The News On Food

Food in my family

I came from a family that pretty much ate meat and three veggies and I never suffered any food problems or food intolerance symptoms as a child. Education on food nutrition and the reason for eating good food was not forthcoming. I don’t blame my parents for this, as they probably didn’t know much about food themselves aside from the basics they would have been taught. We were often told that fruit and vegetables are good for you and that meat contains a high iron content so should be consumed but that was about the extent of it. Mum was big on lamb’s fry because her doctor had recommended it but it was something I hated eating and I still do.

As a young child, my parents owned a general store for a short time and every Sunday after church we were given ten cents to go and buy something which was usually a bag of mixed lollies which were all one or two cents each at that time. Am I showing my age, ha ha? Then, every Sunday we had a roast with one bottle of soft drink to share for dinner. No more, no less.

Water was our main beverage and I loved water. I didn’t crave for cordial or soft drinks which is just as well as  these were not on offer at our place anyway.  Often as children, my younger brother and I would play outside contentedly until near dark only entering our home, puffing and panting looking for a big glass of water in between games. How lucky we were that drinking water was encouraged. Water has a huge positive impact on your health.

So, I grew up on a fairly healthy diet and chocolate was only something we ate occasionally as a family on the weekend, and only when we were older. I don’t know whether it was the fact that I was one of five children and that chocolate was only something we could afford on occasion or whether it was just that my Mum knew that it was only good in small quantities. I’ll have to ask her!

Food and I have not always been friends.

My food problems or food intolerance symptoms started some 14 years ago when I suffered severe stomach, ulcer-like symptoms. The doctors I consulted could not tell me what was wrong with me, not even after a gastroscopy. After  conducting my own food research,  I learned what not to eat to make the  food problems go away. I was still a bit baffled as to what was causing the food intolerance symptoms but the fact that I no longer experienced pain, was enough to keep me ignorant and happy for some time.

Being a sales representative at the time, I was always chewing gum or had a mint to keep my breath fresh. I was very social and enjoyed dining and drinking. This along with my diet was contributing to my food problems.

When I stopped consuming food and beverages high in amine; a naturally occurring chemical, such as chewing gum, eating anything with mint, bananas and cut back on wine and chocolate, I found I could function normally. I only experienced occasional food intolerance symptoms such as stomach pains from the food problems stated earlier. Eventually, because of the occasional food problems I was still experiencing, I was interested to find out how I could stop this stomach problem altogether.  I eventually came across a book called Friendly Food written by the people at The Royal Alfred Allergy Unit in Sydney, Australia. You can read my review of The Friendly Food cookbook by clicking here. This was the beginning of an amazing journey with much to discover about food.

Food problems run in the family, Mum.

Further food problems were encountered when I had my second child, a beautiful boy. By 2 & 1/2 years of age, he had severe tantrums that were interfering with functioning on a daily basis and he also had very runny stools. My intuition told me that something was not quite right and what we were experiencing was not normal for the age. Some of the food intolerance symptoms included sloppy stools, tantrums about putting clothes on, putting socks on, putting shoes on, having to stop playtime, having to go to bed and too many more to mention. Sometimes tantrums would be violent and last for 1 hour each time. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting and I found myself walking on egg shells around him, afraid of the next tantrum or outburst.

Using humor was out of the question because any joke was considered NOT funny and would result in a tantrum. He would not settle to bed at night but when he did, he needed more sleep than a child of that age. He had dark circles under his eyes related to food problems and he would often fidget, jump around like a monkey and make silly noises for no reason at all.  All of this behavior was encountered even though we were additive and preservative free. Remember, I’m talking about beyond the usual silly behavior for the age group. He simply could not sit still and he was not at peace within himself. I just knew that what my son was experiencing was a result of food problems.

So, our first stop was with a dietitian to do a food  elimination diet to work out what was causing the food problems. I was already familiar with how to do a food elimination diet but because of my son’s age, I wanted to make sure he was getting the proper nutrition. For those wishing to do a food elimination diet, you need to keep a food diary. With each food trial, you can link the food intolerance symptoms to the food based on behavior and bodily functions. I was also very aware of the impact of naturally occurring chemicals in food. Amines and salicylates do impact a body that needs repair and this is common for those suffering from Leaky Gut Syndrome.

What we did about those food problems

One of the initial steps I took was to watch a DVD by Australian author Sue Dengate called “Fed Up With Children’s Behaviour“. You must show this to your family and friends so they can understand what you are going through. The reason I say this is because it is not uncommon to be criticized for your approach to food problems and food intolerance symptoms. Keep in mind that you know your child and you are the person who can best help your child or yourself. Others show care through ridicule but they will not have the education you have relating to food intolerance symptoms.  It is like trading the stock market. Some people call it gambling because for those people, without an education in the stock market, it is. For those educated on a chosen subject, you are taking steps to minimize risk and therefore have more knowledge to proceed with care. Treating food problems and food intolerance symptoms is the same.

After completing the food elimination diet we modified the diet of the whole family and were seeing some great results. The only issue was that my son was not getting the nutrients he needed because the diet was so restrictive. After a few more conversations with a few more people, we consulted a naturopath who supplemented us to the max. After doing further research, I don’t believe in supplementation but we can only learn from our mistakes and move on. What was beneficial from this process was the tests that were conducted. We were able to identify that the food problems were a result of leaky gut syndrome. After going through a process of two vitamin shakes every day and finally being fed up with the process, we stopped.

We then saw a number of people such as a kinesiologist, osteopathist, we did some bio-resonance also called bio-com, a chiropractor and others. These may have all had some impact on my son’s food problems or food intolerance symptoms but to what extent, it is hard to know. I believe the biggest impact came as a result of reading somewhere that food is not the problem, the body is! So, the best thing I could do was to look at healing the leaky gut naturally, through the use of food which had, to date, been the number one enemy. I also removed red meat from our diet which seemed to also have a positive effect on the bowel.

