My belly has not been happy lately. Painful cramps, uneasiness ...and a slew of fun things that we are just going to skip over ;)... I've had to resort to medicines more often than I should.I know this is not how I was created to live life although I can't seem to pinpoint the cause of all the stomach upset. I suspect a few causes but have no proof.
So I am thinking of spending the next several weeks after I am officially moved in playing around with my diet to find the culprit.
It would go something like this:Each week I will maintain my normal diet while eliminating one aspect. If that week is pain-free, I'll be closer to figuring out what is causing my problems. Easy enough.
I currently follow a vegetarian diet.
Week 1: Dairy
Week 2: Soy
Week 3: Added sugar
Week 4: Gluten
Week 5: Artificial sweeteners
Week 6: Processed foods
I'm open to suggestions- do you have nay ideas? Do you have any food allergies or food aversions? How did you find out about them?
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My suggestion would be to find out what Blood Type you are (if you don't already know) and follow the recommended foods from the Blood Type Diet.
You don't have to buy the book either, although you can check it out from the library. Also most lists for each blood type can be found simply through Google.
I found out that I can't digest chicken (I'm a type B) and dairy works very well with my digestive system. The lists are very comprehensive & I highly recommend starting out 100% to plan and then adding in more foods to see what works and what doesn't.
Hope this helps, sorry it was so long!
I'm so sorry :-( It seems like a lot of people I know are struggling with food allergies of a mysterious nature. I think you're on the right track, but maybe do some time googling "elimination diet" or "allergy diet" to help find more tips about how to go about discovering your culprit. *hugs*
i have a guess that it has something to do with all of them. for me, sugar and dairy are the main issues, but soy isn't that great either. good luck! it can be hard to give up all of those things as a veggie. i actually introduced some meat/fish back into my diet after getting rid of sugar/soy/dairy. ::shrug:: it works for me.
It sounds like you have a good game plan going on. If none of those help you pinpoint a cause, I think the book Eat to Live might be a good resource. My friend Andy did the diet mentioned in the book and as he was reintroducing things back into his diet, he discovered several things that didn't agree with him. Good luck!
For the last year I was vegetarian, I would sporadically break out into a weird rash whenever I was travelling. I went to get a food allergy test and it turned out that I was slightly allergic to almost EVERY vegetarian source. My theory is that I would go overload on the soy products when travelling so that's why my body freaked out. Now I eat meat again. That's my story.
Oh I'm so sorry you haven't been feeling well! I've been diagnosed with IBS, but about 5 years ago, I eliminated soda, anything fried, and fast food (things I shouldn't eat anyway), my problems went away. I know you aren't eating that junk so I don't know how to help you. Good luck figuring it out!
How is Dixie growing?? Is she huge?
I'm sorry your tummy has been giving your problems! :(
I was having stomach problems a while ago, and then I realized I wasn't drinking enough water to properly digest. I also have noticed (with my own tummy) that added sugar MAJORLY doesn't agree with me... think cookies/cake/sweets. Only fro yo works ;)
Yikes! I know that for awhile dairy made me so ill, so I cut it out completely... then I slowly reintroduced it and if I keep my use of it low I'm fine but more than a few servings a week and I start to get sick again... I hope you find out soon so you can get better quickly... I know you're super busy so dealing with this right now must make it extra hard
xoxo,
R
P.S. Could this be emotional/mental and not physical (with all you have on your plate)?
Sounds like a good plan and good for you for taking charge to figure out where the problem lies. For me it is often artificial sweeteners. I can tell soon after I've consumed some whether I knew I was or not. Best of luck. Let us know how it goes.
Hey girl! I haven't discussed this on my blog yet, but I really really thought I had IBS as of a few months ago. I thought it was normal and I'd just have to live with having stomach issues for the rest of my life, but when I started eating cleaner and vegan it all went away. It comes back when I eat out at a restaurant somewhere and I don't have as much control over what's being served to me, but I truly believe that eating this way has saved me so much trouble (and trips to the bathroom...ew, gross!) I think you're definitely on the right track with trying to pinpoint your own personal culprit, but thought I'd give my two cents on what worked for me! Good luck!
Oh and the stress of moving probably isn't helping you too much! Deep breaths...
