Lots Of Food Intolerances--I'm Miserable!

[Link]

Hi everyone,

I happen to be gluten, casein, egg, soy, yeast, and corn intorerant. Am I the only one out there with so many intolerances? It seems I make the same meals over and over, which is okay, but my husband has NO intolerances and misses real food. But making two completely different meals at dinner is too much work. Besides it's depressing to watch him eat REAL food while I eat naked meat and veggies. I am riced out...rice milk, rice crackers, cream of rice, rice pasta, rice flour, rice cakes, rice chex, rice chips...oh wait...they contain corn flour!! Can't have that.

My social contacts are limited since we can't go out to dinner with family. Only one restaurant in the area will cater to all my "issues" and then my meal is priced out of sight!

Eating is depressing at times...and a lot of work. I loved to cook before finding out about all my intolerances, now I find myself dreading the thought. I hate feeling like this, but when food isn't appetizing or appealing, who wants it?

Does anyone else have this long list of "can't haves" and how do you cope?

To make matters worse, I can't seem to eliminate my gastro problems even though I avoid all my food enemies...why can't I get my insides under control?

[Wolicki]

I understand. My list was way, way longer than yours The good news is that most of them will probably go away. After about 7 months, mine all went away. What was I intolerant to: all grains including rice, corn, nightshade veggies, cruciferous vegetables, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes and something else I am forgetting right now. I would venture a guess that the reason you are still having GI issues is that you either have leaky gut or some other intolerances you haven't identified yet. Are you taking probiotics?

Other common culprits are soy, eggs, nightshades. Are you keeping a food journal?

Once you ID all of the food issues and stay away from them, you will feel so much better that you wont care that you are eating plain. Take it from this former foodie who lived to eat, it gets better. Take it one day at a time. If you can use things like dijon mustard to spice things up, that will help. Also, you can puree cauliflower and turnips and they're almost like mashed potatoes. Carrots and peas (separately) are also great pureed.

Hang tough, it will get better!

[butterfl8]

Herbs! Dill, thyme, oregeno, basil. Make inufusions, rubs, and put them on your food to make them yummy good. Since you loved to cook, you can start combining different herbs and even lemon juice to discover which flavors you like best. I like using different flavors with different parts of the meal to see how the flavors taste together. One night was red wine vinegar with the vegatables and garlic with the meat. Yum.

On another note, how did you find out about your other intolerances? I should probably get tested (however that is done) soon. There is hope, and joy in food. Think of it as more of a challenge and less as an obstacle?

-Daisy

[missy'smom]

I understand. My list was way, way longer than yours

Mine too

Mustard is on my avoid list right now and I'm missing(dijon and grainy brown) it because it adds alot of flavor. There are recipes out there using mustard sauces for chicken and salmon. Sometimes it is mixed with mayo(I know that soy makes that problematic), honey, or in the case of my salmon recipe, wine and garlic and some herbs. My salmon recipe calls for mixing up the stuff and spreading it on and broiling. Others call for using it as a marinade and still others as a sauce.

Been eating alot of roasted califlower and brussel sprouts. Adding bacon to lots of things to flavor them. Capers are a staple too that I use for flavor without being able to have lemon, mayo pickles or many other things. Red bell peppers, if you can have them are flavorful and colorful. I use red onions for color and flavor too-both raw and cooked. I've just had to start buying different veggies that I am not used to and trying them out and learning how to cook them in order to add variety to my diet.

I've gotten several good recipes from this site that are free of everything I need to avoid and flavorful and easy. Open Original Shared Link

[WheatChef]

Try quinoa or millet to replace that rice some of the time. Quinoa is without a doubt my favorite grain of all time. It has a unique consistency and a good flavor on it (after you've thoroughly rinsed it prior to cooking) that lends well to many different recipes. It's also a complete protein and I think is decently easy on your digestive system.

[jackay]

Once you ID all of the food issues and stay away from them, you will feel so much better that you wont care that you are eating plain. Take it from this former foodie who lived to eat, it gets better. Take it one day at a time. If you can use things like dijon mustard to spice things up, that will help. Also, you can puree cauliflower and turnips and they're almost like mashed potatoes. Carrots and peas (separately) are also great pureed.

Hang tough, it will get better!

I mash up my cauliflower and turnips and stir in olive oil and sea salt. I find this very tasty and I get a lot more needed calories from the olive oil.

[Wolicki]

Amaranth is pretty good too. I tried it for the first time a few months ago. It's as smaller grain than quinoa, and has a very different flavor. Sort of looks like Pastina.

[Link]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions on how to spice up my naked food. It helps just knowing that there are many of you out there with the same type of food problems like I have. You all had such good ideas and I will happily try them all. I'll press on trying to figure out what foods to avoid, keeping my food journal, taking my probiotics and enzymes. Thanks for caring. Wish I could meet all of you.

[Pyro]

Did you say you were still having unresolved issues? I'd cut out the rice for awhile to see if that helps or not. You are already allergic to a ton of grains, so you could be tolerant to others as well.

