Diet and food intolerances

[markem]

Has anyone done an elimination diet or some other method for determining any food intolerances that you may have? I'm asking because I've been intolerant to wheat for years. We used to think it was Celiac Spru, but my GI doctor and I have decided to call it a severe intolerance rather than Celiac or wheat allergy.

Anywho, after my bout with a severe bronchial infection (probably pneumonia, but no tests) in January where I was put on a very strong antibiotic, I found that I had quick and noticeable reactions to certain food categories. I'm on a good general probiotic to restore my gut bacteria, but the intolerances probably will remain.

And interestingly enough, my eating habits changed radically by removing food intolerances. There are plenty of books and articles on food intolerances out there, but the one I found to resonate with me is the one located here: http://jdc.jefferson.edu/jmbcim_protocols/2/

I did not do the elimination diet. Rather, I found my top food intolerances and stopped eating those. My fairly constant hunger has basically disappeared, my resting heart rate is down 20bpm to around 65, and the near constant headaches and irritability have almost disappeared as well.

My intolerances are wheat (gluten suspected), milk products (casein suspected), corn in all forms including high fructose corn syrup and corn starch, soy (that's a huge hit for me - love my soy sauce and tofu), and to a lesser extent nuts and apples.

I feel as good as I did when I was running half marathons and climbing mountains in the 80s, which is pretty good for someone on the far side of middle age. I'd also lost 20 lbs as of today and seem to be losing at a rate of about a pound every other day or so (provided I don't cheat, in which case it takes several days to get back on track). This, of course, will taper off, but it will be interesting to see how far it goes. My "target" weight for my age and height is 160lbs and today I am at 200, so we'll see. If no one recognizes me at SoCal, you know the reason why.

So, anyone else dealing with food intolerance issues and seeing similar impacts on hunger, eating patterns and weight?

[AdamJoshua]

Thanks for posting this, while terribly out of shape and the eating habits of a billy goat, I obviously need to change my diet and life style, I have gone from high 200s to around 198 in the past with eating right and exercising daily, but as I get older it gets harder to drag my ass into the gym.

One of my neighbors, whom I am currently pushing down the slope, is an Olympic athlete and his wife is a nutritionist, I was going to talk to her about working up a menu for me, but I think I am going to try this elimination challenge as a start, the only challenge I see will be the caffeine, but when I used to be in shape and felt good I found I didn't need the 5 cups of coffee to get through the day.

Again thanks for posting this, I'll be sure to post changes and results as I go, although no matter how much weight I lose, with this nose I'm sure people will still be able to pick me out of a crowd.

[the nub]

Originally Posted by markem

My intolerances are wheat (gluten suspected), milk products (casein suspected), corn in all forms including high fructose corn syrup and corn starch, soy (that's a huge hit for me - love my soy sauce and tofu), and to a lesser extent nuts and apples.

kinda sounds like your intolerances could be pesticide/GMO related as wheat, corn and soy are huge on these

[CigarNut]

I went through an elimination diet last year. Biggest surprise I found was an allergy to canola oil (in addition to my lactose intolerance). I also don't tolerate raw grapes well. I tolerate gluten OK but in general I find I feel better overall when I minimize: wheat, corn, dairy (except Ghee seems to be OK), all processed sugars and sugar substitutes. I have not had any issues with soy, but do try to limit it anyway.

I have not had any issues with any other fruits or vegetables.

[Adriftpanda]

Don't know how I missed this.

Congrats on losing some weight, Mark. I'm sorry, we facetime often, that I did not notice. Bad friend.

[replicant_argent]

Awesome, my friend. I think my wife may be a Celiac Mary... I am wondering if I also have a gluten allergy/intolerance as many people she has had contact with who have also discovered this thing.
Gonna be hell on my beer drinking/brewing habit if this proves out.

[RelaxingSmoke]

I took out gluten just to see what would happen and I have to say I feel a lot better, more energy, less mental fog but I think it has to do with the fact that I started eating much fresher food like fruits and vegetables instead of wheat.