Elimination Diet

i don't usually blog about diet/food stuff, but at the moment i'm trying something pretty new (to me) and thought some of you might be interested. if not, just squint your eyes and click away :)

there's a bit of talk around Australia apparently, about Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's publication regarding the Elimination Diet. In a nutshell, it's means of detecting intolerances to food chemicals.

i've heard about chemicals being added to foods, but hadn't thought about the ones that occurred naturally. kind of makes sense. after being recommended it by friends and spending some quality google time, it seems like this is a great way of discovering intolerances, and has great results in children previously diagnosed with ADD.

intolerant what?!!? i know, i know, everyone these days has some kind of allergy gluten wheat diary something which upsets them, doesn't sit well, blah blah blah. there's a bandwagon, and i'm sitting somewhere in the middle.

when i was sixteen i went from meat eater to vegan, and was vegan for the next nine years. being vegan really agreed with me, i still remember so many people saying to me "ohh you're missing out on this and that" but i never felt like i was missing anything. it just felt right.

then, about four years ago, it very suddenly felt wrong. i got really sick, like deathly sick, and i just thought, i don't want to be vegan anymore. so i wasn't.

unfortunately, nine years of veganism had taken its toll on my body, and since my conversion to being non vegan i've had skin that's not quite covergirl standard. dermatologists have failed repeatedly. occasionally i'll suggest maybe it's my diet. they scoff.

i've tried a bunch of stuff. tried cutting dairy. cutting meat. cutting both. but nothing.

so here i am, ready to give the Elimination Diet a whirl. basically it means i have to spend the next four weeks eating pretty bland food, then one by one do "challenges" where i'm re-introducing foods, in the hope of seeking the culprits.

unlike most of these kinds of things, it's not a No Wheat/Diary/Meat kind of thing. In fact, quite the opposite. it's targeting food chemicals, so it's a different approach. the only fruit i can eat during the elimination period, for example, is pear. i can eat potatoes, bread, fresh chicken/lamb/beef, soft cheeses, milk.

it's my second day, and it's been tough. i didn't realise how much i crave *adding* things to my meals. especially tomato sauce. i love that shit.

if you're interested in learning more, here is some official information and also here is the link of the book put onto the net (not their official book). the book i'm using is called Friendly Food and there's a pic above. i'll let you know how i get on.