Sunday, September 20, 2009

No Wheat and No Dairy

Makes Tara a hungry, cranky girl.

I went to visit a naturopath on Thursday. I went because my family doctor is really dropping the ball on me, and I'm completely discouraged. Anyway, I am concerned about the acne I continually seem to fight with, as well as my elevated heart rate and ever-changing allergies.

Now I'm convinced most of this is all related. She's testing me for any allergies I really have. I've had traditional allergy testing done many times, with the pin prick test and the scratch test. She is testing me via blood sample, and I should have the results in a couple of weeks, which I'm very excited about. Then I'll finally know what is causing me issues and what isn't.

She also thinks I may be having issues with digestion. She thinks this is why I have a low B12 level. In most young people who have a low B12 level, this usually means you're missing an intrinsic factor in your stomach that is needed for the body to absorb B12. I told her I had asked my family doctor to proceed with testing to find out if this is my issue, but my family doctor refused to test me, and told me to just take a daily B12 supplement instead.

For now, the naturopath has asked me to try a diet that will allow for minimal effort by my digestive system. So no dairy, no wheat (two high-incidence allergens), and she has asked me to not eat raw fruits and vegetables, since they are difficult for the digestive system to process.

Now being a vegetarian, cutting out wheat and dairy is seriously challenging. I'm like a celiac vegan. Not fun. Fish, rice, and cooked veggies. Booooorrriing!

And to any celiacs out there, I now understand what it's like to try to live the way you have to. It must be terrible. Hugs to all of you.

1 comment:

Ashley Gibson said...

OMG It doesn't have to be boring at all!! I'm gluten free and have recently become vegan and I rarely feel bored with my meals!

There are some great gluten free grains out there - quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, millet etc that can be prepared in a variety of ways. You can find gluten free wraps, pasta and pizza crusts as well.

I've found a lot of resources in vegan cookbooks as they tend to be more cognizant of people with gluten intolerances and you also don't have to worry about substituting the dairy because it's not in there. Some of my favourites include Veganomican, Eat Drink & Be Vegan as well as Refresh.

I hope that you and your naturopath are able to get to the bottom of the issues you've been having!