Food Sensitivities

While on this diet I have found that I have several food sensitivities. Symptoms manifest in many different ways for me. Some of the more subtle manifestations are rashes or flu-like feelings (e.g. phlegm and nasal congestion or a runny nose. The more extreme symptoms are gas, bloating, or diarrhea. In most cases these symptoms come as physical response initiated by my immune system, while others come just because my body cannot digest the food.

Lactose

Long before starting this diet I learned that I was lactose intolerant. That intolerance was not from an immune response but simply because my body cannot handle milk sugars (a.k.a. lactose). For over a decade I took a lactase supplement so that I could eat ice cream. Eventually Pineapple and I discovered that greek yogurt reversed some of our intolerance; the bacteria in the yogurt found purchase in our guts allowing our digestion to heal enough that we can have some ice cream without the aid of lactase or soda.

Sorbitol

I've also known for a long time that my body has a strong response to apple juice. Any more than a half-cup will clear out my digestion within 30 minutes. The same is true for pears, apricots, and other related fruits.

A doctor told me my body couldn't break down the disaccharides (a.k.a. sugars) in apple juice; I didn't have the enzymes which would split the disaccharide into two individual sugars. However, I'm no longer certain he was correct. I eventually got curious enough to find out the kind of disaccharide contained in apple juice. All I could find is sucrose which is standard table sugar. I can consume table sugar without issues.

Consequently, I now think my problem with apple juice is sorbitol, a naturally-occurring sweetener. Part of why I suspect sorbitol is that I have discovered that I am sensitive to dates, coconut meat/chips (coconut oil is okay while too much coconut water is not), and several other foods which have high levels of sorbitol. I also seem to be okay eating a single apple or some apple sauce. I suspect that something about the apple juice cooking process concentrates the sorbitol content.

By the way, sorbitol is a polyol, which is the 'P' in FODMAP, a class of foods which I must consume in moderation to avoid extreme reactions. For instance, celery is a high-fodmap food and causes a strong digestive response in me.

More Symptoms

While reading "The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body" I started paying more attention to my body's reactions to various foods. I started looking for both mild and strong reactions.

Almonds

Several years before reading that book I noticed that Smokehouse Almonds would give me flu symptoms which would last for a couple of days. At the time I thought that it was the flavoring causing the reaction (I love all sorts of smoked foods). But now I suspect the flavoring just induced me to consume large volumes of almonds and its the quantity my body was reacting to.

Because of my increased observance from reading "The Paleo Approach", I also discovered that almonds would cause mild skin rashes on irritated skin; I specifically noticed a rash appear underneath my watch (fitbit) within 30 minutes of eating fewer than a dozen almonds. The reason I am certain that it's the almonds and not my watch is that I wash my watch all the time. I would get rashes under it from time to time and so I started washing it at least daily to keep it clean from irritants. On that occasion I had absentmindedly checked my skin under my watch just before eating the almonds and there was no rash.

I have visited an allergist and I got blood tests run for a wide range of nuts. However, all the tests came back negative. He stated that there is a 15% chance of a false negative (and another 15% chance of a false positive) on these tests, so the only real test is how my body responds. In my case, it doesn't respond well.

Stevia and High Fructose Corn Syrup

Well before reading that book I noticed consuming soda induced flu symptoms. But I had thought those symptoms would come to anyone who consumed soda. Pineapple confirmed that she also gets such symptoms from soda.

From the book I learned that consuming high fructose corn syrup can result in flu symptoms, hence my sensitivity to sodas.

I also learned that consuming foods sweetened with stevia cause me to get flu symptoms while aspartame does not. Specifically, I tried consuming various types of Coke. Standard red-can Coke (high fructose corn syrup) and Coke Life (stevia) caused me to get a stuffy nose and clogged throat (phlegm). On the other hand, Diet Coke and Code Zero (both use aspartame) have no such effect. I don't like the sharp edge aspartame imparts so I stopped drinking soda altogether.

I also have tested my stevia theory with a few other foods or supplements (e.g. Emergen-C) and I get the same symptoms each time I try it.