As for missing out on food, the whole world is still your oyster. You just can't have the grains that put the backbone in meals. If there are any ethnic grocery stores of food co-ops around you those help a lot because they offer a wider variety of veggies/fruit/specialties not found in basic supermarkets.

[lele123]

Hi everyone,

I happen to be gluten, casein, egg, soy, yeast, and corn intorerant. Am I the only one out there with so many intolerances? It seems I make the same meals over and over, which is okay, but my husband has NO intolerances and misses real food. But making two completely different meals at dinner is too much work. Besides it's depressing to watch him eat REAL food while I eat naked meat and veggies. I am riced out...rice milk, rice crackers, cream of rice, rice pasta, rice flour, rice cakes, rice chex, rice chips...oh wait...they contain corn flour!! Can't have that.

My social contacts are limited since we can't go out to dinner with family. Only one restaurant in the area will cater to all my "issues" and then my meal is priced out of sight!

Eating is depressing at times...and a lot of work. I loved to cook before finding out about all my intolerances, now I find myself dreading the thought. I hate feeling like this, but when food isn't appetizing or appealing, who wants it?

Does anyone else have this long list of "can't haves" and how do you cope?

To make matters worse, I can't seem to eliminate my gastro problems even though I avoid all my food enemies...why can't I get my insides under control?

The foods I have to stay away from are gluten, dairy, corn, yeast, soy, red meat, and fruit. So I know what you are going through. Quinoa is a good suggestion. I have learned to make Quinoa and brown rice (which I eat everyday) in different ways such as using gluten-free chicken broth, or miso, or butter(my one dairy product) with cinnamon, cardamon, ginger powders or butter with curry powder. I just love learning about new spices and the Indian ones are great! A very healthy, neutralizing recipe is Indian dahl, a combination of brown rice, mung beans or red lentils and spices like tumeric, coriander, cumin, ginger...and you can also add onion and garlic if you wish. Check the recipes. Some of the things I use to help digestion are: Vit. C, enzymes, probiotics, green drinks, and ayurvedic herbs (triphala good for constipation)...oh also a great tea if you have belching, gas after eating is: one or two tsps of peppermint, 1/2 inch of ginger root grated and about 1/4 tsp of fennel seed. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes. You can use different proportions if you like....this is an estimate of what I use. I was sooo grateful to learn about this tea! I also hear that Aloe juice is good for intestines.

[Welda Johnson]

Hi,

In answer to what intolerances others have, and what others eat, I will add my information. I eat meat, fruits & vegetables, and sometimes I only eat fruits & vegetables. I'm 65, have had Celiac symptoms since age 8, and have been on a strict diet for the past 8 years or so.

I am intolerant of all grains, all milk & dairy, egg whites, yeast, casein, whey, msg, etc. Being diligent about reading labels is so important. Here's how I eat:

Breakfast until lunch: pineapple or papaya or strawberries or kiwi or oranges or any fruit or berry; one fruit at a time, as much as I want, waiting 2 hours between fruits (the high-enzyme fruits cause your food from the day before to digest quickly--it really works).

Lunch and Dinner: green salad or vegetables of any kind (cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, etc.); refried beans, rice, corn tortillas. NO PROTEINS WITH THIS COMBINATION OF FOODS, ALL DAY!

or

Lunch and Dinner: green salad and any LOW-CARB vegetables (asparagus, lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, etc.) and ANY PROTEINS OF CHOICE (chicken, fish, turkey, etc.) NO HIGH-CARB VEGETABLES, RICE OR BEANS WITH THIS COMBINATION OF FOODS, ALL DAY.

So I make my choice of foods for the day, then stick with that choice until the next day. It is EASY to go out to restaurants eating this way, because I know exactly what I want and how I want it fixed. It's either a restaurant with Mexican food & salad, or a restaurant with proteins & salad. I just have to remember to say, "No cheese or croutons on anything please."

I take my own Walden Farms Salad Dressing along (no calories, carbs or protein--kind of like eating water, only it tastes just like good salad dressing--they also make a chocolate syrup and a strawberry syrup with no calories, carbs or proteins--amazingly good).

So, hope you have good luck with your new way of eating, and that you feel lots better. Best wishes, Welda P.S. If you let me know, I will put on a chocolate pudding recipe made with eggplant or squash, that tastes just like normal pudding!

[JNBunnie1]

I take my own Walden Farms Salad Dressing along (no calories, carbs or protein--kind of like eating water, only it tastes just like good salad dressing--they also make a chocolate syrup and a strawberry syrup with no calories, carbs or proteins--amazingly good).

That stuff weirds me out! If there's no calories, sugar, carbs, gluten, ANYTHING in there, what IS in there?

Link, have you found a pasta sauce that works for you? If so, try putting it on other stuff, like cauliflower and potatoes. I like spaghetti squash with sausage and red sauce. Sweet potatoes and winter squashes are very filling. Dice white potatoes and toss with olive oil and spices and bake. The crockpot is your friend. Also, I've recently started making my own barbecue sauce, to avoid gluten, and it's REALLY easy. That might help spice up your meat selections. You just need your basic tomato base, and then add mustard, sweetener (maple syrup, honey, molasses, sugar), smoke flavoring, and spices. You can use tomato paste actually, but you need more sweetener to balance it out. Try spending an hour browsing Allrecipes, just clicking through to whatever looks good, should give you some ideas.

