poplar road

This morning I saw my naturopath to go over the IgG results. I'm very surprised, and it explains a lot about how inexplicably sick I've been feeling since starting a very restrictive "anti-candida" diet (to get rid of a severe digestive yeast problem). The things I thought were allergens are low on the list or not allergens at all, and the most extreme allergen is one I never would have guessed. I thought I'd make a few lists to highlight the irony of all this.

Some of My Favourite Foods:

sushi

lasagna

cheesecake

blueberry muffins

yoghurt

French toast

ice cream

calamari

taco salad

cheese

kahlua

gomae (spinach-sesame salad)

peanut butter

pizza

hummous

prime rib & caesar salad

Richard's mashed potatoes

...and lots of other things of course.

For 2 months while on the Anti-Candida restrictions I haven't had:

yeast

wheat

all dairy except butter and cream

sugar or other sweetening additives like honey or dextrose

anything with vinegar in it, ie ketchup

fermented foods, ie soy sauce

mushrooms

oranges

blueberries

cantaloupe

grapes

dried fruit

black or green tea

peanuts

...and to make up for not having cheese or mushrooms or peanut butter, I added:

oatmeal

corn tortilla chips

popcorn (Richard even bought me an air popper)

more seasonings, especially garlic

and what I now know are harmless things like black beans, peas, and butternut squash...

...and after two and a half months I was still having symptoms which could be attributed to the yeast state, to allergies, or to a mild lingering flu. Hmmm...

...so I handed over $450 and two vials of blood for this very thorough antibody test, and here are the things I'm allergic to, from most severe at the top to mildest at the bottom:

corn gluten (which is in everything from corn on the cob to condiments)

coffee

sesame seeds & oil

oats

yeast

wheat

oysters

alfalfa (the closest I ever get to that stuff is the llama's treats so no loss there)

cottage cheese & ricotta (key ingredient of killer lasagna)

cane sugar

blueberries

peanuts

lactalbumin (a.k.a."milk ingredients" or "whey")

olives

garlic

and egg yolks.

The only extreme allergy, the thing I must never ever eat again if I know what's good for me, is corn gluten. I'm three times as allergic to that as to wheat. Also in the no-no list is oats. And what significant change to my diet did I make after ruling out the yeast and wheat and dairy (which was toughest!) this past two months? I added corn and oats. Figures. It had begun to feel "normal" to have to stock every room in the house and every jacket pocket with tissue for my stuffy nose, but now I know better. No more oatmeal or popcorn, no more tortilla chips with my guacamole, and I should feel a hell of a lot better.

I already feel somewhat better knowing I will be able to eat dairy again (other than additives and ricotta). As soon as this yeast flush is finished, I'm going for ice cream to celebrate! But no lasagna for me any more - even with my pasta-free recipe, I still can't get away with it unless I leave out my favourite parts, the ricotta, basil & egg yolk layer and the heavy dose of garlic and olives in the meat sauce. It just wouldn't be the same.

The silver lining in all of this may come in a couple of months or so. When the anti-candida diet is over, and I've removed all the allergens from my diet for 30 days, I can start experimenting. That is, I can add one thing on the mild end of the allergen list (the last 6 items) to my diet, wait a week, and see if I reacted to it (apparently it usually takes up to 4 days for the antibodies to react). Since I've been eating egg yolks and garlic almost daily for years, it's more than likely I can still eat them - occasionally - without affect. Things I haven't had while on the yeast diet, like blueberries and peanuts, could turn out to be more serious offenders than the test could pick up, so again I have to introduce them one at a time and observe. The egg yolk thing has blown me away - I scramble two farm-fresh eggs for breakfast almost every morning - but that's balanced out by soon being able to eat my favourite Italian parmesan and Tilamook 7 year cheddar again. Not to mention my awesome cheesecake, once in a while. Woo-hoo, as Allyson would say. And the corn thing may be a bit difficult for eating out, much as the wheat has been, but hey, unlike my sister I'm NOT allergic to chocolate! So how bad is it, really? Oh... except that there's dairy in chocolate, so I'll have to stick to the good stuff like Purdy's, that actually lists skim milk powder instead of a vague description like "milk ingredients" that could have lactalbumin in it. I think. Grr. Oh, and since cornstarch is commonly added to cocoa, I'm glad I didn't buy the giant Coscto can of Fry's. There's an additive-free brand that my mother buys which I will have to track down in Kamloops.

The rest of March, while I'm still on the anti-candida regime, will continue to be hellish because in addition to losing my routine meals which contain things like cheddar and vinegar, now I have to pass on the oatmeal AND the whole eggs for breakfast, resist when Richard makes popcorn, use god-knows-what-else to season my beef instead of Montreal steak spice which contains garlic, and just stay home because eating out is out of the question. I'm going to have to find a good cookbook devoted to homemade condiments and sauces, too. Caesar salad is still off the menu but so far that's just made me more creative with salads, which is a good thing. It could be worse.

It's going to take some care and a lot of will power, but once I'm not eating the things that make me sick, I may finally be able to eat more of the things I've avoided for years out of concern for my weight. Like high carb foods such as rice (sushi!!), potatoes, beans, bananas, mangoes, cherries, yoghurt, and regular rather than sugar-free chocolate. We have three apple trees, an apricot tree, one mature and two growing cherry trees, crabapples, grape vines, raspberry bushes, red and black currants, and space for a vegetable patch, so it's a relief to me that I'm not allergic to any of my favourite fruits and vegetables (except blueberries) and may be able to eat all of those things to my heart's content this summer. On top of a big bowl of homemade ice cream! Don't I have a one track mind.

So that's the scoop (ha ha). Next order of business: figure out what I can make for dinner. All this talk of food is making me hungry.