Ok, let’s recap, shall we?
Part 1 – I don’t like the doctor and might ditch him.
Part 2 – I don’t like the drugs and am not going to take them.
I’ve been on this diet for a month. I feel great. More clear-headed, quicker to come to the land of the living (without much caffeine) after waking up, less afternoon sleepiness. Better energy. No cravings for sweets or junk. Seriously.
It’s very restrictive though: No dairy, no gluten, no legumes (this includes soy). I’ve also completely quit aspartame, Splenda and MSG. I’ve significantly reduced caffeine (generally 1 cup of black coffee or tea a day) and have almost completely quit refined sugar. I’m getting less than 1/10th of the sugar than I was before. Actually, probably less. I’m spending most of the money I used to spend on eating out at the Co-op and in the health food section of the grocery store. I also take a boatload of vitamins, minerals and supplements as recommended for this diet.
My mom, who is home from Florida for the summer now, has been pretty good about this rather than her typical mode of diet sabotage. She wanted to help, so she’s been charged with cooking fish for me this summer. (Mel hates fish so she rarely cooks it.)
Mom’s last shred of passive-aggressive-diet-misunderstanding (or the let me pretend “I didn’t understand” dumb-bunny move) went like this:
Well, I suppose after a while, you could probably have a little ice cream for a treat now and then.
Mel and I stared at her, mouths agape. I started to protest gently, saying she didn’t get it. Mel interrupted and cut to the chase.
So, she should eat ice cream and possibly have brain damage? I hardly think that’s even a choice to consider.
(The diet is based on the premise that food sensitivies/allergies cause immune system reactions that exacerbate disease activity. Well beyond a simple food intolerance that produces a bunch of gas.)
That had the right impact and she’s been quite good about it since. She’s read a lot of the diet material I gave her and is quite creative with cooking within the restraints of the diet. Since I don’t like to cook, she cooks fish for me when Mel is at work. It’s a nice setup. 😉
As a side effect, I’ve lost about 7 pounds. Though that’s really not my purpose now anyway.
P.S. If you’re consuming aspartame, Splenda or MSG (hidden in many, many foods), PLEASE STOP NOW.
I never, ever eat or drink anything with those things (not knowingly.) I actually get nauseous if I have anything with Splenda, I can tell after one bite or sip that it contains it.
I’m glad you’re feeling better, and I would love to come visit Niagara Falls, I’ll even help put in carpet tiles!!
I’ve been kind of doing that myself, lately. Not as restrictive as yours, though, but moving more towards organic foods, and homemade stuff. I make my own bread now, and have returned to real milk, butter, eggs, etc. (All in moderation, of course.) And fresh veggies as much as possible (although, in Cali, getting organic fresh veggies is really easy.)
And the supplements, too. Fish oil, for one, since I don’t particularly care for fish, and holy basil, a multi vitamin, and acidophilous (either in a tablet or in real yogurt). It’s working pretty well so far, and I can tell the days where I eat something like Doritos, or too much cane sugar.
Oh, and I can’t stand aspartame or splenda. The former made me have dizzy spells and headaches, so I stopped using it in Jr. High. The latter, well, to me it tastes funny. It has this weird chalk-ish aftertaste to me, so I just don’t bother. I’ll have to look at the MSG thing though.
*hugs* about the MS. My bio-dad, his sister, and a cousin all had it, so I have to watch out for it. Not easy stuff.
These are good diet suggestions for anyone. And now I see I am eating MSG even though I thought I wasn’t. Thanks for the link. I am impressed with the thoughtful way you are dealing with this — I hope I could handle myself/my diet/my interactions with family as gracefully.