WELLLL….NO! 😰
Officially, the 21 days have passed. I guess I can call it a success, kind of. The main symptoms I was trying to eliminate were arthritis, psoriasis, and daily sinus headaches/migraines. I would wake up almost every morning with sinus headaches, some were tolerable, some were extremely painful. I was taking migraine medicine daily which isn’t the answer. (It damages the liver and destroys the lining of the digestive tract). So I knew I had to figure out the cause, thus the elimination diet.
As of last week Monday, as indicated in my last journal, all of my symptoms had gone, accept congestion in my sinuses. (and an occasional afternoon or evening headache). There was still something I was eating that continued to give my sinuses problems. I needed to add more foods to my list.
You see, there are two types of elimination diets, simple and comprehensive. I was doing the simple, which includes the following foods:
- Dairy products (lactose and casein)
- Wheat (and other gluten containing foods)
- Eggs
- Corn
- MSG
- Caffeine
- Peanuts
- Tomatoes
- Shellfish/
- All citrus fruits and juices
- Sugar
- Chocolate
- Refined/processed food
- Coffee
- Black tea
- Alcohol
- Soy
- Artificial sweeteners
- Yeast
- Trans-fat
In addition to the foods above, I also eliminated nightshade vegetables, (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, cayenne, paprika, and bell peppers) and all tree nuts, with the exception of almonds. (which aren’t actually nuts, but a member of the peach family).
At the beginning of this past week, I added almonds to my banned food list.
The comprehensive elimination diet is on the strict side, but I begrudgingly added more food to the list:
But, guess what…there’s more!!! Yes, my list is going to get even LONGER! You see, I started doing some research on headaches/migraines and sinus headaches can be classified as migraines. So I did more research and found the MIGRAINE ELIMINATION DIET, WOW!! Here’s what I found:
I found that foods high in the substance TYRAMINE (common in some foods, particularly aged foods like vinegar, pickles, olives, cheese, sourdough breads, some yeast, and yogurt. Other substances such as some beans as well as all nuts and seeds as well) can trigger headaches. Some people are intolerant of tyramine containing foods. (that’s me! 😣 ) Also, people taking MAOI drugs, such as some anti-depressants, are susceptible to tyramine intolerance. This is because the drug inhibits MAO (Monoamine Oxidase), the substance that breaks down tyramine in the body. (If you know someone taking these drugs, you may want to let them know)
So, here’s a list of foods allowed/not allowed on the MIGRAINE ELIMINATION DIET…
My list of banned foods grew ever longer. But I refuse to give up. I will not live my life taking over-the-counter or prescription drugs daily. AND, I had sinus surgery 23 years ago, and my sinuses only got worse, so, that’s not an option. I will not continue to the 2nd stage of the diet until my sinus problems have cleared up. They have been better the last few days, but it’s not gone yet.
So, here’s how things are going to go. I will continue with the elimination diet as I have been doing it, and will begin what I’m calling the comprehensive migraine elimination diet, on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, I will eliminate all of the foods on the list below until my next journal, (a week from today), then, re-evaluate at that time. If needed, I’ll continue for 2 more weeks. Hopefully, I won’t need to go that long. If, after 2 more weeks, my sinuses haven’t cleared up, I’ll have to go see an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist. 😦
Here’s what my list will look like for the next 2 weeks: 😭
- Dairy products (lactose and casein)
- Wheat (and other gluten containing foods)
- Eggs
- Corn
- MSG
- Caffeine
- Peanuts
- Shellfish
- All citrus fruits and juices
- Sugar
- Chocolate
- Refined/processed food
- Coffee
- Black tea
- Alcohol
- Soy
- Artificial sweeteners
- Yeast
- Trans-fat
- potatoes
- tomatoes
- eggplant
- cayenne
- chili powder
- paprika
- bell peppers
- oats
- tree nuts
- almonds
- honey
- maple syrup
- snow peas
- lentils
- legumes
- sauerkraut
- pickles
- olives
- red plums
- citrus fruit
- prunes
- cherries
- avocado
- broccoli
- beets
- spinach
- onion
- cranberries
- raspberries
- raisins
- figs
- jam/jelly
- canned meat/fish
WHEW! I think that’s everything. It’s a long list, and it’s going to take me a while to get through this list, once I move onto phase 2. The only consolation I have is that it will only be a week. (I hope! 🙏) This isn’t a permanent diet, but an elimination diet, like I have been doing, only more food. Hopefully, this time next week, I’ll be able to start reintroducing them. One at a time, every four days.
I have my food log below. You’ll notice that Wednesday and Thursday of last week are missing. Last Wednesday was my birthday, and I have no excuse for Thursday. I just didn’t log. I allowed myself some sugar (lemonade) on my Birthday last week.
Today, knowing I was going to continue my elimination diet, I had some popcorn and lemonade at the movie with my son today. I’m back to zero on my days without sugary drinks.
Food Log for July 25, 2017 to July 31, 2017
Well, that’s it for this edition of My Food Log. Next week, I’ll talk about my newly written fitness goals. (I’ve completely re-written them.)
Just one final question…
If you couldn’t eat the foods
on the list above for a month.
Which one would you eat first?
Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
