My long-term dietary changes

I am going to try to keep this a running list of my do's and don't for my own personal diet. My biggest challenge to my family and others, if they do not have their own plan in place to improve their health, is to go Gluten and Sugar Free and to limit certain kinds of dairy. I believe these will make the most difference.

I'm calling Jan 18 my first egg free day, so that my 90 days deadline on this new diet is: April 17.
I was already dairy free for at least 5 months prior and also making many drastic changes just prior to Jan 18, but by Jan 18 had decided many of the following. I also have major noticeable improvement in the 10 days since Jan 18. Ears are not itching. My 90-day deadline is the date I'll shoot for to remain egg free and in order to properly re-introduce old favorite foods for trials.

Permanent Deletions (always avoid):

Supplements with stearates (stearic acid, magnesium stearate or anything like that) - this is a fat that will coat the villi of the small intestine and block absorption of the nutrients in the supplement as well as from your food. This is a backward step. You may as well stop wasting your money on supplements with stearates and not take any at all. See below for things you should take instead.

Peanuts (substitute cashews and cashew butter)
Pistachios
"wrong" kinds of fish (learn more at seafoodwatch.org)
All MSG Derivatives or precursors
All soda
Caffeine (soda is the first thing to cut completely out of your diet. Coffee/caffeine for those addicted will be easier to cut out later and is not as detrimental as soda. I'd rather see people eat caffeine rather than MSG. However, for me personally, I have a big reaction to caffeine and I feel that it messes up my insulin and adrenaline.)
Even without a known corn allergy, I am going to continue to avoid eating corn simply because it and its derivatives are so commonly added to so many foods. No wonder it is one of the top allergens. Even prior, I was only eating "Organic" corn simply to avoid GMO corn.
Artificial colors and flavors (watch out for vanillin in chocolate and treats)
Agave nectar/syrup


Cautions:

Soy - avoid most but do consume if you are not allergic: naturally fermented and Organic or non-GMO such as soy sauce, tamari and miso
Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts) are top allergens (many people are allergic) so eat only nuts you know you're not sensitive to
Gluten - See my blog entries on Gluten. I am personally eliminating from my diet. This is usually the first thing my allergy-savvy friends eliminate FIRST! I believe this can be a big kicker for a lot of people and is indeed the best thing to try to eliminate first (or eliminate ALL the suspects for 90 days, like I am doing, and then add them back one at a time in a trial to be sure which ones affect you negatively)
Sugar - this is a broad category. There are many, many types of sugar. I've started out by trying to go to "0". I even tried "0" and no fruit/grains/starches at all. I found that I had to eat 2 Tablespoons of frozen blueberries just to get some energy. But, I'm back to eating whole, gluten-free grains and small amounts of fruit. My preferred sweetener is KAL brand stevia powder. I'll be exploring what kinds of sugar I would use for occaisional treats (for example, I might be okay with evaporated cane juice, or brown rice syrup, or date sugar, but I do want to trial different sugars to find out how they affect me. I've already eliminated maple syrup and agave syrup. I've heard of aguamiel from a cactus, but not ready to expore that yet. Will use raw honey in moderation for making treats.)
Any food you eat a lot of. Cravings can indicate an allergy to that food.
-Sulfites - wine. I've noticed I am now more sensitive and the hangover is almost not worth the pleasure. I'm avoiding beer and wine and my next alcoholic beverage will be 100 proof vodka.





