Self imposed dietary restrictions, advice please
ashesfromfire
Posts: 867 Member
I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
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ashesfromfire wrote: »I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
Honestly, no that does not seem like a reasonable and sensible option. The reasonable, sensible option would be to see a doctor.
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ashesfromfire wrote: »I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
Honestly, no that does not seem like a reasonable and sensible option. The reasonable, sensible option would be to see a doctor.
Agreed.0 -
What you are describing is pretty similar to how I figured out my migraine triggers...once I had 90 days with no issues going totally vegan, then I would add in something for one meal a week and see if I had a reaction...it's amazing what you can learn listening to your body.
some of my favorite recipes:
http://ohsheglows.com/categories/recipes-2/food-quick-n-easy/0 -
Given that this is limited to diet and you don't plan to continue it, I would call this a "plant-based diet," not veganism. Lots of people have success trying an elimination diet to see if they can pin-point the cause of their symptoms. I don't have much experience with it, but I'm sure that others will.
Here are some of the meals I've had over the last week or will be having this week: pasta and tomato sauce, minestrone soup, roasted broccoli and tomato sauce, quesadillas (with Daiya non-dairy cheese), Field Roast Celebration roast with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts (that one was Thanksgiving), aloo gobi (okra and potatoes in Indian spices), hummus bisque (chickpea and tahini soup), braised potatoes with tarragon, and gumbo. I rounded this out with a lot of salads and fruit (I don't mind salads as long as I'm having something hot too). I have found cuisines like Itallian, Mexican, and Indian are great for inspiration.
But honestly, a doctor would probably be your best course of action to help you identify what is going on. Nobody really LIKES going to the doctor. But sometimes it's the best thing for us.0 -
In general I don't think one needs doctor's supervision for a food elimination and challenge diet like this one: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet
It's trickier for you as you are a vegan. I'm not familiar with elimination diets for vegans but perhaps someone else will be.
However, you may have already pinpointed dairy as the food that gives you problems and have no need to continue.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »In general I don't think one needs doctor's supervision for a food elimination and challenge diet like this one: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet
It's trickier for you as you are a vegan. I'm not familiar with elimination diets for vegans but perhaps someone else will be.
However, you may have already pinpointed dairy as the food that gives you problems and have no need to continue.
OP isn't vegan, OP has eliminated animal products for the purposes of this elimination diet.0 -
Can't really say whether the road you are taking is good or not but I can provide some vegetarian diet options that I LOVE in the winter:
1. three bean chili; pinto, kidney and black beans, 1/2 onion diced, can of stewed tomatoes, can of rotel (optional), one chili package and couple cans of water, crock pot on low for 8 hours and yum! makes enough for multiple meals for the week
2. quinoa and broccoli casserole (I usually add chicken but it can be without...add any other veggies you like); 2-3 cups of cooked quinoa, i can cream of mushroom, 2 tbsp. sour cream, 1/4 onion diced, shredded cheese, steamed broccoli... mix all ingredients in a bowl together, then transfer to a greased baking dish, top with more shredded cheese and breadcrumbs, 350 for 30 minutes or until gold and bubbly
3. pasta with tomato sauce, I usually add mushrooms, garlic and onions to "beef" up the sauce, and some fresh herbs
4. baked potato with broccoli, butter, sour cream0 -
Doctor is best in this situation I think. You could also discuss this idea with them = best of both worlds0
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The symptoms you describe could well be a result of lactose intolerance, says the random stranger on the Internet, but it's odd that it would have occurred so recently, unless you started eating more dairy (or less other things) around the time the symptoms started.
I'm not vegan myself, but a dear friend is, so I've been cooking a fair amount of vegan food. There are a lot of great recipes, including soups and stews that are excellent in cold weather. One site that has lots of useful recipes is Post Punk Kitchen, though they can get rather elaborate. Many of the general recipe sites, like Condé Nast's Epicurious.com, allow you to filter for vegan recipes.
Even if the elimination diet identifies dairy as the source of your problem, you can see a doctor for a test to confirm it.0 -
I really think you need a doctors advice!
Quote:
Studies have shown that lactose intolerance is one of the most over-reported health conditions, and that many people who believe they have lactose intolerance, in fact do not obtain positive results when tested using a breath hydrogen test, which is a reliable test for the condition.
Doctor Google can't replace the real thing!0 -
summerkissed wrote: »Doctor Google can't replace the real thing!
Tee hee, I just to clarify, I didn't google lactose intolerance and see if the symptoms match. The huntch is based off a simple observation that I always feel particularly sick after eating yogurt (which I've been doing significantly more often lately because I like the protein to calorie ratio) and I'm curious to see if that is true of other dairy products as well.0 -
I dont see anything wrong with an elimination diet. I did that too when eggs and bread caused me the same symptoms except for the headaches. for me though once I introduced the same things back in i still had issues and then I changed brands of those things. for me that made a BIG difference. maybe its an ingredient in the yogurt that your are having issues with? I know aspartame gives me headaches and stomach issues and locust bean gum my throat starts swelling. so you could also try different brands and see if that makes a difference or do the elimination thing. sometimes all it takes is 1 or 2 ingredients different that can cause issues and sometimes its just the food itself. if you still have problems then see a dr.
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ashesfromfire wrote: »summerkissed wrote: »Doctor Google can't replace the real thing!
Tee hee, I just to clarify, I didn't google lactose intolerance and see if the symptoms match. The huntch is based off a simple observation that I always feel particularly sick after eating yogurt (which I've been doing significantly more often lately because I like the protein to calorie ratio) and I'm curious to see if that is true of other dairy products as well.
