Adhering to ‘the diet’

I haven’t mentioned it in awhile but I am still following my own, unique “diet,” avoiding those foods to which I tested as “food sensitive.”

A few of the things that I have been eating:

• Celery stalks with almond butter
• Spelt tortillas (from Trader Joe’s)
• Pork loin
• Plain baked potatoes
• Quinoa ‘pudding’ (thanks, D.)
• Hot apple juice with cinnamon
• Rolled spelt with dried cranberries (instead of oatmeal in the a.m.)
• Laughing Cow cheese (the French “American cheese”)
• Fresh tomatoes
• Steamed broccoli and mushrooms
• Raw carrots

I can’t have salt (think any kind of broth) so soups are out, no legumes (lentils and hummus), no sugar, and no soy (tofu and edamame). And I can’t have rice, so a lot of items for celiac disease (wheat allergy) sufferers are out.

I’ve been warned that it may be a long time before I see any improvement: “Symptoms often appear as the last stage of any disease’s progression, so too, much healing might need to take place before symptoms finally disappear: the last to arrive and the last to leave…Nothing will happen overnight and improvement often comes in almost imperceptible steps.” (Sawyer and Bachrach, p. 35)

I think I can commit to a year of this, and I’ll get my food sensitivities retested in three to six months so I may be able to add some things back. I’ve also got a list of additional foods I want tested as well.

It’s definitely been a challenge, but it hasn’t become unbearable yet.

RELATED STUFF

• Sawyer A. D. & Bachrach J. E. (2007). The MS recovery diet : take control change what you eat and live symptom-free.