might have been much more successful if I had added all of the suggested supplements.
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