[mushroom]

Can you eat goat cheese? It's a fave of mine. Coconut or hemp milk ice cream. Almond milk or hemp milk instead of rice. Seafood chowder made with coconut milk. Hummus spreads, Earth Balance soy free spread. There are milk, soy and gluten free chocolates to make sauces from.

Lots of stews as Bunni says in the crockpot. Buy a crockpot cookbook and you will be amazed that most of the recipes can be adjusted for your intolerances. Try baking with buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, millet. I use very little rice flour. The others are better for you and taste better as well - higher nutritional content. Do not be discouraged; allow yourself to be creative

[DinaB]

Hi everyone,

I happen to be gluten, casein, egg, soy, yeast, and corn intorerant. Am I the only one out there with so many intolerances? It seems I make the same meals over and over, which is okay, but my husband has NO intolerances and misses real food. But making two completely different meals at dinner is too much work. Besides it's depressing to watch him eat REAL food while I eat naked meat and veggies. I am riced out...rice milk, rice crackers, cream of rice, rice pasta, rice flour, rice cakes, rice chex, rice chips...oh wait...they contain corn flour!! Can't have that.

My social contacts are limited since we can't go out to dinner with family. Only one restaurant in the area will cater to all my "issues" and then my meal is priced out of sight!

Eating is depressing at times...and a lot of work. I loved to cook before finding out about all my intolerances, now I find myself dreading the thought. I hate feeling like this, but when food isn't appetizing or appealing, who wants it?

Does anyone else have this long list of "can't haves" and how do you cope?

To make matters worse, I can't seem to eliminate my gastro problems even though I avoid all my food enemies...why can't I get my insides under control?

[DinaB]

Hi there, I can totally related as we seem to have the same food issues - - and then some. It is very difficult and boring to say the least when it comes to trying to add a little flavor back into your food. I am fortunate enough that my husband loves to cook and has mastered: gluten free, egg free, soy free, casein free, nut free living for me. At first, we too were making separate meals for everyone, but it gets too confusing. I had my 10 yr old daughter tested for Gluten Intolerance as she was complaining of horrible headaches and stomach pains all summer long last year. Turns out she is also Gluten Intolerant. To make a long story short, my husband just wrote a fabulous cookbook, you will be able to find lots of great things to make and eat. The trick is to get creative and use alternative foods. You can visit his blog at: www.flaee.com. You can actually log in to buy the book right now at www.lovingfoodagain.com Although the website is not complete you can still order the book.

Feel free to email me with any questions you have, and good luck!

[dragonfly17]

A part from the intolerances coming as a consequence of the c.d., which is all a thing in itself, I read that adrenal fatigue is the main cause of food intolerances, you can take herbs and recover from the intolerance even very quickly, so I would check it out if I were you. I took this info from this forum: Open Original Shared Link

To sustain the adrenals, basically, you need, if I remember correctly, vit. C (possibly natural source because it's assimilated better), panthotenic acid (contained for example in bee pollen and nutritional yeast) and adaptogenic herbs (like nettle leaf, ashwaganda, joagulan, schizandra, maca, licorice root, there are many).

The main cause of adrenal fatigue is stress, also physical stress - and whoever has had at least a month of undiagnosed c.d. has put the body under stress imo-, drinking coffee, smoking tobacco, insomnia, and others that I don't remember. It is a very serious disease, but not many - even doctors - know much about it.

I'm about to do that myself. I don't exactly know which food-allergies I have right now, but I've had allergies on and off all my life, and 2 anaphillactic shocks, and I have other symptoms related to adrenal fatigue.

[BethM55]

I've found the product Adrenal Health by Gaia Herbs to be very helpful for adrenal fatigue, or simply to bolster me when I'm in stressful situations. It contains Rhodiola root and Holy Basil, with Ashwaganda root, Holy Basil leaf, Wild Oats, Milky Seed, and Schizandra Berry. Other ingredients are vegetable glycerine and vegetable cellulose. The herbs are organically grown and ecologically harvested. The label does not state gluten free, but I have never reacted to this product.

[dragonfly17]

oh, how interesting, what about vit.c and panthotenic acid? maybe they are contained in the herbs, maybe it's not complete, if you have adrenal issues I highly suggest you that forum, the one who answers is a very knowledgeble herbalist, he would know for sure that product.

do you have any allergies?

[TeknoLen]

I was curious about the "vegetable glycerin" and "vegetable cellulose" in the Gaia Rhodiola Rosea that my naturopath suggested I start taking for adrenal support, so I reached out to Gaia and they responded promptly below. The are gluten-free and CF for sure, soy is a little less clear-cut so you will have to decide this one for yourself. Here is a cut/paste of their email response.

----------------------

Hello Lenny.

There is no known gluten or casein in Gaia