Kiwi

Much to my disappointment I learned that my body does not like kiwis. Since I love to experiment with fruit combinations in smoothies and I knew strawberry-kiwi would be an excellent combination (I've always loved that flavor pairing) I bought a dozen kiwis. Regrettably, after a single kiwi my throat became itchy and my digestion was deeply disturbed and cleaned itself out within about 60 minutes.

I assumed that kiwis are just a high-fodmap food (they're actually low-fodmap). After a few months on my diet I tried eating them again. My digestion responded just as forcefully as before. Regrettably, I will probably never eat them again. 😞

Strawberries

Not all of my sensitivities are as obvious to detect as celery and kiwis have been. Strawberries seem to treat me okay if I only have them occasionally. My digestion might protest a little bit with a single helping, but if I have the exact same food the next day my digestive system will clean itself out. I know because of my strawberry limeade smoothie; I ate it two days in a row.

Delayed Sensitivities

I've had the same 2-day response with shrimp and with pineapple.

The strange thing is that with strawberries, shrimp, and pineapple, as long as I was having them very regularly (every day or every other day) I could consume them with only a slight uneasiness in my intestines (I experience the same "squishiness" I get from consuming high-fodmap foods). But since starting this diet, in all three of those cases, at some point I stopped eating them for a week and then started eating them again only to discover that I reacted on the second day.

To my understanding, before I stopped eating those foods, my body developed some antibodies to deal with the low levels of perceived threats. When I stopped consuming those foods those antibody levels dropped; some residual antibodies remain in case those threats come back (that's also how vaccines work). Those residuals may eventually disappear (some vaccines need boosters every few years), but they could also stick around indefinitely (other vaccines don't need boosters).

Well, those threats came back. On the first day I resumed eating those foods the trace antibodies were activated and then rapidly replicated so that all invaders could be caught. The second day my body had an abundance of antibodies to attach to the consumed allergens. The resulting inflammation quickly cleaned those foods out of my body. Thankfully these food sensitivities are not at the level of anaphylaxis.

So, I'm going to continue paying attention to the food I eat and how my body responds. I'll probably have more disappointments as I discover other beloved foods treat me poorly. But I trust that in the long-term I will be happier with less inflammation in my life, and that for most of these foods I can still have some once in a while.

Kale Chips

Before embarking on my new diet, I gained a name for myself among family members for my baked kale. Pineapple loves it as much as potato chips. Everyone who tries it--including staunchly anti-kale aficionados--is surprised at how delicious it is. I also got a lot of requests for my recipe.

Plain kale is a little bitter and not terribly pleasant to eat, but baking it this way helps it shine. It's a little sweet, wonderfully crunchy, perfectly salty, and satisfying.

Additionally, this recipe is designed to be quick so that if you have a craving and the kale then you can start crunching in about 10-15 minutes.

Tools

• Cookie/Baking Sheet
• Silicone Baking Mat/Aluminum Foil/Parchment Paper
• Olive Oil Sprayer: I use a Misto sprayer
• Serving plate

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Kale: Red, Green, and Tuscan all work well (I prefer Tuscan)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt: Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is easy to apply via pinching

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
2. Line the cookie sheet with the baking mat (or foil or parchment)
3. Fill your sprayer with olive oil
4. Remove the main stem from kale
1. It's okay to break the remaining leafy portion into smaller chunks
5. Arrange the leaf portion of the kale in a single layer on the baking mat
1. You'll cook several batches, so don't overcrowd the sheet
6. Spray olive oil onto the kale until there is a thin, even coating
1. For my baking sheet I pump (20-30 compressions) the Misto sprayer twice to get a complete coat
7. Sprinkle a pinch or two of salt (to taste) on the oiled kale
8. Bake in the oven until the leafs start to turn tan/brown but are still predominantly green
1. See the notes below for more information
9. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let cool for 30 seconds to a minute
10. Transfer the kale chips to a plate
11. Repeat steps 4 onward until you've baked all the kale
12. Enjoy!

Notes

I created this recipe for baked kale chips, but it is derived from several other recipes I perused on the web.

Stem

The main stem of the kale is thick, full of water, and won't bake very well. The other minor stems will dry out quickly in the oven so you do not need to remove them.