Aww I'm so sorry you aren't feeling well. Have you ever had allergy testing? I would go to an allergist - they can do a quick test to find out if you are allergy to pollen, wheat, dairy, animals, anything. Good luck and I hope you feel better!
I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I have stomach issues fairly often but not to the point that I think it's a dietary issue...at least not yet.
I think you have a good plan. The only thing I'd suggest is to go to a doctor. An allergist perhaps, but even just a regular one to discuss the problem.
Boo, I hope you get to the bottom of this soon! I'm sorry that your tummy is unhappy. Best of luck!
I think this is a VERY good plan. For me, it is too much dairy and too much wheat that make me feel ill. Good luck!
That sucks. :( it sounds like you're going about it the right way though - best of luck! I have tummy troubles too and probably need to do something similar myself. :(
Sounds like a good plan .... good luck!!
i would think the processed foods would be the first thing to cut. then maybe artificial sweeteners and gluten. whole unprocessed foods are the best way to go. you don't drink cokes/sodas do you?
i think your plan sounds wise...and if you still get no resolution to the tummy pain, you may consider seeing an allergist? they can do whats called a scratch test, andit determines if and what you are allergic to. hope you feel better soon!
Congrats on your move!
Sounds like a good, systematic approach to finding out what's bugging you. I definitely got a stomach ache after eating a meal high in soy last week, so I know that's a typical one. Good luck!
your list looks pretty comprehensive to me - especially in terms of my own stomach problems. What about adding something acidic to the list? I've had my fair share of issues with things like tomato sauce, oranges...etc.
Hello-- I came across this and had to share--- I have celiac disease-- cannot tolerate Gluten-wheat. If I consume even a tiny bit of gluten it makes life and my stomach very very painful among other things-- so I just wanted to put that out there, it sounded very similar to your sypmtoms- check out
Celiac Disease a hidden epidemic by Peter Green if you want any more information- it's supposed to be a great resource. And good luck hope you are feeling better soon!
Hey, Ashley! I started reading your blog earlier this year, but today is my first time to comment. I'm really sorry to hear of your "digestive troubles." I can definitely relate. For years, I suffered through gastrointestinal hell because neither I nor my doctors could figure out what was wrong with me. They kept saying it was IBS based on my symptoms, but when you're 25 and looking at 60+ more years of living in hell, you start pushing for better, more legitimate answers. (Personally, I think the IBS diagnosis, while real, is complete bull because it lets doctors put labels on their patients and then walk away from their care because "I'm sorry, there's no cure." LOL I'm a little fired up about that!)
Anyway. I think what you're doing with the elimination diet is a smart plan. I would suggest creating a food journal starting from here on out so you have a record of reference for all of your meals and how you felt afterwards. That was something that helped me immensely because after a while, especially when I was sick 7-8 times a day, it was hard to remember days later what I ate and how soon after I felt bad. All I could remember was that I was sick!
Another thought would be to see an allergist. Out of all the doctors I saw through my troubles, my allergist was the one who properly diagnosed me. She was the only doctor to realize that what I ate was in direct correlation with my symptoms. An internalist and gastro-specialist failed to connect the dots and realize allergies were the culprit.
If in fact, it's one of the offending items you mentioned that turns out to cause the problem, please do lots and lots of research for hidden food sources. When I learned of my allergies (gluten, corn, soy, cow's milk, hazelnut, walnut, beef, pork, tuna, cantaloupe, peas, cumin and garlic), it was a daunting task to learn how to eat again. I eliminated the obvious sources, but it was REALLY shocking and eye opening to learn where ingredients come from and what they're really made of. Out of all my allergies, corn has proven to be the trickiest of culprits because it's hidden everywhere - from the HFCS to starches to all of those unpronouncable food additives companies add to processed food.
Some sources of help and information included food blogs of fellow allergy sufferers (Karina the Gluten Free Goddess is a favorite), celiac.org, and especially and most importantly, Whole Foods. I can eat semi-normal food because of that store, but I would imagine any natural health food store would also be of equal help.
Good luck - I hope you find out the cause of your problems sooner rather than later! I look forward to reading about what it ends up being.
Jessica