Tag: dairy

Thinking Healthy on Eating Healthy

Yesterday I had a cold and it was totally my fault.

I admit—I had a week of eating pretty badly. I ate pizza. I ate doughnuts. I ate breaded chicken. And I put (gasp) real milk in my tea. Normally I am a total advocate of having balance in your life. Unfortunately, I am sensitive to gluten and dairy and my immune system did not agree with this sentiment.

Gluten messes with my sinuses. If I have one piece of pizza in a week, my nose gets stuffy, but it usually clears up the next day. Dairy makes my skin feel tight and if I have too much of it, I get hives. When I eat it as frequently as I did last week, it also increases the congestion in my sinuses.

After one week of being lax about what I ate, I got a cold. Not only that, but I also felt like I had fluid in my left ear. Before I realized I was sensitive to gluten, I used to feel like that all the time. Now I can’t even handle feeling like that for a day.

Luckily, though, my immune system was able to rally quickly and my cold only lasted for a night. I had not gotten sick for months before this brief cold. The last time I still ate gluten regularly and I was sick for two weeks. So I will be grateful for this hit-it-and-quit-it-cold.

The idea of eating healthy can really mess with your mind. If you go into it thinking that you’re depriving yourself or the world will end if you eat something “bad,” you will eventually fall off the wagon. I really believe that.

If you have a more positive attitude about it, though, and think of healthier foods as rewards for your body, eating better food becomes a part of your lifestyle. I’m definitely not saying to purge your cabinets of unhealthy foods (unless that’s something you need to do for yourself), or to avoid going to restaurants, or to run away screaming if someone brings a box of pastries to work. I am still a big advocate for balance, but that means enjoying the occasional treat in moderation.

I’m not even mad at myself for eating so poorly last week. It is really hard to be so careful about what I eat all the time and sometimes I just need a mental break from it. I am kind of disappointed that I chose to eat so many things that disagree with my body, though. I can still indulge every now and then without eating bread. There are pizza places that have gluten-free crusts, for example. And there are plenty of “bad” foods that don’t have wheat.

This week really taught me that I don’t want to feel crappy anymore. And all I have to do to avoid feeling crappy is to stop eating certain foods. If I stop thinking of these no-no foods as “rewards” for watching what I eat the rest of the time, they will lose some of their appeal.

At least I hope they will!

That does not mean that I’m never going to eat another piece of real pizza again, though. I just have to do it when I haven’t also had a sandwich on regular bread, doughnuts, and breaded chicken nuggets.

Go with Your Gut

I did something pretty amazing. I think I cured my dairy sensitivity.

For the past few years, dairy has caused me swelling, hives, and a lot of discomfort. Because of that, I have been avoiding dairy products like kids avoid vegetables. And let me tell you, that has not been an easy feat.

Quinoa, sweet potatoes, and red onion is a delicious dairy-free meal.

Staying away from dairy is much more than asking for a sandwich without cheese or opting for soy milk instead of regular milk when ordering a latte. It means being diligent about checking labels on all food. Dairy has a tendency to sneak in when you least expect it. You want to enjoy some whole grain bread with your lunch? Too bad, there’s dairy in it. You want to have some candy? Well, your options are pretty limited to things like licorice or jelly beans because most things with chocolate have dairy in them.

It definitely was not easy to avoid dairy, but I found a system that seemed to be pretty effective for me. Every once in a while I would give in to temptation and allow myself to have a piece of pizza or some ranch dressing. Whenever I gave in to dairy, my eye or lips swelled up or I got hives.

Eggs have become a main staple of my diet since I’ve given up dairy.

Lately I’ve been studying nutrition and the way the body works for my own benefit. I find it really interesting to see how the different systems inside work together. During my research, I started to learn a lot about the small intestine, which many people refer to as the gut. What many people do not know about the gut, though, is that it contains a large portion of the immune system. This means if your gut is not healthy, the rest of your body is likely to be unhealthy as well.

Everyone has bacteria in the small intestine. There are plenty of good bacteria that not only improve your gut health, but they also improve your overall health. Bad bacteria, on the other hand, lead to a lot of issues.

Because the modern American diet consists largely of carbohydrates, sugar, and dairy,  people are much more likely to have intestinal health issues. These concerns combined with the stress of daily life affect you much more than you might realize.

In fact, there are a lot of people who have something called leaky gut syndrome without even realizing it. Basically, this means that small holes have developed along the intestinal lining. These holes make it hard for your body to absorb nutrients. It also makes it easy for large pieces of gluten, dairy, and other potentially problematic substances to get into your gut and into your bloodstream.

Researchers are starting to link leaky gut with a lot of illnesses and disorders. One of the biggest signs that you have leaky gut is the sudden development of food allergies…like a sensitivity to dairy.

I am not a doctor, but I researched leaky gut and how to improve intestinal health and started to make small changes to my daily routine. Luckily, avoiding dairy and gluten are two of the biggest ways to improve your gut health and I was already doing both. I also started taking a probiotic every day, using coconut milk regularly, and taking apple cider vinegar tablets.

Once again, I am not a medical professional, but this system has seemingly worked for me. I have had some dairy the last week (including cheese pizza on gluten-free crust) and I have not had ANY itching or swelling. Hooray!

I’m not planning to fully incorporate dairy back into my diet, especially not at home. But it makes my life soooo much easier being able to be a little more lenient with my menu options when I’m eating in the real world.

This cake was made with coconut flour, coconut milk, and coconut yogurt. I’m not going to lie, it was delicious.