I have been thinking a great deal about how everything in our society stems around gathering for food, and just sharing meals with others in general. Although sharing a meal would seem a simple thing, there are millions of people who suffer from food allergies, making this task complicated. I pray that those who deal with food allergies will be accepted and not feel misunderstood this Thanksgiving season. It is tough for all those involved, but allergies can cause people to be miserable before they are discovered. I feel blessed to have been able to figure out some of our allergies. Hopefully, over the next year we will be able to discover all of the foods that our bodies react to. I know this lifestyle is not for everyone, but it is a change that our family desired. We are all happy with the results so far!
As a family, we began this journey to help one of our children. In the process, we have discovered that food allergies were causing things that we didn't even know about. Our elimination diet has been an interesting journey so far. When you eat foods that you are allergic to for years, your body gets used to the affects that it has on you. Once you eliminate these foods and try to put them back into your body, they are rejected. This type of rejection comes in many forms, depending on the person. Sometimes the reaction even comes in the form of behavior(hyperactivity, anger, lack of focus, emotional, etc.). Some people will react with headaches. Some people react with stomach pain. A more severe reaction is tightness of the throat, which is a little more frightening. Fortunately, I am the only one that seems to have experienced that. I guess maybe I should be happy about that, but this isn't the first time that I have experienced it. I was in the hospital on Mother's Day this year, because of the very same feeling...that just wouldn't go away. I was never really told what caused it, but through this diet I believe now that it must have been something that I had eaten. Not every person will be sensitive to these things. But in a family where allergies are present, these sensitivities generally are present in most members, if not all. We have also discovered that the longer we remain on Stage 1, the faster that each of us react to foods we are allergic to.
We have had two or three tests, since the initial dairy testing. We haven't been very successful with some test, and with others we will need to retest. One thing that I know for certain is that non-organic dairy milk is not something that we can handle. We may try organic and see if there is a difference, but we won't be trying regular milk again. We did try cheese, but some reacted. After trying the cheese, I realized there is natural annatto coloring in the cheese, which can cause reactions in some people. I had wondered why some of the kids had reacted to some suckers that contained the same ingredient. We will retest this later, to be sure. We have tried sour cream, which was rather unsuccessful. The sour cream we tried was not organic, which might make a difference. We are just trying to use up the stuff that we already have. I did find some things that can replace sour cream in recipes. We tried replacing the sour cream a few days prior to the sour cream test and it worked great! We didn't really notice a change in flavor. We still have so many things to test, but it is so difficult when everyone keeps reacting. We have been waiting for reactions to clear before trying something new. Otherwise, it would be difficult to tell what we are reacting to. Our allergies so far are from molasses, malted barley(which has so many other derivatives), and dairy milk. We are avoiding sulfa, due to my severe allergy. We are also avoiding Corn Syrup and High Fructose Corn Syrup, because it can contribute to hyperactivity. We are unsure about brown sugar, because it can contain molasses and we have reactions that we believe are related. We haven't tried the brand that doesn't contain molasses, that many with molasses allergies can still use. We suspect honey, but we are avoiding it until we finish the other testing. We suspect pineapples, but will retest to be sure. I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I find it fascinating the links between food allergies and our bodies.
We have been blessed with some great friends and family that have been so supportive through all of this. Even though, I am sure that they think that we are crazy! I guess that no one really knows how things are in other people's homes, when they don't live there. Our kids are wonderful kids! We have definitely had our struggles with each of them. It is so nice to actually have days where the meanness and anger, tears and sheer frustration are not apart of what is happening in our house. The next few months are sure to bring more changes, as we continue to figure out what each of us are sensitive too. As with the dairy surprise, I am sure that the other changes will be positive too!
I know for sure that my anger and frustration is completely linked with food. I have been able to be so even tempered, even when my children are mad and annoyed with me. I love that I can be who God created me to be, just by listening to my body and what it tells me! This is huge, since for nearly this whole year, I thought there was something wrong with me. I was taking tons of vitamins and trying to eat healthy, but yet...I still felt terrible and didn't understand why. God has worked a small miracle as far as I am concerned! He has given me tools to figure out things that I didn't have any idea how to fix. I went to the doctor and had test after test, but they all continued to tell me that nothing was wrong. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't know how to fix it. I now know more about myself than any test could have ever told me. God used my child to open my eyes and inform me....and I will be forever grateful for that. Thank you, Jesus!
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