After further searching, I consulted a man who I believe to be an absolute food and healing guru and I purchased his FDR (Farmacist Desk Reference). I came to know that to heal the leaky gut, I needed to put him on fermented products. We now have him eating nearly every fruit and vegetable that he is prepared to eat. (yes, I did say “prepared” to eat and we all know how fickle kids can be sometimes). We do not use supplements and we are moving toward a diet that encompasses higher raw food content. We have started incorporating raw food by introducing dehydrated food along with the usual fresh fruit, which he has been able to eat as a result of introducing fermented foods. I also have my children taste, or drink  green smoothies.

All the food problems we had were masking the fact that we had a very compassionate, sensitive, very bright boy who was already reading at the age of 5 (had not started school yet), was comprehending grade 1  mathematics and is naturally talented at sport. It has been a very trying journey to get to this point but if I can offer one pertinent word of advice that was offered to me, it is this. Your child, or your body if it is you, is teaching you about food through food problems or food intolerance symptoms. He or she is showing you a way to a healthier lifestyle and I have to thank my son for showing me the light and teaching me through some very hard lessons.

I hope my story helps you understand your own situation with food problems or food intolerance symptoms a little better and gives you some tools to work with so you too can move toward healing your body. There is a cure for food problems, you just have to  apply foods to help in that healing process so that you can return to a normal, healthy diet.

Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer:

I’m no medical expert and information contained on this blog is written through my own experience. Please consult an appropriate professional about your situation.

Food elimination diet – a brief introduction.

It is possible to be suffering from multiple food sensitivities, food allergies and environmental sensitivities. If you have a suppressed immune system or suffer from food intolerance symptom, or leaky gut syndrome for example, then you may find your body unable to tolerate many foods. For some people they are unable to eat most foods or be unable to drink anything except water.

If you suffer from food intolerance symptoms then you need to do a food intolerance test and this is best conducted by doing an elimination diet. What this means is that you take your food right back to basics. You introduce certain foods for a limited time to see if you have a reaction to a specific food, remove those foods, wait until that food is out of your system or if you have a food reaction then wait for a specified period of time and then try the next food.

Food elimination diet – next steps to take

Because we suffered from food intolerance symptoms, these are the steps we took to do an elimination diet.

1. Consult a dietitian about your food intolerance symptoms. It is a good idea to work with a dietitian who is familiar with food intolerance and they can assist you in identifying the problem foods. Do not choose just any dietitian as not all understand food intolerance. To find out the best dietitian for you, ask them questions such as “have any of your clients come to you to do an elimination diet?” “What is your understanding of food intolerance?” “What do you see as a possible solution for food intolerance symptoms?” “What is the age of most of the people you have assisted with an elimination diet or those suffering from food intolerance symptoms?”
2. Consult a naturopath or homeopath about your food problems. While I am not a believer in using vitamins for health or supplements in your diet, consulting this type of professional will help you with allergy tests and food intolerance tests. I’d like to reiterate that it is preferable to find someone who has an understanding and experience dealing with food intolerance symptoms. If you drop some comments in your social circles about food allergy or food problems, you may find a great referral in your local area. You will be surprised how many other people are suffering from health problems or food intolerance symptoms related to food and they just don’t talk about it.
3. Go through your pantry / food cupboard and remove any food that has additives, colours, preservatives, nature identical flavours, HVP (hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein), MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), natural colours and flavours. As mentioned in the Food Intolerance Symptoms post, a book I highly recommend that will assist  you in identifying the nasties in foods is this one called Additive Alert . This step is a must regardless of what you do.
4. Sue Dengate has years of experience writing books related to food intolerance symptoms and doing an elimination diet including cook books. She tours to conduct seminars for those interested in learning about food intolerance symptoms and allergies. She has written, to name just two,  Fed Up, and The Failsafe Cookbook .  Friendly Food is written by the crew at the Royal Prince Alfred Allergy Unit (RPA) in Sydney Australia and all books are well worth purchasing to use during this phase while you are working out what is causing your food intolerance symptoms. These books will assist you with food intolerance information, recipes to use during an elimination diet and reference material. From personal experience, we purchased all three books because you will find a larger variety of recipes that you feel comfortable using and believe me, when you are limited by the food you can eat, the more recipes you have for an elimination diet, the easier life is in the kitchen.
5. Save this free example of a Food Diary to use for your elimination diet because you will need to record what you or your family have eaten and what food problems you have had, if any. If you consult a dietitian as part of your elimination diet, they will want to see your food diary or have you use one to assist you in sorting out your food intolerance symptoms.

Once you have conducted your elimination diet, you will have a clearer idea of what foods are causing your food intolerance symptoms including the food that you can include in your diet and when. The time at which you include them can be important depending on the level of naturally occurring chemicals in each food and your level of food intolerance. For example, to keep your food intolerance symptoms at bay, you may include avocado in your lunch which according to the Friendly Food cookbook, is very high in salicylates and amines. As a result, you would not have avocado at dinner or even the next day possibly but you might have lentils which are low in salicylates and amines. Once you have empowered yourself with the knowledge of what you can or cannot include in your diet through doing an elimination diet, you will find your food intolerance symptoms will diminish. When you are comfortable and settled into your restricted diet, it is a good time to take that next step which is to look at healing the body so that you can increase the variety of food you can eat. After all, no-one wants to be on a restricted diet all their life if they have the opportunity to heal themselves and live a fuller, healthier life.

Disclaimer:

I’m no medical expert and information contained on this blog is written through my own experience. Please consult an appropriate professional about your situation.