You could try taking "Lactaid" chews with your yogurt. I became lactose intolerant, and all I have to do is eat lactase with my lactose. Works like a charm.
I've never had the breath test, but it seems pretty unnecessary. My genetic background (Native American) suggested I'd probably lose my ability to digest lactose as time went on, so it wasn't a huge surprise. A huge difference, yes! I really need to chew those pills or regret it, lol. It really sucks if untreated (by not adding the enzyme necessary to digest the lactose: lactase).
Some of the pills are vanilla and yummy in themselves
I'm sure someone not lactose intolerant would notice nothing different after taking the pills. They already have lactase. So it would be something else if you try that and it doesn't work, imho. 0 -
I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies"
No, I don't think this is reasonable, safe, or sensible. It will only work as long as you don't come down with a disease that requires medical intervention. I dunno...like Crohn's, diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart attack, cancer, sleep apnea, thyroid....
The high blood pressure, diabetes, and thyroid are called the "silent killers" because very few symptoms show up until it's too late.
Could you at least check your blood pressure once in a while at the pharmacist's?0 -
A temporary change in diet is fine. That type of elimination diet is commonly used by nursing mothers to help their babies with allergies. Make sure you add foods back super slow and one at a time so you can pinpoint what's truly troubling.
I'm all for home remedies and we do quite a bit of doctoring at home, including medicinal herbal teas for colds but there is most definitely a place for modern medicine. I hope you don't try to home remedy a serious condition.0 -
ashesfromfire wrote: »I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
@ashesfromfire I can see why you feel that way based on my experiences. I cut all grains and most all sugars (vegetables are my major carb source now) for a year now but I still do not know change made a difference in my health or perhaps it was both. I really could care less on some levels but being a science nut I do care.
Do you like vegetable soup?
Best of success on your new path.
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ashesfromfire wrote: »summerkissed wrote: »Doctor Google can't replace the real thing!
Tee hee, I just to clarify, I didn't google lactose intolerance and see if the symptoms match. The huntch is based off a simple observation that I always feel particularly sick after eating yogurt (which I've been doing significantly more often lately because I like the protein to calorie ratio) and I'm curious to see if that is true of other dairy products as well.
I suggest seeing a doctor honestly, yogurt is dairy product that has very little lactose due to the way it is made and is tolerated by most people with lactose intolerance, butter is another thing that has very very little lactose in it. Go and get some proper tests done.....I'm speaking from experience here after a history since childhood (colicky baby, overweight child, tummyaches, head aches, diarrhea constantly, bloating, cramps to point of crying, acne) I eliminated nearly everything from my diet back when I was 18 as I was just so sick all the time
hospital admissions, exploratory surgery as they thought I had something serious! So I just cut everything out....problem was I still wasn't 100% right and I was so restricted my life sucked.....at age 30 (yes it took me that long to go) I said enough is enough and I pushed for tests to find out what was wrong, they found it now with simple and I mean simple changes to my diet (I'm going to say the exact issues because they are my issues and we are all different) I'm a normal person!!! Yep 7 years now of being normal lol please go see a doctor and push for answers!!!
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It sounds like you're trying to do an elimination diet.
I recommend you look over and download this PDF for helpful tips.
It is almost identical to what i received from my doctor. Note, they have you do 15 days, but my doctor had me go a full 4 weeks before re-introducing slowly.0 -
ashesfromfire wrote: »I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
No, this sounds neither reasonable nor sensible, sorry. Suddenly feeling ill, and this persisting for weeks, but refusing to visit the dr, it is the opposite of sensible and reasonable.0 -
ashesfromfire wrote: »summerkissed wrote: »Doctor Google can't replace the real thing!
Tee hee, I just to clarify, I didn't google lactose intolerance and see if the symptoms match. The huntch is based off a simple observation that I always feel particularly sick after eating yogurt (which I've been doing significantly more often lately because I like the protein to calorie ratio) and I'm curious to see if that is true of other dairy products as well.
Just food for thought, but I had one particular brand of vanilla Greek yogurt that for some reason isn't liked by my stomach if I eat more than a cup or so. I haven't really figured out why yet, as it was easier to just switch back to another brand that never gave me that issue. And generally I have a stomach that will tolerate anything, but that yogurt made me feel funky pretty much every time I ate it.0 -
Well I don't think this is a bad idea, as some have suggested. I think I'd be doing exactly the same. If the elimination doesn't work, then you can go to the doctor armed with more information and they will be able to find a root cause quicker. Make sure you keep your food diary so you have evidence. I know this sounds like you'll have no food left to eat, but I'd suggest cutting out gluten too and reintroducing that at a later date.0
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ashesfromfire wrote: »I have felt sick pretty constantly over the past few.months, and in the past 3-4 weeks it seems significantly worse. My stomach is very often upset, I am gassy and bloated, and I've started having frequent headaches. I'm not a fan of doctors, doctors offices, or medication for that matter and very often rely on "home remedies" or in this case, good old self reflection for an answer. So temporarily I'm eating a vegan diet, its only been a couple days, but no head and stomach aches since I started. I think I'll stick to that for about a week as long as it seems to be helping and then slowly add foods back into my diet and see if anything triggers ickyness again. (I have a suspicion its dairy that makes me feel gross) so, what do y'all think? Does that seem like a reasonable, safe, sensible course of action? How would you go about this? And to all my vegan/ vegetarian readers out there: help me out with some meal ideas please. It's cold out and eating salad when its cold makes me sad, would love your best warm food ideas. Thanks everyone!
Just realised the time frame. Elimination diets do not work they way you think you do, so it sounds like placebo effect
You start to evaluate results after a couple of weeks of full elimination. A day or two, no, it cannot change anything. Unless the problem is a stomach bug... 0
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