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Grain Free Diet/Lifestyle
For the last 7 years, I have been grain free from foods such as rice, quinoa and much more. I have learned to get very creative with my food and cravings! When I went to a grain free diet/lifestyle in 2004, I was on an elimination diet for 3-4 months taking out all the allergenic foods such as dairy and gluten. My symptoms from the elimination diet got a little better but it wasn't until I took all grains out (including oats, millet for example) that I felt more of a difference.
Diet along with stressors in life can wreek havoc on your body and mind, inside and out. When in physical pain, we are effected emotionally. Many times physical pain relates to something deeper. The deeper you go, you may understand where your dis-ease is coming from and give you a better perspective on the ways to overcome it. I specifically said ways plural because in order to heal from the inside, usually it's a combination of things to make it happen.
Playing with Food
Earlier this year, I decided to re-introduce a few new things back into my diet one at a time and allowed at least 72 hours before reintroducing anything else new. This was a slow process but I've learned to be patient. Excitedly, I didn't have any major reactions! I felt like I had a whole new menu to work with reintroducing rice, millet, corn, quinoa and buckwheat including buckwheat 'grits', millet chips and quinoa salads. Although I didn't eat these new things on a daily basis, it was nice to have the option. I still kept it slow.
Food Allergy vs. Intolerance
Over the course of 2-3 months, totally unrelated (or so I thought) I started to feel very thick through my mid-section (not thick from having strong abs!! but thick in a different way). I also was bloated often, felt bigger and my clothes fit different. It was more about how I felt then how I looked. Then, the hip pain. Years ago, I suffered from severe hip pain when my body was in dis-ease. This was the rude awakening. I realized feeling bloated and suffering from this very alarming hip pain is very much connected to my new menu of foods. Although, I was not consuming them daily, over time, slowly, they (or one or two of those items) were not appropriate for me. This, my friends, is an intolerance. When my husband ingests a tree nut he'll have an anaphylactic shock and within seconds will begin to feel swelling around the face, lips, throat and more over time. Notice I put the word ingest? Although he is very aware to ask, things slip through the cracks. If he chews his food and tastes a tree nut, he'll immediately spit it out and he'll be okay. If it goes any further, we need to find the closest hospital. So, another reason, folks, to chew your food instead of bite and swallow! That is the difference between an intolerance and allergy. Both are evil.
Check Within
Everyone responds different to stress and foreign invaders within your body. Some may get a skin reaction, abdominal pain, headaches, moodiness, fatigue, physical pain and much more. In the future, when reintroducing something new, I'll only do one at a time over the course of 4 weeks, eating it once every couple days at most. Since taking the food back out, I already feel better and less bloated. The hip discomfort is currently not as active and will subside when the inflammation within my body is down. I hope this is a friendly reminder to 'check within' yourself. If you are eating or thinking unhealthy things for your body on a somewhat regular basis, it (may already have or) will catch up to you. Be strong and do something about it!
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