Detox

So in my last post, I mentioned that I was in the middle of a raw detox diet.  My sister Lori and I have been discussing a raw diet for the past few months. Like me, she is no stranger to dieting and is willing to try anything (within reason) that leads to optimum health and weight loss. Not necessarily in that order. 

We do differ in some areas where food is concerned. For one thing; my teenage daughter thinks French Fries are a vegetable, while Lori's two preschool boys, have been on a steady diet of a 'green drink' since they were off the breast. And they like it.The greener the better.

Yeah I know. Bad Mommy. Go for it. Judge me.


Anyway, we have been hesitant about going completely raw because of the potential side effects like rashes and cold sores brought on by detoxing too quickly. Hey,we're not fanatics. We want to be skinny, not scary. Then we found this book called, "The Raw Food Detox Diet" that gently eases you toward going raw based on your former eating habits. 

Basically the diet is: Fruit in the morning, raw veggies and nuts in the afternoon and a cooked meal at night. (no beef or pork). There's a lot more involved, but that's it in a nutshell. So far I like the diet. I am not hungry, I feel good and I am losing weight.- Not as much as Lori-the skinny b- who always does great on a diet, but I'm holding my own. In fact,I can actually see myself headed toward an 80/20 lifestyle where food is concerned. (80 Raw-20 Cooked).



But now here's the rub. Since I have discovered that I am allergic to all these foods (oranges,celery,spinach and carrots being among them) it's a bit of a challenge to find the right food to eat. The fact that I have to rotate foods further complicates things. I love my strawberries and bananas, but can only have them once every four days. 


Okay, I am through whining. I just have discover more food that I like. 


I know I can do this!

Good Food Can Make You Sick

Do you know someone with food allergies? They eat strawberries and break out in hives. Peanuts and their throat closes. These are immediate reactions to food.


Ever hear of delayed food allergies? You may know someone with Celiac disease; an intolerance to Gluten. Symptoms can range from IBS and weight loss to malnutrition. Some people have sensitivities to dairy. In fact the top 5 allergic foods are: wheat, dairy, eggs, corn and soy.



So I got this job with Sage Medical Lab. We test blood serum for delayed food allergies. The chief medical director has over 30 years of experience in this field and with the help of a partner, has developed this test that gets results with 95% accuracy. He's been able to help people recover from a myriad of symptoms like Migraines, IBS, Autism, Arthritis,ADHD, Sinusitis and Dermatitis to name a few. How is this possible?


In a nutshell, here's how it works. You can become sensitive to foods through a genetic tendency or constant exposure to the same foods. With repeated exposure, symptoms gradually begin to show.The body's immune system becomes overwhelmed and immune complexes (which cause inflammation) are formed and begin attacking vulnerabilities in the body. Instead of bacteria or viruses, food proteins are the foreign substances that the body is attempting to defend against. This is the beginning of chronic illness.


I have suffered from stomach problems my entire life and have had every type of invasive procedure imaginable (and some unimaginable) yet nothing has helped. I also wake up every morning with a stuffy nose, experience almost constant congestion and get headaches and mood swings.Hoping that I might finally get some answers, I couldn't wait to get tested! 

Careful what you wish for. My results indicated a sensitivity to 35 foods. Seriously?

The protocol is to eliminate all harmful foods from your diet for six weeks, giving the gut time to heal, thus allowing the immune system to calm down and function properly. This is called the avoidance phase. It's also important to rotate the foods I can eat, so that I don't develop new sensitivities.

While some there are some foods on my 'harmful list that I love, like tomatoes, eggs and sweet potatoes, there are others like cabbage and cauliflower that I can definitely live without. But here's the tough part: Among the 35 harmful foods are Wheat, Gluten, Soy, Eggs, Dairy, Tomatoes, Carrots, Oranges and Spinach. Jeeze! What's left to eat? And what little I can eat, I have to rotate. So if I eat apples on Monday, I can't eat apples again until Friday. Get the picture?

Anyway, I'm going for it. For the next six weeks I will be avoiding and rotating. What's the worse that can happen? I'll feel better? I'll be able to breath? I may even lose some weight. (Hold a good thought for me, will you?) 

Oh! And did I mention that I'm in the middle of a raw food detox? This could get interesting.