I used to remove the stem by placing it on a cutting board and carefully tracing the main stem with a sharp knife. But after getting comfortable with how the kale breaks, I now just tear along the stem with my fingers.

Currently I just throw the stem away. I'm sure the stem could be used elsewhere but I haven't explored where yet. As an alternative to spinach in a smoothie maybe?

Baking

You might screw up the fist couple of batches and that's okay; you're still learning what your oven does. Kale is inexpensive, too, so screwing up a few batches is unlikely to break the bank.

Ovens can vary pretty wildly. I've seen some ovens take 5 minute while other take closer to 10. When you are figuring out how quickly kale will cook in your oven, I recommend checking on the kale once every minute until you see the kale change color. The kale can quickly turn from delicious to burnt, so don't get distracted.

The kind of kale can also affect the cooking duration. I find green and red kale bake a little faster than the Tuscan Kale, but only by a minute or two.

My particular oven takes 7-8 minutes, depending on the kale. I use my Fitbit's timer to keep me on track.

See You Later, Tapioca

I love potato chips. Growing up my favorite flavor was sour cream and onion and I would eat entire bags of it. Nowadays I really enjoy plain salted potato chips, with sea salt and vinegar coming up a close second.

Much to the consternation of Pineapple I love to bring home new brands and flavors. All. The. Time. One of the more exotic flavors I savored is Black Truffle and Olive Oil; basically mushroom-flavored potato chips. Definitely not something pineapple would have imagined could even exist.

But alas, I can no longer have potatoes. Consequently I have been looking for alternative treats which will give me the same satisfying crunch while still being acceptable on my diet.

I regularly find vegetable chips, but they are almost always cooked in sunflower/canola/soybean oil; not Paleo-AIP-friendly.

Before embarking on this diet I had found some grain-free tortilla chips which were an okay alternative to corn chips. What I remembered about those chips was a little bit about the story on the back; the company founders were a husband and wife whose daughter had an autoimmune disease so they created the chips to avoid grains like corn.

Because I knew those chips were created to support an anti-inflammatory diet, I thought I hit the jackpot when I found cassava strips. These particular vegetable chips are not inherently flavorful--which is a potential sign of less-than-nutritious food--but I figured I could supplement the flavor with some good guacamole while still getting great crunch.

I also found cassava chips, which are basically the same texture as funyuns or Cap'n Crunch, but made with cassava instead of corn. The plain version is basically devoid of flavor--a few steps above cardboard which has a negative flavor--so they require a flavorful passenger such as guacamole.

Whenever I bought a lot of cassava strips/chips I found that I would start to get brain fog. If I ate those chips for several days in a row, I would gain weight (I don't have a scale and don't actually measure my weight, so I rely more on how I feel). I figured the weight gain was because cassava is basically starch.

"Maybe I should just eat it less frequently," I thought.

A few weeks ago I discovered these awesome marshmallows called Smash Mallows. I read the ingredients and found that the primary ingredient is tapioca (a.k.a. cassava) instead of corn syrup (which is the standard for marshmallows).

"Cha-ching!"

And they were on sale.

"Double cha-ching!!"

Pineapple and I both love the Pineapple Coconut flavored ones.

Last Saturday I went to the store to get more Smash Mallows. While there I walked past the grain-free tortilla chips again. Each time I notice them, I wonder if I can get them but have a vague recollection that I shouldn't. Sometimes I look at the ingredient list and think "Chia seeds? I can't have chia seeds." and then I put the bag back on the shelf. This time, though, I thought "Maybe chia seeds are okay in smaller quantities. I'll look them up."

And so I searched and found this article.

Wait...what? Cassava is not Paleo-AIP friendly?

NOOOOOO!!!!

I can't eat Smash Mallows anymore? I also just lost the crunch of cassava strips/chips!

Sadness.

But that explains why I don't feel great when I eat a lot of cassava strips/chips. That also explains my weight gain.

However, all is not lost. I can have cassava once in a while after my auto-immune disease is completely under control--I'm almost there; I no longer apply medication and my inflammation is low.

In the meantime, maybe I need to learn how to create my own chips. Daikon radish chips, anyone? Or maybe kale chips?