Listen to Your Body!

I've always believed our bodies tell us what we need and what we shouldn't eat and this is clearly communicated through our food choices, what we like and don't like. I've had experiences trying a new food where after the sampling even if I thought it tasted badly or had a strange texture, I find I'm craving it only to discover that particular food is good for a specific ailment of mine. I am repulsed by other foods. I've always hated oatmeal. It's only second to cream of wheat in terms of the worst food ever. Oh, what a minute, maybe it's the third worst food on the planet? The first is tapioca pudding. Just recently I found out tapioca is a cross-reactor to gluten so it all makes sense.

Now, I know my theory isn't fool-proof. Food allergies often result in cravings. As do food addictions. Sugar is a good example. Chocolate, the most wicked of all foods, is another example. And alcohol. Well, is alcohol really a food? Whatever...you know what I mean.

Then there are foods I've never eaten in my life. I don't know if it's because they have never been appealing or available or if indeed I did eat them as a child my body knows not to go there. I don't care about them so I just don't bother.

Some foods are considered so healthy and fashionable, that I've felt guilt-tripped into eating them. Kale was one of those foods. I tried forcing it down my throat a few times. Then I read kale is a goitrogen which suppresses thyroid. I was so delighted to have a valid reason not to eat kale!

Broccoli and tomatoes I have also eaten not because they taste good, but only because I thought they provided valuable nutrients so again I did some force-feeding in the name of nutrition. Then I found out tomatoes make my whole body writhe in pain and broccoli is a goitrogen. I still eat broccoli on occasion mixed with other foods, but I never overindulge and I rotate when I eat it.

I started the AIP diet at the beginning of the new year and immediately my neck and back started to burn and hurt for no apparent reason. This is normally a chemical exposure symptom, but I couldn't figure out where or what or who exposed me. Maybe I'm detoxing? I doubt it. I just wrote a post on doctors who lie about detoxing symptoms.

 

Then I started crashing. Total exhaustion. My whole body felt exhausted right down to the bone. I could hardly move. It felt like a really horrible autoimmune attack and I hadn't experienced this kind of exhaustion since I started the Paleo-Hashimoto's diet nearly four years ago.

I felt frustrated, confused, and afraid. What is it? This AIP diet is supposed to be really good and I haven't cheated at all. What gives? Suppose I can't figure this one out? I can't function with this fatigue and that places my income and well-being in jeopardy. So I started brainstorming reasons for these apparent side effects of...something.

The AIP diet is mostly about eliminating certain foods rather than adding new possibly problematic ones. The instructions say one must eat bone broth and organ meat. Eeeww... Although I'm a bit resistant because I know I don't like these things (for a reason?), I have tried to find them at the co-op. Maybe I'm crashing because I'm missing key nutrients required by the diet? Could that be it?

Maybe my body needs the minerals in nuts or eggs that are restricted on this diet? Eggs are high in zinc. Could that be it?

To compensate for the removal of foods, I've tried to add more vegetables. Like Brussels sprouts.
Yum! Brussels sprouts are goitrogens known for suppressing thyroid. Could that be it?

Parsnips are one of those foods I've never eaten. No desire. No opportunity. I have never hated the taste, I just never cared. Then I discovered a recipe for Parsnip Fries and thought I had found my answer to French-fried potatoes. Yum! I can always use more vegetables in my diet. Could that be it?

I've eaten grapefruit pretty much all my life with no problem, but my recent gene mutation results told me this is a food I shouldn't eat. Grapefruits are in season and I bought a few. How can grapefruit be anything but healthy? Could that be it?

I noticed the moon was full and it's been a full moon for the last few days. I've also had problems in the past with water chemical treatments and I often eliminated baths because I know those chemicals can be an issue for me. I'm grasping here, but for a successful elimination test one must brainstorms ALL possibilities.

I stopped bathing and stopped eating Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, and parsnips. There's nothing I can do about the moon and I'm still looking for cow bones to boil (yuck). I'll wait a week, see if the fatigue disappears, then add each item back separately at least I'll be able to narrow it down.

The exhaustion was gone by the end of the first day with just minor fatigue remaining so that's telling. The back and neck pain was replaced with itching which is still inconvenient and uncomfortable, but much better than pain and tension. Eventually that went away, too. Return to bathing was fine although now it might be beyond the water treatment schedule. Grapefruit had no negative effect.

Then I made myself a big batch of parsnip fries. I'd been looking forward to this, but the smell of them made me feel ill. I felt repulsed. I didn't want to eat them. I remember I thought the smell was weird before, too. I ate three and it felt like too many. Within about fifteen minutes my stomach hurt, my back itched, and my head hurt and felt light and dizzy. This is not good.

 

I researched a little online. Parsnips are a cross-reaction for people who are allergic to birch. Well, that's me! There were a few people with parsnip allergies who shared photos of facial rashes, eyes swollen shut, or experiences of being rushed to the hospital because they couldn't breath. That's after never in their lives eating parsnips and trying them for the first time as adults. I hate to learn from someone else's misery, but I think for those of us who are sensitive to foods in any way, we need to be cautious with new foods and try them in small quantities.

This is a lesson in listening to one's body. There's a reason I have never eaten parsnips!