wasn’t that a surprise?
Being the curious sort, I decided to find out if I was sensitive to any foods. There are foods I don’t like because of smell or taste or texture, but I don’t think I’ve ever had an allergic reaction to any food item. The test involves having a test tube of blood drawn and then sent to a lab in the US that tests for more than 100 items. They test for antibodies in your blood that show sensitivity to these items, e.g., dairy, or nuts, or spices. Pretty much any kind of food is tested.
I got my results yesterday, and I’m still trying to digest them. It showed that I should avoid these foods totally:
- dairy
- egg
- beef
- lamb
- almonds
- ginger
- mustard
And to moderate the consumption of these foods:
- sunflower seeds
- gluten
- garlic (especially raw)
- kidney beans
- navy beans
- poppy seed
- brewer’s yeast
Who knew? I have to say that the only one that is really throwing me for a loop is egg – both whites and yolks. It’s easy enough to avoid eggs in omelets, or hard-boiled, or scrambled. Or in mayonnaise. But I know there are tons of items with a bit of egg in it. Wow! I just can’t get my mind around it.
I have to decide how much, or perhaps more rightly, how orthodox I’m going to be in changing my diet.
I know I’m going to try. Gradually winnowing out the bad stuff, beginning with dairy. And then working on eliminating egg products. The other stuff – beef, lamb – no problem, as I rarely eat these items anyway. Mustard? No problem. Ginger? I’ll be wary of it in the Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai food I order when eating out. Almonds? Again, no problem.
I’ll think about the “moderate” list later. Though getting rid of gluten is pretty big – lots of stuff has gluten in it.
I know that I don’t have it in me right now to be a vegan. I just don’t. But I know I can do some enhancing of my diet, so I’ll give it a go.
Damn. No ice cream.
Tags: diet