Temporary Deletion from my personal diet, until I start to work things out:

Eggs - I believe these may be one of my own personal culprits. I am totally off them now for a week or two and I see another improvement. The jury is out and I hope to return them in moderation after my 90 day trial.
Dairy - casein - (At some point, I will be trialing goat's milk, then butter, then whey, lactose, hard cheeses, yogurt/kefir.)
*Fermented/culture dairy products can be high in histamines. Eliminate fluid milk and cultured milks first. If you must have some dairy, use goat's milk and butter as the butter will have much less casein in it.
Chocolate, cocoa and cacao - I am considering whether it will be prudent for me to have it once per week. I do not feel I am addicted to it.
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Oats - I tried gluten free oats, but I felt a reaction like low blood sugar afterward. I'll have to test these later.
Strawberries

Avoiding:

-Black Pepper - avoiding because it is so commonly added to so many foods, so that it would be easy to be allergic to it. By avoiding it, I know I'll still end up getting it in my food sometimes.
-Dried Fruit - will only use this now for travel convenience, not as a staple (due to molds and yeasts which can be allergens)
-Xanthan gum (I am going to avoid this while I settle into gluten free forever. Later I can look more closely at whether xantan bothers me. Currenly I will use guar gum in baking instead of xanthan. This will just help me when I go to trial xanthan.)


Foods I DO eat:

Enzymedica Digestive enzymes 2-3 times per day (If you can't digest your food, it doesn't matter how nutritious it is!)
Cod Liver Oil (cheap)- 2-3 teaspoons per day and I plan to get my Vit D tested.
Additional D3 with Carlson's D Drops (cheap)
Doc's Best Multivitamin (no stearates, expensive, spread partial dose throughout day)
Barlean's Greens super greenfood powder
With the above and my new emphasis on vegetables, I don't feel I need the magnesium supplement as much.
Since I am dairy free, I am still lacking a probiotic solution and hope to get something in a bottle until I can begin trialing goat's milk and dairy products.

**Let me again emphasize Cod Liver Oil. If you simply cannot tolerate it, then make up for it with a Capsule of Vitamin A (Food Science of Vermont from vitacost.com) plus Carlson D Drops 2000 IU per day, plus some forms of "omegas" such as EFA and GLA which will most likely also come from a fish oil or better yet krill oil. Clearly, it will be less expensive and worth it to continue to try to find a Cod Liver Oil that you can handle. Since I believe this is the top thing Erik should be adding to his diet, I will continue my search for something he will tolerate. I think I'll go next with the Carlson in capsules.

Avacados
Beans/legume with digestive enzymes - but I'm still shy of the beans at this point. I did eat hummous the other day.
Garlic, Onions
Citrus
Meats and fish - realizing protein is stored as fat the same as are all calories, and protein digestion is hard on the kidneys, so that I can eat less meat, i.e. I should be able to afford eating higher quality meat. So, I am consciously getting choosier about meat quality.
Sardines with bones in for calcium and Vit A & D
Coconut oil, milk, coconut meat
Palm oil, grapeseed oil, olive oil, walnut oil, sesame oil
Seeds: Flax, sunflower, pumpkin,poppy, sesame seeds, caraway, anise, fennel
Nuts of all kinds (soaked when possible)
Almond milk - try to get unsweetened
"Milks" that I make in my blender from leftover cooked rice or nuts
Whole gluten free grain alternatives such as: Brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, sorghum flour
Maybe some starches in baking treats
Sweet potatoes (white potatoes will now be a treat)
Herbal teas
Products labeled "gluten free" such as our favorite Crunchmaster crackers
Brown Rice pasta and tortillas

Vegetables of all kinds including "new" ones and more variety:
artichokes
daikon radish
frozen okra (found at Meijer)

More frozen and canned goods to avoid yeasts and molds.

Other:

-Taking Epsom Salt baths almost daily. The magnesium and sulfur absorb through skin, bypassing the digestive process. If candida yeast is in the gut, it eats up sulfur from the food. But, sulfur is necessary in detox pathways, so getting it in the bath soak is really the easiest, inexpensive and effective way I have learned.
-Continuing to be careful about fragranced products and skin products. (Could my lessening of ear itching be due to stopping my hair styling product (even though I thought I had chosen a relatively "clean" one?) Now I can trial my hair product too, because I have the symptoms under control, I can try the hair product and see if I get a reaction.


I'll be learning more about detoxing and digestion, as I am learning is really at the root cause of allergies and disease.