One Month Later

And what a month it has been!!!!!!! We have found the cause of most of my headaches!!!!! Food allergies. Seems simple, doesn't it?? I would never have guessed that I shouldn't have been eating some of the things that the tests show I have intolerances to. Just to name a few- green beans, tapioca (do you know how many things tapioca is in???!!!!!!), apples, olives, turkey, broccoli (yeah, not crying over that one. LOL), walnuts, avocados, and the list goes on!!!!!! Some of my absolute favorite foods are on the list! It has been a difficult month as far as figuring out what I can/can't, should/shouldn't be eating. There are a lot of things that I can have on a rotating basis (one day out of 4). And there is a *ton* of foods I can have so I won't be starving anytime soon. :-) The test also showed intolerances to some food additives like polysorbate 80 and MSG. I have been doing a lot of label reading and it is shocking how much unnecessary junk goes into our food. I've also found why ibuprofen doesn't do anything for me- it's one of those intolerances I have. Weird.
I have found some wonderful foods (grains mostly) that I wouldn't have otherwise ever tried. Millet is a great substitute for rice (oh, did I mention I can't have rice?). Amaranth isn't my favorite grain although I'll eat it. Brian says it tastes like dirt! Quinoa is a fabulous grain! Teff has a different flavor and people either love it or hate it. I love it! There are a lot of foods in the health food section of our local grocery store that I'm getting to know and like. Almond milk is good although I'm not supposed to have the vanilla flavor. I'll have to check the chocolate. It probably has soy in it, which I shouldn't have. I've found that I get the worst headaches when I eat anything with soy.
One side benefit of this is that I've dropped another 8 pounds!!! Food allergies really can make you fat. It's a long explination on how it does that, so just trust me that it is so.
The only times I've had headaches in the past month is when I unknowingly (or knowingly) ate something with stuff I shouldn't have in it. Like the gravy at the restaurant. I went back after getting a huge headache and asked to see the ingredients list. Sure enough- wheat, dairy, soy, and some other stuff. Uh. Looks like salads for me!!!!!! I've eaten out several times and found that I can find something to eat in pretty much any restaurant except asian (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc). They almost always use soy sauce and MSG. I really like asian food, too. I might decide one day to deal with the headache but for now, I'll do without.