“No dairy” is not enough for me
Two weeks ago I made the difficult decision to go dairy free. Why? Well, I went dairy free for a lot of reasons, some of which revolve around the whole “we shouldn’t consume milk as adults” and “we shouldn’t drink the milk of other mammals” theories, but mainly it was because I am extremely lactose intolerant.
I’ve cut out everything in my diet that has dairy, even my protein, and even though I’ve been dairy free for the past two weeks (with two small pizza cheats), it seems this isn’t enough. I still have that boiling bowl of oatmeal feeling and I’m still fartin’ up a storm.
After doing a lot of reading and research, it seems that I could have an intolerance to gluten. Lovely. More things to cut out of my diet. And it’s bread? Really?!! I LOVE bread. Sandwiches are the greatest food ever created.
SANDWICHES!!!!!
I’m currently reading the Paleo Diet book and I think that Paleo is a diet/lifestyle I need to try to sort out my dietary issues. If you don’t know what the Paleo Diet is, its the nutritional plan that is based on eating wild plants and animals that people ate during the Paleolithic era—a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. It was before we had fields, before we had wheat, before we milked cows. You basically only eat what our ancestors would have been able to shoot or pick. Meat, veggies, fruits and nuts. The only thing I’m not a fan of is that you can’t have legumes, being beans such as lentils, kidney beans and black beans. I think for now, at this stage, I’m going to stick to the Paleo plan, plus legumes.
I’ll try this out for a while and see how I feel. I’m hoping it gets rid of my stomach issues and from what I’ve read, I should be able to lose that last 10 lbs I want to lose. It’s going to be hard because I already really miss dairy and if I take out bread, I may kill someone. But it may be worth it.
Have you heard of Paleo? Know anyone that has a gluten intolerance?
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Hey Scott! My son and I both eat paleo, and my boyfriend is even on board now (for the most part) after seeing what paleo did for us. I felt like crap the first 2 weeks I went paleo, my body was just detoxing from the grains/sugar/dairy, but then it like a fog lifted.
Give it 30 days. See how you feel. Hopefully no more farts! :-)
what about chickens and eggs? Clearly I haven’t read up yet, but as I looked at the eggs in my fridge this morning, I randomly thought “I wonder if eggs are Paleo?”
I don’t know if I have a gluten intolerance or allergy, but I do know I function better without it. I KNOW I have lactose intolerance and an allergy to corn (including corn products like high fructose corn syrup).
** I use Almond Milk instead of cow’s milk in smoothies and coffee; love.
** I rarely eat cheese just because it’s not something I think to buy at the store; when I do, I use goat’s or feta cheese.
** I started to eliminate most grains from my diet a year ago for weight-loss reasons but then found I had less gas and bloating. I occasionally (1-2x a week) do couscous, spelt or rice “pasta” and quinoa.
My SIL and her daughter are gluten intolerant… SIL also has several allergies and CFS, chronic fatigue syndrome.
They are doing very well with no gluten in their diets after reading a lot of information and food avoid lists… mostly from celiac newletters. Lots of web sites, too.
They eat quinoa, various rices, rice pasta and some other grains. There are also lots of baking mixes available, Bob’s Red Mill comes to mind. And you can purchase through mail order too, although I know here in Canada cost becomes a factor.
You don’t HAVE to give up grains or crackers… you just have to get creative.
Good luck with it.
Hey Scott….from my experience, having 2 pizza cheats within that 2 weeks, you are not going to feel better. If I were to eat even one bite of cheese it takes me about a week for my body to process it and adjust back to normal. If your body does not have the enzymes to process the food you are eating it takes quite a while to digest it.
This takes a lot of dedication, but you should try a complete elimination diet. It is tough to do when you are used to eating a lot of the foods you have to cut out, but it will definitely help you narrow down what it is that is bothering you if you can stick to it!! I can send you a link to the one I used when I am not at work (and if I remember!). You basically cut out everything that is a potential “allergen” and then add one thing at a time and see your reaction to it.
It helped me determine what I have to eliminate completely, what I have to limit and what I can eat no problem.
Have you had a food allergy blood panel done? That would definitely be my first recommendation and then you can slowly cut out different foods you might be intolerant of. Also, if it is just dairy, those pizzas are still screwing you up because it takes way longer than you’d think for food allergy reactions to work it’s way out of your system. But I feel you on all these issues, mine still aren’t resolved, and it sucks.
My wife and I switched over to Paleo at the beginning of 2012 and it’s been the best decision we’ve ever made. We both have gotten rid of a lot of food intolerances and other ailments. Even my season allergies disappeared. Not to mention I’ve lost over 25 pounds. We do eat/drink gluten/dairy on occasion to keep ourselves sane and definately notice the difference when we do. Check out The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf as well, as I found it a lot more straight forward and relatable than Cordain’s book.
Hmmmm, paleo you say? Sounds vaguely familiar.
Haha, I know…it’s the bread that I love. We make homemade whole wheat bread (organic) and I love it…
I’m trying to have less…haha, trying! ;)
we do not label ourselves, but we do eat a lot of fresh fruit, veggies, dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, local eggs and meat. we enjoy it!! good luck with your new lifestyle. you will enjoy it.
yes yes yes ! I explain it in my post on paleo ( http://dareyouto.blogspot.com/2012/04/pretend-youre-paleo-for-30-days.html ) and wheat ( http://dareyouto.blogspot.com/2012/03/ditch-wheat-for-week.html ), but to sum it up: I believe I have a gluten intolerance of sorts, too. Avoiding wheat products makes me feel better than I knew I could–my digestion is 100% better, and the skin rash that plagues my fingers has vanished. Now, when I do eat off-paleo, I notice the difference in my body. It’s amazing how food changes the way we function.
Also noteworthy: Many people with a wheat allergy / celiac disease also are unable to digest dairy, because the way gluten damages the stomach ends up blocking the enzyme / receptors that digest lactose. (I learned this from a friend with celiac disease.) Thus, removing wheat may make you more able to digest dairy, but only if that’s something you wanted to do. I also agree with the ‘cow’s milk isn’t natural for human adults’ argument, and try to avoid most dairy. My two loves, though, are goat cheese and greek yogurt.
I read Cordain’s more recent book, The Paleo Answer. Also check out Robb Wolf’s stuff. “Wheat Belly” is a more mainstream attack on wheat itself, although it becomes a bit repetitive.
Good luck! Hope this works for you.
I switched to a primal/paleo lifestyle at the beginning of the year and am much happier for it. All I can say is that for ME, after years of conventional healthy eating, I feel great following a paleo diet. My energy levels have skyrocketed.
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