I see the world as one big laboratory, and my life as a series of experiments. I don’t always know what to do, but I’m pretty confident that I can try just about anything, observe the outcome, and act accordingly. And heck, it’s fun. I’m ten days into the latest experiment, and it’s been quite an interesting run!
A couple weeks ago, Roland and I were visiting his sister, who was learning to manage her new gluten free diet. Coupled with her intolerance for dairy, this was proving to be quite a challenge. However, the efforts were clearly worth it, as she lost 7 pounds in just 2 weeks, likely as a result of reducing inflammation and dropping the excess water that accumulates when our systems are chronically irritated. In addition, she generally felt better, with less joint pain, improved energy, and a complete resolution of what had been a steady stream of digestive issues.
Roland knows that he too has some dairy intolerance, and both of us have more than our fair share of joint pain. He also knows that some grains and beans irritate his stomach and/or cause him head congestion, but which ones specifically are the problem seems to be a moving target which he’s never pinned down. We got to thinking, what would happen if once and for all, we tried an elimination diet, free of all dairy, grains, and beans, and then added them back in one at a time? Would we be find out that all along, we’ve been eating something that we should be avoiding?
Given my chronic back pain, (and because I’m a bit of a nut) I decided to also add in my anti-inflammatory protocol, a 4-part dietary strategy to reduce systemic inflammation. That means high omega-3 fats, high anthocyanins and flavonoids, lots of turmeric (daily if possible) and no sugar or refined carbohydrate.
We committed to doing this for 30 days. During this time we’re observing our digestion, skin, joint pain, energy levels, sleep, athletic performance, you name it.
Today is day 10. Stay tuned, tomorrow I’ll let you know what we’ve learned so far. Even the preliminary results are getting interesting!
Allison August 20, 2012 at 1:39 pm
I can’t wait to hear how your experiment turns out. Your new experimental diet is very close to a Paleo Diet. My husband went on a Paleo diet a couple years ago because the typical ‘low fat’ diet wasn’t working for him. In addition to _easily_ losing 40 pounds in 6 months, he felt awesome. He discovered he had a wheat intolerance and once he stopped eating wheat, a slew of ‘chronic’ ailments went away. Indigestion, chronic acid reflux, skin issues, peripheral nerve tingling and joint pain were all eliminated by ditching wheat and, for him, potatoes. He added back dairy and seems to be ok with it. The great thing about this way of eating, is that we don’t count calories or grams of fat anymore. By eliminating the grains and beans, the diet tends to be more ‘low carb’ and you are able to feel satiated because a larger percent of the calories are coming from fats (ideally the good kind!) So you stop eating sooner than you used to, resulting in easy weight loss. We also have tons more energy than we used to due to stabilizing our blood sugar levels. Anyways, I could go on forever. I can’t wait to hear how things go for you!
Monica August 25, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Hi Georgie, hope all is well with you. This is super interesting to me and I enjoyed your preliminary report on your progress. Sounds like this is really working for you.
I am curious to know – what is the minimum amount of time needed to do an elimination diet like this one? I want to try it but I’m hesitant to do a full 30 days.
Thanks for sharing!
admin August 25, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Hi Monica!! I noticed improved digestion in the first week and am noticeably leaner (even though I’m eating to satisfaction at every meal!) at two weeks. So I’d say a two week trial should be more than enough.