paulradcliffe.me

New Food Pledge

Change is hard. It’s really hard.

But, after about four months in the hospital, I am scared enough to not want to go back. And I’ve seen family and friends languish in hospitals, and that motivates me to to turn it around.

Someone asked me: “After almost dying, do you eat whatever you want as if you’re dying, or super carefully?” I’m definitely in the camp of super carefully.

I am making some significant changes to my relationship with food. These changes are to reduce inflammation to reduce the risk of another auto-immune illness. And I’m basing many of these changes on the results of a food sensitivity test that my naturopath recommended.

The plan is no smoking, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, dairy, and eggs. And low red meat and any other foods to which I have sensitivities.

If you spend four months in the hospital, you can listen and hear the reason most are there. I was able to overhear doctors talking to roommates, and about other patients, and a LARGE number come from the same short list: Alcohol, smoking, and inactivity.

Knowing and avoiding those common pitfalls isn’t so hard. I don’t smoke. I never have, and I never will. It seems like a very expensive and tedious vice anyways. And I did drink alcohol, especially in my University years, but that ship has sailed. I don’t miss alcohol, at all. And I can’t outrun a bad diet anymore, because I just haven’t recovered enough to be able to run. But I keep VERY active with A LOT of physiotherapy, and I’m very motivated to keep it that way. 

Avoiding caffeine is an interesting one. I’ve never really had a dependency on caffeine. Many people find it absolutely bizarre that I don’t drink coffee every day, or at all. But I don’t. I’ve found I’m getting a pretty good boost of energy from good food, good rest, and vitamin D supplements. 

There are some foods that I have been told have really good anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric is right on the top of the list, and I’ve been incorporating that into recipes, and taking a turmeric (curcumin) supplement. Other great ones on the list include cinnamon, berries, avocado, broccoli, and fatty fish.

And there are some pretty obviously inflammatory foods I’m going to avoid. This ignominious list of “bad” foods includes fried foods, red meats, processed meats, and sugary sodas. 

The hardest one on that list for me was the red meat. I am quite fond of steaks and pork chops. But, for many reasons, I know its better for me to stick to white meats like chicken and fish. 

I think the next part will be the hardest: Avoiding foods that specifically cause me inflammation. This means avoiding specific foods to which I have food sensitivities. It’s a much milder version of a food allergy, but prolonged and continuous exposure causes inflammation and lots of strain on my body and immune system.

FOOD SENSITIVITIES TEST

Many people have identified their food sensitivities by going on an elimination diet like Whole 30. The idea of the elimination diet is that you eat really simple foods, and gradually introduce new ones. This way you can judge which foods cause you fatigue, stomach problems, headaches, and/or other problems. 

My naturopath recommended a quicker and more robust way: A food sensitivity blood test. It tested my blood for the antibodies produced when my body reacts to something. This way it notices the specif bio-chemical reaction, even if I wouldn’t. 

The results were surprising! 

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There were some I expected: I strongly suspected I had a sensitivity to dairy, and the strong sensitivity was confirmed. From what I understand, many people of Asian descent develop lactose intolerance as they age. And I have a gluten sensitivity, as I suspected. I was reading that it’s not so much the gluten that’s difficult for people to digest, but the pesticides used in modern gluten farming, and a certain strain of gluten that is widely used.

Some foods I thought made me unwell, were actually okay. I thought carrots and tomatoes didn’t agree with me, but apparently there isn’t a bio-chemical reason for me to avoid them.

Here are some I wasn’t expecting: Eggs, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, cashews, peanuts, and hazelnuts! 
I had eggs almost every day! We were trying to avoid them because my daughter seems to have an egg allergy, but with two of us, they are totally out of the house. We’re going to need to come up with a creative way to substitute for eggs in baking.
And potatoes? Wow! I had no idea! Gone are fries, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, poutine… maybe this is for the best. 
But with gluten, corn, and potatoes on a “naughty list”, the only common grain left is rice. Thankfully I’m not sensitive to rice, and most “gluten-free” versions of products are made with rice flour. But rice all the time could get tedious. We’re planning to branch out to try unique things like millet, couscous, and chickpea pastas.

It kind of sucks that I have a sensitivity to mushrooms. These “steaks of the forest” were a good transition from red meat to a less inflammatory diet. And I have that great grilled portobello mushroom recipe too!

A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

My juice cleanse brought me into a new relationship with food. I don’t NEED to eat copious amounts to survive. I think of food as a nutrient delivery system now. Pastas and breads are really vessels for what I need to get into me, so gluten-free versions, or low-carb in general version will do just great. I try to enjoy the sauces, not just hollow calories of grains. 
In some ways I’m lucky that I’m not explicitly allergic to anything. If I slip or cheat it isn’t fatal immediately. But there will be consequences for consecutive and continuous consumption of foods that I know aren’t good for me.

I guess if I do cheat, it had better be really worth it. Like, breaking my “no red meat thing” only for special occasions, like WAGYU, and even at that, no more than once per month.

In a way, I feel like I’m mourning the loss of eating habits and tastes I used to love: Gone are the Tuesdays of KFC and fries. Creamy fettuccine Alfredo was one of my favourites, but there are several parts of that dish that I should be avoiding. And I smell pizza, or lasagna, or french fries, or see ice cream, and think of how yummy that used to be. 

Getting around some of these sensitivities and food choices isn’t so hard. Gluten-free is surprisingly well accommodated now, and even if it isn’t, most restaurants have entree salads with chicken. Pizza pizza makes a great cauliflower crust pizza that’s gluten-free, and I have been ordering it with non-dairy cheese. And getting away from red meat isn’t so hard either with so many vegetarian and vegan options available. There are even non-dairy ice creams and sorbets I can enjoy. 

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In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m posting A LOT about cooking and recipes. In particular, I’m tagging some of these recipes as gluten-free and/or vegan.

I can’t outrun a poor diet anymore: I chop it up in the kitchen!